As if the Nile River isn’t already affected by enough climate and regional geopolitical pressure, now there’s a new report on how heavy metal toxicity may be causing irreversible damage to its waters. Scientists with the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California found that the impacts…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
African leaders are celebrating news of successful negotiations for a High Seas Treaty, the long-awaited United Nations agreement to protect global oceans and ecosystems through international cooperation. The treaty, approved by delegates to the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), follows years of talks that…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
By Daniel Jasper With the recent commitment to create the Loss and Damage fund at COP27, a robust and ongoing conversation around World Bank reform, and a renewed United States interest in Africa, there is emerging recognition of the urgent need to support communities on the front lines of climate…
Despite progress on peace in Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan, the United Nations Secretary General told leaders at the African Union (AU) summit that the continent needs a comprehensive approach on climate, human rights and development in order to secure a peaceful feature. “The Central African Republic, and the forward…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Africa’s largest hydropower dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, is the focal point of still-unresolved tensions between Ethiopia, neighboring Sudan and downstream Egypt because of impacts to Nile River water resources. Most recently, talks in Egypt included the GERD diplomatic impasse during a visit from Tony Blinken, the United States…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Pope Francis began a week-long visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan on Tuesday, arriving in Kinshasa and speaking alongside Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi during a ceremony in the garden of the Palais de la Nation. The pontiff recalled the natural beauty of DR Congo in his…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Progress in African governance has stalled since 2019 due to security challenges and the economic and health impacts of COVID, as well as “widespread democratic backsliding” that poses a threat to development, according to the just-released annual report from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Data from the Ibrahim Index of African…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
By Jeffrey Smith One of my personal highlights of 2022 was being present in Kenya in the days leading up to and during that country’s general elections, held on August 9. I was fortunate to have been invited to participate with a diverse team of accredited observers, mostly consisting of…
Along the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe, researchers are using computer model simulations to understand the impacts of human-wildlife conflict and how to reduce its costs to both the community and the surrounding ecosystem. Still a pilot program funded by the European Union, the approach is used in the Hwange-Kazuma-Chobe…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The southern African nation of Mozambique has taken its seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), beginning a two-year term to which it was elected in June alongside Ecuador, Japan, Malta and Switzerland. Mozambique joins Ghana and Gabon in serving on the council, with Kenya departing after completing its…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Many studies of climate and its relationship to conflict have been inconclusive, with mixed results on how drought or deforestation might be driving tensions that can lead to violence. A new International Monetary Fund working paper, seeking to shed light on climate-conflict dynamics specifically on the African continent, details how…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
President Joe Biden of the United States affirmed the goals of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 on Thursday, calling for the AU’s permanent membership in the G20 while reiterating his support for an African seat on the United Nations Security Council. “African voices, African leadership, African innovation all are critical…
Charlot Magayi used to sell charcoal for cooking in the Nairobi slum community of Mukuru where she grew up. Today, she’s the recipient of a 2022 Earthshot Prize for her work on climate and the promotion of clean cooking alternatives. Magayi, founder of Mukuru Clean Stoves, was one of five…
Kenyan officials have shut down a plan to ship eight native baobab trees to the nation of Georgia, instead insisting that it’s critical to protect Kenya’s own biodiversity and honor its international commitments. “The Convention on Biological Diversity has three objectives,” said Soipan Tuya, who was appointed Kenya’s Environment and…
The now-completed COP27 climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh have resulted in a deal on loss and damages to help the world’s most vulnerable nations cope with climate change impacts they already experience. The outcome of the talks, which extended past the deadline as negotiators hammered out details, were welcomed by…