All posts by CPNN Coordinator

About CPNN Coordinator

Dr David Adams is the coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, proclaimed for the Year 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly.

France : War is never the solution. Yes to a negotiated political solution.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An appeal signed by the organizations mentioned below and available on the website of FSU (translation by CPNN)

Tensions between the United States and Russia – two nuclear powers – are reaching alarming proportions with massive Russian troop movements on the borders of Ukraine on the one hand and arms deliveries and sending of troops by NATO in neighboring countries on the other hand. This policy of confrontation can only produce losers.

We are not immune to provocations that would lead to a major war.

Ukraine is paying a heavy economic and human price due to nationalist hostilities fueled internationally. These tensions can have very negative consequences for all the peoples of Europe well beyond the conflict zone, for example the rise in gas prices…

We must choose the path of dialogue and peace. There are diplomatic solutions to the crisis.

We denounce the geopolitical games at work both on the part of the Russian Federation, the European Union, NATO and others…

We call on all political leaders to stop following military logic and to respect the peoples’ aspiration for peace.

(Continued in right column)

(Click here for the French version of this article.)

Questions related to this article:
 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

How can the peace movement become stronger and more effective?

(Continued from left column)

All peoples without exception – who are faced with a global crisis (climate, social health, etc.) affecting the poorest, the most fragile – have nothing to gain from a new war!

The priorities for the peoples and the future of humanity are called: Peace, climate, social justice, realization of human rights, disarmament!

We demand:

Immediate negotiations for de-escalation;

Stopping threats, NATO and Russian troop concentrations and arms deliveries to all parties;

A ceasefire in Ukraine and the implementation of existing agreements;

That the United Nations be the privileged framework for developing political and diplomatic solutions to settle the Ukrainian question.

On these bases, we call for the widest possible mobilizations from February 12, 2022.

Initial signatories : Le Mouvement de la Paix, FSU, CGT, Enseignants Pour la Paix (EPP), PUGWASH- France, AFCDRP (Association française des communes départements et régions pour la Paix), Appel des Cent Bagnolet, ACCA (Agir contre le colonialisme aujourd’hui), PCF, République et Socialisme, Collectif citoyen pour la paix en Ukraine, Conseil de coordination du Forum des Russes de France, APCV (Association de promotion des cultures du voyage), Parti pour la laïcité et la démocratie en Algérie (PLD), IDRP (Institut de Recherche pour la Paix), Vrede (Mouvement Belge pour la Paix), Union des fédérations de pionniers de France, Abolition des armes nucléaires – Maison de vigilance, Université Européenne de la Paix (UEP), Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples (MRAP), Alerte Otan (Belgique), Pôle de renaissance communiste en France (PRCF), Mouvement pour une Alternative Non Violente (MAN), France Amérique Latine (FAL), La Voix Lycéenne, AFPS Paris-Sud, Collectif Faty KOUMBA (Association des Libertés, Droits de l’Homme et non-violence), FNDIRP44, Mouvement National de Lutte pour l’Environnement (MNLE),ATTAC ,Fondation Copernic

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe

Non-violence in Africa and the actuality of peace

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Ester Masso Guijarro in The Conversation (translation by CPNN and republished under a Creative Commons license)

Did you know that ubuntu is much more than free software? Even more: the name of the famous system, like so many other things, like the human being itself, has its roots in Africa.

The growing war conflicts associated with globalization constitute a problem of maximum relevance in Africa. Along with the direct consequences of badly done decolonizations, new and old forms of conflict turn many parts of the continent into recurrent scenes of wars and massacres, words that also tend to occupy the usual news and contribute, once again, to the disastrous stereotype of inherently troubled and violent, backward non-modern, inexplicably “primitive” Africa.


Portrait of Sudanese women that is part of the exhibition ‘In Their Hands: Women Taking Charge of Peace’. UN Women / Flickr , CC BY-NC-ND

This reflection proposes to distance ourselves from the above and starting as a theoretical framework of studies on peace, to bring up African experiences that show their great dynamism in precisely the opposite of the various forms of violence: the broad and necessary field of peace. conflict resolution that heal deep social and human wounds through non-violence.

