NEWSLETTER #40 - SOCIETY OF AFRICAN EARTH SCIENTISTS

 

Volume 10, Issue 3

July - September 2021


CONTENT
Chair's Foreword
From African Geo-heritage to Geoparks  - Revisited
Earth Science Events

References and selected reading

Chair's Foreword*

Africa has a beautiful geological heritage as  many will attest. But beyond just appreciating it is beautiful, how can  Africans employ this to improve the quality of life of people on the continent who live in the vicinity of these sites and beyond. In particular how are we to employ our geological heritage to improve  "environmental, socio-cultural and economic development", in a sustainable way?

   In the vein of this discussion thread, we revisit the concept of Geoparks addressed in previous issues and the potential that geoparks hold for  promoting sustainable development. 

From African Geo-heritage to Geoparks - Revisited

Over the past decade we have seen the development of a new area of Earth Sciences /Geosciences interest representing what some might see as a concept with the potential for advancing Africa's  development in a sustainable way: Geoparks. 

   In a previous SAES newsletter  article,  Dr Enas Ahmed defined a geopark, in a way guaranteeing that this resource benefits  the communities local to it: "a  geopark is a unified area that advances the protection and use of geological heritage in a sustainable way,  and promotes the economic well-being of the people who live there." [1]

Geo heritage sites - Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

   This might seem like an ambitious claim to make  for what is patently a new conceptual model of concern in  the geosciences rather than being something new entirely. It is as Ngwira eloquently points out a case of  "old wine in new bottles". In Ngwira's exposition these "new bottles" or concepts are namely Geoparks and  Geo-tourism.[2]

Geoheritage sites - Fabedougou, Burkina Faso

   It has long been appreciated that geological heritage could promote  tourism and the environmental, socio-cultural and economic prosperity of local African populations in the vicinity of geologically significant heritage sites. What the concepts of Geoparks and Geo-tourism have brought as Ngwira notes is the conceptual framework  to promote these ideas of environmental, socio-cultural and economic development in a most effective manner  to the wider public [3] and in the long term improve lives when these ideas are applied, since  Geotourism and Geoparks will create employment and prosperity, provided they are managed in a sustainable fashion.

Geoheritage sites - Mambilla Plateau, Nigeria

   The title of Ngwira's paper suggests that Africa is suffering from lost opportunity in relation to exploiting its geoheritage to accrue the benefits of geotourism. However, one area that is often neglected is that the reality of  growing continental conflict restricts access to some geoheritage sites. Ngwira fully appreciates the powerful potential that the promotion of these concepts promise for taking forward certain areas of African sustainable development. It is also encouraging to note evidence emerging that the application of these concepts is already making visible contributions to African development[4].

Geoheritage sites - Mpumalanga, South Africa

    Historically it is pertinent to note the origins of the concept of geopark as a UNESCO initiative. In the African context of this discussion, it was in 2009 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, during the 5th Conference of African Women for Peace that the Association of African Women in the Geosciences (AAWG) took up the challenge of promoting the Geoparks concept on the African continent. The concept was effectively seen as a tool of sustainable development. AAWG therefore established the African Geoparks Network (AGN) as a follow-up action addressing the challenge. [5]

   The remit of the AGN extends beyond Africa to the  Middle East [6]. In line with this broader view the AAWG also established an annual event called "Day of Earth Sciences in Africa and the Middle East" in 2013.  The First Day of Earth Sciences set on 20th March 2013 was supported by the Geological Society for Africa (GSfA), the Society of African Earth Scientists (SAES), the International Association to Promote Geoethics (IAPG), and others [7].

Geoheritage sites - Geological folds. Ugab Valley, Namibia

   In an update on this initiative, we note the landmark publication edited by Errami et al [8] reporting on the above initiative by AAWG and AGN  to promote geoparks in Africa, as well as noting that currently two UNESCO designated sites in Africa have been given  UNESCO Global Geoparks status, in Tanzania and in Morocco. 

   Aside from  the merits of  seeking "Global Geoparks status"  for African geosites from UNESCO, we note that part of the role of the African Geoparks Network (AGN) is to identify "geosites of outstanding value". Of course the level of this value depends on what mode of value we are considering. 

