A commuter walking on Sandton's West Street, half of which has been closed to cars. Credit: Simphiwe Nkwali (City of Johannesburg)

Johannesburg may be a city built on the profits of gold, but Mpho Parks Tau, Mayor of South Africa’s largest city, has a green dream. His dream is to make “public transport, walking and cycling more accessible, safe, attractive and cool.”

"For our economy to grow and flourish, we need to decongest our roads and have fewer people spending time in their cars stuck in traffic," he said at the launch of Africa’s first EcoMobility World Festival on Oct.4.

During the festival, Sandton central business district–also known as Africa’s richest square mile–is partially closed to private cars and converted into an ecomobile zone, not just for a car-free day as in Paris, but the entire month. Leading by example, the dynamic 45-year old mayor encourages the city’s 4.8 million residents to go ecomobile as well and "show that is possible for the residents of Joburg to break away from the habit of using private vehicles."

Transport accounts for 31% of South Africa’s energy consumption and 16% of its CO2 emissions. A relevant share of it comes from transport in urban areas. The promotion of ecomobility, which means prioritizing walking, cycling, public transport and shared mobility, is a key part of the city’s action on climate change, air pollution and social inequalities.

The city’s forward-thinking initiative puts Johannesburg on the world map of city-driven climate change action. The opening of a new bike path between Sandton and the township of Alexandra and the “Streets Alive – Jozi W-R-1” parade underlined the link between ecomobility and social inclusion.

“Cycling should become a way of life, our municipalities must become sustainable,” said South Africa’s Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, announcing further national policies in support of ecomobility. South Africa is not only Africa’s largest economy, but also the continent’s biggest polluter, ranking among the 15 largest CO2 emitters worldwide.

“We contribute to climate change systematically through carbon emissions, and the reliance by Joburg commuters on single-passenger vehicles is an inefficiency we must confront,” Mayor Parks Tau declared in his State of the City address in May.

Johannesburg's Executive Mayor Parks Tau (with green helmet) amongst riders of bicycles and other ecomobility vehicles heading off from Sandton CBD, Adfrica's richest square mile, to the low-income township of Alexandra. Credit: Simphiwe Nkwali (City of Johannesburg)

There are plenty of ways we can reduce our impact on the environment. One of these, a really cheap one, is walking. Walking alone, with friends, with your boyfriend, with your mum, to? You can walk to work, to the pub, to the cinema, to the park wherever!

"Why not use a car?" you could ask me. I would reply with another question: Do you necessarily need to go everywhere by car? Think about it. A nice walk wakes you up when you go to work in the morning and makes you feel better when you go back home in the evening, especially if your job requires you to sit all day; it keeps you healthy, because it gives you energy, it helps you to burn calories, to prevent heart diseases and to stimulate your muscles! More benefits here.

A nice walk gives you the opportunity to enjoy the nature, to breathe and, why not, to meet new interesting people.  "What if its a rainy, cold day?" Well, you can wear your best coat and rainy boots, open your umbrella and just go!

Moreover, walking is cheaper. Better again, it prevents stress!

Driving a car means:

1. More money to spend every day in gasoline;
2. More money to spend every day in parking;
3. More money for the maintenance and insurance;
4. Contributing to pollute the air YOU breath every day;
5. More stress!

I have been working with the Connect4Climate team (a really green one!) for one year, studying with my colleagues the best ways not only to raise awareness about climate change globally, but also to engage young people in daily sustainable actions. The change needs to start from each of us, we should be the first to give an example on how to live in a greener way. I live 20 minutes away from the Connect4Climate office and I walk every day, by the rain, by the sun or by the snow, and I really enjoy it because it makes me feel better.

PS: You live far away from the place you want to reach?  Take a bus or the metro, which will allow you to get closer and then just walk!

Share your green actions and climate change stories in our Voices4Climate competition.

My country Sierra Leone, meaning Lion Mountain has a tropical climate because of its proximity to the equator. Well watered with strong annual rainy seasons, it is considered one of the most humid countries in Africa. The land is blessed by the Atlantic Ocean on the West and Southwest shores. Mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, and beautiful mountains grace the East. 

The country enjoys two separate seasons, dry and wet. When I was growing up in Koidu Town, Sierra Leone, the seasons lasted for six months each, but this has tremendously changed in the last couple of years. It was recently determined that the dry season now lasts only 3 months, from December through February. This new pattern is credited to the impact of Climate Change, which causes a subsequent change in the countrys climate. This has greatly impacted the pattern of the countrys seasons, and if urgent action is not taken by the government to mitigate its effect, a socio-economic and political price will be paid.

