Environment & Energy
Nigeria has a landmass of almost one million square kilometres and a population of more than 150 million. The world’s sixth biggest oil producer, it builds observation satellites, boasts a large number of universities and research centres, and is second in global statistics for the number of fiction films made each year.
The country’s economy is currently in the midst of the boom, despite experiencing a recent wobble. A...
You mention Iceland? Images of the financial crash and the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull immediately come to mind.
Two “crises” that Iceland survived without too much difficulty. Certainly the Icelanders will be paying for a long time to come for the mistakes of their financiers – these ‘utrasarvikingar’ or modern-day Vikings blinded by easy profit – and nobody has forgotten the terrible eruptions of the...
The hot underground rocks in East Africa’s Rift Valley are thought to be a promising solution for energy production. The first results were recorded in Kenya, under the auspices of the United Nations and the expertise of the Icelanders.
In Africa, high-temperature geothermal resources – used to generate electricity – are usually found in areas of tectonic and volcanic activity, particularly in the East African Rift area. The...
Tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa has escaped being bruised by the global economic downturn, explains Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the Madrid-based World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), a United Nations agency. His organisation, which has 154 country members and over 400 affiliates, promotes the development of sustainable and universally accessible tourism, particularly in developing countries.
The Courier: How do you account for the...
This Autumn will see the drafting by the European Union (EU) of a Communication on the Horn of Africa, including Somalia. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, is also due in the region in September. Ahead of both, Somali Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working in different parts of the country with EU partners assess their country’s humanitarian and development needs.
New...
Our special issue tracks the management in Haiti of a major crisis caused by the earthquake a year ago, and the lessons the international community can draw from it. These lessons came all too quickly for the international community when, on 11 March, the earthquake/tsunami combination causing catastrophic devastation hit Japan, one of the most well-protected and well-prepared countries in the world.
In the Japanese cities of Sendai and...
As we went to press, the latest toll of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami of 11 March 2011 in north-east Japan was between an estimated 18-24,000 people reported either dead or missing with many more made homeless. It has put the vulnerability of the area in the Pacific known as the ‘Ring of Fire’ firmly in the spotlight. This 40,000km2 area tracing the Pacific Rim in a horseshoe-shaped fashion is the most seismically active...
The populations of West Africa are among the most exposed in the world to desert dust. Yet interest in scientific research into this particular form of pollution is virtually nil. A team from Benin and Europe is now appealing for international institutions to pay more attention to the problem.
There is a high probability that the health of African populations is very seriously affected by Saharan dust that, in certain seasons, rises to an...
A new framework for Pacific-EU cooperation is expected to emerge in the coming year. It will target adaptation to climate change but also aims at “high-impact” development aid, announced EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, during his recent visit to the region.
“This will mean cementing our global partnership on climate change, speaking with one voice in the international debate and encouraging other...
Last December the European Union granted financing of €30M to support phase five of the Programme for Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa (ECOFAC).
The financing agreement, signed on 17 December in Libreville (Gabon), links the EU and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECOCAS). The budget, allocated by the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), is part of the renewal effort under the programme for the conservation and...
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