Geoheritage sites - Zuma Rock, Nigeria

   From an aesthetic and sustainable tourism viewpoint there are  veritably  many aesthetically appealing geoheritage sites to be identified as part of an inventory to promote sustainable development.  From the  sample of geoheritage site photographs shared above, readers are able to appreciate  that potentially great economic benefits could accrue to local communities in Africa in the vicinities of some of these geoheritage sites. The proviso is that this must be done in a sustainable way that protects the geoheritage and its local population.  The discussion is to be continued.

   

Earth Science Events

November  4-5, 2021

International Conference on Ecological Geology and Earth Science ALSO

Earth Science and Climate Change ALSO Rock Mechanics, Geological Ecology and Environmental Engineering Conferences

VISION: Bringing together scientists, researchers and scholars to share experiences, knowledge and research on the subject areas.

VENUE: Capetown, South Africa.

December 13-14, 2021

International Conference on Geological and Earth Sciences

VISION: https://waset.org/geological-and-earfth-sciences-conferences-in-december-2021-in-cairo

VENUE: Cairo, Egypt

December  13-14, 2021

International Conference on Theoretical and Computational Seismology

VISION: https://theoretical-and-computational-seismology-conference-in-december-2021-in-cairo

World Academy of Science Engineering and Technology.

VENUE: Cairo, Egypt

February  21-24, 2022

Fourth African Regional Conference on Geosynthetics

VISION: website:https://geoafrica2021.org; Event ID:1398866

VENUE: Cairo, Egypt

March  21-23, 2022

International  Symposium on Geo-resources and the Environment

VISION: Event website: https://isyge2022.scienceconf.org/

VENUE: Hammamet, Tunisia

August  9-10, 2022

International Conference on Tectonic Geomorphology and Paleoseismology

VISION: https://waset.org/tectonic-geomorphology-and-paleoseismology-conference-in-august-2022-in-lagos

VENUE: Lagos, Nigeria

References

[1] Ahmed,  E.,  Geoparks in Africa, Society of African Earth Scientists, Newsletter #20, Volume 5, Issue 2, April - June 2016.

[2] Ngwira, P.,  A Review of Geotourism and Geoparks: Is Africa Missing Out on  the New Mechanism for the Development of Sustainable Tourism?,  Geoconservation Research, June 2019.

[3]  Ibid.

[4]   Ngwira, P.,  "Geotourism and Geoparks: Prospects for Africa's Rural Sustainable Development and Poverty Alleviation.", In Errami, E., Brocx, M., and Semeniuk, V. (eds), From Geoheritage to Geoparks: Case Studies from Africa and Beyond, Springer, 2015. pp 25-33.

[5]  Errami, E., Brocx, M., and Semeniuk, V. (eds), From Geoheritage to Geoparks: Case Studies from Africa and Beyond, Springer, 2015. p. 51.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid., p. 7.

[8] Errami, E., Brocx, M., and Semeniuk, V. (eds), From Geoheritage to Geoparks: Case Studies from Africa and Beyond, Springer, 2015. 

 *Board of the Society of African Earth Scientists: Dr Enas Ahmed (Egypt), Osmin Callis (Secretary - Guyana/Nigeria), Mathada Humphrey (South Africa), Ndivhuwo Cecilia Mukosi (South Africa), Damola Nadi (Nigeria),  Dr Chukwunyere Kamalu (Chair - Nigeria).

NEWSLETTER #39 - SOCIETY OF AFRICAN EARTH SCIENTISTS

Volume 10, Issue 2

April - June 2021


CONTENT
Chair's Foreword:  My SAES Representation at Climate Research Development and Agro-ecology conferences in June 2021.
Climate Change and Geo-engineering
Earth Science Events

References and selected reading

Chair's Foreword*

This quarter I report on conferences in June 2021 I attended representing SAES, including 

a) the UNECA, Climate Research Development Postdoctoral grants closing workshop and 

b) Supporting agro-ecological enterprises (seen with the backdrop of a mass scientists boycott of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 over the excessive corporate control of the UN food systems agenda).

a) Climate Research Development Closing Workshops

I was invited to the closing workshop on a review of postdoctoral climate research  projects organised by several entities including the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). On first thoughts, this research development programme was a great indigenously driven initiative that emerged as a great success in taking African climate science forward. 

