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NEWS: Coastal wetlands are unable to adapt to the rate of sea-level rise and are constrained by infrastructure

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Wetlands, precious ecosystems that shield coastlines, safeguard drinking water from saltwater contamination, and nourish diverse wildlife, face a dire threat from the accelerating pace of sea-level rise, driven by global warming. Wetlands have historically adapted to rising sea levels by expanding upward and inland. However, predictions indicate that the waterline will soon shift far too rapidly for wetlands to keep pace. Consequently, future decades may witness the tragic loss of these vital wetland ecosystems. Wetlands along coastlines have historically played valuable roles for people and wildlife, but are now facing the threat of sea-level rise. As temperatures rise, sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, and wetlands are unable to keep pace by building upward and migrating inland. This is due to human-induced climate change and the burning of fossil fuels, which has warmed the oceans and melted glaciers. Sea levels are now rising at about 10 millimeters per year, and are
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African Union to set up infrastructure fund for the continent

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The AU says the infrastructure financing deficit makes it hard for the body to advance its goal of integrating the disparate individual markets into a single, free trade area.


The African Union is setting up a fund to finance the construction of much-needed roads, railways and power plants on the continent, its infrastructure head said, turning to new sources of cash due to donor fatigue and higher debt levels.

"Africa is financially starved as far as the need for infrastructure development is concerned," Raila Odinga, who is the AU's high representative for infrastructure, told Reuters.

The 55-nation AU is now turning to sovereign wealth funds, insurance and retirement funds in countries like South Africa, Angola, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt and Kenya, to raise the cash.

The funds will be invited to invest about 5 percent of their holdings, Odinga said, "which is actually going to be more lucrative for those institutions, rather than having funds lie idle".

Talks with the funds are going on and the AU's experts are setting up the legal and financial structure for the infrastructure fund, which will be administered by the newly formed African Union Development Agency, Odinga said.

The move bucks the past trend of dependence on wealthy donor nations and borrowing from financial markets.

Also read: How can Africa successfully attract private investors for their infrastructure developments?

China, which has been one of the biggest funders of infrastructure projects on the continent over the past decade,has cut back on lending due to high debt levels among individual nations like Kenya.

"We are now trying to think out of the box," Odinga said.

The drive to find new ways of funding the construction of roads and railways and other utilities comes as Africa seeks to bring together 1.3 billion people in a $3.4 trillion economic bloc known as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

"This infrastructure is urgent for the realization of the AfCFTA, otherwise it is just going to remain on paper," Odingasaid.

It was critical to connect landlocked nations to ports on coastlines, and complete missing links for transcontinental highways, to facilitate the free flow of goods under the AfCFTA and lift people out of poverty, he said.

"Africa needs to trade with itself," Odinga said, citing figures which show intra-African trade is just 15 percent, compared with intra-European trade levels of 70 percent and 50 percent in Asia.
Source: IOL


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Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 25, 2021 at 1:18 PM

    I think that is very good idea as it will
    1) Create a multiplier effect in providing the backbone for industry and production
    2) Increase productivity in local economy and stimulate growth as a spin off
    3) Create sustainable construction and maintenance industries and cultures in those said countries
    4) Create demand for skilled, semi skilled employment opportunities thus growth of artisanal trades - hence absorbing school leavers who don't make the bottle neck cut for tertiary institutions
    5) Multiplier effect will open up other service industries which will in turn increase disposable income
    6) Will force the government to plan major public works and investment in maintenance thus create employment
    7) Create demand for standards of construction and maintenance of infrastructure - create a culture of value for money
    8) Allow for citizens to be employed in their home countries of origin and allow for the ethical manipulation of their natural resources locally
    9) Create a culture where their natural resources are processed locally to refined end products by construction of processing facilities and allied industries locally such as catalytic converter industry for platinum rich regions such as Zimbabwe, Bullion refineries in Ghana and Mali, Oil refineries in Sudan, electric car manufacturing in DRC where there is coltan and cobalt aplenty.

    This will help Africans to stop being reliant on the West and East and North for their needs when they have all they ever want or need right under their feet. It will also put into effect the Arusha Declaration and any other form of agreement where conflict is ended on the continent and guns are silenced for the good of the populous

    This tendency of rebel war lords controlling swathes of mineral rich regions in countries with little or no development or benefit for the locals other than menial work extracting mother loads of rich mineral elements for a pittance needs to end

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Hardhat ProfessionalFebruary 25, 2021 at 1:52 PM

      Thank you for your comprehensive response could you please send us your details on hardhatprof@gmail.com

      Delete

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