The culture of peace in Africa

The “International Day of Peace” (on September 21 since 2001, although recognized since 1981) and the “International Day of Non-Violence” (since 2007, on October 2, on the anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi) are two different days. Two different things? Is it just a matter of purely dialectical interest that “non-violence” and “peace” are two different concepts – although obviously very related and converging–? Does it matter only to the social scientists, in their intellectua dens – remote and often useless –, or does the United Nations also care, means that it generates a social relevance and that it can matter to ordinary people?

The specific concept of “non-violence” refers to a whole field of studies, applications and interventions on what we now call “culture of peace”, as a necessary perspective to work on alternative ways of resolving conflicts in the globalized world.

On the other hand, speaking of non-violence in Africa means drawing attention to precisely what is often concealed in the most generalized public discourse on the continent: its potential for peaceful conflict resolution anchored in numerous traditions, values ​​and social practices. Let us examine this, instead of its alleged (oft-reported) violent potential.

Thus, we find many traditional African practices that serve for peace, thus distancing ourselves from the old dichotomy between tradition and contemporaneity. As much as many of these values ​​or practices have traditional roots, the fact is that they constitute a reality today.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

Question related to this article:
 
Can we learn from the conflict resolution methods of pre-colonial Africa?

(continued from left column)

The South African example

In recent decades, the examples of reconciling justice (not punitive) after South African apartheid and after the Rwandan genocide (with the gacaca transitional justice) have become essential paradigms. We will focus here only on the first.

Fast forward to April 15, 1996, the day the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission began the first public hearings on human rights violations committed during the apartheid era. Its main goal was to foster national unity and reconciliation, or what the South African people call ubuntu. As Mandela stated: “Let us build a national unity. We may not be able to forget, but we can forgive.” In order to instill that spirit, the South African people agreed to look into the past, because in order to look forward they had to know what came before.

The Commission devoted itself to examining the crimes committed over a period of thirty-three years with three primary objectives: to investigate the crimes, to offer compensation to some of the victims, and to grant amnesty to some of the offenders in exchange for truthful confessions. The process gave priority to rehabilitation, that is, it encouraged the community to welcome those who returned to it after confessing their crimes and showing remorse. This was a pure expression of the ubuntu spirit, which takes into account the totality of the humanity of the persons and their relationship with the community, instead of considering only the acts of transgression of the law committed by the individual.

The ubuntu justice constitutes an outstanding example of so many African cultural heritages that should be considered for their enormous potential for a culture of peace and non-violence, for their possibilities in terms of resilience and social cohesion; African practices and epistemologies that can constitute alternatives of non-violent citizen construction, of great democratic quality.

Conclusions

Ubuntu is surely one of the most paradigmatic examples, even cinematographic, of the matter that concerns us here. However, we could cite so many other practices of non-violence, in the African past and present, that would equally inspire us: the classical Sufi pacifist orientation at the origins of the Muriddiya tariqa in French-colonized Senegal, the Anuak Council of Justice in Gambella (Ethiopia), the ecofeminist movement of the “tree woman” Wangari Muta Maathai in Kenya or even the Senegalese movement Y’en a Marre, created in 2011 by Senegalese rappers and journalists, as non-violent examples of citizen intervention with great transformative power in politics.

In this reflection I distance myself, once again, from the diffusion of the infamous Africa shown by the media, violent and conflictive, devoid of its own resources to solve problems that are often externally generated by international competition.

How many other “Africas” are there that the media does not deal with at all, because good news is not news, it does not sell newspapers or, put more academically, socially adaptive and sustainable strategies do not represent an attraction for the mass media.

Without ever renouncing the necessary denunciation of the deep evils that the black continent is seeing aggravated by globalization, let us also in the West draw on its vast potentials and practices to inspire us in non-violent, just and equitable alternatives for collective life in the contemporary world.

Despite what the media tries to tell us, peace is in fashion in Africa and, luckily, it also has powerful traditions behind it that endorse, reinvent and vindicate it.

___________

Ester Masso Guijarro is Professor of Moral Philosophy and member of the FiloLab is Unit of Excellence, University of Granada

The Conversation

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Niger: Mega concert for peace and social cohesion organized by the public and private press of Dosso

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from ANP Agence Nigérienne de Presse

The collective of public and private media of Dosso organized, on Saturday February 05, a mega concert for the culture of peace and social cohesion in Niger and particularly in Dosso.