There is insufficient daily data available to determine the temperature extremes; there is, however, data that significantly indicates increasing trends in the frequency of hot nights. The average number of hot nights per year increased significantly between 1960 and 2003. There has been a decrease in heavy rainfall after 1960, and it had been difficult to establish if this was part of a long term trend. The rainfall record is determined by wetter and drier periods. For example, the 60s and late 70s were particularly wet, whilst the early 70s and 80s were very dry. Rainfalls in 2005 and 2006 have been have also been very low. 

The vast majority of the population in the city and provinces heavily relies on the countrys natural resources for its economic base. The country is highly dependent on mining - especially diamonds. This is mainly done in Koidu town, where I grew up, and rumor is that besides diamonds, the country is likely to become a significant iron ore, gold and oil producer.

Photo by Eduardo Arraes

The people of Sierra Leone also rely on natural resources such as land to grow food. The country is blessed with one of the most fertile lands in West Africa. As kids in a family of over thirty brothers and sisters, each one of us had his or her own little garden, we grew corn, pepper, etc. There is planter of water, but this is threatened by population growth (increase in population include displacement caused by Civil War) and the rising demand from agribusiness and deforestation causing soil erosion. There are threats to our beautiful inland valley swamps and the rich forests. One of the problems our forests are now facing is that only 4 percent of the original forest cover remains and few areas are protected. And last but not the least, fish. The country has plenty of it. Fish are our livelihoods . All of the natural resources face challenging pressures because of Climate Change.

The weather pattern in Sierra Leone, like most of Africa is experiencing a change in its climate. This change results in extreme weather events such as storms, floods and droughts with hostile impacts on the socio-economic fabric of the country. This in turn leads to disruption of agricultural activities, increase in water-borne diseases, such as malaria and cholera, and the loss of lives. 

Businesses, decision makers, and politicians should come together to discuss climate change. Full understanding of this issue is needed so proper decisions that could lessen all damages that arise from the effects of the weather could be made. Delays from inaction or placing practical policies in environmental protection and sustainable development will cause a lot of harm to the country.

With this in mind, the government needs to undertake climate change related actions very seriously and the people can assist by encouraging government to fulfill their obligations on the subject of climate change.

For three years, Muntasir Mamun worked towards one goal and one dream: Trash Maniacs. For 66 days, this 30-year-old engineer from Bangladesh rode across the USA on a tandem bike with his colleague Mohammad Ujjal, to measure and collect the amount of plastic and other waste they came across. Equipped with a smartphone application to track and count litter, they rode for 5500 km, through 40 cities and 12 states, starting in Seattle and finishing in Washington, D.C. With this journey they hoped to raise awareness on climate change and the impact of plastic and trash on the environment, for the benefit of their home country and the rest of the world. 

Why? Muntasir clarifies: "The USA have the highest consumption of plastic based products and the largest consumer market for the bottled water in the world. And Bangladesh is the most vulnerable nation in the world, due to global climate change. A large number of people are displacing their homes from one place to another, as a result of the regular environmental disasters. In Dhaka- the capital- nearly 20 million people are living in only 304km, and this number is growing every day." 

Growing up in a country where millions are affected by climate change has made Muntasir aware of the environmental problems the world is facing and how urgent it is to take a stand: "Dhaka is an example of what is going to happen in the future in many other countries: flooding, storm-surge, shoreline erosion, degradation of agricultural land, cyclones..." 

And so, even though it took him three years to save the necessary money and his visa request for the US was rejected three times, Muntasir didnt give up on his journey to raise awareness for the change the world desperately needs. For 66 days he rode his tandem bike through the country with his colleague, camping along the way and only sleeping at motels or hostels for a very few times, measuring the plastic that is not recycled and other debris they came across. After 40 days, they both ran out of money, and had to rely on friends for shelter and on donations of food and other supplies. But in the end, it paid off. Trash Maniacs won the C4C Special Prize in the Voices4Climate competition, and Muntasir was declared International Climate Leader, by The Climate Reality Project. "This prize helped me a lot in making my voice stronger about this issue".

"Everything comes along with a price. Climate change is the result of our extravagant lifestyle, and if we dont solve this problem, poverty will never be eliminated". For this reason, Muntasir is planning to ride Trash Maniacs II next summer, from Alaska to Toronto, spreading his message along the way. "I want to keep this campaign in other countries where the rate of consumption is higher than their basic needs. My plan is to reach the global scale. This is a common ground where everyone can participate and contribute without any geographical boarder. We just have to start from home: one step at a time, all together".

We now live in a world where temperatures are rising, natural resources are being depleted, and species loss is accelerating. Agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to Green House Gas (GHG) emissions; yet it is greatly affected by climate change. Sustainable agriculture is the way to go if we are to mitigate the effects of climate change. According to Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, "Sustainable Agriculture is a productive, competitive and efficient way to produce agricultural products, while at the same time protecting and improving the natural environment and social / economic conditions of local communities."

Rainforest Alliance (RA) certification is one of the certifications that promote sustainable agriculture practices. The RA works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour. I had a chance to be involved with Rainforest Alliance certification while working with a tea growing and export company in Uganda as a Standards Coordinator. We decided to pursue RA certification to improve overall sustainability in the tea estates having been alarmed by a recent report released by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture entitled "Future Climate Scenarios for Ugandas Tea Growing Areas" which revealed that climatic suitability of much of Ugandas tea-growing areas would decline significantly by 2050 due to climate change.

Rainforest Alliance certification hinges on the Sustainable Agriculture Network Standard represented by the following ten principles:

1. Management System
2. Ecosystem Conservation
3. Wildlife Protection
4. Water Conservation
5. Working Conditions for Workers
6. Occupational Health and Safety
7. Community Relations
8. Integrated Crop Management
9. Soil Conservation
10. Integrated Waste Management

A patch of forest adjacent to a tea estate

Patches of natural forests (bio-corridors) are maintained within the tea estates. This helps in crop care as forests are sources of natural predators, and helps in maintaining soil health and preventing erosion. It is also one way of conserving biodiversity and for this matter there are numerous fauna and flora on the tea estates.

With an internal control system as part of management system, documentation helps in the prediction of long-term tea production patterns. International tea buyers are also showing a preference for RA-certified teas, one of them being Lipton (a Unilever brand), which is committed to sourcing all of their tea from Rainforest Alliance certified estates by 2015.

With RA certification, the company is playing its part in making sure consumers of their tea worldwide enjoy a cup of tea without compromising the needs of future generations. 

Sustainability -- like so many things in life -- is a journey, not a destination and every company should be in it for the long haul.

In 1939 Walter Lowdermilk, one of the pioneers of resource conservation said:

"Thou shalt inherit the holy earth as a faithful steward, conserving its resources and productivity from generation to generation.

Thou shalt safeguard thy fields from soil erosion, thy living waters from drying up, thy forests from desolation and protect hills from overgrazing by the herds, that thy descendants may have abundance forever.

If any shall fail in this stewardship of the land, thy fruitful fields shall become sterile stony ground of wasting gullies, and thy descendants shall decrease and live in poverty or perish from off the face of the earth."  

You can contact Denis Twinamatsiko at denistwina@gmail.com

 

Denis Twinamatsiko

The Nigerian Medical Students Association (NiMSA) is the umbrella body of all Medical Students (over 60,000) in the thirty-eight Colleges of Medicine across all the states of the Federation and the FCT. NiMSA is also affiliated to the Federation of African Medical Students (FAMSA) and the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA). The parent body of NiMSA is the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

The Standing Committee on Environment and Population Activities (SCOEPA) is the arm of the NiMSA saddled with the arduous task of following the Environmental trend as well as the Population of the Nation.

A two day international Summit on environment with Theme Climate Change; A global menace that can be halted locally, comes up between 6th 7th of September, 2012 in University of Abuja Teaching hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja. This will gather international participants and over 500 hundred medical students across the member medical schools in the nation.

This will go a long way to:

1. Enlighten the populace on ways and means of population control.
2. Train peer educators and activists.
3. Advocate to both the Government and Policy Makers on the need to institute and implement good environmental friendly policies.
4. Work with the media in ensuring every issue on environmental and population abuse is well covered and properly addressed.

 

Contact:

ETUK, ENO-ABASI ETIM

SECRETARY, STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION ACTIVITIES,

NIGERIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS ASSOCIATION.

TEL: 08037794575

Email: scoepa.ng@gmail.com

Our colleagues from Building Energy, one of our partners for Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day, arrived in Washington this week, ready to build the first-ever solar field on the National Mall, the power source of our Alcantara Magic Garden-Connect4Climate Pavilion. Thats right. Instead of using fossil fuels to light the overhead lights and electrify our computers, this Earth Day attraction will be powered by the sun.

The 3,000 square feet solar fieldthats about as big as a basketball courtlies right by the Washington Monument, a wonderful juxtaposition of symbols that remind us both of history and the future.

The National Mall isnt the only place where Building Energy is constructing solar fields. In fact, this visionary independent power producer headquartered in Milan, Cape Town and Washington DC has a fantastic story. Theyve made their mark by expanding into international markets where renewable energy sources off the greatest potential.

In five short years, Building Energy has developed 230 photovoltaic plants around the world, in places such as Dubai, Panama, and Belgrade. Their office in Cape Town, South Africa, is particularly busy; theyve secured projects in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, and Lesotho. Theyve also constructed 30 projects in South Africa, including one in Kathu in the Northern Cape, which is now the biggest solar park on the continent. A subsidiary of Building Energy will also be constructing the first, and largest, biomass plant in Africa in Kwala Zulu Province that will be fueled by the combustion of sugar cane tops!

Building Energy’s solar panels are set to power the Alcantara Magic Garden-Connect4Climate pavilion on the National Mall. Come join us April 17 – 19! Photo by Leigh Vogel/Connect4Climate

With their visionary plans and intuition, Building Energy is an ideal partner for us at Connect4Climate. We can only imagine how productive our relationship will be in the future.

Find our more of what we are doing as we #TakeOn climate change.

[video:https://vimeo.com/106893756]

 

Connect4Climate joined the People's Climate March with Rachel Kyte, former Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change at the World Bank Group.

Days before world leaders gathered at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York, the People’s Climate March inspired more than half a million people to participate in public demonstrations. “Action, Not Words,” was the core message of marches and solidarity events worldwide, calling for leaders to take ambitious and immediate action to mitigate climate change.

166 countries

2,808 solidarity events

630,000+ social media posts about the NYC march alone

600,000+ people marching

Connect4Climate is very excited to announce our new partnership with Whos Good: The Institute for Sustainable Development, an innovative, cutting-edge web platform to provide dynamic data on Environmental, Social, and Governmental (ESG) risks for companies.

Based in Korea and the United States, Who's Good allows corporations and companies to identify and manage the Environmental, Social, and Governance issues thus enabling them to monitor risk over time by identifying trends and create customized watch-lists and tailored alert services.

Who's Good believes that because businesses are key components of any society, corporate responsibility is fundamental. Environmental, social and governance issues have an impact on economies and financial markets. Thus, ESG factors must be incorporated into financial factors and the investment process of any company. By helping companies do this, they limit future risks by minimizing harm to people and planet.

We, at Connect4Climate, are thrilled to learn more about social responsibility practices for accountable companies. We welcome this innovative entrepreneur to our partnership team and look forward to joining forces to find ways to shift to a more sustainable future!  

We at Connect4Climate are very excited to announce our new partnership with Orange Fiber, an innovative and cutting-edge textile company based in Italy that makes sustainable fabric from fruit. Thats right. Fabric from fruit.

This companys concept for textiles is just plain genius: Take the "waste" from citrus transformation - what happens to the orange peels when producers make orange juice, anyway? - and turn it into sustainable textiles. Cellulose is extracted from the leftovers that would normally be discarded after pressing an orange, then treated with a special process using nanotechnology and essential oils, and applied to fabric. Wearing products made out of Orange Fiber is like wearing a vitamin cream; its nourishing for the skin - and the effects are guaranteed for twenty washes - for now. Orange Fiber creators are working on a way to refresh the textiles with softeners.

 

The idea is the brainchild of Sicilian Adriana Santanocito, who wrote about creating a vitamin-enriched textile from citrus waste in her university dissertation while she was studying fashion design at the Afol Institute in Milan. She shared her idea with Enrica Arena, a fellow Sicilian and communications postgrad, and they began Orange Fiber. In 2013, they patented the innovation in Italy and, in 2014, received their international patent. With help from investors, they opened for business and now have two headquarters one in Catania, on the east coast of Sicily, and one in Rovereto, in northern Italy.

Santanocito and Arena view Orange Fiber as a continuation of Italian tradition. "We want to transform citrus wastecurrently valuing 700,000 tons just in Italy - into a sustainable and vitamin - enriched textile that would represent a brand new opportunity for Italian tradition in high quality textiles and fashion", they write on their website. They are also using one of the most familiar products of their homeland of Sicily - oranges! Each year more than 25 percent of Italys oranges are not even harvested because the cost of collection exceeds the sale price.

Connect4Climate is thrilled to have such innovative, socially responsible entrepreneurs on our partnership team and we look forward to joining forces to help them with their effort towards creating a more sustainable fashion industry.

Oranges being used for Orange Fiber process. Photo by Orange Fiber