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DRC – study warns of alarming trends

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 10 Oct 2011

With half of Africa’s forests and water resources and trillion-dollar mineral reserves, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could become a powerhouse of African development provided multiple pressures on its natural resources are urgently addressed.

About 50% of Africa’s total water resources are concentrated within the Congo basin

A major Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment of the DRC by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) underlines the global significance and extraordinary potential of the country’s natural and mineral resources.

However, the study warns of alarming trends including increased deforestation, species depletion, heavy metal pollution and land degradation from mining, as well as an acute drinking water crisis which has left an estimated 51 million Congolese without access to potable water.

The outcomes of the two-year assessment have been released today in Kinshasa, by UNEP’s Executive Director, Mr Achim Steiner, and the DRC’s Environment Minister, Mr José Endundo.

Conducted in conjunction with the DRC’s Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism, the assessment highlights successful initiatives and identifies strategic opportunities to restore livelihoods, promote good governance and support the sustainability of the DRC’s post-conflict economic reconstruction, and reinforce ongoing peace consolidation.

The study’s good news is that most of the DRC’s environmental degradation is not irreversible and there has been substantial progress in strengthening environmental governance.

For example, through steps such as regular anti-poaching patrols, the Congolese Wildlife Authority has secured the Virunga National Park, which at the peak of the DRC’s crisis was losing the equivalent of 89 hectares of forest each day due to illegal fuelwood harvesting.

However, the country’s rapidly growing population of nearly 70 million people – most of whom directly depend on natural resources for their survival – and intense international competition for raw materials are adding to the multiple pressures on the DRC’s natural resource base. Continue reading DRC – study warns of alarming trends

Unknown creatures need extra protection

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 18 May 2011

One in three of all types of amphibians may yet to be found by scientists and remote tropical forests should get extra protection as the likely homes of such “unknown” creatures, a study says.

Colombian toad with vibrant red eyes - 1 of 3 recent discoveries of amphibian

Despite centuries of research by biologists, the report estimated that 3050 types of amphibians — a group that includes frogs, toads, salamanders and newts — were still to be described, compared to 6296 species known to science.

Likewise, it estimated that at least 160 types of land mammals were yet to be found, about 3% of a known total of 5398 ranging from elephants to tiny shrews.

“Most of these species are likely to be found in tropical forests,” Xingli Giam, of Princeton University in the United States and lead author of the report, told Reuters. The Amazon, the Congo basin and Papua island were among likely sites.

The study estimated the number of unknown species from factors including past rates of discovery of new animals and the extent of unexplored habitats. As a rule, creatures found in recent years tended to be ever rarer, limited to small ranges.

“Many of the undescribed species…are probably in danger of extinction and could well disappear before they are discovered,” according to the study in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B by experts in the United States, Mexico and Singapore.

They urged conservation policies to target the least-disturbed tropical forests — few of which were now set aside as formal protected areas. Continue reading Unknown creatures need extra protection

Most of Africa's water sources are polluted with toxic matter

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 02 May 2010

Water quality in sub-Saharan Africa is on the decline. Most water resources have unacceptable levels of toxic substances — heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants and biological contaminants, according to a recent report by the Pan Africa Chemistry Network (PACN).

About 50% of Africa’s total water resources are concentrated within the Congo basin

These originate mainly from domestic waste water and local industries.
However, PACN notes that managing water resources in Africa is difficult as many countries do not have quality monitoring programmes.

“There is widespread scarcity of analytical laboratories, substantial under-investment and the absence of a structured framework for water governance,” notes the PACN report. “This makes water pollution statistics hard to come by.”

The report, “Africa’s Water Quality: A chemical Science perspective” of March 2010, however notes that scientists working in Africa have the knowledge, expertise and potential to help formulate and implement sustainable water strategies to maintain quality.

The report is the outcome of a 2009 Sustainable Water Conference hosted by the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and world leading agribusiness, Syngenta.

The findings and recommendations represent the views of 180 scientists and practitioners from 14 countries in Africa who attended the conference, as well as the UK, Switzerland, Colombia and Uruguay. Continue reading Most of Africa’s water sources are polluted with toxic matter

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DRC – study warns of alarming trends

Unknown creatures need extra protection

Most of Africa's water sources are polluted with toxic matter

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