The concert was animated by several local artists. To give this event a special cachet, the public and private press collective of Dosso called on the humorist artist, ambassador of peace in Africa, torchbearer of the joking relationship, Adoulaye Segda, better known by his artist name Djingri Lompo and the king of the arenas, holder of the national saber Kadri Abdou dit Issaka Issaka.

(Editor’s note: The joking relationship is an ancient pre-colonial peacemaking tradition in this part of Africa.)

At the call of these two giants of culture and sport in Niger, the Salma Dan Rani wrestling arena which hosted the demonstrations was sold out. Already at noon, the arena was packed, Dosso was emptied of its population in favor of the arena: no one wants to be told about the thrilling fight between the ambassador of peace and the king of the arenas because Djingri Lompo was declared the winner even before the start of the competition.

After a fatiyah followed by the performance of the national anthem of Niger, local artists from Dosso presented their performances. The long-awaited moment was the entry into the arena of the ambassador of peace Djingri Lompo on the back of a donkey to the loud applause of the youth who consider him their idol: security struggled to contain the public.

The ceremony was enhanced by the presence of administrative authorities, regional executives and many guests.

(article continued in right column)

(Click here for the French version of this article)

Question related to this article:

 

Can festivals help create peace at the community level?

(article continued from left column)

Delivering his speech on this occasion, the president of the collective of the public and private press, Mr. Moussa Hamani thanked the population of Dosso for “this great mobilization which demonstrates its deep attachment to peace and social cohesion, virtues dear to our country and to the Dosso region in particular”.

Mr. Moussa Hamani, in passing, recalled the main vocation of the press which is to make “the visibility of the actions and facts of our society”.

But, today, he said, “the press has decided to show the world that it is multidimensional, capable of making its own visibility”. Mr. Moussa Hamani specified that “it is the collective of the public and private press of the Dosso region which sets the example through this life-size concert on a sensitive subject, a universal subject, namely peace and social cohesion in our country.”

“This modest but noble action aims, among other things, to support the many efforts of the Nigerien authorities in the promotion and consolidation of peace.”

It will be, he said, “inscribed in golden letters in the annals of the history of the Nigerien people and in particular that of the Nigerien press.”

Mr. Moussa Hamani paid a vibrant tribute to the “defense and security forces who sacrifice themselves night and day to ensure our peace of mind and may God welcome into his eternal paradise all those who have fallen on the fields of honor.”

“Because peace is priceless and unity is strength”, the president of the collective of the public and private press of Dosso invited the populations to “unite, to form a single block to block the road to malevolent spirits likely to disturb the peace in our country”.

“We must also, he said, cultivate and perpetuate the joking relationship, this richness of our cultural heritage which conveys union, mutual aid, cohesion and peace”.

The president of the public and private press collective of the Dosso region thanked Djingri Lompo and Issaka Issaka, these two ambassadors of peace and social cohesion who have sown joy in the hearts of Dossol residents and Nigeriens as a whole as well as local artists who have demonstrated their commitment to peace in Niger.

Mr. Moussa Hamani also addressed to the administrative and customary authorities, the high personalities, the regional executives, the partners and other goodwill, as well as the schoolchildren the recognitions of the organizing committee for their support having made the success of the show.

Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Mexico : Renowned researchers share their experience of the UNESCO Chairs of the Latin American and Caribbean Region

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from ZHN Zacatecas Hoy

In order to investigate the alternatives and strategies to implement a culture of peace program in educational systems, professors from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ), participated in a discussion entitled “Experiences of the UNESCO Chairs of the Latin American and Caribbean Region”.


Adolfo Rodríguez Guerrero

To initiate these activities, the program coordinator of the education sector of UNESCO in Mexico, Adolfo Rodríguez Guerrero, indicated that the function of these Chairs is to support the solutions of the problems of sustainable development that are being presented during the last 20 or 30 years.

He explained that the UNESCO Chains is a program that contributes actions and reflections. they contribute to the collective intelligence, knowledge and innovation that is generated by universities in search of global citizenship.

