Environment
Deforestation for fuel use and land-intensive agricultural production continued to be a significant environmental issue in many African countries. Other causes of deforestation included artisanal production of gemstones, lime, and sand and gravel. The West African Gas Pipeline, which is expected to start regularly operate in the end 2008, could help mitigate the effects of deforestation in Benin, Ghana, and Togo and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. Currently (2005), natural gas was being flared by Nigeria; in the future, Nigeria expected to export natural gas to Benin, Ghana, and Togo. The government of Nigeria had committed to ending the flaring of natural gas, which would lead to decreased pollution.
The use of mercury by artisanal gold miners has led to serious air and water pollution in such African countries as Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. The Global Environment Facility, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization began the Global Mercury Project in August 2002 to alleviate these problems. The Global Mercury Project has been providing cleaner technologies and training for miners, conducting health assessments, and helping institute government regulatory capacities.
Read more about this topic: Mineral Industry Of Africa
Famous quotes containing the word environment:
“In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted or adventurous can leave to seek his fortune elsewhere. In America, on the other hand, to move on and make a fresh start somewhere else is still the normal reaction to dissatisfaction and failure.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“For those parents from lower-class and minority communities ... [who] have had minimal experience in negotiating dominant, external institutions or have had negative and hostile contact with social service agencies, their initial approaches to the school are often overwhelming and difficult. Not only does the school feel like an alien environment with incomprehensible norms and structures, but the families often do not feel entitled to make demands or force disagreements.”
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“Maturity involves being honest and true to oneself, making decisions based on a conscious internal process, assuming responsibility for one’s decisions, having healthy relationships with others and developing one’s own true gifts. It involves thinking about one’s environment and deciding what one will and won’t accept.”
—Mary Pipher (20th century)