Kenya Online Journalists Association

Can something good come from COP17 in Durban?

2011-12-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

By Charles Ogallo in Durban, South Africa.

United Nations Climate Change Conference enters its final week in Durban, South Africa, with delegates rushing to reach agreement, on whether to save or burry forever the most loved, hated and debated Kyoto Protocol, an internationally binding agreement on climate change.

The Seventeenth Conference of Parties popularly known as COP17 has been organized by United Nation Framework convention on Climate Change-UNFCCCand hosted by South Africa.

The conference may have come at a better time especially for Africa, where many countries are faced with severe effects of climate Change and global warming. And when top world scientists have just predicted scary and devastating climate events such as heavy storms, droughts and floods in the near future due to climate change.

The scientific prediction may have also been fulfilled within a shorter period to many COP17 negotiators whose arrivals in Durban were met with some harsh realities of climate change. This followed heavy storms and floods that hit parts of the city the previous night, sending severs among scientists, environmentalists, Journalists and Climate Change activists converging at the venue of the Conference.

These realities could be felt deep inside the voices of main speakers among them UNFCCC executive secretary Christiana Figuere’s as they presided over the official opening of the two week Conference at the International Conference Center in Durban.

The UNFCCC boss however emphasized the need for the COP17 delegates to reassure the venerable especially those already suffered and all those who will still suffer from climate change of a better world tomorrow today.

The same sentiments were echoed by South African President Jacob Zuma who openly challenged members of the international community to stop taking climate change as any other environmental problem and help save the world today.

With main agenda focusing on discussions over proposed extension of the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012, as while as removing deadlocks on Green Climate Fund talks, Durban Conference success will relay on the approval of outcomes of the COP16 in Cancun which spelt out far reaching international responce to climate change the world had ever seen to reduce carbon emissions and build a system which made all countries accountable to each other for those reductions .

According to many climate change activists, Africa has bared the greatest brunt of climate change and global warming , with over 12 million of her people having been displaced from their homes and suffering from famine and poverty, and that it was time for them to come together and use the Durban conference to demand to be heard.

John Kioli , the Chairman of Kenya Climate Change Working Group who features as one of delegates in the COP17 called for the international community to listen to the Africa's Voice in Durban . He added that the Durban conference should be a success story for Africa if the World agrees to extend the Kyoto Protocol, whose first phase comes to an end later next year.

African countries have listed fair share of allocations of Green Climate Fund among their demands. Their fears has been that the Agreement they much agitated for may be thrashed and buried in the African own soil thus leaving them more vulnerable to devastating effects of climate change and global warming.

Developed Nations among them US, Japan and the EU had however pledge over 30 billion dollars to go to the fund by 2015 and another 100 billion dollars by 2020. US and Japan are also among countries championing some sort of reviews on the Kyoto Protocol demands that many developing countries are opposed to.

The Green Climate Fund is expected to help promote sustainable developments as well as mitigating diverse effects of climate in emerging economies such as Africa and Asia.

Patience running out over Climate Change talks in Durban as Civil Societies plan Mass Demos.

2011-12-02T08:59:00.001-08:00

By Charles Ogallo in Durban, South Africa.

The youth constituency at the UN climate negotiations In Durban,South Africa is putting on an action to engage and encourage delegates to “aim for a Robin Hood Tax at COP17.”

Costumed Robin Hoods are displaying a giant bull’s eye as delegates pass by as they offer a bow and arrow to shoot towards the target, just like Robin Hood.

Participant Barry McCarron from the UK stated: “I’m taking part in the action after listening to stories from African young people about how climate finance could make so much difference to them at grassroots level.”

The action is part of the ongoing Robin Hood Campaign from the group calling itself YOUNGO, and run in tangent with the “Robin Hood Champion Awards.”

This award praises commitment to equity and foresightedness to fill the Green Climate Fund. It is presented in person to state delegates who commend or encourage a Financial Transaction Tax at COP17. Read more at: http://youthclimate.org/projects-and-actions/cop17-durban/robinhood/

Sierra Club, Sierra Student Coalition, Canadian Youth Delegation and other members of the global TckTckTck campaign have also gathered on the beach at North Beach in Durban - with their heads in the sand wearing the flags of Nations across the globe that are failing to act effectively to address climate change.

Their message to countries obstructing progress on climate action is: Get your heads out of the sand! And in the case of Canada and Great Britain: Get your heads out of the Tar Sands!

Elsewhere the COP17 civil society committee (C17) has issued a rallying call to all South Africans to join civil society, organised labour, faith-based organisations, artists and musicians in a peaceful march through Durban on Saturday 3rd December.

This comes as world leaders struggle to reach agreement at the COP17 negotiations. Ordinary people from across Africa and the World are coming together to make sure their voices are heard.

Some of those most affected by the impacts of changing climate will be taking part in the march, including peasant farmers from across the continent and hundreds of women from South African rural communities.

C17 Global Day of Action committee convenor Desmond D’sa: “World leaders are discussing the fate of our planet but they are far from reaching a solution to climate change. If they fail to make progress we will see drought and hunger blight our country and continent even further”

Expections remain high in Durban Climate Change Conference

2011-12-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

By Charles Ogallo in Durban, South Africa

United Nations Climate change Conference enters its second week in Durban, South Africa with a long list of activities awaiting the over 10 thousand delegates attending the seventeenth Conference of Parties commonly known as COP17/CMP 7

Representatives of heads of states from COP member countries have started arriving in the city ready to join the Durban talks currently facing deadlocks over proposals to extend the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement binding countries to commit themselves to greenhouse gas emissions targets set out by the United Nation framework convention on Climate Change UNFCCC in the process of limiting climate Change and global warming.

This comes as World Bank releases its score card on Clean Development Mechanism –CDM, one of the robust mechanisms created under the Kyoto Protocol to limit gases emissions as well as encourage sustainable development and transfer of technologies between developed Nations and emerging economies.

Addressing Climate Change Journalists in Durban, World Bank’ Climate Change Practice Manager Neeraj Prasad praised CDM’s vital role terming its as catalyst of low emission investment across many developing countries.

Mr Prasad was however reserved on the primary share of CDM in the market following a significant drop in number of projects beingundertaken by the mechanism. According to World Bank, the market share has dropped from 25 percent in 2005 to 1 percent last year. CDM market value also halved within the last four years with African countries lagging behind.

MrParad also warned that CDM may see a constraint demand between 2013 and 2020 as economic gaintsscramble to dominate the market value. He challenge Africa to take an advantage of Cop17 being hosted in African Soil to increase its market share in the green investments project.

Africa only has a 5 percent share in CDM projects compared to China and India which has over 70 percent of such projects.

CDM has brought a total of 100billion Dollars of earnings to the global economy, from 360 million tonnes of carbon gases invested.

African Cities facing threats from rapid Urban population increase

2011-11-29T02:42:00.000-08:00

By Eliakim Mwachoni

World population now exceeds 7 billion, and the United Nations has estimated that, by 2050, that number will reach 9 billion.

In Africa, where there are many developing countries, current population exceeds 1 billion and estimated to reach 2 billion by 2050.

Large increase in people has increased labour market, and thus African countries are now facing biggest challenges in food security, education, health and employment.
Currently the population of Africa is increasing by 2.3 percent per year, which is higher than that of 1 percent in Asia.

The increase in the number of people in countries of south Sahara is much larger than the North African country.

The results of the census conducted by the ministry of planning in Kenya shows , that Kenya's population between 1999 to 2009 has increased by 35 percent, where on average each woman bore five children, and every day 7, 150 children are born.

According to this increase, the population of Kenya will exceed 80 million by 2050.
Large numbers of Africans are young, and they will be more moderate as days move. Meanwhile, the urban population is increasing rapidly.

According to history, the expansion and globalization of cities and an increasing number of people brings progress, because it helps increase the production capacity and expand the market and demand, which would be very helpful for people in rural areas.

But an increasing number of people also poses a clear challenge. While the number of people increase faster, it increases activity, consistent with the requirements of natural resources.

Problems of food insecurity and environmental degradation continues to be negative.

The African continent has a large number of poor people, and 25 percent dependent on imported food from abroad.

Irrigated agriculture is not implemented in many places because of lack of irrigation system, so agriculture in many countries in Africa depends on the weather.

And that's just too easy to influence and natural disasters of drought and floods.
This year the countries of the Horn of Africa including Somalia, Ethiopia has been both affected by drought, and residents of the river basins of the Zambezi and Senegal are facing the threat of flooding.

To fulfill the goal of independence in food production and ensure sustainable economic development, African countries need to develop modern agriculture, improve productivity in the agricultural sector, and the capacity of governments in dealing with climate change.

They also need to have good communication and marketing of agricultural products.

Fulfilling these objectives requires a lot of money and expertise.

Meanwhile, the capacity of urban managers in the provision of housing, infrastructure and employment opportunities does not meet the needs of growing numbers of cities in the world.

This problem is complicated by a confusion over the African countries with weak economic foundation and a large increase in people.

Some of the governments of African countries has recognised the effect of increasing excess of population, and have enacted policies to achieve a balance between population growth and economic and social development.

Faith Communities Want their Voices Heard at Climate Change Conference.

2011-11-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

By Charles Ogallo

The faith communities in Africa have united to present a united front at COP 17 in Durban, South Africa. Faith communities feel they have a moral obligation to ask the negotiators to look beyond their own countries' selfish interests and, even though it may cost them in economic terms, to come up with a solution for the whole world.

The religious community has also vowed to ensure its voice is heard during the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) to take place in Durban, later this Month.

African faith leaders including South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu have however rallied the faith communities including Youths from around the globe through several activities calling on world governments to take a committed moral stand and reach an agreement to curb climate change, through the ‘We Have Faith Act Now for Justice’ campaign.

"We, the people of the world, have lost our moral compass, and reduce all economic decisions to maximising profit and consumption, and so as faith communities we must renew our commitment to compassion for other living beings and the principle of justice” Says the leaders.

They are hosting a serious of event, concerts, rallies and actions throughout Africa, linked together by a convoy of buses traveling from Kenya to South Africa to get the message across that COP17 must deliver a fair and ambitious climate treaty that secures the future of the continent.

The idea came from two meetings of representatives of religious organizations from across Southern Africa gathered in Lusaka, Zambia, from 5-6 May 2011, and in Nairobi, Kenya, from 7th to 8th June 2011, where discussion on the response of faith communities to climate change and their response to the UN climate change negotiations in Durban, COP 17 was reached.

South African Interfaith leaders have already signed "We Have Faith" climate petitions a heard of the Durban Conference , in which they demand action and not just talk from this year's COP17.

They called on COP17 negotiators to treat the Earth with respect, resist disorder and live in peace with each other, including embracing a legally binding climate treaty. Calling on Africa to unite, and with one voice speak out for the justice of the poor in Africa and beyond!"

COP 17, or the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties will be run by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban, South Africa in November and December 2011. The conference aims to negotiate an international agreement on greenhouse gas emissions to prevent worsening global warming and climate change.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, Durban 2011, brings together representatives of the world's governments, international organizations and civil society. The discussions will seek to advance, in a balanced fashion, the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at COP 16 last December.

Kenya blamed over false Climate Change Projects.

2011-11-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo.

Transparency International launched a Global Corruption Report on Climate Change Thursday with scathing attacks specifically directed to the Kenya Government over inadequate measures in place to curb corruption in climate change projects in the country.

The attacks come as Kenya prepares to present her case over climate change fundings at the Seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties -COP17 set to be held in Durban, South Africa later this Month.

Hundreds of representatives of the world's governments, international organizations and civil society will gather in Durban to discuss issues that seek to advance, in a balanced fashion, the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at COP 16 last December.

The report titled: A Global Corruption Report: Climate Change in Kenya will be used to monitor funds meant for programs aimed at mitigating climate change effects across the globe.

It is estimated that by 2020 over 700 billion US Dollars will have been channeled to climate change initiatives.

Vice chairperson of Transparency International Rachel Mbai says that unless proper measures are put in place to curb corruption, efforts to tackle climate change will forever remain a mirage.

Speaking at the launch of the report in Nairobi, Mbai however said that it is imperative to put in place robust monitoring mechanisms to avoid fraudulent activities which might hamper climate change mitigation efforts saying that its only through tracking the monies put in these projects that the developing world can be impacted positively.

A lot of funds from the private, public and Governments has since been channeled to Climate Mitigation Programs globally even as it is predicted that by 2020 climate change mitigations investments will be at 700 billion US Dollars mark.

The Corruption Report however identified Kenya among the countries claiming credits for fictitious forest plantation projects.

The report says that a number of African governments, Kenya included , have already claimed credits for fictitious forest plantation projects.

"When responses to climate change are then partially or substantially lost to corruption, not only does the quality of projects suffer, but the result is that the ongoing effects of climate change are worst for those who can least afford it," read part of the report.

Kenya like many other countries earmarked to receive significant climate finance has serious challenges in addressing corruption and diversion of public resources.
Transparency International- Kenya said that under global climate agreements, substantial new funding from governments and multilateral agencies will be made available to finance the mitigation of climate change.

Transparency International-Kenya chapter Executive Director Samuel Kimeu said that the government must facilitate greater public participation to access information and accountability to make climate governance more effective.

UN Warns on Current Climate Mitigation Efforts.

2011-11-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Kojanews.net

A new United Nations report has warned that international efforts to mitigate climate change are insufficient to meet the goal of keeping global warming to below 2degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Also, plans for a multi-billion dollar fund to help developing countries deal with climate change, has hit a big barrier, as countries could not agree on the design of the fund.

The report, released just a month before a major conference on the issue is held in Durban, South Africa, laid out a list of options to achieve the target.

These include more cuts in greenhouse gases from additional sectors, stronger accounting rules both within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and through other multilateral and domestic strategies, sharing mitigation efforts based on countries’ capacities or contributions to the problem, and legally binding commitments.

The report, ‘Building the Climate Change Regime: Survey and Analysis of Approaches’, was published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global environmental think tank with the support of the Irish Government.

It reviewed more than 130 proposals put forward by governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and academics to design a climate regime capable of delivering adequate mitigation, according to a UN release.

At the upcoming climate meeting in Durban, countries have the opportunity to turn these ideas into action and start to bridge the ambition gap needed to truly have an impact.

It is the latest in a long series of UN warnings that world is falling behind in the battle against global warming. Just last month, at a Leaders’ Dialogue on Climate Change on the eve of the high-level session of the General Assembly, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged governments to show greater commitment.

Scientists say that keeping to the 2-degrees Celsius limit over the course of the 21st century is crucial to avert widespread disasters, from the disappearances of low-lying island nations under rising seas and searing droughts, famines, extreme storms and flooding, to the extinction of species.

“The analysis provided in this new report offers many options that can happen either in the formal negotiations or as complementary measures elsewhere, options that can assist the more than 190 United Nations Member States move quickly to harvest the opportunities of a transition to a climate resilient, low-carbon, resource-efficient Green Economy,” UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said.

The report highlighted the need to mobilise a range of public and private sector groups at the international, national and sub-national levels, who
can contribute to climate governance, emission reductions and adaptation investment.