Rodríguez Guerrero stressed that this specialized unit of the United Nations in our country is working for sustainable development through two elements: a global culture of peace and sustainability through an educational innovation, that is, a change in higher education that promotes knowledge and learning digital through new information technologies.

The coordinator of the UNESCO Chair of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Gloria Ramírez Hernández, focused on explaining the importance of human rights in the work that has been carried out in these Chairs since 1992, promoting values, attitudes and behaviors that reflect respect for life and eradicate violence in all its forms.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

How can we promote a human rights, peace based education?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

Will UNESCO once again play a role in the culture of peace?

(Article continued from left column)

She pointed out that these actions seek to reinforce the human rights and freedoms of each person, visualizing the culture of peace as a preventive action through the construction of democracy and the management of conflicts, resolving them with peaceful means.

Explaining her experience as a coordinator of this chair in the UNAM, the speaker highlighted her work of developing consciousness about the application of human rights. This is done by research, teaching and dissemination through fields of knowledge, lines of research and projects that seek to prevent violent attitudes.

One of these projects is the National Program of Education in Human Rights, which has the objective of promoting a culture of defense, promotion and response in human rights in all types, levels and modalities in a comprehensive approach that favors governance, democracy and peace.

Finally, the professor stated that “peace cannot advance without women”, and she mentioned that “conflict and humanitarian crises impede the access of women and girls to progress, including the right to food, education, security and health, as we are immersed in a social and economic collapse, especially in a post-pandemic context”.

For his part, the coordinator of the UNESCO “University and Regional Integration” Chair, Axel Didriksson Takayanagui, spoke about the transformation that must take place in the public university of the Latin American and Caribbean Region for a curriculum in a culture of peace and critical and analytical thinking.

The professor stated that the development of the Chairs UNESCO, will provide bases so that May of this year the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education presents the importance of implementing a culture of peace, considering that as a priority human right for inclusion, equity and educational transformation.

With regard to this international conference, the renowned researcher commented that this is the third edition of this type of academic activity. It will take place at the University of Barcelona in Spain. “This will be a space in which models will be analyzed by innovators and visionaries in higher education from around the world.

The coordinators of these talks at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas were the university professors Juana Elizabeth Salas and Oscar Padilla.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, HUMAN RIGHTS, Latin America

El Salvador : MUPI promotes workshops on Culture of Peace

. EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Diario Co Latino (translation by CPNN)

The Museum of the Word and the Image (MUPI) continues the Culture of Peace workshops «Be authentic, non-violent» with a participatory methodology for the prevention of violence and education for peace, aimed at basic-high school teachers, community promoters and social and cultural managers.

Question for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

This free face-to-face course, which began on November 15 of last year, is carried out through a public invitation. 20 people are participating, 3 men and 17 women. Each participant has obtained a comicbook, a theoretical manual and a practical manual. They are working on the validation of new topics that will be incorporated into these materials. In March, the presentation of practical work and the delivery of diplomas will take place.

The Culture of Peace Course “Be authentic, non-violent” is facilitated by Claudia Anay García and the anthropologist Anna Theissen, cooperating with the Civil Service for Peace-SCP Germany, within the framework of the INTERPAZ-AGIAMONDO project.

(Click here for the original Spanish version).

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Zimbabwe: NPRC to enforce peace pledge ahead of by-elections

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from the The Herald

In an effort to curb pre-and post-election violence, the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) will roll-out peace caravans in all areas holding by-elections next month and ensure that candidates abide by the peace pledge signed when they filed their nomination papers.


Commisioner Gutu

Those who fail to abide by the pledge, which was introduced in June 2018 shortly before that year’s harmonised elections, risk being disqualified.

In an interview over the weekend, NPRC spokesperson Commissioner Obert Gutu, reminded all by-election candidates that they are bound by provisions of the peace pledge.

“We intend to roll out peace caravans in those areas where by-elections are going to be held as we seek to unite the people of Zimbabwe by building peace,” he said.

“Participants who violate the peace pledge that they signed when they filed their nomination papers run the risk of being disqualified if they deliberately and unlawfully violate and breach the terms and conditions of the pledge. Delinquent political behaviour will certainly not go unpunished.”

(Article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

How should elections be organized in a true democracy?