The climate research programme, known as CR4D (Climate Research for Development) is an African led initiative supported by partnership between the African Climate Policy Centre of the UNECA, the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET), the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS). The CR4D is the outcome of the historic African  Climate Conference of 2013 held in Arusha, Tanzania. At this conference attended  by over 300 climate scientists, policy makers, climate service providers and practitioners participants attended to discuss the state of African climate science and existing gaps in climate knowledge and data.  The conference recommended 1) the setup of multi-disciplinary research to improve the continents forecasting skills, 2) research to fill gaps in climate data, 3) the fostering of greater collaboration between climate service stakeholders, etc.

On review, the resulting research programme was highly successful, producing 21 research  grants of which 57% were disbursed to young African women scientists; 60 resulting journal publications, 40 grants for further research. The programme was diverse and reviewed researches in drought and flood prediction, organic and a novel "plasma" fertiliser, the health effects of climate change and also the effect on food security and agriculture.

b) Supporting Agroecological Enterprises

In the context of the current backdrop where many scientists and civil society activists including myself have boycotted attendance to the UN Food Systems Summit in protest at undue corporate influence on the UN Food Systems Summit agenda against the interests of the small farmers sector, which makes up the vast majority of global farm holders; the meeting was called to discuss research proposals and recommendations on the transition to agroecology in Africa. This presentation is a means to share research process findings and next steps from the Supporting Agroecological Enterprises research project. The meeting noted the need to work closely with women's organisations in promoting agroecology, since women were the principle food producers and practitioners. The food sovereignty struggle was thus parallel with gender specific social justice issues whereby corporate agribusiness was seeking to usurp the economic role of  African women as the continent's main food producers.

Climate Change and Geoengineering

If there was a silver bullet to solve the climate crisis, it would have to be related to the need to take control of the devastating effects of industrial agriculture on planet warming.  The Amazon rainforest recorded for the first time net emissions in carbon due to greenhouse gas emissions compared to the carbon absorbed. Largely thanks to the destructive policies of the Bolsonaro government of Brazil, leading to the burning of large tracts of the rainforest, the Amazon is currently emitting more green house gases than it can absorb[1].

La Soufrier volcanic eruption, St Vincent, Eastern Caribbean, April 2021. The study of the effect on solar radiation of emitted particles from volcanic eruptions has led to scientific consideration of spraying aerosols into the stratosphere as a means of managing solar radiation to control climate.

Common sense would surely dictate that industrial agriculture of this vein should be consigned to the past, and a kinder agro-ecological model of farming needs to be adopted by the world for a sustainable agricultural world economy. Such an agriculture would do away with the need for climate polluting pesticides and fertilisers and instead promote organic alternatives (organic fertilisers and pesticides) with far lower harmful emissions. Agroecological methods would engender an environment with increased carbon capture through a holistic ecosystem oriented approach.

However, big money usually has a say in mainstream narrative, if not control of it. Wealthy proponents of geoengineering have helped the  measure to rise in the agenda for climate change mitigation. The more it appears we are running out of time, the more geoengineering becomes an appealing climate fix for some; as Lizzie Burns, project manager of the Harvard Solar Geoengineering Research Programme  implies[2]. 

In the UK there were a series of British geoengineering experiments called SPICE (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering) which was shelved due to conflict of interests and environmental activists protests. Even those in the geoengineering field agree that caution is necessary. The climate scientist Claire Parkinson notes that countering climate damage by pouring stuff into the atmosphere "is fraught with potential unintended consequences".

Furthermore, there is also concern that geoengineering could attract support away from the tried and tested remedy (which we know will work)  of cutting carbon emissions. Some argue that the consequences of geoengineering are not well understood: Stratospheric injection might damage the ozone layer and disrupt ecosystems. An alternative view from Harvard academic Frank Keutsch is that it would be dangerous not to experiment with and learn about geoengineering i.e., the effect of aerosols on solar radiation management.[3].

