Si vous souhaitez déplacer des montagnes demain, vous devez commencer par soulever des pierres aujourd’hui », dit un proverbe africain, énonçant ainsi des solutions aux inégalités socioéconomiques sur le continent.

Ouoique lente, la ratification du nouvel Accord africain sur la Zone de libre-échange continentale (ZLEC) se poursuit. Il s’agit du plus important accord de libreéchange (comptant le plus grand nombre de pays membres) depuis la création de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce.

Ratifications are moving ahead, if slowly, on the newly signed African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)—the world’s largest free trade agreement (with the most member countries) since the founding of the World Trade Organization.

“If you wish to move mountains tomorrow, you must start by lifting stones today”—so goes an African proverb, crystallising the solutions to the continent’s socioeconomic inequalities.

En décembre 2015, 195 pays ont signé l’Accord de Paris sur le changement climatique. Depuis, plusieurs pays d’Afrique ont entrepris des activités favorisant la résistance au changement climatique grâce auxquelles il leur sera plus facile d’amortir les effets de ce changement et de s’y adapter.

Since December 2015, when 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement on climate change, several countries in Africa have begun implementing climate resilience activities that will allow them to better absorb and adapt to harsh climatic changes.

Africa's development and climate change experts are confident that the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change that was unanimously adopted last December in Paris will be a win for the continent. At the Paris summit, 195 countries agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and enhance adaptation in a way that will keep global temperature increase to "well below 2° C" and, more optimistically, to attempt to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Selon un célèbre proverbe africain, « Quand la musique change, il en va de même de la danse. » Cet adage illustre bien la situation actuelle du continent face aux opportunités qui se présentent à lui et aux défis qu’il doit affronter en matière de développement et de gouvernance en ce 21è siècle.

According to a famous African proverb, “When the music changes, so does the dance.” This adage illustrates the continent’s current position amidst opportunities for, and challenges to, development and governance as the 21st century unfolds.

There is a growing concern that climate variability and change, combined with other environmental, social and political pressures, may overwhelm resilience of pastoral systems if local adaptation strategies are not strengthened. Understanding pastoralists' perception of and response to climatic change is necessary for sustainable adaptation strategies. Systematic and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 302 households in Turkana County of northwestern Kenya. Descriptive statistics and Heckman probit model were used to analyse the data obtained from the household's interviews. The results show that majority of households' perceive rise in temperatures and rainfall variability over the past three decades. Pastoralists' perception of climate change was significantly (p<.05) associated with gender of the household head, livestock ownership, herd size and access to extension services. Heckman's sample selectivity probit model revealed that factors influencing pastoralist's choices of climate change adaptation include gender and education level of the household head, household size, wealth in terms of livestock ownership, distance to markets, access to credit and extension services. We conclude that as a prerequisite for long-term commitment to household's climate resilience, policies and programmes should aim at improving these factors.

Les specialistes africains du developpement et des changements climatiques ne doutent pas que l’accord historique de Paris sur le changement climatique adopte unanimement en decembre dernier a Paris sera avantageux pour le continent. Lors du sommet de Paris, 195 pays ont convenu de reduire les emissions de gaz a effet de serre et d’ameliorer l’adaptation de maniere a maintenir l’augmentation de la temperature mondiale « bien en dessous de 2° C » et, de facon plus optimiste, de tenter de la limiter a 1,5 degre Celsius.

This study highlights drought characteristics and the many responses to drought stresses employed by Turkana pastoralists of northwestern Kenya. Multiple data sources, including socioeconomic interviews with 302 households, focus group discussions, and informal interviews with pastoralists were used to capture various aspects of drought and drought adaptation and coping practices. Standardized precipitation index derived from long-term rainfall data obtained from the Kenya Meteorological Service was used to quantify different degrees of drought intensity between 1950 and 2012. Results revealed that extreme drought events were increasingly frequent, and have impacted negatively on pastoral livelihoods. In order to adapt to or cope with climatic anomalies, households are using a variety of strategies. In addition to the traditional short-term coping mechanisms, the long-term adaptation strategies used include diversification of livelihood sources; livestock mobility to track forage and water resources; diversification of herd composition to benefit from the varied drought and disease tolerance, as well as fecundity of diverse livestock species; and sending children to school for formal education as a long term investment expected to pay back through income from employment. Policies and development interventions that reduce risks, diminish livelihood constraints, and expand opportunities for increased household resilience to drought are critical complements to the existing pastoral strategies.

The “Africa rising” cliche has generated a lot of views across the world. As the saying goes, to every coin there are always two sides, and Africa's economic growth and boom typify this idiomatic e...

There is a growing concern that climate variability and change, combined with other environmental, social and political pressures, may overwhelm resilience of pastoral systems if local adaptation strategies are not strengthened. Understanding pastoralists’ perception of and response to climatic change is necessary for sustainable adaptation strategies. Systematic and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 302 households in Turkana County of northwestern Kenya. Descriptive statistics and Heckman probit model were used to analyse the data obtained from the household's interviews. The results show that majority of households’ perceive rise in temperatures and rainfall variability over the past three decades. Pastoralists’ perception of climate change was significantly (p<.05) associated with gender of the household head, livestock ownership, herd size and access to extension services. Heckman's sample selectivity probit model revealed that factors influencing pastoralist's choices of climate change adaptation include gender and education level of the household head, household size, wealth in terms of livestock ownership, distance to markets, access to credit and extension services. We conclude that as a prerequisite for long-term commitment to household's climate resilience, policies and programmes should aim at improving these factors.

Africa's Soil: The Next New Oil Under a Changed Climate? Richard Munang, Robert Mgendi & Innocent Nchu a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Africa Regional Climate Change Programme Coordinator b Ecosystem-based Adaptation Programme Officer with the UNEP's Regional Office for Africa Climate Change Programme c UNEP's Regional Office for Africa Climate Change Programme Published online: 20 Dec 2015.

Les effets devastateurs des changements climatiques se font deja ressentir sur toute la planete, y compris en Afrique. La famine provoquee par la secheresse en 2011 dans la Corne de l’Afrique a touche plus de 10 millions de personnes, cause 257 000 deces et coute plus de 1 milliard de dollars de dommages. Le recent rapport intitule Africa Adaptation Gap publie par le Programme des Nations Unies pour l’environnement sur le fosse en matiere d’adaptation en Afrique avertit que les changements climatiques pourraient reduire le rendement total des cultures en Afrique subsaharienne jusqu’a hauteur de 20 % d’ici a 2070. Pire encore, ils pourraient commencer a nuire au potentiel commercial de l’Afrique. C’est ainsi qu’une elevation de 70 centimetres du niveau de la mer projetee en Tanzanie d’ici a 2070 pourrait devaster la ville portuaire de Dar es Salaam, la ville la plus grande et la plus riche du pays et un acteur majeur des echanges en Afrique de l’Est. Ce scenario couterait au pays environ 10 milliards de dollars de dommages materiels et pertes liees. Les ecologistes previennent que l’elevation du niveau de la mer pourrait provoquer de graves inondations, submerger les terres et detruire des ecosystemes cotiers.

Climate change comes with never-before-experienced impacts. For example, crop yields and growing seasons will decrease even as changing rain patterns will worsen people's access to water. Yet Africa's population is projected to reach 2 billion in less than 37 years, and in 86 years three out of every four people added to the planet will be African.