(Article continued from left column)

w-enforcement agents and judicial authorities to prevent and penalise electoral offenders as provided for by the Electoral Act.”

Comm Gutu said the impending outreach was also in response to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s call to sister independent Constitutional commissions to participate in their programmes to ensure peaceful elections in Zimbabwe.

“Peace-building is at the very core of the NPRC mandate. The NPRC has designed and developed an election strategy which is being fine-tuned in time for the ongoing electioneering season.

“This is a well-thought out and well-crafted strategy that acts as a guiding document as we go about our peace-building duties particularly during this period of election campaigning,” he said

Part of the NPRCs mandate includes developing mechanisms for early detection of areas of potential conflict and dispute, and to take appropriate preventive measures.

Towards the 2023 elections, Comm Gutu said the NPRC would play a leading role in all peace-building initiatives.

The NPRC will be going out there in the field to meet and interact with all political players as we seek to foster and sustain a culture of peace and tolerance.

“We will be holding meetings and workshops with all stakeholders specifically targeted at ensuring that the period before, during and after elections is peaceful.”

He urged political parties to avoid fanning animosity among their supporters, highlighting that this was detrimental to ongoing economic re-building efforts.

Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Leftist President of Honduras Blocks Indigenous Community’s Eviction

…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….

An article by Andrea Germanos from Common Dreams (reprinted according to Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Honduras’ new leftist president on Wednesday intervened  to halt a court-ordered eviction of an Indigenous community from their ancestral lands following violent scenes of the attempted forced removal by police earlier in the day.

(Article continued in the right column)

Question related to this article:

What is the state of human rights in the world today?

(Article continued from the left column)

Human Rights Minister Natalie Roque shared  on social media that, with orders from President Xiomara Castro, lawyers and officials from her office went to the Tierras del Padre community, located just south of the capital of Tegucigalpa, to stop the evictions, saying the suspension was in accordance  with the law and authorized by the state.`

“We are not going to tolerate any aggression or blow against a pregnant woman or against a citizen or against a child,” presidential adviser Pedro Amador said on the scene,  according to  video circulated on social media

In a tweet, Roque accused judicial officials who’d approved the evictions of continuing “in the power of the dictatorship.” As  Agence France-Presse  reported  last month, “four of the five judges in the court’s constitutional chamber were named to their posts by the previous Congress, which was dominated by the right-wing National Party of former president Juan Orlando Hernandez.”

A statement from the country’s human rights ministry  called  the proposed expulsions—performed at the behest of a businessman and land developer who claims ownership of the area—a “clear violation of the human rights of over 100 families who live in the sector in an ancestral Lenca territory that dates from the year 1739.”

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, HUMAN RIGHTS, Latin America

Chinese-Russian Text on Constructing a Community of Common Destiny for Mankind – A Crucial Peacebuilding Approach

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by René Wadlow in the Transcend Media Service

The presence of the Russian President to the start of the Winter Olympics led to an important Joint Statement which goes well beyond a press statement usual after bilateral meetings. Thus the Joint Statement must have been in preparation for some time and stresses current proposals of the two States. Thus it merits close attention. The Joint Statement highlights the concept of the community of common destiny for mankind:


Putin and Xi Jinping in Pekin

“The Russian side notes the significance of the concept of constructing a community of common destiny for mankind proposed by the Chinese side to ensure greater solidarity of the international community and consolidation of efforts in responding to common challenges.”

The Joint Statement sets out the political framework for its proposals.

“Today, the world is going through momentous changes, and humanity is entering a new era of rapid development and profound transformation. It sees the development of such processes and phenomena as multipolarity, economic globalization, the advent of information society, cultural diversity, transformation of the global governance architecture and world order. There is increasing interrelation and interdependence between States; a trend has emerged towards redistribution of power in the world; and the international community is showing a growing demand for the leadership aiming at peaceful and gradual development.”

(Article continued in the column on the right)

Question related to this article:
 
Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

(Article continued from the column on the left)

The United Nations is to play a central role in this effort. The Joint Statement goes on to call

“to protect the United Nations – driven international architecture and the international law-based world order, seek genuine multipolarity with the United Nations and its Security Council playing a central and coordinating role, promote more democratic international relations, and ensure peace, stability and sustainable development across the world …The Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set noble goals in the area of universal human rights, set forth fundamental principles, which all the States must comply with and observe in deeds…Interaction and cooperation on human rights matters should be based on the principle of equality of all countries and mutual respect for the sake of strengthening the international human rights architecture.”