Earth Science Events

November  4-5, 2021

International Conference on Ecological Geology and Earth Science ALSO

Earth Science and Climate Change ALSO Rock Mechanics, Geological Ecology and Environmental Engineering Conferences

VISION: Bringing together scientists, researchers and scholars to share experiences, knowledge and research on the subject areas.

VENUE: Capetown, South Africa.

References

[1]  Carrington, D., theguardian.com, Amazon rainforest now emitting more CO2 than it absorbs, July 2021.

[2]  Smithsonianmag.com. Risks, Rewards and Possible Ramifications of Geoengineering Earth's Climate, March, 2019.

[3]    Greenfield, P., theguardian.com. Balloon test flight plan under fire over solar engineering fears, February, 2021.

 *Board of the Society of African Earth Scientists: Dr Enas Ahmed (Egypt), Osmin Callis (Secretary - Guyana/Nigeria), Mathada Humphrey (South Africa), Ndivhuwo Cecilia Mukosi (South Africa), Damola Nadi (Nigeria),  Dr Chukwunyere Kamalu (Chair - Nigeria).

NEWSLETTER #38 - SOCIETY OF AFRICAN EARTH SCIENTISTS

 

Volume 10, Issue 1

January -March 2021


CONTENT
Chair's Foreword
Africa's Drying Lakes
Earth Science Events
References and selected reading

Chair's Foreword*

The Society is duty bound to ring its alarm bell at the creeping crisis in African water resources as represented by the drying of its major Lakes. This surreptitious occurrence has the potential to seriously destabilise parts of our continent, due to the emerging conflicts, population displacements and humanitarian crises brought about by the disappearance of these often vast bodies of water. Major reasons identified are climate change and human over utilisation of river and groundwater. Solutions and actions offered to redress this problem are  currently few and far between. 

Africa's Drying Lakes

One of the major crises that have crept up unnoticed and not spot-lighted in recent decades has been the gradual depletion of Africa's lakes due to both man-made and climatic factors. This is a continent-wide problem with many vital lakes disappearing and forcing displacements of urban and rural populations.  Ethiopia, for instance, is encountering huge changes in its level of water resources due to climate change and over-utilisation. Ethiopia has already lost Lake Ziway and its Haramaya Lake, one of its greatest lakes mainly due to over-utilisation. The lake once covered an area spanning 10 miles and was 30 feet in depth. Now nearby Harar City must seek an alternative source of clean water and its fishermen must move to a nearby lake [1]. 

   We can identify the Nile Valley River Basin as linked to the major continental Lakes in Africa. Many lakes fed by river systems throughout the entire continent are at risk as we see in the cited case of Ethiopia. For the purpose of this article, we assume as case studies and objects of  focus for our attention, the major lakes which are among the largest on the planet: Lake Chad, Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika.

Lake Chad

   The most shocking and alarming case of the major lakes suffering a rapid depletion of water in recent times is that of Lake Chad in the West Africa Sahel region which has shrunk in size by a staggering 90% in the 50 years from 1963 to 2017 [2]. 

Lake Chad changes from 1963 to 2017

   One project proposal for reversing the drying out given the name "Transaqua", dates back to the 1980s. It involves diverting the flow of the Congo River. However, no other remedial measures have been proposed  as an alternative to this method; which does not inspire the support of local people and will cost tens of billions of dollars to the surrounding affected countries [3].

   Various studies on Lake Chad agree that a severe depletion of lake water levels occurred during the droughts years of the 1970s and 1980s [4]. But Coe and Foley [5]  study the response of the lake to climate and water use practices between 1953 and 1979 and notice a four-fold increase in water use for irrigation from 1983 - 1994 in comparison with their  26 year period of study [6]. Okonkwo et al note the positive response of the lake water levels to increased rainfall  after the drought years of the 1970s and 1980s [7]; but significantly, Gao et al [8] sees the recovery of the lake due to increased rainfall to have been thwarted by the increased irrigation withdrawals noted earlier. Consequently, they see a full recovery of the lake by the natural means of increased precipitation  (rainfall) to be rendered unlikely without some form of inter-basin water transfer such as that suggested by the Transaqua project [9].

