On Earth Day, Africa Action Calls for U.S. to Support Sustainable Development in Africa

 

Climate Change, Niger Delta Oil Region, Grand Inga Dam in DRC Are Environmental Priorities

 

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 (Washington, DC) – In recognition of Earth Day, Africa Action today released a new resource entitled A Strategy of Extraction examining the oil industry in Africa using the case study of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. Because of poverty and geography, Africa will be disproportionately impacted by climate change. Africa Action urged leaders to prioritize sustainable, people-driven development in U.S.-Africa relations.

 

African scientists point to the extreme droughts of the past 25 years as evidence that the impacts of climate change are already being felt. If climate change continues at present rates, unpredictable fluctuations in rainfall along with more frequent and severe droughts threaten agriculture, the backbone of most African economies.

 

The threats posed by climate change are intricately linked to existing human development challenges such as food insecurity, conflict, and public health problems like the absence of clean water. In areas where rainfall increases, swampier environments with more standing water will facilitate breeding of mosquitoes and thus greater spread of malaria and other insect-born diseases. People living with HIV or AIDS will face malnutrition as food shortages occur, impeding the effectiveness of treatment regimens.

 

“Climate change is a threat to all humanity, and the United States and other wealthy nations have a duty to address the global peril that they are primarily responsible for,” said Gerald LeMelle, Executive Director of Africa Action. “U.S. development policy in Africa must address both the immediate challenge of poverty and the long-term need for renewable energy sources.”

 

Africa Action also notes the conclusion today of a two-day meeting in London of the World Energy Council to discuss financing a massive new hydroelectric dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). If built, the $80 billion Grand Inga project would be the world’s largest dam.

Proponents say it could boost Africa’s energy output by a third. Africa Action urges the international community to be cautious with this process and engage civil society leaders and community stakeholders at every opportunity. “The Grand Inga project could face all the issues of displacement and environmental impact we saw with the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China,” said Marie Clarke Brill, Deputy Director of Africa Action. “It also would mean that the DRC is taking on significant debt burden at a tumultuous political and economic moment.

The people most impacted by this project and the conditions on these loans must be at the table throughout the process.”