It stressed that the issue of legally binding commitments is central to debates ahead of Durban and noted that it is possible to build upon existing UNFCCC processes to strengthen the climate regime and raise the overall level of ambition to reach the target.

In a related development, the decision on the stalled climate change fund came on Tuesday at a meeting of an international committee tasked with designing the fund in time for governments to approve the design at next month’s UN climate change conference in Durban, South Africa.

Last year, negotiators from 194 nations agreed to create the ‘Green Climate Fund’ to channel up to US$100 billion a year by 2020 to developing countries, according to a release by the National Coordinator, Climate Change Network Nigeria (CCN Nigeria), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Mr. Surveyor Efik.

The statement noted that developing countries had warned that control of the fund by the donor nations – and the burden of bureaucracy that entails - would limit their ability to make good use of it.

The Least Developed Countries -- 48 of the poorest nations in Africa and Asia that are particularly vulnerable to climate change – were represented on the committee by Bangladesh and Zambia, whose negotiators had, from the outset, called for a radically new approach.

They argued that national climate-change trust funds in developing nations should be able to access the Green Climate Fund directly, rather than going through a third party such as the World Bank – which entails long delays, excessive paperwork.

After six months of tense negotiations, the Least Developed Countries seemed to have succeeded in their demand for provisions for direct access to be included in the final text.

But in the committee’s final meeting on 18 October, the United States and Saudi Arabia withdrew their support for the overall design supported by all other countries because of concerns about other aspects of the text.

Trevor Manuel the former finance minister of South Africa, who co-chaired the meeting with Kjetil Lund of Norway, called the outcome "sub-optimal".

Germany also expressed frustration and disappointment, and said that the committee’s failure to agree a design “will likely result in not having the Green Climate Fund this year or the next”.

At the sixteenth Conference of Parties (COP16) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun in December 2010 the developed countries agreed to set a new Green Climate Fund (GCF) to channel up to US$100 billion a year starting from 2020

Rethinking climate change as a security threat.

2011-11-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

By Corinne Schoch (IIED)

Over the past five years, climate change has moved from being a purely environment and development issue to being a matter of national and international security.

For years we have understood that civil wars generally break out as a result of political instability, a poor national economy, weakened infrastructures and, in the case of African states, the collapse of the Cold War.

Now it seems that environmental shocks can be added to that list - journalists, academics, policymakers, security institutions and heads of states repeatedly tell us that the impacts of climate change pose a grave security threat.

As a result, the idea that prolonged heat waves, rising sea levels, more variable climates and more frequent disasters such as cyclones or droughts will result in more civil conflicts has taken firm root in the public’s imagination. The popular belief that climate change will soon spark ‘water wars’ between water-scarce regions and countries is just one example.

But while the notion that climate change could lead to conflict is widespread, it is based on very little evidence and questionable sources.

The debate tends to be characterised by conjecture, extrapolations and a limited set of facts that make assumptions about how the climate will change in years to come, and how people will respond - for example, that increased climate variability automatically causes inter- and intrastate migration, or that a drop in rainfall is what led to the Darfur crisis. The links between what causes conflict have been simplified.

The truth is that there are, as yet, no concrete examples of violent conflicts induced by climate change, and a limited understanding of what the future holds.

Take the example of water wars: Many researchers argue that it is not climate change that is to blame, but rather it is issues such as poor governance of water resources that are the driving factor behind such conflicts.

Just how useful is it to reframe the climate change debate as a security issue?

A seat at the table

The debate on links between climate change, diminishing resources, violent conflict and security is not new but it wasn’t until the fall of the Soviet Union that discussions around them really became possible.

Up until the early 1990s, security agendas on both sides of the Atlantic were dominated by measures to protect the state and support military institutions. But in the aftermath of the Cold War, the new political landscape demanded a broader, wider approach to the term ‘security’.

A 1994 report by the UN Development Programme articulated this need and gave birth to the term ‘human security’, shifting the emphasis away from a state-centric approach towards one that focuses on securing individual people.

This created the space to incorporate ‘non-traditional’ threats - such as the environment, health and human rights - into the security agenda, alongside longstanding issues of military defence and state interests. In this way, climate change was ‘securitised’.

Attaching a security label to climate change has certain advantages. For a start, it gives the state or government power over the issue and can end up mobilising vast amounts of political and financial resources to address it.

But perhaps the biggest ‘win’ in securitising climate change has been raising awareness of this environmental issue and capturing the attention of Northern countries. There is little doubt that climate change is now firmly in the sights of decision makers at all levels - in a way that would have been much harder to achieve with an environment and development framework alone.

Prominent leaders, including Barack Obama, Al Gore, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ban Ki-moon, have all cited climate change as an international security threat.

Within the global security community, climate change has also been given a seat at the table - it was discussed within the UN Security Council, both in 2007 and 2011. On both occasions the push to include climate change under the council’s remit met with fierce opposition from China, Russia and much of the developing world.

At what cost?

Despite the reticence from some countries, the world has embarked upon a path that will be difficult to turn back on.

It is true that securitisation can, in theory, be ‘reversed’. But in practice, because security institutions such as NATO and others have begun actively engaging in the debate, new political power dynamics are taking shape that will make it hard to simply take climate change off the security agenda.

By turning climate change into a security issue, advocates may have got the attention of governments, but the question we must ask is: at what cost?

Climate change is filled with uncertainty. As with other highly politicised debates, uncertainty tends to breed anxiety, which could lead to fear and result in a set of policies that merely mirror sensationalist academic and media headlines.

The military of Northern countries argue that the world cannot afford to wait for 100 percent certainty before it acts to diminish the climate change security threat. But what form that action should take is already being discussed in many forums, such as the annual UN climate negotiations.

Bypassing these to bring enforceable action through the UN Security Council would leave many of the most climate-vulnerable countries, who are not part of the council, out of the decision-making process.

Focus on people

There are other risks associated with turning climate change into a security issue, particularly when it comes to addressing the full spectrum of challenges posed by climate change.

Deciding action based on the engagement of a limited pool of security institutions risks sidelining or missing out completely issues such as adaptation, mitigation, development, economic growth, equity, justice and resilience, which do not figure as priorities on the security agenda but which are integral to addressing climate change.

In today’s world - filled with talk about ‘human-induced climate change’, ‘compensation’, ‘responsibility’ and ‘global justice’ - it is also important to ask ourselves to what extent the reframed climate-security debate is tackling the real drivers of climate change. And we must similarly ask ourselves whose interests we are serving.

The impacts of climate change will be felt first and foremost by some of the most vulnerable communities across the globe. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for example, warns that Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change. Agricultural yields could fall by up to 50 percent by 2050 in some countries and, by 2020, up to 250 million people are projected to face increased water stress due to climate change.

Will steps to involve security institutions and the military protect the interests of the most vulnerable - or merely the interests of the powerful? To what extent are we prepared to devolve responsibilities of a humanitarian or developmental nature to these new actors?

Ensuring that the most vulnerable are protected is not just a moral obligation but is a question of justice and equity. There is surely a great risk that the human security needs of the most vulnerable could be undermined.

NEXT STEPS

Perhaps the first step in moving forward must be to gather more evidence about the links between climate change and violent conflict. Stepping up the research in this area would enable policymakers, heads of state and security institutions to garner a much more accurate understanding of the issues at hand and allow for more informed decision making.

There is also a clear need to reshape the climate change and security debate to focus on protecting not ourselves but those most vulnerable to future impacts.

Climate change is not the first issue to be linked to security: issues such as HIV/AIDS and migration have both also been cast as a security matter in the past.

Reflecting on these experiences - teasing out what worked, where and why, the impacts on different groups involved, the political ramifications - could provide important lessons for ensuring the success of securitising climate change.

Corinne Schoch is a research in the International Institute for Environment and Development’s climate change group.

CDM-Projects verses impacts of Climate Change in Kenya

2011-07-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo

Kenya has been taking Clean Development Mechanism -CDM projects seriously since Kyoto Protocol came into being despite indications that she was lagging behind in advancing to the category of nations with a satisfactory or good climate rating.

Kenya ratified the Kyoto protocol in 2005, paving the way for the country to engage with developed countries in CDM projects.

This comes as environmental experts list the country among the extremely vulnerable to Climate Change.

Stockholm Environment institute study report of 2009 on Kenya indicates that existing climate variability has significant economic cost on the country and that further climate change may lead to additional and potentially very large economic costs.

These include potential threats to coastal zones (sea-level rise), health burdens, energy demand, Infrastructure, water resources, agriculture and loss of ecosystem services.

Kenya’s economy heavily relies on Climate Vulnerable sectors, such as agriculture and tourism, and is among countries with experience in projects relevant to climate change in Africa.

“Emissions of greenhouse gases could double by the year 2030. Moreover, plans across the economy could ‘lock-in’ Kenya into a higher emission pathway” According to the study.

Kenya currently has relatively low emissions of greenhouse gases and has already introduced a range of low carbon options across many sectors. These include renewable energy in the electricity sector, more efficient use of biomass and sustainable land use management.

However, it’s estimated that energy related emission savings of 22% could be achieved by 2020.

Based on principles of the Kyoto Protocol, CDM Projects must result in demonstrable reduction in Green House Gases, sustainable development and new profit making opportunities for developing countries companies.

The country has quite a substantial number of projects in the pipeline, an indication of high priority the Kenya Government has attached to CDM, which is seen as an instrument for mobilizing investments in the country and advancing the development of new industrial projects.

Current CDM projects stem largely from the energy sector, and are undertaken by Kenya Electricity Generating Co. (KenGen), a public company mandated by the government to oversee general energy production in the country.

According to KenGen, more CDM projects were in preparation for which Letters of Intent (LoI) have been signed by the World Bank to purchase certified emission reductions.

Most of KenGen's ongoing geothermal, hydropower and combined cycle projects could qualify under the CDM since they generate less or no carbon dioxide at all in comparison to alternative fossil fuelled plants.

”KenGen’s interest in CDM started in 2000 when the company wrote to the UNFCC, through the Ministry of Environment seeking support in obtaining benefits from CDM for some of the projects. However, not much progress was made” says KenGen’s Chief Executive officer Engineer Eddy Njoroge.

Njoroge disclosed that the Company has six selected CDM projects, among them are Eburru Geothermal Project, Olkaria II Geothermal Expansion Project, Redevelopment of Tana Power Station Project, Optimisation of Kiambere Power Project, Kipevu Combined Cycle Power Project and Sondu Miriu Power Project.

These projects are anticipated to assist in the displacement of approximately 0.66 million tones of CO2 equivalent annually.

They are expected also to generate annual cash flow revenue to KenGen in the range of Kshs million 500 per annum up to the year 2012.

KenGen has already signed a Letter of Intent with the World Bank for sale of the emissions credits.

The Bank is expected to purchase one Certified Emission Reduction (CER) at price of US$ 10.5 for Olkaria II geothermal expansion, 13.9 US $ for Kiambere Optimisation, Redevelopment of Tana Power station and Eburru geothermal and 12.9 US $ Kipevu Combined Cycle and Sondu Miriu.

Most of these projects are eligible to receive a further 1 US $ per one tonne of CO2 from the carbon fund as direct benefits to the communities in surrounding areas where they are located.

“ Kipevu Geothermal Power project alone is expected to have an annual abatement of 122,650 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which when sold as Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) will earn the company annual revenues of about US$ 1 million” added Njoroge.

Kipevu combined cycle is an efficiency improvement project which qualifies to earn Emission Reduction credits under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) arrangement of the Kyoto Protocol.

The €40 million (Shs 3.6 billion) thermal plant has been upgraded by a capacity of 30 megawatts, from 60 –90 megawatts, through external funding from French Development Agency.

Climate Change to Cost Kenya heavily- a Key Finding Reveals.

2011-07-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo.

An independent study has revealed that Kenya was in-adequately adapted to deal with existing climate risks as the country faces heavy Costs from effects of climate change.

The immediate needs for building adaptive capacity and starting to enhance Climate Change resilience are estimated may cost Kenya between $100 – 150 million annually by next year -2012.

Costs include potential threats to coastal zones (sea-level rise), health burdens, energy demand, Infrastructure, water resources, agriculture and loss of ecosystem services.

According to the Stockholm Environment Institute report, a much higher value of $500 million/year or more is warranted if the categories of social protection and accelerated Development to address the current adaptation needs are included.

The above categories are associated with current climate variability – such as the existing vulnerability to droughts and floods.

However, investment in these areas provides greater resilience for future change and they are essential in reducing future impacts.

The report estimated that costs of adaptation may rise in future years, with aggregated estimates providing a possible range, with implications for the source and level of finance required.

Estimates of medium-term costs to address future climate change are typically of the order of $250 – 1000 million per year for Kenya by 2030, focused on enhancing climate resilience. Noted that the investment in 2030 builds resilience for future years when potentially more severe climate signals occur, according to the report.

However, higher values (a total of up to kshs 160 billion ($2000million) per year are plausible if continued social protection and accelerated development are also included, noting that these are primarily development activities.

According to the report, adaptation could reduce the economic costs of climate change but it has a cost with a warning that the costs of adaptation was still emerging. A number of categories of adaptation have been identified that relate to the balance between development and climate change.

The cost of adaptation by 2030 is likely to be in the range of $1 to 2 billion per year, an equivalent to kshs 160 billion, against the climate change cost of $500 annually.
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The study has also prioritized early adaptation across the sectors. Potentially very large benefit in reducing present and future damages.

Periodic floods and droughts which are extreme events have already caused major socio-economic impacts and reduce economic growth in the country. Recent major droughts occurred in 1998-2000, 2004/05 and in 2009. Major floods occurred in 1997/98 and 2006.

The economic costs of droughts affect the whole economy. The 1998-2000 event was estimated to have economic costs of $2.8 billion from the loss of crops and livestock, forest fires, damage to fisheries, reduced hydro-power generation, reduced industrial production and reduced water supply.

The 2004 and 2005 droughts affected millions of people and the recent 2009/10 drought has led to major economic costs from restrictions on water and energy.

The study has also undertaken bottom-up assessments of the impacts and economic costs of climate change for a number of sectors, using climate and socio-economic projections.

According to the study dubbed the Economics of climate Change in Kenya, Kenya already has a complex existing climate, with wide variations across the country and very strong seasonality.

It has two wet seasons and strong patterns of climate variability and extremes, not least due to the periodic effects from ENSO: El Niño and La Niña, which are associated with extreme rainfall and flooding and droughts respectively.

The projections of climate change on temperature indicate future increases in mean annual temperature (average monthly temperatures) of broadly 1 to 3.5 ºC over the range of models by the 2050s (2046 -2065).

Coastal Flooding.

The study reveals that there will also be increases in sea level which would have advanced effects on the Kenyan coast.

It has considered the range of projections for sea level rise from the IPCC, plus an additional scenario based on some of the more recent literature, which reports potentially higher values.

The analysis shows that coastal flooding from sea level rise is estimated to affect 10,000 to 86,000 people a year by 2030 (across the scenarios), as well as leading to coastal wetland loss and coastal erosion.

The associated economic costs in 2030 are estimated to be $7 – 58 million per year (current prices, no discounting) including flooding. By 2050, these costs could increase to $31 - 313 million per year.

Be Ready and Act Now!