Economic development is stressed.

“ In order to accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we call on the international community to take practical steps in key areas of cooperation such as poverty reduction, food security, vaccines and epidemics control, sustainable development, including green development, industrialization, digital economy and infrastructure connectivity.”

Given current world tensions and the possibility of armed conflicts, the Joint Statement stresses that

“The international community should actively engage in global governance to ensure universal, comprehensive, indivisible and lasting security.”

****

Full text of the Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China  on the International Relations Entering a New Era and the Global Sustainable Development of 4 Feb 2022

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Central Africa : Safeguarding the Lake Chad basin, a major regional challenge

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from The Conversation (translated by CPNN and republished under a Creative Commons license)

Located at the crossroads of five African countries (Central and West) – Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Niger and Nigeria – the Lake Chad basin represents an important and vital source of water shared by more than 40 million inhabitants.

This basin is home to biodiversity as well as an extremely valuable natural and cultural heritage. Rich and varied production systems built on diversified uses of space, as well as ancient local conventions, attest to the rational exploitation of natural resources.


Fishermen on the shores of Lake Chad, in 2015 north of N’Djamena (Chad). PHILIPPE DESMAZES / AFP

For several decades, this area has unfortunately been plagued by an anthropo-ecological imbalance, to which must be added the climatic changes that began in the 1970s; these have led to a gradual drying up of the basin.

As a result, there is competition for the use of natural resources, exacerbated by armed conflicts orchestrated by the sect of Boko Haram that has engaged in illegal timber trafficking, poaching of protected species and agro-pastoral conflicts.
This situation leads to significant population migrations.

“Biosphere reserves” to preserve resources

The challenges currently facing the Lake Chad Basin are three-fold:

– A security challenge for the restoration of peace and security in the countries of the Lake Chad Basin;

– an ecological challenge, with the conservation of biodiversity, the management of ecosystems and their rehabilitation;

– a socio-economic challenge, for the revival of agricultural, pastoral and fish farming activities, poverty reduction, participatory planning and inclusive governance.

To safeguard and sustainably manage the hydrological, biological and cultural resources of this area, contribute to poverty reduction and promote peace, the five states of the basin have decided to apply the model of transboundary “biosphere reserves” and sites of World Heritage.
It is with this in mind that Unesco, within the framework of the Biosphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT) project, has set itself the task of supporting the five States in the preparation of files for the nomination of national and/or transboundary biosphere reserves and a transboundary World Heritage site in the basin.

A participatory approach

The various consultations – national, led by BIOPALT and regional, led by the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) – have made it possible to identify the major difficulties of the basin and the expectations of the communities in the face of these constraints.

To carry out these initiatives, the participatory approach was adopted. Its modus operandi is built on four main components: know, train and build capacity, rehabilitate and use sustainably, manage and enhance. Here, the various activities were carried out with the support of local and international partners.

The network of project partners is made up of scientists (mainly universities in the Basin, but also other international institutions), NGOs and associations. The work carried out is validated by a scientific and technical council.

A dozen studies on the Lake Chad Basin

From 2017 to 2021, thirteen studies were carried out on the biodiversity, hydrology, culture and socio-economic aspects of the basin. They have allowed a better knowledge of hydroclimatic risks, water quality, biological and cultural diversity and finally the variability and resilience to the climate of this space.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for the original article in French)

Question for this article:

What is the relation between the environment and peace

(continued from left column)

Two tools have been developed: a portal on water quality in the Lake Chad Basin and a flood and drought monitoring platform. These tools allow the control of pollution of the lake and its tributaries as well as the monitoring of meteorological hazards.

Four workshops – organized around the monitoring of floods and droughts, the monitoring of the water quality of Lake Chad and the establishment of a PHI Cameroon committee – have made it possible to train 90 experts.

Some 2,000 people have also been trained in the peaceful management of natural resources, conflict prevention and the sustainable conservation of Lake Chad. A master and a MOOC have also been created to address the management of biosphere reserves and world heritage sites.

