Category Archives: Africa

The Vanishing Aquifers in MENA: An Overview

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Aquifers are of tremendous importance for the MENA as world’s most water-stressed countries are located in the region, including Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Lebanon and Yemen. However, aquifers in MENA are coming under increasing strain and are in real danger of extinction. Eight aquifers systems, including those in MENA, are categorized as ‘over stressed’ aquifers with hardly any natural recharge to offset the water consumed. Aquifers in MENA Aquifers stretched beneath Saudi Arabia and Yemen ranks first among ‘overstressed’ aquifers followed by Indus Basin of northwestern India-Pakistan and then by Murzuk-Djado Basin in North Africa. The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer in … Continue reading →

Animal Waste Management in Africa: Perspectives

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Livestock and poultry production are among the main economic activities in rural as well as urban areas of African countries. The livestock sector, in particular sheep, goats and camels, plays an important role in the national economy of African countries. In addition, the region has witnessed very rapid growth in the poultry sector. The livestock industry and poultry industry, however, are contributing heavily to greenhouse gas emissions and waste crisis in Africa due to the absence of a sustainable animal waste management system. Most of the manure is collected in lagoons or left to decompose in the open which presents … Continue reading →

Starvation in Poor Countries – A Pandemic Deadlier than Covid-19

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The world has been propelled on a fast track journey of dealing with Covid-19 across the developed world where the pandemic has created chaos and mayhem of astounding proportions. The faint light that gave hope was the fact that this was happening in the developed regions of the globe where people do have access to health services, adequate housing, well stocked warehouses, communications networks, financial assets and funds (even if diminishing under economic stress), and so forth. Now Covid-19 has reached into the areas which the learned persons write of as informal settlements. The Onslaught on Vulnerable Masses Let us … Continue reading →

Is Lockdown a Viable Option to Control the Coronavirus in Africa?

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The African nations have had plenty of recent infectious disease outbreaks such as HIV and Ebola to learn ways of tackling an epidemic. Therefore, they might be better equipped in mental fortitude to handle the current coronavirus crisis. One significant factor that the African people are aware of is that the communities must be actively involved in responding to the virus outbreak. Some nuggets of truth already learnt from previous experience with infectious diseases is that the outbreaks can be released differently in different communities and environments. This is in part due to the social conditions of the people concerned. … Continue reading →

New and Larger Wave of Locusts Threaten East Africa and Beyond

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Before the current pandemic that the world is battling, East Africa and neighbouring regions of the globe experienced the biggest locust infestation in the past 70 years. That event was devastating. Then the Covid-19 pandemic started to move across the globe. And just as a viral plague can resurface if adequate measures are not taken and sustained for a long enough period of time to interrupt the spread of the virus, the locusts have returned. The locust plague has reappeared in East Africa and is said to be 20 times the strength of the earlier infestations. The Fight for Food … Continue reading →

Cleantech Investment by AfDB

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The African Development Bank, through its public and private sector departments, is currently implementing several clean energy projects and programs to address these priorities particularly in the energy and forestry sectors. The Bank’s energy portfolio currently stands at about USD2 billion. The AfDB provides two lending windows. The first is a public window, with mostly concessional funds available to governments. The second is a private window, which offers debt and equity on commercial terms.  The World Bank Group and the African Development Bank are in the process of applying to the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) Trust Fund Committee for use … Continue reading →

Desert Locusts Are Swarming With Greater Ferocity

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The latest outbreak of locusts over eastern Africa has been ongoing since the beginning of this year. It is considered by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the UN as the worst outbreak of locusts in 70 years. The threat of the desert locust is extreme urgent as it’s a major threat to the food security in the region. Bearing in mind, that this region is extremely vulnerable to the predominant subsistence lifestyle. It also appears that new breeding may have occurred in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia which will intensify the infestation. The question that are foremost in minds … Continue reading →

Can Atmospheric Water Generators Resolve Egypt’s Water Crisis?

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Egypt faces an imminent water crisis which could jeopardize the country’s stability and regional dominance. Egypt is currently below the United Nations threshold of water poverty. The current water shortage in Egypt is 13.5 Billion Cubic Meters per year which is expected to continuously increase. According to hydrologists, a country is considered to be facing water scarcity if supplies drop below 1,000 cubic meters per person annually. Egyptian officials state there are currently around 570 cubic meters (150,000 gallons) of water available per person per year. This figure is expected to drop further to 500 cubic meters by 2025. The … Continue reading →

Solar Energy in Morocco

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Morocco, being the largest energy importer in North Africa, is making concerted efforts to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels. Renewable energy is an attractive proposition as Morocco has almost complete dependence on imported energy carriers. Morocco is already spending over USD 3billion a year on fuel and electricity imports and is experiencing power demand growth of 6.5 per cent a year. The National Energy and Energy Efficiency Plan was launched in 2008 which aims to develop renewable energy to meet 15 percent of the country’s energy demand and to increase the use of energy-saving methods.  According to the Moroccan Ministry … Continue reading →

Why Mediterranean Countries are Safest Bet to Solve Energy Crisis in Europe

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Europe has been desperately trying to find alternative sources of energy to replace Russian gas. American Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) imports used today, is only a temporary solution and not a long-term one, due to its high costs and transport limitations. However, Algeria, Israel, Egypt, and possibly other transit nations like Libya and Turkey in the future can all contribute significantly to the continent’s increased energy demands. In the Eastern Mediterranean significant amounts of natural gas have recently been discovered recently and could increase gas collaborations with Europe. Algeria increased its pipeline supplies to Europe by over 10% on available … Continue reading →

African Development Bank and Renewable Energy

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Africa has huge renewable energy potential with some of the world’s largest concentration of alternative energy resources in the form of solar, wind, hydro, and energy. Overall, 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are in the top-33 countries worldwide with combined reserves of solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy far exceeding annual consumption. Most of the sub-Saharan countries receive solar radiation in the range of 6-8 kWh/m2/day, which counts among the highest amounts of solar radiation in the world. Until now, only a small fraction of Africa’s vast renewable energy potential has been tapped.  The renewable energy resources have the potential … Continue reading →

Renewable Energy in Morocco

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Morocco, being one of largest energy importer in MENA, is making concerted efforts to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels. Renewable energy is an attractive proposition as Morocco has almost complete dependence on imported energy carriers. In 2012, Morocco spent around US$10 billion on all energy imports (crude oil and oil products, coal, natural gas and electricity). Annual electricity consumption in Morocco was 33.5 TWh in 2014, and is steadily increasing at a rate of around 7 percent each year.  The major sources of alternative energy in Morocco are solar and wind. Wind energy potential is excellent in vast parts in the northern … Continue reading →