However, the report submitted in advance of COP15 recommended that the Kenya Government should adequately adapt to the climate risks by fully undertaking a deeper analysis to further explore coastal risks, health burdens, agriculture, water/flood risks, energy supply and demand and ecosystem services.

This would need a multi-stakeholder assessment of adaptation pathways at different scales, with estimates of costs, focused on short- and medium priorities that are most relevant for policy.

For both adaptation and mitigation, analysis of the costs, including government, private sector and individuals would provide both adaptation and low carbon costs in detail and as part of an investment and financial flow analysis (by sector). Matching the costs against the wide range of potential finance is a prerequisite for a viable investment plan.

Taken together, the report predicts that this analysis could form the basis of an expanded climate strategy that links national policy to sectoral objectives and targets, with effective mechanisms for implementation, monitoring, reporting and verification.

There is also a need for regional collaboration and co-operation across the areas of low carbon growth and adaptation, to benefit from economies of scale and to enhance regional resilience. These steps would provide national action on a low-carbon, climate resilience investment plan and would establish Kenya as an international leader, with ‘early mover advantage’ in negotiations and securing finance.

Kenya’s historical Fort Jesus now joins the World Heritage list.

2011-06-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo.

The UNESCO’s World Heritage committee has finally inscribed Fort Jesus National Monument into the World Heritage sites list after a spirited campaign from Kenya.

The fort formally received recognition from the World body in its 35th Session held recently in Paris, France, for its outstanding Universal Value.

This will be the sixth Kenyan heritage site to make into the UNESCO list. The other sites are the Mijikenda Sacred Kaya Forests, Lamu Island, Lake Turkana National Parks, Mt Kenya National Parks and the lakes systems of the Rift Valley.

The historical Fort Jesus widely known for its visible reminder of the once powerful Portuguese presence in the Kenyan Coast, but by far most impressive is the only Portuguese fort in the coastal city of Mombasa.

Fort Jesus , Mombasa has been an exceptional symbol of the interchange of cultural values and influences between and among people of African , Arabs, Asians , Turkish , Persians and European origins whose lives have been touched by the presence and role of this imposing structure.

The fort was built by the Portuguese at the end of the 16th century and used by them for over 100 years, and bears testimony of the first successful attempt by Western civilization to control the Indian Ocean trade routes which had remained under Eastern influence over several millennia.

According to the Museum chief Curator Jimbi Katana ,the fort in its over 400 years of existence has remained unchanged in its original design and layout throughout the various periods of occupation and use , thus maintaining its integrity and originality.

Gazetted as a national monument by Kenya Government under the National Museums and Heritage Act and managed by the National Museums of Kenya, the custodian of the country’s heritages, Fort Jesus stands guard at the entrance of the dhow harbor overlooking the Mombasa City’s Old Town as the most complete and the finest example of a 16th century fortress to survive in the Eastern part of Africa.

Before the World Heritage committee could inscribe the Fort into the list of the World Heritage sites, the Kenyan delegations led by her permanent Secretary, Ministry of state for National Heritage and Culture Dr Jacob Ole Marion is said to had put a strong defence in its favor.

In his statement later, the Kenyan Permanent Secretary said the listing of Fort Jesus will bring sharp focus , both at the national and international levels, the conservation status of the fort.

He added that the inscription will allow for the ownership and greater participation by the local communities around Mombasa Old Town and the entire city.

The area residents recieved the news of insciption with joy and expectations. A number of them said they expect the fort to attract many tourists across the globe to visit the heritage site and in return leave them with direct and indirect earnings.

"This is our Fort, if many Wazungus (Tourists)are going to come here, we are going to benefit alot. I shall sell alot of my wares to them" Said Mohamed, a hawker at Fort said.

The Seventh WIOMSA Symposium Photo Contest

2011-06-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

By Julius Francis -WIOMSA.

As part of the activities planned for the Seventh WIOMSA Scientific Symposium to be held in Mombasa, Kenya from 24-28 October 2011, West Indian Ocean Marine scientists Association-WIOMSA and the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), will be launching a Photo Contest based on the theme of the Symposium: "Dealing with Global Change".

According to Julius Francis , the WIOMSA General Secretary, Photo contest entries should demonstrate impacts of global change at different levels and how actions are contributing towards coping with global change at a local or national level.

The photos should depict scenes from the marine and coastal environment in the region, both above and below the ocean surface, and can illustrate relevant human activities, research, environmental impacts, and wildlife.http://wiomsa.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=422:the-seventh-wiomsa-symposium-photo-contest&catid=37:news&Itemid=71

This Contest comes in the coastal city of Mombasa , Kenya at a better time when the emerging realities of Climate Change continue to unfold right before our eyes, calling for our attentions especially those depending directly from the Ocean; coral bleaching observed in the Indian Ocean, Dying Mangroves and coral reefs, the main coastal ecosystems in Africa and other marine species.

Koja-news featured as the blog of the Month

2010-01-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

By Kojanews.

One of the Kenya online journalists association -Koja blogs www.kojanews.blogspot.com has been featured at antique-pocket-watches.com as the blog of Month. This makes it the most recognized blog site globally in January 2010.The antique-pocket-watches.com is the largest Antique Pocket Watches website featuring more than 30,000 blogs. The site averages 200,000 uniques visitors per month-Antique Pocket Watches

According to Sheila, one of the antique-pocket-watches.co.uk online managers, the Koja news site http://newsflash-charles.blogspot.com won their hearts while they were searching for Antique Pocket Watches related information.

Members of the Koja news blogs recieved the recognition with alot of appreciatons and wished our readers a Happy new year 2010.

Kenya Eyes World Records in Support of Coastal and Marine Environment.

2009-09-20T02:47:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo

Hundreds of Kenyans took the Weekend of World Clean-up to the coastal beaches after a report named Kenya the second worst polluter of the ocean in Africa.

Over 1,000 volunteers’ organizations and individuals came out this time to participate in the annual International Clean-up held at the Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach in Mombasa on 19th September 2009 in what was seen as an attempt to prove the report wrong this year.

The Coastal Clean-up exercise was also held in Kilifi, Malindi, Diani, Watamu, Shimoni, Kikambala, Fort Jesus and English Point where hundreds of other volunteers gathered to clear the beaches of debris .

According to last years International Ocean Report done by over 148 ocean conservancies in Washington DC, Kenya was named the second worst polluters in the shame list after Nigeria.

Used shotgun shells, over 2000 used condoms, fridges and gas cookers were collected during the last years clean -up exercise in Watamu and Shimoni along the Kenyan Coast, the report says.
Kenya debris rate is believed to be increasing each year due to increase in the number of recreation activities along the Coast.

Fred Sewe who is the Managing Director for International Coastal Clean-up admited that the recreation activities have approximately risen to 300 percent in just under one year, and said stakeholders and the public should be sensitized and guided on dangers of marine pollution which is a major threat to the environment.

"Ocean Conservancy's Coastal Clean-up engages volunteer organizations and individuals to remove trash and debris from the world's beaches and waterways; to identify the sources of the debris, and to change behaviors that cause marine debris in the first place," he added.

Many volunteers who participated in the exercise sounded their interests and support in keeping on with the campaign and lobbying other Kenyans to join the fight against pollution of the most endeared coastal marine environment.

“Our beaches need to be protected from pollution and I think local authorities neighboring the Kenya coastline needs to come up with renewed by-laws on marine environment preservation”. Says Tom Anjere, a senior provincial administrator based in the coastal city of Mombasa.

An official from the Ministry of Environment who presided over the beach clean-up added that Kenya will be looking to break all records by mobilizing tens of millions of volunteers in support of the environment after the 17th Clean Up the World Weekend.

Held in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Clean Up the World Weekend is the cornerstone event of this global campaign.

The campaign has grown steadily since the inaugural event in 1993 with activities ranging from cleaning up small villages to overhauling entire countries.

According to Clean the World, one of the organizers of this year’s event the world weekend provides the perfect opportunity for communities to unite to take practical measures to help tackle environmental issues such as climate change on a global scale.

From tree planting and re-vegetation to waste reduction and recycling, Clean Up the World volunteers from Algeria to Kenya in Africa, Australia to Vanuatu in Asia Pacific, Iraq to United Arab Emirates in West Asia, Argentina to Venezuela in the Americas and Austria to the United Kingdom in Europe joined the campaign to show the world that acting on a local level can positively impact what is a global problem.

UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner praised communities participating in Clean Up the World for the important contribution they were making to the global effort to improve the environment and address climate change.

“In 80 days from now, the world’s leaders will be meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark to negotiate what, we all hope, will be a path-breaking new agreement on how to address climate change. We are faced with many dramatic developments that will affect citizens, rich and poor, in north and south, and east and west” Mr. Steiner said.

Since the start of the campaign, Clean Up the World members worldwide have collected an estimated 3,574,991 tonnes of rubbish - enough to fill 5,710 Olympic size swimming pools. Plastic, glass, metal and cigarette butts are among the most commonly found rubbish items every year.

Africa lobbying for cash over Climate Change

2009-09-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

By Kojanews

African countries now want cash from main polluters as compensation for environmental damages. But question many people ask is why Africa, yet again, a special case? Yet the whole world is suffering at the moment. All have obligations to the environment, and all need to take more responsibility.

African nations are among the lightest polluters but analysts say they will suffer the most from climate change.

Representatives of 10 African countries met recently in Ethiopia to try to agree a common position on climate change, months before a crucial UN meeting where they renewed their demands for billions of dollars in compensation for Africa because of damage caused by global warming.

They also renewed their calls for rich nations to cut emissions by 40 percent by 2012.

But experts say the move to agree a common negotiating platform for Africa recognizes the continent's failure to make its voice heard on the debate.

Environmentalist Alice Kaudia reiterated Kenya’s foreign affairs Minister Moses Wetangula’s appeal to the continent to learn from other countries' mistakes and unite for the purpose of agitation for their rights.

"One single country will not solve its environmental problems on its own, it will need partners, and that's why it's very important that there's that unified common position," she said.

"The development of Africa should not go alongside the same mistakes that the developed world already made - to have these high emissions that are now affecting the whole world."

So far, delegations from individual countries have had limited success in making the case that Africa needs special help to cope with climate change.

The "representatives and experts" of African Union (AU) leaders - who include environment and agriculture ministers from the 10 countries - met in Addis Ababa under Libyan chairmanship in an attempt to change this.

Powerhouses South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya were among those countries represented where they discussed a suggestion that developed countries should cut emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020, and that richer nations should provide $67bn (£40bn) a year to help the least well-off cope with rising temperatures.

They will also attempt to agree a set of key ideas in order to help national delegations to the UN negotiations in Copenhagen this December to present a co-coordinated position.

The Copenhagen conference will try to negotiate a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, elements of which expire in 2012.

KENYA: CPJ concerned over police intimidation of Star reporters

2009-08-22T03:45:00.000-07:00

By KOJANEWS.NET

The Committee to Protect Journalist is concerned Kenyan police are attempting to intimidate journalists at the private daily, The Star, to reveal their sources for a June 20 article that said the Kenyan Anti-Terrorism Police Unit had lost crucial files about an accused al-Qaeda member.

In July, officers of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit interrogated Investigations Editor Andrew Teyie and reporter Maina Kamore for four hours about the sources for their story, according to defense lawyer Paul Muite. The police also summoned the newspaper’s editor, Catherine Gicheru, and political editor, Paul Ilado, for questioning.

After refusing to reveal their sources, Teyie and Kamore received a summons to appear August 12 in the magistrate’s court in the coastal city of Mombasa to explain how they obtained information for the article, according to the court summons.

Muite wrote a letter to Attorney General Amos Wako saying the summons breached Kenyan law; an individual cannot be summoned to court, he said, without either facing charges or being designated as a witness. On August 12, presiding judge Linah Mutende voided the summons after finding irregularities, Teyie told CPJ.

Later the same day, police sought to have contempt-of-court charges lodged against the two, stemming from the article’s reference to three people accused of hosting Fazul Abdulla Mohammed, the suspected al-Qaeda operative wanted by international authorities, in December 2007 and August 2008.

Police asserted the identifications jeopardized the prosecution of the three. The judge declined to lodge the contempt charges after Muite argued that only the attorney general could bring such a case.

By day’s end, police filed a request for court order that would direct The Star to retract the article and issue an apology. A hearing on the request is expected on October 7. “We are alarmed by Anti-Terrorism Police attempts to force these journalists to reveal their sources,” CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes said. “This harassment against Teyie, Kamore, and The Star should be halted immediately.”

Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told CPJ that the files had not been lost, and that police had a duty to investigate misinformation. Muite, however, said police had never before disputed the article’s main assertion, either prior to publication or during the August 12 hearing.

Mohammed is wanted for alleged involvement in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi and the 2002 bombing of Paradise Hotel at Kikambala.

Moving home made easier and Stress –Free online.

2009-08-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo

The Information and Communication Technology sector has experienced a steady growth over the last one decade creating excitements globally. There is no doubt that the new technology has made the world a global village. Information has also become easily available and stress-free to access at anytime and anywhere online.

Moveme.com's unique Move Planner has utilized this technology to the fullest and made moving homes very stress-less experience. With a well defined mission, the site is making moving easier by giving potential clients all the information and resources needed to move into their new homes at no cost.

Clients can now use this site freely to transfer or set up new services online, get quotes for removals, solicitors, locksmiths and more. Free moving help and advice from real moving experts and lastly plan their moves with unique planner and checklists.

Moveme.com is an independent company which works with the leading household companies in the UK including Royal Mail, BT, Virgin, British Gas, EDF energy, Pickfords among many others in managing transfer of clients’ services to their new homes and request quotes for moving services.

It helps arrange all the services needed when you’re moving home whether you’re renting or buying without spending hours ringing around finding the best companies, getting quotes and setting up services at your new address.

You can also do everything online or if you prefer to speak to a real person, you can call one of their friendly move advisors who will arrange everything for you over the phone in one call!

The move planner not only works as an online move diary, it also has the tools to complete your move tasks as you need to do them, from change of address letters to voter registration forms.

Move-me.com has been recognized as a niche in Planning & organizing your move. It serves people who are looking for renting or buying homes, moving to new homes and looking for finance to take care of their homes.

Everything you need when moving home whether Plans for your move, free quotes or connect home services, just click the button as you follow keywords below , and all your needs will be met stress-freely.

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US Government Challenges Africa on Climate Change

2009-08-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

By Kojanet.com

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is urging African governments to begin devising adaptation measures in order to cushion their people against the vagaries of weather.

Clinton in her keynote address stressed the need for African governments to now more than ever, find solutions to nature's challenges including climate change and provide food to her people.

However the climate changes community and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is also urging for significant reduction greenhouse gases emissions to reduce the effects of climate change.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is also urging the industrialized nations to help Africa to mitigate the effects of climate change.

A combination of both the industrialized and developing countries have continued to pump record levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Already Kenya is reeling under four years of failed rains while the downside will see a flooding period during the short rains when meteorologists have predicted an El Nino weather phenomenon.

The meeting in Copenhagen is coming at a critical time when there are threats of sea levels rising, melting of mountain glaciers that have often acted as water reservoirs and supplied hundreds of millions of people with water.

The climatologists further predict increased incidents of severe droughts, storms, disease incidences, and reduced biodiversity with stressed agricultural production.

