Analysis: Global Politics on the Environment and Climate Change

30 Sep 2007                         
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          Which way forward for Gambia and other African countries?
   
  By: - Abdoukarim Sanneh, Postgraduate Student, University of Salford, Manchester
   
  Gambia is threatened by acute environmental hazards. In this balanced piece of exposition, Abdoukarim Sanneh features some of past initiatives to curb the menace. He blames it on the side of our policy makers and relevant institutions for failing to combat the problem once and for ever. His suggestions are fruitful. 
   
   In 21st century political philosophy and development debate is now focusing on the green house gas effects, the environment and climate change. Today thematic issues of human development do not only centre on egalitarian values of freedom and embracing civil liberty, democracy and human rights but also environmental justice and issues of climate politics. Environment and development is an important ingredient to end extreme poverty in the world’s most desperate nations most affected of them in Africa where Gambia is situated. Around the world, billions of people do not have access to safe drinking water when they need it most. Climate change is a reality and highly felt by exacerbating environmental crisis such as desertification, famine, hunger and food insecurity, energy crisis, deforestation and loss of biological diversity, coastal erosion etc. These ecological crises are undermining much of human efforts, impeding development for a pathway to sustainable livelihood
 initiatives in many developing countries.
   
  The transition of contemporary debate in the discipline of politic from narrow confine areas of humanity into other areas of physical and life sciences shows how the crisis of human civilization is not only human right violations and lack of democracy for example in today’s Gambia of Yahya Jammeh and Zimbabwe of Robert Mugabe but also ecological crisis putting millions of our people to leave on the edge. According to the United Nations living planet index, the ecological footprints which measures the renewable natural resources we exploit-was 2.5 times larger in this century than it was in 1961.
   
  Climate change is a threat to fragile peace in many countries. We view civil conflicts in Africa narrowly as it relates areas of governance while failing to look into other linkages such as natural common manifests (land, water, air, atmosphere) The geography of hunger and famine in Africa, hydro-political of Israel and Palestinian conflict and the war for control of natural resources in Latin America and Africa are important environmental political issues affecting global peace and stability. 
   
  Climate change caused by emission of green house gases is a global issue. The way forward to address this menace confronting our every day struggle for survival requires political will at both national and international levels. This debate has its genesis at international environmental conventions of Rio De Generio Earth summit in 1992. It focuses on such topical issues on sustainable development referred to as Agenda 21, the convention on biodiversity, the convention on desertification and the convention on climate change. All of these bear important turning point in the history of environmental politics and development cooperation between developed and developing countries. The encroaching effects of desertification threatening food production, erosion of biological resource causing extinction of biological species of plant and animals and pollution of the atmosphere are all anthropogenic or human induced factors requiring international development attention and
 regulation to safe our vulnerable planet. 
   
  Every country on this planet contributes its share in the emission of green house gases into the atmosphere be it either major or minor carbon foot print. Even with the fact that most of the developed economies are major contributors of the global carbon footprints, there is frank political debate over alternative policies and also scientific research into areas of environmental technologies to reduce the dependency of their economies into fossil fuel.
   
  The Gambia and many African Countries are experiencing impact of climate change while there is lack of political will within the leadership to strengthen local democracy and empower the people socially and politically to influence both local and national decisions on the global environment. Autocratic nature of many regimes and lack of democracy in our continent is a contributing factor. Africa’s despots fear that power to the people is a way forward for political change unsuitable to political domination by the few at the top. 
   
  The fundamental to Agenda 21is the sustainable development blue print of the 21st century emphasises for popular participation in local development through building local democracy and decentralisation. It is the only means for local people to fight for environmental justice by influencing decision making processes. For example in United Kingdom, political parties’ control of local government authorities has helped implementation of Agenda 21 through strengthening of democracy and participatory decision making on local issues. Every United Kingdom resident pays council tax to your local government authorities. The local council whether it is Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Conservative Party or Scottish National party uses that tax to finance care for elderly, health, local transport, environment, education, housing etc.
   