   The problem has been brought into sharper relief in recent years due to the drying of the lake exacerbating poverty in the region and making it more prone to the terrorism of Boko Haram and other groups who recruit youth made idle and jobless by the resulting loss of industry in the region as a result of the diminishing lake. There has been a loss of industries such as animal husbandry, farming and fishing as a result of the catastrophic loss of water resources. The situation is made even more dire by the fact that the implementation of any form of solution requires relative peace and security for personnel employed to operate safely.

Lake Victoria

   Lake Victoria is known to be the world's largest tropical freshwater lake and is the second largest  freshwater lake in the world after Lake Superior in North America. About 30 million people in Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania rely on the lake for clean water, fishing, irrigation and electricity [10]. 

   Scientists report that the lake could dry up and disappear in the next 500 years. However,  there is no need for complacency, as the humanitarian and poverty effects of the loss of this water resource could be experienced by local people within a  few decades; and we have already watched as the decades passed us by whilst Lake Chad was diminished to one tenth of its size in just 50 years. Also one cannot calculate for unforeseen leaps in industrial water consumption  due to damming and hydropower projects, irrigation and cash crops production,  etc. Studies have also shown that water levels in the lake may be sensitive to small decreases in rainfall in coming years. Climate warming is increasing in the region, suggesting the risk of reducing rainfall rates in the future [11].

Lake Tanganyika

   Lake Tanganyika is the world's second deepest lake at a depth of 1,470 m. It drains a watershed that includes much of central South East Africa. A study of the lake by Ivory et al [12]  highlights the role of vegetation structure in directly driving the intensity of weathering and erosion over long time scales. This would appear to suggest that maintaining vegetation structure near bodies of water such as lakes must form part of the strategy to maintain these precious African water resources.

Earth Science Events

November  4-5, 2021

International Conference on Ecological Geology and Earth Science ALSO

Earth Science and Climate Change ALSO Rock Mechanics, Geological Ecology and Environmental Engineering Conferences

VISION: Bringing together scientists, researchers and scholars to share experiences, knowledge and research on the subject areas.

VENUE: Capetown, South Africa.

References 

[1] Tollera, M.T., Climate change, over-utilisation dry up  Ethiopian lakes, Down to Earth, 29 May 2018.

[2] Usigbe, L, Drying Lake Chad Gives Rise to Crisis, Africa Renewal, United Nations, December 2019.

[3] Ross, W.,  Lake Chad: Can the vanishing lake be saved?, BBC News Africa, 31 Mar 2008.

[4]    Hansen, K., The Rise and Fall of Africa's Great Lake, Earth Observatory, NASA, 9 November 2017.

[5] Coe, M. and Foley, J., Human and natural impacts on the water resources of the Lake Chad basin. Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres, 2001, 106 (D4) 3349-3356.

[6] Ibid.

[7]  Okonkwo, C. et al, Combined Effect of El Nino Southern Oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation on Lake Chad level variability, Cogent Geoscience, Hydrosphere, 2015.

[8] Gao, H et al.,  On the causes of the shrinking of  Lake Chad, Environmental Research Letters, 2011, 6(3).

[9] Ross, W., op. cit.

[10] Beverly, E., , In 100,000 years Lake Victoria has dried up three times - It could happen again, Quartz Africa, January 2020.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ivory, S.J. et al, Climate vegetation and weathering across space and time in Lake Tanganyika (tropical eastern Africa), Quaternary Science Advances, vol. 3, April 2021.

*Board of the Society of African Earth Scientists: Dr Enas Ahmed (Egypt), Osmin Callis (Secretary - Guyana/Nigeria), Mathada Humphrey (South Africa), Ndivhuwo Cecilia Mukosi (South Africa), Damola Nadi (Nigeria),  Dr Chukwunyere Kamalu (Chair - Nigeria).