Already many rivers and dams in Kenya have dried up as environmental degradation continues unabated in the countries main water towers such as Mau Forests.

Attempts by the Kenya Government to evict illegal settlers from forests is becoming a pipe dream with opposition coming strong from local political leadership who reads politics even in such vital issues as environmental preservations

Touch Phones turning tides in a competitive global phone industry.

2009-07-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo

The speedy growth of ICT industry is turning on the global phone industry.The industry is introducing more better modern and high-tech phones.

With the introduction of the iPhone back in November 2007, a flood of touch screen phones has been realized worldwide.Everyone now loves to have touch capabilities on their phone but how to access them is becoming a major problem.

However, a new website specifically dedicated to phone lovers has finally been introduced. Touch-Phones.co.uk is where every mobile phone is touch capable. It’s the real and lively access to the latest phones, phone features and all online places to buy them!

Touch Phones has also been discribed as the Ultimate Touch Screen Phone Comparison Site. The home to all Touch Screen Phones deals, Touch Phone Brands, Touch Phone Networks, Touch Phone Colors and Touch Phone Free gifts for everyone to choose from.

Potential buyers have an opportunity and a chance to compare different brands from online retailers and be able to plan instantly on different modes of payment.

Latest Touch screen Pay we go Phones and cheap Touch screen Phone contracts have also been bundled into one place for buyers to narrow and instantly filter the already available networks, brands, styles, Tariffs and colours of their choice.

Major Touch Phone brands such as Nokia, Sumsung and Aple iPhones are all their in different colours and sizes. Furthe buyers have an opportunity to compare the latest Touch Screen Phones available to buy SIM Free and use on any network.

Samsung Touch Phones
Nokia Touch Phones
Touch Phones pay as you go

A click of a button http://www.touch-phones.co.uk will take you to the Touch Phones! Touch-Phones.co.uk is the new home for those who like Touch Screen Phones.

KOJA’s efforts to advocate for a clean environment rewarded.

2009-07-11T05:06:00.000-07:00

By KOJANEWS.NET

Clean up the World has awarded the Kenya Online Journalists association –KOJA with a certificate of recognition for its immense efforts in promoting and supporting clean up the World and Helping to clean –Up, fix up and Conserve Environment.

KOJA has also been accepted to be 2009 Member of Clean-Up the World following its member’s efforts and deep desires to be part and parcel of clean –up the world.

The association members have shown a lot of interests in environmental matters,using much of their times to write articles and feature stories on climate change and pollutions among other environmental threats. http://environmentwatch-africa.blogspot.com/

KOJA has developed a number of strong networks both locally and internationally in its pursuit of uniting the global communities to combat climate change which is becoming a major threat to both the environment and socio-economic development globally.

The move to network with Clean up the World has proved worthy for the development of the association in terms of promoting initiatives through local media and community networks.

Clean up the World has inspired and assisted communities around the globe to clean up, fix up and conserve their environment through initiatives ranging from waste removal and tree plantings to water and energy conservation projects. http://www.cleanuptheworld.org/en/

Online marketing made easier with GearZap.com

2009-07-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo

Online marketing and promotions seem to have gone a notch higher in this era of ICT with entry of GearZap.com. With tough competitions emerging in the global market, companies and investment institutions seem to be heading towards such an importance and efficiency in online promotion and marketing as they fight to grab the wider but tricky market.

The site stands out tall among many such companies as a specialist online retailer of Netbook and Laptop accessories globally. It is one such leading online retail companies with own peculiar style of promotion. It’s the only place where you can find everything for your Netbook and Laptop.

GearZap.com has proved its worthiness to the world market in terms of high technology and efficiency in service provisions. Like a shopping mall, the site has a variety of links that easily take potential customers and clients to all range of attractive and durable netbook accessories and device specific accessories compatible present Netbooks & Laptops.

The site has links that will lead you to bestsellers of Cool Bananas hard-cover Netbook cases such as briefcases, and Netbook accessories such as screen protectors, memory card readers and mobile broadband that comes in all colours. All you need is to follow the Keywords below ;

Keyword 1: Acer Aspire One AccessoriesLink: http://www.gearzap.com/netbook/acer.html

Keyword 2: Asus EEE AccessoriesLink: http://www.gearzap.com/netbook/asus.html

Keyword 3: Sony VAIO P AccessoriesLink: http://www.gearzap.com/netbook/sony/sony-vaio-p-accessories.html

Keyword 4: Sony VAIO P CasesLink: http://www.gearzap.com/netbook/sony/sony-vaio-p-accessories/sony-vaio-p-cases.html

The site also takes you directly to world popular brands such as Belkin, and netbook manufacturers such as Toshiba, Samsung, Lenovo and Sony.

Besides an outstanding style of online promotions, GearZap.com has set itself as a brand beats all competitions in terms of product lay-out and straight forward shopping options.

Come to the design of the website, its simple, unique and eloquent in its own rights. It’s designed to give online shoppers easy and adequate time to make quick and satisfactory choices on products one wants to buy.

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GearZap.com is everything for your netbook and laptops

Climate Change threatens Kenya’s second largest City;-Mombasa

2009-06-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo

The Kenya’s coastal city faces threats from the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. Climate change has been singled out as a major challenge currently facing the world.

Mombasa is Kenya’s second largest city and has more than 700,000 inhabitants. It is the largest seaport in East Africa, serving not only Kenya but also many landlocked countries and the north of Tanzania.

The Coastal city has a history of disasters related to climate extremes including floods, which cause serious damage nearly every year and, often, loss of life. The floods in October 2006 were particularly serious, affecting some 60,000 people in the city and the wider province.

According to a local case study; Climate Change and Coastal Cities, a big chank of Mombasa city land will be submerged by a sea-level rise of just 0.3 metres, with a larger area rendered uninhabitable or unusable for agriculture because of water logging and salt stress.

Tourism which remains an important part of the city’s economy, sandy beaches and several hotels, industries and port facilities would also be negatively affected.

Climatologists believe Climate Change is caused by emissions of greenhouse gases, largely from energy production and consumption, agriculture and other ecological processes. The activities causing most emissions are key drivers of global socio-economic development.

Based on the study paper carried out in 2008 by a team of Kenya’s Marine and ocean researchers, three factors contribute to Mombasa’s high level of vulnerability to Climate change: low altitude, and high temperatures and humidity levels.

Parts of the city and its surroundings are likely to be submerged with a rise in sea level according to the paper. And this would consequently disrupt ecosystem functions and balance, disrupt agricultural and industrial activities, cause the destruction of human settlements and interfere with the water supply.

This may impact negatively on the city’s economy and, by extension, on the national economy due to the many activities and investments found in the area.

The study conducted by researchers from African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), International Development Research Centre and Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton , follows the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change- IPCC, Fourth Assessment Report, which has estimated that during the twentieth century, sea level has been rising at a rate of about two millimeters per year.

Other potential impacts of sea-level rise that scientists fear could affect Mombasa include: increased coastal storm damage and flooding; sea-shore erosion; salt water intrusion into estuaries and freshwater aquifers and springs, changes in sedimentation patterns, decreased light penetration to benthic organisms leading to loss of food for various marine fauna especially fish, and loss of coral reefs, contributing to loss of biodiversity, fisheries and recreational opportunities.

Kenya’s scientists have admitted that the high average temperatures are already approaching intolerable limits and can be uncomfortable at times. That increasing temperatures and humidity could create health-related problems such as heat stress, both on land and in the ocean.

Speaking to Kojanews.net, Erick Okuku, a marine environmental researcher at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute concurred with IPCC report “ the high temperatures may lead to ecosystem disruption, migration and the possible extinction of various species of fauna, flora and microorganisms”.

Other reports have further forecasted that climate change could cause a sea level rise of about 20 centimeters by the year 2030, an indication that the earth's average surface temperature may increase by 1.5-4.50C over the next 100 years.

According to IPCC, this warming would cause the sea to rise in two ways: through thermal expansion of ocean water, and through the shrinking of ice caps and mountain glaciers if no specific measures are taken to abate greenhouse.http://www.unep.org/themes/climatechange/

Higher sea-levels would threaten low-lying coastal areas and small islands especially those with the Western Indian Ocean.

“The sea-level rise figures given by the IPCC may appear modest. However, the forecasted rise would put millions of people and millions of square kilometers of land at risk; Mombasa city included” Erick Added.

According to him, Mombasa is already affected by extreme climatic events, especially Floods, droughts and strong winds. These climate-related disasters are projected to increase in frequency and intensity with long-term climate change.

A number of activities have been recommended to be carried out to minimize the city’s vulnerability to climate change, both in terms of adaptation and mitigation:

But Climate change adaptation and mitigation projects are said to be quite costly. Oxfam International, the UK-based advocacy group, estimates that developing countries around the world need 50 billion U.S. dollars a year to survive the impacts of climate change.

An African Development Bank report issued recently, said that 320 million U.S. dollars of public funds are now available to be used for climate change adaptation.

Oxfam in its study rises fears that the frequent climate-related disasters "will send poor people tumbling into a downward spiral of increasing vulnerability as their assets are eroded, resulting in longer and longer recovery times."

Antonio Hill, senior policy adviser for climate change of Oxfam said funding -- or the lack of it -- is one of the most crucial issues that need to be addressed when ministers from around the world sit down in Copenhagen this December to discuss anew treaty on climate change.

"Copenhagen needs to mobilize very significant financial and technological resources to assist developing countries in their adaptation measures and additional mitigation actions," Hill said. "

The Kenya’s researchers study paper however, focuses on measures that could reduce Mombasa’s vulnerability to the anticipated climate change impacts, as well as promoting adaptation. These range from immediate actions, such as enforcing the existing legislation, to long-term measures, such as coming up with development plans that take into account future climatic conditions.

“Enforcing the Physical Planning Act and city by-laws to ensure that areas earmarked for basic services such as water and sanitation are not interfered with could help reduce flooding and the outbreak of water-borne diseases, as these have been blamed on blocked drainage and damaged water supply infrastructure” says the researchers in their study paper.

They are also optimistic that the impacts of sea-level rise could be reduced through properly planned irrigation away from sea shores, and other land management practices that could be used to manage floods and reduce water run-off into the oceans.

The paper recommends that the Kenya government, NGOs and local communities collaborate to construct water reservoirs and apply appropriate land management practices, in regards to ensuring proper conservation and management of the coastal environment, including beaches and related ecosystems.

“These measures being taken should take into account available scientific information and indigenous environmental conservation practices” The study concluded.

Kenyan groups take onus to protect ocean

2009-06-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

By Miano Kihu

UN Declaration setting aside June 8 as a World Ocean Day has won acclaim of organizations that work with Kenyan coast communities in protecting the Indian Ocean.

Eco-Ethics International-Kenya Chapter (EEIU-K), a member of the Word Ocean Network, says the UN move is a major step in the oceans conservation campaign because this requires the governments of the world to give direct support such efforts.

Even before the UN declaration, Eco-Ethics International-Kenya has been marking the day since June 8, 2006, together with other like-minded advocacy groups and individuals.

“We hope that the setting aside of the World Ocean Day by the UN will now obligate our Kenya government and other governments to extend the much desired political and material support to the activities of that special day and to the overall campaign to safe oceans,” says Mr Bernard Okeyo, the Director of EEIU-K.

According to him, efforts to protect the oceans which cover 21 per cent of the earth surface have received relatively smaller support than they deserved -- if one considers the enormous resources that are otherwise dedicated to the conservation of the environment as a whole.

“Our lobby for a world oceans day has finally paid off after many years; however, our work has just begun,” Okeyo told representatives of various grassroots youth organizations attending a sensitization meeting at the coastal town of Mombasa.

For four years, World Ocean Day organizing community spearheaded by Eco-Ethics International has been public lectures, beach cleanup exercises and performances by the local communities – all meant to create awareness about the sea as a livelihood source and also to mobilize the locals to take it upon every one of them to look after the sea.

This year’s events climaxed on June 13 at the centuries old Fort Jesus grounds on the Mombasa island.

The lobbyists believe that with sufficient awareness, education and adaption of ocean friendly practices in fishing and in the disposal of waste, among other things, would help address the biggest challenges that the ocean faces in this part of the world.

These include pollution from factories and beach hotels, municipal wastes, destructive fishing, destruction of mangrove forests and shipwrecks.

Mr Richard Kiaka, a program officer with EEIU-K says a series of community based programs undertaken by the organization has demonstrated the potential and willingness of locals to take good care of the ocean by even adapting technologies that are eco-friendly.

His organization has, for instance, helped several fishing groups in the villages south of Mombasa to replace their destructive fishing methods such as beach seining with better and discriminative fishing gears. Other support has included making the locals recognize the dangers of certain practices to the ocean environment such as disposal of plastics and human waste.

But Mr Hassan Grieves, leader of a lobby group called PREPARED says when it comes to focusing and taking action on destructive in the sea, such attention should also focus on the big operators in the sea such as trawlers who continue to cause wanton destruction of marine ecosystem in the eastern African region.

“We always talk of pirates as those with small boats; what about the pirate with the big vessel who is only motivated by big profit today no matter how much destruction he visits upon the environment?” he posed.

He however exudes hope that the UN has conceded to making June 8 as a World Ocean Day.

QYPE website rocks the entertainment and travel world.

2009-06-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

By Kojanews.net.

Qype has in-depth information about Restaurants, Bars, Hotels, Events and more on Health and beauty around the globe. Whether it be Shopping, Eating / Drinking, Arts or anything else that you are interested in, http://www.qype.co.uk
has all it takes. It’s the site of the day.

The site is like a compass, it’s easy to navigate and use. With a click of a button, the world will be around you with information at your finger tips. And the results are all fantastic.

Qype is becoming the world popular site for travelers, job seekers, shoppers, holiday makers, business personalities seeking for markets, explorers and students looking for best and quality colleges and Universities across the globe.

From popular pizza restaurants in London to first class toy shops in Rio de Janeiro, Qype brings millions of people together online in seeking for best and secure places to be, anywhere and anytime across the world.

With Qype you can build a network of friends and foes. You can swap tips and recommendations, share personalized guides, photos and videos in a blink of an eye.

For professionals especially travel Journalists with an urge for exploring in-depth information about places and building networks Qype should be the best site to visit.

Wherever you are and whatever you are looking for, Qype also puts millions of reviews from real people across the globe at your fingertips. Be it that hotel you are planning to book, that restaurant you have been dying to visit or that dream town you have wanted to be for a life time holiday, latest reviews from these professionals will take you at the right place and at the right time.

And for people looking for information on hot events such as the World Cup 2010 in South and Notting Hill Carnival in London, Qype should be their site to visit

All information is categorized for easy access. Just follow keywords below as anchor text for the links:
Restaurants; Link:http://www.qype.co.uk/uki/categories/1-restaurants.
Pubs London; Link: http://www.qype.co.uk/uki/categories/21-pubs-in-london
Restaurants London; Link: http://www.qype.co.uk/uki/categories/1-restaurants:

All you need to do is follow keywords below as anchor text for the links:

Restaurants

Pubs London

Restaurants London

Its new it’s accessible its http://www.qype.co.uk/. Find it, Share it!!