Finally, a biosphere reserve has been created, two others have been proposed as well as a cross-border World Heritage site, while two community radios have been launched to help prevent violent extremism and to promote peace , environmental protection and sustainable development.

Seven income-generating activities have been launched relating to beekeeping, fish farming, agroecological market gardening, rice growing and tree growing enabling 20,000 beneficiaries to diversify their sources of income and strengthen their socio-economic resilience to the impacts of Covid-19.

Three ecological restoration techniques have also been developed, allowing the rehabilitation of degraded lands and the improvement of community skills. Communication actions (website, newsletter and events) aim to publicize the project.

Although 80% of the activities planned under the BIOPALT action plan have been carried out, several points remain to be implemented today: the finalization of four publications, the carrying out of a bioecological and socioeconomic study in Kalamaloué (Cameroon), the realization of a regional workshop relating to the world heritage and the finalization of MOOC on the reserves of biosphere and the world heritage.

Ecological restoration and synergy

Several perspectives are emerging in a second phase of the BIOPALT project. Ecological restoration, for example, has already begun and aims to bring together the various users of the lake and promote peace and development. Income-generating activities have been developed and will make it possible to provide substantial income to actors in the field and to strengthen community management to conserve biodiversity and reduce poverty.

Seasonal movement of live stock across the national borders has been promoted, based on agreements for the peaceful management of natural resources and training (culture of peace, veterinary points). Mobile pastoral schools are being considered.

Finally, a synergy of action between education and literacy is being set up with other initiatives, such as the Project to Strengthen Education and Literacy (PREAT).

The BIOPALT project will thus have made it possible to obtain tangible results in the field of the restoration of degraded ecosystems (ponds, dune plains) and the promotion of income-generating activities based on the green economy.

Training and capacity building on the peaceful management of natural resources, building on UNESCO’s “PCCP approach”, has also been developed, as has the strengthening of cross-border cooperation, regional integration and the production of dossiers for the inscription of Lake Chad on the World Heritage List and the creation of biosphere reserves.

For 50 years, UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program has relied on the alliance between exact sciences, natural sciences and social sciences to find solutions implemented at the heart of 714 exceptional natural sites (in 129 countries) with biosphere reserve status.

Authors:

Amadou Boureima, Head of the Laboratory for Studies and Research on Sahelo-Saharan Territories (LERTESS), Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey (UAM)

Aristide Comlan Tehou, Researcher at the Applied Ecology Laboratory of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi of Benin

Daouda Ngom, Full Professor, Head of the Ecology and Ecohydrology Laboratory, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar

Mallé Gueye, Teacher-Researcher, Hydrosciences and Environment Department, Iba Der Thiam University of Thiès

The Conversation

Africa, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

France: Appeal by the AFCDRP on the occasion of the 1st Anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An appeal received by email at CPNN from AFCDRP, the French Association of Communities, Departments and Regions for Peace

One year after the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the AFCDRP-Maires pour la Paix calls on its member communities to mobilize to make France participate in the first meeting of States Parties to the UN from 22 to 24 March 2022 in Vienna, Austria.

In a fragile socio-economic context aggravated by the Covid 19 pandemic and the climate emergency, new military spending only contributes to the impoverishment of society and the poverty of citizens.

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(Click here for the French version of this article.)

Question related to this article:
 
Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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Not only poverty, but also the threat of nuclear weapons, is a source of tension and insecurity in our territories and beyond our borders.

We say no to this insecurity!

We, elected representatives of cities and local authorities, have a duty to invest in favor of peace and disarmament.

We express by this appeal that cooperation and brotherhood should prevail among peoples.

About sixty countries have already ratified the TPNW, including Austria and Ireland within the European Union. In addition, five countries will attend the meeting as observers (Germany, Finland, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden). France must open up to the debate on nuclear weapons and take full part in the movement.

We call on French communities to mobilize locally for this first anniversary of the ratification of the TPNW to ensure that France takes part and truly advances on the path of nuclear disarmament.

Two gatherings have already been announced for Saturday January 22 in Lyon, place de la Comédie 69001 (at 3 p.m.) and in Paris, place Edmond Michelet 75004 (from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.). Join the movement!

AFCDRP is available on social media at twitter and facebook

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe