[Africa] Careful natural resource use key to poverty alleviation - UNEP

from Reuters Alert Net

NAIROBI, 27 June (IRIN) - Africa's abundant natural resources hold the key to poverty eradication on the continent, but only if they are used carefully and managed creatively to improve people's living standards, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

"The economic wellbeing of nations and peoples in Africa is inextricably linked to what will happen to the sustainable use of its natural resource base," said Achim Steiner, UNEP's executive director, during the launch of 'Africa Environment Outlook-2' at the agency's headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday. "Natural resources are at the heart of economic activity," he added.

Entitled 'Our Environment, Our Wealth', the report said Africa is currently only using a fraction of its natural wealth potential, and called for 'added value' to the primary commodities exported by African states. "There is need for Africa to move from being a major exporter of primary resources to being one with a vibrant industrial and manufacturing base," it noted.

Africa produces nearly 80 percent of the world's platinum, more than 40 percent of the diamonds and more than a fifth of global gold and cobalt, yet the continent's industrial base remained insignificant, the report observed. "In a nation like Kenya, soils, coastal zones, wildlife are all assets that are at the heart of the productive economy," said Steiner. Africa had numerous tourist attractions yet it contributed only four percent to global tourism annually, the report pointed out.

The report, however, warned that an "unsustainable" use of Africa's natural resources could lead to an erosion of its wealth, forcing the continent to slide deeper into poverty. Steiner was nevertheless optimistic that African governments were showing increasing willingness to cooperate in efforts aimed at addressing global environmental issues. "The economic importance of the environment is increasingly recognised by Africa's leaders as an instrument for development, for livelihoods, for peace and for stability," he said.

Challenges to Africa's environment included land degradation as a result of the intensification of farming, pressures on fresh water sources that would come with industrial expansion, and the introduction of alien species, both animal and plant, some of which could be harmful to local life forms and the environment.

Stockpiles of obsolete and hazardous chemicals, of which Africa had 50,000 tonnes, also posed a major threat to the environment, according to the report, which said that the problem was mainly the result of moving chemical production from developed to developing countries, and lack of expertise in the safe handling of toxic substances.

With regard to genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the report acknowledged that the crops could help combat hunger in the continent, but added that there were worries that such plants were likely to be seen as "silver bullets", thus deflecting attention from more fundamental issues of hunger: such as skewed food distribution systems, lack of access by the poor to arable land and environmental mismanagement.

There was also concern that some African countries lacked the scientific, legal, risk assessment and administrative capacity to deal with the new generation of crops. UNEP had undertaken a multi-million dollar project with funding from the Global Environment Facility to help 100 developing countries, including 30 African states, to build the necessary skills and introduce laws that would enable them to decide in favour or against GMOs, according to the report.

The full report is available at: www.unep.org