  With increasing trend of poverty, environmental degradation and unsustainable demographic growth in our continent, environmental issues are hardly mentioned in the struggle for restoration of democracies in our continent. In many parts of Africa including Gambia, ruling and opposition party manifestos hardly feature issues pertaining to the green house effects and the environment. This is particularly relevant in matters confronting our continent from energy crisis, over fishing, water crisis, solid waste disposal etc. Few years ago, I read an abstract of a scientific literature on the pattern of land use in the Gambia by Dr Malanding Jaiteh of Columbia University. Most of the data in that scientific paper was linked with satellite imaging and geographical information system about change of land-use pattern and increasing urbanisation within Greater Banjul area especially in Western Division. The research indicates how growth of our population is affecting the pattern of
 land-use planning and rapid urbanisation and thus putting increasing pressure on degradation of biodiversity because of lack of policy intervention and the political will to act so as to designate sustainable land use planning.
   
  The major source of emission of green house gases in the Gambia is the change of land use, the fast trend of deforestation caused by bush fire, forest cleaning, fuel wood gathering, uncontrolled grazing of livestock etc. As more and more of country’s forest cover is cut down to meet the demand of domestic energy for cooking, the forestry sector becomes the major constitute of the highest emitter of green house gases. For many years now, Gambia is still at infant stage, towards transforming domestic energy needs to alternative technologies such as solar cooking stoves or butane gas. Women folks are perpetually exposed to such unhealthy conditions as pollution due to fuel wood burning for only putting meal on the table.
   
  There are lot of alternatives to meet increasing energy demands of the country. The APRC government acutely deficit in ideas and policy, cannot come up with even realistic energy policy in line with contemporary realities of climate change. There are studies conducted on the prospects of building a hydropower station. To this effect an international agreement was signed between Gambia, Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Guinea Conakry leading to formation of Dakar-based Organisation of the Gambia River Basin Organisation (OMVG). First phase of the feasibility study commissioned by Michigan State University stated the possibility a dam project in Senegal that can meet the energy needs all the member states. It also included availability of more land in the Gambia for irrigation in rice production. The study also identified other environmental and health impacts for mitigation during the process of the project implementation.
   
  With all the efforts put in place for development of the Gambia River Basin, Cassamance conflict has created fragile relation between Gambia and Senegal, with Guinea Conakry engulfed by a narrow minded corrupt and brutal octogenarian dictator while Guinea Bissau is always eroding into unending political instability. Due to these political quagmires in our sub-region no meaningful move has taken place in the management and development of Gambia River Basin even with the availability of recent funding from African Development Bank.
   
  Apart from hydropower, Gambia has great potential for onshore and offshore wind energy. Pilot project of small scale wind power through European Development Fund was initiated on trial in coastal villages of Brufut, Tanji, Sanyang and Gunjur. It was able to provide the fishing centres with not only electricity but also safe drinking water.
   
  Mountain of both biodegradable and non biodegradable solid waste from Greater Banjul area which used to be openly dumped in Bakoteh Land Field site contain lot of methane that can be used as source of energy or the solid waste  can be incinerated to generate energy which can be transformed into electricity.
   
  Another alternative to reduce our country’s dependence on fossil fuel electricity generators is the sewage waste in Banjul which ends up as untreated waste pump in the mangrove aquifers in Lasso wharf in Banjul – a rich breeding ground for fish species. Modern sewage treatment techniques use both aerobic and anaerobic Bacteria to reduce biological oxygen demand of the waste water while the raw sludge is collected into the tank in which the methane containing in the sludge is burnt to generate electricity. These are the types of untapped environmental friendly projects to meet sustainable energy needs of our country.
   
  Today most of the house sewage waste water collected in both Banjul and Kanifing municipality is released into water courses as untreated waste. Most of it contains heavy metal such as zinc, mercury and other xenobiotic or man made substance. These substances when consumed by fish species can accumulate into our food chain become toxic and thus can affect our reproductive system.
   
  Gambia needs waste management policy directed towards re-use, recycle and regeneration to meet its energy requirements than open space dumping that has serious environmental impact for generations to come. Our country needs sustainable municipal waste management strategies and policy frameworks. A healthy environment improves the living condition of people and increases life expectancy.


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