The concept of 'the environment' really took hold in Africa in the 1990s. It came to the fore especially in the wake of the 'Earth Summit' in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was a global event that gradually made the consideration of environmental issues in development policies a global leitmotif. In Africa, the evolution of the concept of environmental protection will also be marked by the continent's vulnerability to the effects of climate change.
The current understanding of environmental protection in Africa is not far removed from that in the rest of the world. The concept of environment in Africa has evolved rapidly in response to current climate challenges. The requirements of the past have been reinforced by new obligations. Here, protecting the environment involves approaches, actors and means identical to those used in the West or in Asia: ecotourism, agro-ecology, circular economy, green economy, green energy, energy efficiency, sustainable city, everything is there. Today, environmental protection in Africa includes issues of biological diversity, preservation of natural resources, and means of reducing and adapting to climate change.
Combating climate change
Climate change mitigation and adaptation is one of the latest approaches to environmental protection around the world. As global warming is a phenomenon with global consequences, world leaders have understood the need to act together. This is what the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Climate Convention, launched in 1995 in Berlin, Germany, is all about. The 2015 COP 21 calls on its signatory members to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to minimise the human impact on climate change. It sets quantified targets for each country or region for greenhouse gas emissions and the corresponding reductions to be achieved. This quantified commitment is achieved through a series of political measures and commitments, which are reviewed and updated at the annual meetings of the signatory countries to the climate convention, which reached 197 countries in 2018.
Africa is particularly challenged in this battle. In addition to preserving forests (especially the Congo Basin forest, the second largest forest in the world after the Amazon forest) to regulate the climate, Africa must adapt to climate change and cope with natural disasters, despite limited financial means. Consisting mainly of developing countries, the continent is also the first victim of climate disruption, notably because of the aggravation of water stress in the north and south of Africa. But there are other consequences that particularly affect Africa. In a study published in January 2021, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Germanwatch notes that Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Sudan and Niger are among the ten countries in the world most affected by climate change. According to the same source, Mozambique loses about 362 million euros a year due to flooding caused by cyclones. Zimbabwe was hit hard by Cyclone Idai in 2019 and has estimated the cost of repairing the damage at €900 million. Read more