WORLD OCEAN DAY -2009

2009-06-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

By Kojanews.net

The concept for World Oceans Day was proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and it had been unofficially celebrated every year since then. Official designation by the U.N. is a significant step in conserving and protecting our world's ocean.

World Oceans Day provides an opportunity each year to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea. The Ocean Project, working closely with the World Ocean Network each year, helps to coordinate events and activities with aquariums, zoos, museums, conservation organizations, universities, schools, businesses.

As of 2009, "World Oceans Day" has been officially declared by the United Nations as June 8th each year! Congratulations to all for helping make this happen!

Why Should I Celebrate World Oceans Day?

According to the Ocean Project , a non-governmental organization best known for its awareness activities on Ocean conservation , The world's ocean: Generates most of the oxygen we breathe, Helps feed us, Regulates our climate, Cleans the water we drink, Offers us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines and Provides limitless inspiration!

Yet for too long, human society has taken the world's ocean for granted.

Now we can give back! Take part in World Oceans Day events and activities this year and help protect our ocean for the future!

It's up to each one of us to help ensure that our ocean is protected and conserved for future generations.

World Oceans Day allows us to Change perspective - encourage individuals to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us with hopes of conserving it for present and the future generations.

Learn - discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected.

Change our ways - we are all connected to the ocean! By taking care of your backyard, you are acting as a caretaker of our ocean. Making small modifications to your everyday habits will greatly benefit our blue planet.

Celebrate - whether you live inland or on the coast we are all connected to the ocean; take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean, and then organize or participate in activities that celebrate our world ocean.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY -2009

2009-04-26T03:20:00.000-07:00

By Kojanews-network

“The rights to life and to liberty and integrity and security of person and also to freedom of expression are fundamental human rights that are recognized and guaranteed by international conventions and instruments.” (UNESCO Resolution, General Conference 1997)

World Press Freedom Day is celebrated every year on 3 May worldwide. It is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

This Year, the World Press Freedom Day (3 May) will be celebrated in Stockholm at Sida, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, on 29 April, 2009.

According to Fojo International, the event will focus on the importance of exile media to report and influence on the development of the countries where press freedom is violated.

Gunilla Carlsson , minister for development cooperation, will speak about the Swedish Governments new focus on strengthening agents of change, individuals as well as groups and civil society organizations, which are promoting democratization and freedom of speech.

Anders Nordström, Sida Director General, will put forward freedom of speech as a corner stone for development.

Frank La Rue, UN special rapporteur for freedom of speech, will describe the present situation in the world when it comes to freedom of the press and of speech.

Here in Kenya, a number of events are set to be rolled out from 29th April, with the newly formed Kenya Coast Journalists Forum planning for a public forum for Mombasa and Coast based Journalists where several leaders may be invited to give a talk on Press Freedom in the country.

The Kenya Coast Journalists Forum Interim Chairman Ayub Mwangi told the KOJA News- Network that a lot of Programmes are in the pipeline for local journalists as they mark the World Press Freedom day on 3rd May, 2009.

Members of the Kenya Online Journalists Association are proud therefore to be associated with all organizers of this years World Press Freedom Day.

Researchers call for Action after Kenya appeared among worst Ocean Polluters.

2009-03-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo

Kenya is listed among major polluters of the Ocean in Africa and said to be among developing countries in the world with poor marine environmental management policies.

The new Ocean Conservancy report features Kenya as the second worst ocean polluter after Nigeria, with almost 90,000 items such as plastic bags, Leaking chemical drums, cast-off motor-oil bottles and paint cans and many other items dumped annually along Coastlines.

The globally recognized report comes few days after a team of local researchers admitted that Kenyan coastal waters was unsafe both for marine wildlife and coastal residents, implicating poor management of the marine ecosystem as main cause of alarm.

Published annually by the ocean environmental watch-dog, the report also listed Tanzania and Egypt as third and fourth ocean poluters respectively.

Researchers from a Mombasa based Kenya Marine and Fisheries research Institutes also said uncontrolled mass discharge of both liquid and solid waste materials from local industries and residential houses to the ocean was to blame.

Over population and heavy development going on along the coastline have also been identified as threats to the Coastal marine ecosystem.

Dick Okuku, an environmental science researcher at the institution questioned local authorities bordering the Kenyan Coastline commitments on marine life safety.

“Locals authorities have failed to tackle ocean water pollution, they lack the capacity to control waste disposal into the ocean. They have failed to enforce their laws on solid waste management and what we are seeing now is all disaster in waiting” said Okuku.

“What we need now is the entire government’s commitments through the National environmental Management Authority to overhaul the denting scenario where all kind of trashes are unfairly dumped at the beaches ending up into the ocean “Okuku added.

The ocean Conservancy report indicates that the heavy volume of trashes collected during the 2008 international beaches cleanup was illustrations of the scope of hazards faced every single day by wildlife in the ocean.

Accordingly researchers say the marine debris threatens life of marine wildlife. Marine debris not only entangles marine life, it sickens, injures, and kills wildlife in and around waterways everywhere as ocean winds and currents circulate dangerous trash all across the world.

Leaking chemical drums, cast-off motor-oil bottles and paint cans, rusting cars and household appliances, and many other items dump into the sea affect not only wildlife but also the ecosystems they depend on for food, shelter, and the rearing of young. And when toxic materials from marine debris get into the seafood supply they may compromise human health.

Marine debris is but another stress on an ocean already beleaguered by many other human-caused stresses including coastal development, pollution, over fishing, and now climate change.

“Marine debris doesn’t fall from the sky, it falls from human hands—and human hands have the power to stop it ” says the report. It therefore recommends an expanded public and private partnership in monitoring and reducing marine debris.

Its also calling for increased fund to promote research on the sources and impacts of marine debris as while as seek better technological solutions to debris management and reduction. Understanding the sources and impacts of marine debris is integral to finding solutions that work.

Apart from debris management and reduction, a meeting of world environmental Ministers held recently at the United Nations Environmental Program –UNEP headquarters in Nairobi also resolved to commit every member country in tackling heavy toxic metals such as Mercury, Lead and Zinc.

According to a UNEP report, remedial measures are required to face out pollutant heavy metals which experts believe to be threatening the marine environment. The report recommends that member countries come up with better environmental policies that would help reduce usage and disposal of pollutants.

UNEP calls for actions as World Governments unveil a historic treaty to tackle toxic heavy metals.

2009-02-21T04:43:00.000-08:00

By Charles Ogallo

World Governments have unveiled a historic treaty to tackle pollutant heavy metal Mercury that is threatening Marine Ecosystem.

The Global treaty on the poisonous pollutant mercury was agreed by environment ministers at the end of the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Governing Council held from 16th -20th in Nairobi ,Kenya.

The landmark decision, taken by over 140 countries, sets the stage for the lifting of a major health threat from the lives of hundreds of millions of people especially those living along the coastlines.

Governments unanimously decided to launch negotiations on an international mercury treaty to deal with world - wide emissions and discharges of a pollutant that threatens the health of millions, from fetuses and babies to small - scale gold miners and their families.

Achim Steiner, UN Under - Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "UNEP has, for some seven years, coordinated and contributed to an intense scientific and policy debate on how best to deal with the issue of mercury. Today the world's environment ministers, armed with the full facts and full choices, decided the time for talking was over - the time for action on this pollution is now".

They also agreed that the risk to human health and the environment was so significant that accelerated action under a voluntary Global Mercury Partnership is needed whilst the treaty is being finalized.

"I believe this will be a major, confidence - building boost for not only the chemicals and health agenda but right across the environmental challenges of our time from biodiversity loss to climate change," added Mr Steiner.

Of the around 6,000 tonnes of mercury entering the environment annually, some 2,000 tonnes comes from power stations and coal fires in homes.

According to Mr. Steiner, the toxin In the atmosphere or released down river systems, can travel hundreds and thousands of miles.

’As climate change melts the Arctic, mercury trapped in the ice and sediments is being re-released back into the oceans and into the food chain” UNEP boss said.

Meanwhile eating advisories relating to fish such as tuna operate in many countries targeted at those at risk including pregnant mothers according to UNEP.

Scientists and the NGO Sharkproject are now also flagging yet another cause for concern? the increased consumption of shark meat in some parts of the world.

By some estimates these foods contain up to 40 times more mercury than recommended food safety limits and perhaps a great deal more.

Negotiation for a new global treaty to control mercury pollution set to begin this year has also been endorsed by the new U.S government.

The Bush administration had opposed legally binding measures to control mercury, despite broad support among a majority of countries in the UNEP Governing Council.

The Obama administration has reversed the former U.S. position on limiting mercury pollution worldwide.

"The Obama administration has clearly shown a new day has dawned for U.S. leadership and engagement with the rest of the world," said Michael Bender, director of the U.S.-based Mercury Policy Project, and a coordinator of the international Zero Mercury Working Group.

Among the 120 other countries that have expressed support for a legally binding agreement on mercury are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland and Uruguay.

Environmental groups from the United States and around the world applauded the U.S. policy change.

The Nairobi meeting also reached a eight - point partnership plan aimed at tackling the toxic heavy metal Mercury which includes:

- Boosting the world - wide capability for nations to safely store stockpiled mercury
- Reducing the supply of mercury from for example primary mining of the heavy metal
- Carrying out awareness rising of the risks alongside projects to cut the use of mercury in artisanal mining where an estimated 10 million miners and their families are exposed
- Reducing mercury in products such as thermometers and high - intensity discharge lamps to processes such as some kinds of paper - making and plastics production.

World urged to reduce usage of Highly toxic Metal mercury .

2009-02-15T06:55:00.000-08:00

By Charles Ogallo

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has urged world environment ministers meeting this week from February 16-20 in Nairobi, Kenya to adopt a strategy to curb the use of the highly toxic metal mercury.

Mercury is a heavy metal whose highly toxic compounds propagated notably by the production of coal, certain kinds of plastics and improper disposal of fluorescent light bulbs -- poison millions of people worldwide.

According to Achim Steiner, the UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, the world's environment ministers will use the Nairobi meeting take a landmark decision to lift a global health threat from the lives of literally hundreds of millions of people.

Fish-eating is the first source of exposure to toxic metal Mercury among humans. The effects of mercury ingestion include damage to the brain, kidney and lungs.

Steiner said a policy framework drafted after seven years of extensive research would be submitted to the ministers.

"It covers reducing demand in products and processes -- such as high intensity discharge vehicle lamps and the chlor-alkali industry -- and mercury in international trade," he said.

"Other elements include reducing emissions to the atmosphere and cleaning contaminated sites," Steiner added.

Of the around 6,000 tonnes of mercury entering the environment annually, some 2,000 tonnes comes from power stations and coal fires in homes, he said.

"In the atmosphere or released down river systems, the toxin can travel hundreds and thousands of miles," the statement said.

As climate change melts the Arctic, mercury trapped in the ice and sediments is being re-released back into the oceans and into the food chain, UNEP said.

The statement said that UNEP and governments had identified a wide range of products and processes offering cost-effective and safe alternatives.

"A clear and unequivocal vision of a low mercury future needs to be set. This will trigger innovation and an ever greater array of cost effective alternatives," Steiner said.

More than 100 world environment ministers are due to gather in Nairobi for the UNEP's annual governing council meeting.

100 JOURNALISTS KILLED WORLDWIDE IN 2008

2009-02-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

An International Federation of Journalist (IFJ) report has revealed that one hundred journalists around the globe were killed in the course of their duty last year.

According to the report the number had decreased from 175 deaths recorded in 2007 as the International Federation of Journalists warned that this year could be the deadliest yet for journalists.

IFJ said the international community still needs to step up to confront the challenge of impunity in the innocent killing of journalists.

“We often see politicians, even in democratic countries showing callous indifference to the threats posed by attacks on journalists and media. That must end,” said IFJ secretary Aidan White in the report released yesterday.

In its latest report on journalists working conditions, Iraq remains the most dangerous country despite a substantial drop of media casualties from 65 in 2007 to 16 last year.

The other dangerous zones were Mexico and India with 10 deaths each recorded.

Kenya has recorded one death this year following murder of Kisii-based freelance journalist Francis Nyaruri. Police are investigating the incident.

IFJ said impunity was still a major threat as new wave of media killings wipes out optimism over death toll recorded in 2008.

“A wave of killings in the first days of the New Year have undermined hopes that the falling death toll recorded in 2008 was the first sign of a change in the pattern of killings which have risen dramatically in recent years,” said White.

He added: “The welcome relief brought about by the decline in the killings of journalists in 2008 has been shot lived.”

The statement was circulated to IFJ members worldwide after the federation launched a report entitled ' Perilous Assignments:

Journalists and media personnel killed in 2008.

The IFJ says the culture of impunity for crimes against journalists and the systematic failure to respect their rights deny journalists the protection they are entitled to in their work.

“The recent conflict in Gaza provides a powerful example of the dangers facing journalists,” added White.

Media personnel and installations were targeted by Israeli military, causing casualties, including two fatalities and extensive damage to property.

The IFJ was the first press freedom advocacy group to call for an investigation into the Israeli targeting of the media during the conflict in Gaza and is gathering information for a report on these heinous attacks, which will contribute to the investigation.

Fishermen and environmentalists against the proposed Lamu Port.

2009-02-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

By Charles Ogallo.

Kenyan environmental activists seem to be dissatisfied with how the Kenya Government is planning to undertake proposed second port in Lamu.

Many of them have allayed fear over massive destruction of marine ecosystem when and after the Port is completed.

Led by Rashid Athman, a local environmentalist, a number of them said the Government needs to conduct a thorough environmental impact assessment study on the proposed project and the final report made public before any work begins.

Others among them Fishermne also argued that pollutions from the port which many experts believe will be of great economic benefits to local communities and Kenya in general may on the other hand endanger the marine environment."For years m Lamu people have depended on this Ocean for fishing, how sure are they that when this port comes our facing activities will not be interrupted? we need to be told." said Ali Juma Mondhar , a long time fisherman.

Rashid also claimed that fishing activities in the region will be affected once a wide fishing area in the region is put out of bound to many local fishermen who are believed to have less capacity to explore deep water fishing.

However, the Kenya Ports Authority which is heading the project disagreed with the environmentalists arguments.

The Authority’s chief executive officer James Mulewa emphasized the importance of the second commercial seaport which he said was being planned for urgent implementation.

Mr Mulewa said the port is vital for the economic development of the entire Coast region and will help open up Kenya for more business activities with neighboring countries like Ethiopia and Southern Sudan

"Development of the new Lamu Port will be a major breakthrough both to the Lamu People and this entire Coast region ."

He promised that all plans will been put in place to ensure all environmental requirements are met especially through the Kenya Ports Authority’s commitment to engage all stakeholders among them local fishermen in matters of port development.

But environmentalists see more environmental dangers from the project. They see destruction of mangroves and thus reduction of number of fishing grounds. They see oil pollution becoming a common disaster in the area.

Mr Rashid openly criticized pioneers of the project accusing them of an attempt to divert the attention of local communities from dangers involved in the proposed project.

"We can not allow this project whatsoever how important it will be without being told dangers our children may be facing in future".said Rashid

The proposed Lamu Port will be implemented at a cost of US $ 16 billion, funds from the Qatar Government.

According to the Kenya Ports Authority report, the port will be able to handle larger vessels due to its expansive depth compared to Mombasa Port.

The report says more infrastructural activities will follow once the project is complete , among them construction of railway lines from the proposed port to Addis Ababa ,Ethiopia and another one to Southern Sudan.

KOJA joins CPJ to Call on President Kibaki to reject Media Bill.

2008-12-26T23:59:00.000-08:00

The Kenya Online Journalists Association -KOJA joins CPJ to call on President Mwai Kibaki to reject the recently passed Kenya Communications Amendment Bill, which includes provisions that would severely harm press freedom.

TO; H.E. Mwai Kibaki
President of the Republic of Kenya
Office of the President, Harambee House
P.O. Box 30510
Nairobi, Kenya

Via facsimile: (254) 202-50264

Dear Mr. President,

We urge you to reject the recently passed Kenya Communications Amendment Bill, which includes provisions that would severely harm press freedom. Legislators approved the measure on December 10, ignoring concerns raised by journalists, media company owners, and even fellow lawmakers. This month, on the day marking Kenya's independence, journalists such as Caroline Mutoko, Larry Adego, Mzee Jalang'o were detained after demonstrating against this deeply flawed legislation.

We believe the concerns of Kenya's media community should be heeded. Journalists are alarmed that the information and communications minister would effectively be empowered to appoint all members of a powerful new communications commission. The bill vests in this new commission expansive powers, not only over licensing, but over broadcast content and scheduling. The measure doubles existing monetary and prison penalties for a number of categories, including invasion of privacy and sending misleading messages. The commission would be empowered to shutter stations that do not pay penalties within a short period of time.

The measure duplicates existing regulatory roles and appears to reverse existing media ownership structures. The proposed commission would duplicate the responsibilities of the Media Council of Kenya, which has government representation to arbitrate media disputes. It also appears to prohibit cross ownership of media, which would affect numerous companies already involved in print and electronic media.

The bill still contains contentious provisions found in the 1998 Kenya Communications Act. Section 88, for example, allows the Security Minister to raid media houses and confiscate equipment on grounds of state security. Parliament insisted on maintaining this passage despite strong opposition from the House Committee on Communications and from civil society representatives.

Many believe the 1998 law should be revised, but this flawed measure is not the answer and should not be signed into law. In 2007, you laudably rejected a repressive media bill that compelled journalists to reveal their sources. We trust that you will join other voices within your government, including that of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, to reject this bill and uphold press freedom in Kenya.

Sincerely,

Joel Simon
Executive Director

"Reclaim Mangrove Forests or else Perish!" Experts now warn.

2008-12-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

By Charles Ogallo.

Scientists now warn Western Indian Ocean countries of a catastrophic future unless immediate interventions are put in place to reclaim the badly depilated Mangrove Forests in the region.

They attributed frequent impacts of sea surges, inundations and natural disasters recorded in the recent years in the coastal areas as strong evidence of increased vulnerability of the region to ecological disasters.

Researchers say mangroves which cover 37 percent of the WIO region and have significantly played economical and socio-cultural roles in the lives of coastal communities was badly being degraded.

Mangroves were known to have environmental values as they protect the coastal strip from erosion. Mangroves forests also play vital roles biologically, with a high level of fauna biodiversity as over 80% of commercial fisheries and other aquatic species spent most or part of their life cycle in the mangroves.

Ecologically, they play a crucial role in fertilisation, stabilisation, filtration, regulation of microclimate and acting as food chain support and as nurseries for many fish and invertebrate species.

The group working under the support of the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association –WIOMSA however say the deadly Tsunami that occurred along the coast of Indonesia four years ago had its effects felt in East Africa as a result of the high waves that hit the coast.

Accordingly the scientists say such high waves could have been averted if there were mangrove forests to reduce the intensity of the waves before they hit land.

They now want the WIO countries; Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mozambique and Somalia to embark on a programme to restore the mangrove forests following long years of destruction for economic reasons.

J. Bosire a researcher at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute says mangroves forests are globally threatened by human activities such as unsustainable harvesting, conversion to other uses and more recently, by effects of climate change.

He said predicted effects of climate change on mangroves also include both more extreme droughts and flooding, In 1997/8 and 2006; massive sedimentation due to erosion of heavy sediments following extremely heavy rainfall.

However, Dr. James Kairo, another researcher at the National Research Institute in Mombasa, said because of their vast importance, humanity must find a way of restoring the forests for posterity.

Dr Kairo warned that unless the mangrove forests were restored, the repercussions could be grave, especially to the coastal communities, considering the predictions on rising sea levels.He warned that the lucrative tourism and hotel industry in the WIO region definitely faces collapse unless Mangrove forests are urgently rehabilitated.

"Strong storms and tides expected to be accelerated by rising sea water level may also wash away or submerge the much adored white sand beaches and all our attractive tourists hotels along the coast."Dr Kairo said .

The Mangroves Researcher told a environmental journalism forum recently held at the Stone-Town of Zanzibar, Tanzania that programmes were currently running to ensure the replanting of mangrove forests through the afforestation programes.

"We must act fast and now or else risk losing beautifical and economical resource standing tall along our coastlines and above all the lucrative tourism industry".He warned.

The Scientist cum environmentalist however, said that lack of management plans and degradation of mangrove forests had led to loss of ecological footprint and aquaculture which, in effect, has a negative effect on the ecosystem.

Mangrove rehabilitation had seen a rapid increase in productivity of mangroves and improvement of habitat around the afforested areas that were initially degraded and is providing opportunities, especially for the unemployed youth.

Listing other benefits of mangrove rehabilitation, Dr. Kairo said mangroves function like carbon factories by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and helping to convert them into organic material.

According to him areas already being replanted include Gazi bay, Mida, Ngomeni, Kiunga in Kenya; Tanga in Tanzania and Lumbu and Icomati in Mozambique.

WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN REGION JOURNALISTS VOW TO GIVE PRIORITY TO MARINE ENVIRONMENT

2008-10-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

By Charles Ogallo.

Sixteen prominent journalists from Kenya, the Seychelles and Tanzania converged in Zanzibar , Tanzania a month ago for an Environmental Journalism Course –focusing Coast Management, and declared to give marine environment issues a priority in coverage.

The Conference sponsored by Fojo (The Institute for Further Education of Journalists) of Sweden, in cooperation with WIOMSA (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association) took place from 3rd to 14th November, 2008 at Mazsons Hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar .

"Now that we have learnt of dangers of ignoring issues to do with Coastal and marine environment, as journalists within the Western Indian Ocean region , we have no option but to focus more of our attention to Marine environment and let our audience /public understand their responsilities in ensuring this important ecosystem is protected". one participant emphasized.

Though many argued that politics have taken over environment when it comes to media coverage across the WIO region , participants agreed that political will must be sort to ensure environmental issues are seriouly taken care of and given an upper hand in news rooms.

The Zanzibar course, the first of its own to be organized by FOJO/WIOMSA for the rigional Journalists came at a better time when the Western Indian Ocean region is facing numerous environmental problems such as the global climate change which is becoming a major threat to the entire global coastal marine ecosystem among them Mangroves forests, Coral reefs and fisheries.

The sixteen participants were taken through several environmental problems and how they could come-up with effective stories ideas and be able to produce good news contents. The Meastro concept was one of the new , most effective and easy to grasp method particiapants were recommended to apply in their news rooms for good contents.

Most important thing participants learnt from the course was how Coastal environment has become vital for the development of people living along the coast and the countiries within the WIO. That the Ocean is an important resource for empowering women and youths economically. And this could be seen during a visit at Sea weed farming at Bwaleo and Kidoti villages in Zanzibar, where groups of women have taken advantage of the vast ocean resources to earn a living .

The course was able to provide some of the basic tools in covering environment issues with a special emphasis on coastal and marine environment. Methods of reporting and planning of the work was also discussed and practiced in the course during field trips.

The course provided an opportunity for participating journalists to interact with scientists and experts on the regions environmental and coastal challenges. Participants were able to develop networks with promonent marine researchers from the WIO region.

The Scientists ; Mr.Edward Kimakwa from WWF Eastern Africa Marine Eco region was able to shade some lights on Fisheries Partnership Agreements. Mr. Christopher Muhando from the Institute of Marine Sciences dealt with a topic on Pollution in Coastal water as Dr. James Kairo from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute took particiapants through a vibrant topic on Mangrove , where he ended up with a warning to countries along the coast of Indian Ocean to prepare for the worst ecological disasters unless they reclaim Mangroves forests.

Other key speakers cum trainers were Mrs Nariman Jiddawi from the Institute of Marine Science in Zanzibar.She was the most elequent speaker who took participants through challenges and opportunities for artisan fisheries. She took participants by surprise in her subject on using artisan fisheries to empower women. This was an eye openner to many journalists .

Mrs Eva-Pia Worland, a Journalist, trainer and Project leader from Fojo, was a mother and a concellor to all. She was able to introducing the participants on Maestro Method and social dimensions for artisan fisheries.

Later participants were assigned projects to be presented during the follow –up course.

The second course which is a follow-up on the Zanzibar's will be held from 27th April to 1st May 2009 at a place yet to be announced by the organizers .

WSSCC LAUNCHES THE GLOBAL SANITATION FUND

2008-03-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) has launched the Global Sanitation Fund, the first global financing mechanism to increase expenditure on sanitation and hygiene.

The Fund was officially Lunched on March 14 ,2008 in Geneva.

Forty percent of the world’s population - 2.6 billion people - do not have access to basic sanitation.

The Millennium Development Goal target of halving the number of people without access to sanitation is the furthest from being achieved. However, the estimated annual cost for attaining this goal is only $9.5 billion.

If sustained, the same investment could ensure basic sanitation for the whole world in one or two decades. To help reach this target, the WSSCC has launched the Global Sanitation Fund, one of the major initiatives of the International Year of Sanitation 2008.

Around the world, 10 million children die every year. Poor sanitation and hygiene are the chief or underlying causes in over half of these deaths. Diarrhoeal diseases, caused primarily by inadequate sanitation, are the second largest killer of children, and cause 17% of deaths in
children under-five.

Over the past 10 years diarrhoea has killed more children than all the people lost in armed conflicts since the Second World War. Clean toilets save lives. Healthy people can go to school and go to work.

Research indicates that meeting the sanitation MDG target would yield economic benefits of $63 billion each year, and universal access would yield $225 billion. In other words, clean toilets contribute to economic development.

However, poverty is more than a lack of income; it refers to social inclusion and dignity. Around 800,000 people in India still personally remove faeces from latrines, carrying them away in baskets on their heads - a practice that bars their inclusion from mainstream society. Poor women and girls are hit hardest by the absence of toilets, risking sexual harassment while looking for privacy in the darkness.

Clearly, access to sanitation services has enormous potential to improve and save lives. What is lacking is the means to achieve this. According to Dr. Roberto Lenton, WSSCC Chair, ‘the Global Sanitation Fund seeks to help achieve our vision of improved sanitation services and good hygiene practices for all, through grants to carefully selected community-based programmes in the world's poorest countries'.

The aim of the fund is to support national efforts to help larger numbers of poor people attain sustainable access to basic sanitation and good hygiene practices. Many developing countries have national sanitation and hygiene policies, but lack the means to implement them. WSSCC will work alongside governments in eligible countries to implement existing sanitation policies through the giving of grants.

The Global Sanitation Fund will focus particularly on groups whose needs are not met by existing funding mechanisms, especially the poor in rural and periurban areas. Since sanitation and hygiene have strong gender links, the Global Sanitation Fund requires that all funded projects give due consideration to gender.

Jon Lane, Executive Director of WSSCC, stresses that the Global Sanitation Fund is demand driven and people-centred. ‘The Global Sanitation Fund will not embark on the construction of kilometres of sewerage pipes and other huge construction projects, since top-down investments in the sanitation sector don’t reach the poorest people. The Global Sanitation Fund will support programmes that have been developed through decision-making processes involving local communities and will concentrate on hygiene education, raising awareness and creating demand.’

The creation of a Global Sanitation Fund recognizes the importance of reaching the sanitation MDG target.

However, accelerating access to improved sanitation and hygiene contributes also towards other goals, including reducing child mortality, the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, Achievement of universal primary education and the empowerment of women.

WSSCC was founded in 1990 in line with a United Nations General Assembly resolution and its Secretariat is legally and administratively hosted by the WHO. Its mission is to achieve sustainable water supply and sanitation for all people.

The Global Sanitation Fund is the latest in a series of ground-breaking WSSCC initiatives dedicated to solving the present sanitation and hygiene crisis. The Global Sanitation Fund is complementary to the two other WSSCC activities, being Networking and Knowledge Management; and Communications and Advocacy – particularly the global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All (WASH) campaign, which directly targets decision-makers to urge them to make the necessary investments in sanitation and hygiene.

More information on the Global Sanitation Fund can be found on: www.wsscc.org
DATE & VENUE Launch Global Sanitation Fund: 14 March 2008
International Environment House II,
RHIN meeting room7,
Chemin de Balexert, 1219 Châtelaine-Geneva
15h00 - 16h00
_____________________________________________________________________________
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Tatiana Fedotova, Communications Officer, WSSCC, Geneva, Tel +41 22 917 8674, Fax +41 22 917
8084, Email: fedotovat@who.int

Africa Gears up for the International Year of Sanitation 2008

2007-12-11T23:51:00.000-08:00

Media Advisory

The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and regional partners have announced plans for a high-level regional conference to specifically focus on the challenge of accelerating sanitation and hygiene programs in the continent.

The AfricaSan Conference scheduled for 18-20 February, 2008 in Durban, South Africa will be among the key activities in the continent to mark the global International Year of Sanitation, AMCOW President Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua announced today. The International Year of Sanitation, launched yesterday at the UN Headquarters in New York, was set by the UN General Assembly to help accelerate progress on sanitation by putting the spotlight on this silent crisis.

The AfricaSan + 5 Conference will follow-up five years after the First AfricaSan Conference of 2002 that helped to formulate a Millennium Development Goal (MDG) specifically for sanitation: to reduce, by half, the number of people without access to basic sanitation and hygiene by 2015.

An estimated 2.6 billion people worldwide are without proper sanitation and thereby lack protection against preventable diseases. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest sanitation coverage, according to a report on the global of sanitation and hygiene prepared annually by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. Only 60 percent of the African population has access to improved sanitation services, and the continent needs to increase coverage to more than 221 million unserved people to meet the 2015 MDG target date. Despite significant efforts by governments, progress on sanitation targets has been slow and uneven.

AMCOW says the AfricaSan Conference will focus the attention of Africa’s sanitation leaders and technical experts on exploring ways of accelerating achievement of national and the MDG targets for sanitation.

“AfricaSan will bring together African government ministers responsible for sanitation, and other relevant ministries; managerial-level sector professionals from the public and private sectors; and sanitation sector practitioners in civil society; multilateral donor/development agencies; research/training institutions and the media,” says Hon. Itoua, who is also the Congo Minister for Water. “The overall objective of AfricaSan is to promote sanitation and hygiene improvement programmes in Africa and to assist key African stakeholders identify actions to accelerate achievement of national and the MDG targets for sanitation.”

Hon. Itoua concludes: “The provision of sanitation is a key development intervention – without it, ill-health dominates a life without dignity. Simply having access to sanitation increases health, well-being and economic productivity. Inadequate sanitation impacts individuals, households, communities and countries. Despite its importance, achieving real gains in sanitation coverage has been slow. Scaling up and increasing the effectiveness of investments in sanitation need to be accelerated to meet the ambitious targets agreed to in Johannesburg in 2002.

The International Year of Sanitation

Proper sanitation: It’s a seemingly mundane thing that most people in the developed world take for granted. But at least 2.6 billion people – some 41 percent of the global population - do not have access to latrines or any sort of basic sanitation facilities. As a result millions suffer from a wide range of preventable illnesses, such as diarrhoea, which claim thousands of lives each day, primarily young children. Improving access to sanitation is a good investment because:

Sanitation is vital for human health
Sanitation generates economic benefits
Sanitation contributes to human dignity and social development
Sanitation sustains the environment
Improving sanitation is achievable!

Recognizing the impact of sanitation on public health, poverty reduction, economic and social development, and the environment, the UN General Assembly put the spotlight on the issue by declaring 2008 the International Year of Sanitation. The goal is to raise awareness and to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015.

AfricaSan Conference Objectives

The broad objective is to promote sanitation and hygiene improvement programs in Africa and to assist key African stakeholders identify actions to accelerate achievement of national and the MDG targets for sanitation.

The specific objectives:

Assess the status of sanitation and hygiene in Africa and the scale of the challenge to meet the MDG on sanitation by 2015 and the goals of the IYS in Africa.

Review actions taken to improve the state of sanitation and hygiene since Africasan 2002, and share experiences, lessons from the participating countries and organisations, in particular success stories and approaches that show promise for achieving sanitation take up and hygiene improvement at scale.

Discuss and develop an action plan, focussing on strategic areas, to improve monitoring of sanitation and hygiene in the region and accelerate sanitation and hygiene programs regionally and in selected countries across the region.

Generate political commitment, embodied in a joint declaration, to develop and implement effective regional and national policies, programs and partnerships based on agreements for collaborative effort at the regional level and specific actions at country levels;

Raise the profile of sanitation and hygiene as an essential element of sustainable development in the region; and strengthen leadership and advocacy for sustained sanitation and behavior changes.

AfricanSan Conference Co-hosts

AfricanSan Conference Co-hosts include:
Regional and International Partners
African Ministerial Conference on Water (AMCOW)
African Development Bank (AfDB)
United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF)
United Nation’s Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water (UNSGAB)
Water and Sanitation Program, Africa (WSP-Africa)
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC)
World Health Organization (WHO)

In South Africa

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF)
City of Durban
Ethekwini Metropolitan Council

Conference Venue:

Chief Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, Durban, South Africa

Media contacts:

Toni Sittoni: +254 20 322 6316 (Nairobi, Kenya ); tsittoni@worldbank.org
Happy Nkhoma: +27 723 777 192 (Pretoria, South Africa)

For more information visit:

www.africasan2008.net

Hurry up! 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation

2007-11-21T23:29:00.000-08:00

The International Year of Sanitation (IYS) has officially been launched, and the need to accelerate progress on global sanitation is more urgent than ever. As part of its ongoing efforts to address the growing sanitation crisis, WSSCC is launching a new WASH campaign.

The key message of the 2003 campaign, "Hurry up! 2.4 billion people want to use the toilet.”, (referring to the number of people who lack access to adequate sanitation), remains the core of the new WASH materials. Sadly, the number of people without adequate sanitation has increased. If 2.4 billion people were “waiting to use the toilet” in 2003, that number stands at 2.6 billion today.

The new set of WASH advocacy materials supports the broader goal of the IYS of raising awareness about the global sanitation crisis. The posters, postcards and stickers are designed to support WASH advocacy initiatives carried out by WSSCC's national coordinators, members and partners at the global level and at the country level. Indeed, the International Year of Sanitation provides a unique opportunity to reach out to decision-makers, and to firmly attach sanitation to the world's political agenda. Supported by its members, WSSCC will continue its advocacy efforts to achieve that goal.

"I hope all our members and colleagues in the sector will find these new WASH advocacy materials useful in our work of advocating for water and sanitation for all. IYS is our big opportunity to make a real push on sanitation advocacy. Therefore we expect that these materials will be widely used during IYS and beyond." Jon Lane, Executive Director of WSSCC
Please click on the following link to find the whole set of new WASH advocacy materials:
www.wsscc.org/en/resources/advocacy-material/wash-posters-postcards/wash-2007/index.htm

UNESCO POSITION ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE

2007-11-15T03:47:00.000-08:00

Internet Governance

A) Background. 2
B) The meaning of “Internet Governance”. 2
C) Issues at stake. 3
D) UNESCO’s mandate and principles and their link to Internet Governance. 3
E) UNESCO’s role in the debate over Internet Governance. 3

Preamble

The Internet is a major opportunity to improve free flow of information and ideas throughout the world. Internet governance mechanisms should be based on the principle of “openness”, encompassing interoperability, freedom of expression in Knowledge Societies and measures to resist any attempt to censor content. There should be no changes in Internet governance mechanisms that impede the free flow of information and ideas on the Internet. The effect of these mechanisms should be to enable greater use of the Internet by citizens with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

A) Background

1. At the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in December 2003, Governments requested the UN Secretary-General to set up a Working Group on Internet Governance, to investigate and make proposals for action, as appropriate, on the governance of the Internet by 2005. The request for the creation of this working group resulted from the controversial discussion on Internet Governance during the WSIS preparatory phase, where a number of countries called for a stronger role for intergovernmental structures in this field, whereas others advocated the appropriateness of the strong influence of the private sector.

2. The history of the development of the Internet, which was self-governing for approximately 30 years, is highly relevant to the future debate. The result of the minimalist government intervention was an inherently private sector run infrastructure based on consensus. UNESCO appreciates that this is one of the key success factors of the Internet. The other prominent success factor is the openness of the medium with its function of enabling the free flow of information that makes it an inherently democratic and empowering force.

B) The meaning of “Internet Governance”

3. UNESCO observes that the term “Internet Governance” has not yet been clearly defined. For some, it describes the narrow issue of the management of domain names and infrastructure that are presently administered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a private non-profit corporation under Californian Law. The prevailing tendency in the current debate, however, is to attribute to this term a much broader meaning comprising not only technical, but also ethical, societal and legal issues. Moreover, the term “Internet Governance” is misleading as it is laden with presumptions about governing approaches which for some may imply governmental involvement.

4. UNESCO supports the use of language in this debate that seeks to clarify, not entrench presumptions, advocating that discussants should qualify their positions by identifying what form of Internet Governance they are debating. In analyzing the range of “Internet Governance” issues, UNESCO considers it appropriate to break these down into categories or subsets and find the appropriate language to qualify them.

5. UNESCO advocates a precise and robust analysis of the perceived problems with the current mechanisms for Internet Governance before moving to “solutions”. Any measures to address these problems must examine the different types of Internet Governance.

C) Issues at stake

6. UNESCO observes that during the recent debate the range of issues has broadened significantly beyond technical matters to include societal, ethical and legal aspects. Many of the issues raised in this debate are considered by UNESCO to be of crucial importance to the future use of the Internet, particularly those impacting on the free flow of information, freedom of expression and recognition of cultural diversity (including multilingualism), on the Internet.

7. For UNESCO, an important issue is the interdependency between the smooth functioning, and openness, of the Internet, and economic stability. There is also the need to ensure that any Internet governance mechanism is technically and administratively competent to manage across all spheres. UNESCO regards as essential appropriate checks and balances to safeguard this principle and to ensure that management is not only technically competent, but transparent and non-partisan.

8. UNESCO emphasizes the fundamental importance of safeguarding the openness of the Internet as its historical characteristic and strength. This is increasingly referred to as an essential element of the functionality, infrastructure and impact of the Internet. Central to this principle is the need to resist “capture” or control that takes advantage of the Internet management mechanisms or structures or that results from excessive government or commercial intervention.

D) UNESCO’s mandate and principles and their link to Internet Governance

9. Historically, and at the Geneva Summit, the term “Internet Governance” was interpreted very narrowly, referring predominantly to issues of domain name management. Since then, many of the discussions over Internet Governance have broadened beyond technical and administrative issues to those that fall into UNESCO’s fields of competence.

10. Key elements of UNESCO’s Constitution, such as its mandate to promote “the free flow of ideas by word and image” and to “maintain, increase and spread knowledge” are linked to this broader policy debate on Internet Governance. This debate is also linked to the principles integral to UNESCO’s concept of “Knowledge Societies” (freedom of expression, universal access to information, cultural and linguistic diversity and equal access to education) that were echoed in the "Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace", adopted in October 2003 by UNESCO's Member States.

E) UNESCO’s role in the debate over Internet Governance

11. UNESCO intends to play a threefold role in the debate:

a) UNESCO will contribute to the debate on issues within its fields of competence, particularly the broader “cyberspace” policy issues (legal, societal and ethical), insisting on robust analysis, advocating precise language and a depoliticized debate.
b) With its record of successfully promoting collaboration among governments and civil society, UNESCO is ready to participate in discussions (such as via the Working Group on Internet Governance) and to assist those tasked with the review of Internet Governance to develop solutions that fit the diagnosis and are long-lasting in that they reflect a wider consensus on the issues.
c) UNESCO will continue to safeguard key values like freedom of expression, cultural diversity and openness. It will advocate that existing mechanisms such as ICANN, or any modification of these mechanisms, must reflect the following principles:

· The inherent openness of the Internet infrastructure must be preserved and should be conducive to the free flow of ideas and knowledge through word and image;
· Modifications must not result in the global Internet Governance system becoming subjected to governmental control, nor should they facilitate or permit censorship;
· There must be a precise correlation between new mechanisms and the problems they seek to address;
· Technical innovation must continue to be encouraged;
· Modifications to ICANN or new mechanisms should not inhibit interoperability, cause instability, nor should they slow down the continued technical development of the Internet; and
· Any global Internet management system or mechanism must be technically competent, transparent and non-partisan.
Whichever mechanism manages the current responsibilities of ICANN, the result should be one that enables greater use of the Internet, and thereby greater participation in the modern information world, by an increasing number of citizens from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

[1] Prepared for the UN ICT Task Force Global Forum on Internet Governance, 25-26 March 2004, New York

AMARC-WIN 16 days broadcast against gender violence!

2007-11-15T03:19:00.000-08:00

From November 25 to December 10th, the Women's International Network of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC-WIN) will highlight the 16 days of activism against gender violence with a second Annual Internet campaign.

This year, the theme of the broadcast will be: *Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence against Women*. The campaign will be broadcasted at www.amarc.org/16days http://www.amarc.org/16days**

International human rights treaties and declarations created within the United Nations that address violence against women and require States to take action include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, 1979), Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW, 1993), Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute, 1998), Millennium Declaration (2000) and Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and security, among others.

Community radio producers from Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe, North America and Latin America and the Caribbean will dedicate these 16 days to highlight the effort of women and men working to put an end to gender violence. The programs featured will include documentaries, interviews, debates, poetry, music and much more.

This multilingual broadcast campaign mobilizes community radios around a global issue and encourages them to use new communication technologies such as the Internet to extend the reach of their voices.

Radio stations around the globe are invited to download the audio files from the AMARC-WIN 16 days website and broadcast them in their radio stations during the 16 days campaign which starts on November 25^th and end on December 10th.

Share your radio programs; contribute to this year 16 days radio marathon. AMARC WIN is looking forward to your pre-recorded material that focuses on *Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence against Women*. Material on other subjects will also be welcomed. The language, length and format of the audio programs are discretionary. Please send us your material in MP3, OGG or WAV format.

For the broadcast on November 25th we need your material by November 20th, any material sent later will also be posted on the website throughout the campaign. For more information visit: www.amarc.org/16days http://www.amarc.org/16days.

The coordination of the 16 days campaign at the international level will be ensured by the International Secretariat of AMARC. Regionally, the campaign will be coordinated by the regional AMARC WIN representatives in conjunction with AMARC regional offices.

Asia-Pacific:
Bianca Miglioretto a bianca(at)isiswomen(point)org

Africa:
Doris Déris a doris_dd(at)yahoo(dot)com

Europe:
Lucia Ruiz at lucia.ruiz(at)radiovallekas(dot)org

Latin America and the Carrebean :
Maru Chavez a mechf(at)hotmail(dot)com

MENA:
Tamara Aqrabewe at aqrabawe(@)yahoo(dot)com(dot)au

International Secretariat:
Sophie Toupin at sophie(at)amarc(dot)org

AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement, and linking more than 3,000 community radios in over 110 countries. AMARC aims to support, defend and promote the interests of community broadcasters through solidarity and international cooperation.

The AMARC Women's International Network is a large assembly of women communicators working to ensure women's right to communicate through and within the community radio movement.

Reuters/Nokia Collaboration Has Potential for Citizen Journalists

2007-10-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

Reuters and Nokia Research Center have teamed up to advance the usage of mobile journalism with the release of a new mobile toolkit and reporting try-out. Although the initiative is currently aimed at professional reporters, the project has implications for citizen journalists around the world.

In a trial that began over the summer, Reuters journalists were given a lightweight " mobile toolkit " that included a Nokia N95 mobile phone, a tripod, a folding bluetooth keyboard, a Sony microphone, and Power Monkeys. The Power Monkey Explorer was used in Senegal and allowed the phone to be charged using solar power.

The toolkit also includes text editing and multimedia capabilities. According to Nokia, "metadata facilities" combine everything that the phone already knows about the story, such as GPS location, time, date and other information.

The toolkit allows journalists to write and publish stories from the field to deliver up-to-date news and instant reporting. The trial involved journalists reporting on everything from New York Fashion Week to the US presidential campaign. Archived stories are available on Reuters Mobile Journalism website.

Although the mobile toolkit's usage has been confined to professional journalists, usage could be expanded in the future to include non-professionals as well. According to Nokia's press release,
The implications of the research could be much wider in the long term.

Timo Koskinen, project manager with Nokia Research Center, said: "The term 'citizen journalism' has been in use for several years, but technological innovations - particularly the introduction of mobile multimedia computers - have transformed the concept. 'Citizen journalism' is beginning to embrace a wide range of public engagement with the media, from groups of contributors organized around subject or geographic areas to the casual participation of observers who are lucky - or unlucky - enough to be at the scene of a newsworthy event."

The Nokia/Reuters collaboration joins other mobile journalism projects, including Voices of Africa, a project of AfricaNews that we have previously written about. Voices of Africa allows citizen journalists throughout Africa to submit videos, photos, and stories via mobile phone.

The project seeeks to make news coverage more democratic by expanding reporting abilities to those who aren't represented by the conventional media with the basic premise that "the bigger the number of people expressing their opinions through that technology, the stronger becomes democracy, and the more valuable is the contribution to good governance efforts in Africa."
http://mobileactive.org/reuters-nokia-collaboration

GLOBAL CALL TO END OIL AID

2007-10-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

More than 200 organisations from 56 countries are calling on the World Bank and other international financial institutions to end subsidies to the oil industry. In a statement released today, the groups refer to 'oil aid' as one of the most glaring barriers to fighting climate change and addressing energy access in developing countries.

As the heads of the World Bank gather in Washington this week to discuss their energy lending and climate change strategy, the latest annual report of the International Finance Corporation indicates that little has changed in the institution's approach. In 2007, the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank provided more than $645 million to oil and gas companies. This is an increase of at least 40 per cent from 2006.

"The World Bank's approach to climate change and energy is inconsistent and contradictory," said Jennifer Kalafut of NGO Oil Change International. "Despite commitments to cut global greenhouse gas emissions, it continues to increase support for oil extraction projects around the world."

In 2006, the World Bank increased its energy sector commitments from $2.8 billion to $4.4 billion. Oil, gas and power sector commitments account for 77 per cent of the total energy sector programme while 'new renewables' account for only 5 per cent.

"The oil industry includes some of the most profitable companies in the world," said Petr Hlobil of the CEE Bankwatch Network based in the Czech Republic . "Why is the World Bank using development assistance earmarked for poverty reduction to subsidise oil, when investment is desperately needed in renewable energy sources?"

"Investing in renewable electricity will save 10 times the fuel costs than if we stayed on a 'business as usual' course with fossil fuels," said Daniel Mittler from Greenpeace International. "We can cut global CO2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2050, while addressing issues of energy access for the poor and maintaining global economic growth."

The Bank's support to the oil sector is also highly inequitable. While the majority of its oil projects are designed for export to wealthy countries, 1.6 billion people, including 500 million in sub-Saharan Africa, still lack access to electricity.

"By funding these oil projects the World Bank is undermining its own goals of fighting energy poverty and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is also perpetuating problems of conflict and human rights violations often associated with extractive projects, as in the case of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline," said Korinna Horta from Environmental Defense, a U.S-based NGO.

The hundreds of groups and affected communities that have signed this statement are demanding that the World Bank and other public financial institutions stop financing oil projects. They assert that development assistance should be tackling the issue of energy poverty and building clean energy pathways rather than subsidising big oil.

Statement available at: www.endoilaid.org/globalcall

EDITORS TO TRAIN ON WEB 2.0

2007-10-12T05:21:00.000-07:00

The International Institute of ICT Journalism (PenPlusBytes), is collaboration with the Ghana Journalist Association,with support of the French Embassy is organising a two day workshop for twenty(20) editors in Accra

The workshop which runs from 10th to 1th October is being held under the theme "Improving the quality of journalism using web 2.0" for Editors, Senior Journalists and Journalism Educators at the Accra International Press Centre.

The face of journalism is changing as well as the rules of the game and ICT especially digital media is playing a major transformational role. It is being held in recognition of the fact that achieving excellence in Journalism demands a new approach to working with ICT tools. The practical workshop will among others things, take participants through ICT tools for journalis-a journey through the past,present and future and video blogging.

Practical web 2.0 tools for journalism workshop will takt the participants through editing for the web, Developing a virtual newsroom using wikis, writing, editing and publishing online made easy for journalists using blogs and podcasting.

Kwami Ahiabenu, II President of the International Institute for ICT Journalism(penplusbytes) says " there is a growing need for training in ICT for Journalists, to enable them to be more functional in our new evolving Information Age and the first ever workshop in Web 2.0 is designed to meet these demand"

The French Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Pierre Jacquemot, Ibrahim Insuah co-ordinator of GINKS and the Deputy Minister for Information and National Orientation Mr. Frank Agyekum, Ghana Journalist Association(GJA) President Ransford Tetteh are expected to speak at the opening ceremony.

Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing(GINKS) and Ghana ICT Journalist Association (GHJICT) are partners to the training programme.

WASH MEDIA AWARDS 2007/2008

2007-10-12T03:44:00.000-07:00

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) are co-sponsoring the second edition of the WASH Media Award competition, to be held between July 2007 and April 2008.

This competition is open to journalists in developing countries who publish or broadcast original investigative reports on issues relating to water supply, sanitation or hygiene in their countries.

Journalists can each submit up to two pieces of work, which can include articles from traditional print or recognized online newspapers, magazines, or journals; radio broadcasts; television documentaries or reports. The entry form with further instructions is available at www.wsscc.org/en/media/wash-media-awards.

Eligible works must be published or broadcast between 1 July 2007 and 30 April 2008. Articles or broadcasts can be submitted in French, English or Spanish. Works not originally published or broadcast in one of these languages must be translated into one of the three competition languages in order to be considered for submission.

Prizes will be awarded in each of the three competition languages, with an additional prize awarded for the best entry that deals specifically with issues related to gender and water, sanitation or hygiene. A ceremony presenting the winning entries will take place at the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 2008. Winning journalists will be invited to attend as special guests of WSSCC and SIWI. More details about additional prizes will be announced at the winners’ ceremony.

Submissions to this competition will be judged by a nine member international jury, jointly convened by SIWI and WSSCC. The jury, which will have three judges for each of the three competition languages, will be composed of respected members of the media, particularly those with strong backgrounds in environmental journalism.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Originality of subject: capacity of the story to surprise
2. Quality of content: style, structure and objectivity of information
3. Quality of research: thoroughness in researching, compiling and
incorporating relevant information
4. Working conditions: difficulties the journalist had to cope with while
doing the research and producing the story
5. Relevance of the WASH issues: how well the story links WASH issues
to the overall development process
6. Potential public impact: capacity of the story to have an impact on
the general public and political opinion
7. Proven public impact: the story had a tangible effect on water supply,
sanitation or hygiene policy in the country or locality where and about
which it was written

All entries must be recei ved by no late r tha n 15 May 2008.

PROTEST LETTER TO PRESIDENT MWAI KIBAKI OF KENYA ON NEW MEDIA BILL

2007-09-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

Your Excellency, as members of the Kenya Online Journalists’ Association –KOJA, we join our voices with those who have already gone public in protest while pleading that you do not append your signature to the controversial Media Bill.

While we appreciate the role of parliament in enacting laws, we totally feel that this legislation will erode all the gains our country has made in the path of democracy.

Your Excellency , as someone who has stood up against oppression, tyranny and excesses of those in authorities, it is our belief that you will once again demonstrate these virtues by sending back this bill to parliament so as to be debated afresh with a view to expunging the offending part.

While the spirit of the bill is good, we are dismayed by the amendment moved by the Honorable Muriuki Karue, the MP for Ol Kalou which we feel will deal a mortal blow to the practice of journalism in our beloved nation.

The part we take exceptional issue with reads thus: “When a story includes unnamed parties who are not disclosed and the same becomes the subject of a legal tussle as to who is meant, then the editor shall be obliged to disclose the identity of the party or parties referred to.”

The protection of the source is at the core of the trade of journalism and we feel that when this is taken away, we will be facing disaster straight in the face. We also feel that (1) The Bill was passed with extreme minority of MPs present. There were only 27 MPs. This is a dangerous precedent which we believe you would not want to be a parliamentary culture during your leadership.

(2) The clause will inhibit the media from supporting you in the war against corruption and other social ills. (3) Your government may be judged as restricting freedom of the press and by extension freedom of citizens to express themselves openly through media channels. It is acknowledged that there cannot be a free society without a free press. (4) As Online journalists we are compelled by Journalism values to be the voice of the suffering.

And as someone has already pointed out, we feel that risking the identity of our news sources would be like having the police name their informers, which will have similar repercussions.

Your Excellency, we appeal to you that may wisdom prevail so that this draconian piece of legislation may not be associated with you , nor your Government.

Mr.Charles Ogallo.

News Correspondent / National Convernor.
Kenya Online Journalists’ Association –KOJA.
Box 87752, Mombasa.

Kenya.

Email; kogallo200@yahoo

Cellphone; 254-0720504864
http://www.kojanews.blogspot.com/

THE KOJA -PLAN OF ACTION -2007-2011

2006-11-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

The KOJA Strategic Plan 2007-2010 outlines the key programme areas. This plan, apart from being the main fulcrum of strategic guidance and future direction, will give KOJA the much anticipated impetus, optimism and commitment to meeting the future challenges of governance and development through the media in Kenya. It also serves as our template of development within a growing, dynamic and difficult competitive environment. The Plan is currently under review to respond to new challenges. The new Plan will cover the period 2007-2011.The salient KOJA programmatic areas are outlined in the Strategic Plan (2007-2011) as follows:

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR ONLINE MEDIA Objectives;

• To promote decision making among membership
• To improve quality service delivery to readers/communities.
• To raise awareness among Journalists of their journalistic duties, and
• To mainstream journalistic participation in online Journalism and ICTs development.
Activities
• Training of Trainers (ToT)
• Development of education sessions for Online and ICTs Journalists
• Identification of suitable training institutions and resource persons
• Putting in place structures and systems for community and civil society participation in Media governance, and
• Resource mobilizations.

GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRATISATION Objectives;

• To establish and enforce minimum integrity and accountability standards among its membership
• To seek and promote innovative community participation mechanisms
• To lobby public and private sectors to effectively participate in media development
• Promote consultative forums for research and development with government, civil society and private sector
• To promote joint action planning and committees for enhancement of online Journalism and ICT for Development (ICT4D).
Activities
• Develop and promote integrity systems in the Media
• Review of Government legislation which impact on Media and peoples participation
• Initiate policy research in priority areas
• Develop a Journalistic participation strategy, and
• Implement service delivery surveys in all local online media organizations.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION Objectives ;

• To improve the commitment and create interest among members and stakeholders
• To improve accountability to members
• To develop and implement appropriate communication and reporting systems
• To strengthen the content and circulation of KOJA Alpha Newsletter, and
• To encourage members to acquire and install modern electronic communication systems.
Activities
• Encouraging members to be on e-mail/ internet
• Reviewing and operationalising the KOJA structures
• Develop a strategy to poll members and civil society
• Establish a Public Relations Office to enhance relations with civil society and private/ public sectors
• Regular production and dissemination of KOJA Alpha Newsletter
• Develop a media strategy, and
• Participate effectively in regional media and ICTs networks.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (OD) Objectives ;

• To develop capacity to respond to stakeholder demands through improved office management, administration and communication systems, and
• To develop and install financial management, accounting and budgeting systems and procedures.
Activities
• Development of clear office procedures
• Development of an accounting manual
• Development of a stakeholder database
• Training staff in office management, accounting, reporting, and customer care, and
• Identify and deploy appropriate technical assistance in systems formulation, installation and training.

DEVELOPMENT INNOVATIONS Objectives;

In the plan period, KOJA will evolve and promote innovative projects and approaches to address emerging challenges for effective human development in various areas.
Activities

HIV/AIDS ;

• Conduct an annual HIV/ AIDS situation analysis
• Hold awareness campaigns
Poverty
• Conduct poverty baseline surveys
• Develop appropriate intervention mechanisms
• Create coalitions to fight poverty
• Mobilize donor support, and
• Collect and encourage replication of best practices in housing for the urban poor.
Gender
• Conduct a gender situation analysis
• Develop a gender mainstreaming action plan
• Carry out a baseline survey of available resources in each Media Organization.
• Develop interventions that are in line with available resources

KOJA -MAIN FOCUS;

1. Networking:

The KOJA will have to be active and visible at the national level where it has taken deliberate steps to liaise and collaborate with various governmental and non-governmental counterparts and forums. These stakeholders include, in particular, The Kenya Union Of Journalists , Media Owners Associations, The Kenya Media Advisory Board , the National Assembly, relevant Ministries , Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC),Journalism Training Institutions such as the Kenya Institute of Mass Media , Government Training Institute (GTI), the Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA) and Kenya Institute of Management (KIM), the Kenya Alliance of Residents’ Associations (KARA), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and research institutions working in the field of Good Governance such The Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), The Centre for Law and Research International (CLARION), The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Transparency International (TI), The Centre for Conflict Research (CCR), Peace and Development Network (Peacenet), etc., and the media including the major media houses in print and Electronic media.

On the international level, KOJA will be one of the driving forces towards the establishment of the East African Online Journalists Association (EAOJA) as an umbrella body with Its mandate to represent the interests of online Journalists within the East African Community and lobby for a strengthened role and recognition of the online Journalism in the region.

KOJA will work closely in Partnership with the Commonwealth Journalists Association CJA, International Institute for ICT- Journalism in Ghana, Penplusbytes, Online News Association, and International Federation of Journalists and other media associations globally.

2. Partnerships:

KOJA will be engaged in programmatic as well as long-term structural collaboration with various donors and grant management bodies.

KOJA cooperation with partners is guided by KOJA’s strategic plan 2006-2011 that provides the association’s strategic Programme areas.

Emerging Challenges:

KOJA has established itself on the scene of public affairs and indeed as a mouthpiece of ICT and online Journalists in Kenya.

The immediate challenges facing KOJA are:

- Effective participation in the constitutional reforms.
- Capacity development for the online Journalists.
- Ensuring effective and efficient networking.
- Financial viability and sustainability of KOJA.
- Decentralization of KOJA to further strengthen KOJA’s outreach and communication with its members.
- Effective participation in the amendment of Kenya Media Laws.

THE KOJA- NATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

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1. NATIONAL CORDINATOR: Charles O. Ogallo- , News Correspondent based in Mombasa.
Email; kogallo2002@yahoo.ca.

2. ASSISTANT CORDINATOR - Waweru Mugo - Freelance writer based in ,Nairobi .

3. SECRETARY -Miano Kihu--Freelance based in Mombasa

4. ASSISTANT SECRETARY - Clement Njoroge based in Nairobi.

5.TREASURER - Beatrice Hongo News Correspondent based in Nairobi

6. ORGANIZATION SECRETARY- Justus Wanzala News Producer based in Nairobi.

7.TWELVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS FROM KENYAN MEDIA HOUSES.

THE KOJA -CONSTITUTION

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PREAMBLE

Whereas Kenyans have long desired the freedom of the media, democratic and vibrant media that are constitutionally protected and provided for;

Whereas we, the members of the Kenya online Journalists Association -KOJA:

- Are committed to the creation of a vibrant, sustainable and democratic online media that is constitutionally protected; - Have taken seriously the challenge to peacefully strive for this ideal;

- Are determined to unite in order to succeed in this endeavors;
- Desire to promote this ideal among Kenyan journalists and other peoples of all races, colours, creeds, and gender; now therefore, we the Kenya Online Journalists Association- KOJA accept and adopt this Constitution as the fundamental law of the Association.

Article 1: Description of document

This Constitution is the Constitution of the Kenya Online Journalists Association,hereinafter referred to as KOJA.

Article 2: Description of KOJA

(1) KOJA is a voluntary membership organization consisting of the following members:
(a) Full members, who shall be drawn from media organizations as legally recognized by the law;
(b) Associate members, who shall comprise all those institutions, associations and organizations that are involved in Media

(2) Provided that the decision to admit associate members shall be made by the Governing Council and ratified by the Annual General Meeting as hereinafter established under Article 4.

(a) Any institution, association or organization desirous of being a member of KOJA shall make a written application in which a detailed description of its vision, mission and objectives shall be spelt out.

(b) This application shall be forwarded to the Operations, Relationships and Public Affairs Committee as established under Article 4.

(c) The Operations, Relationships and Public Affairs Committee shall scrutinize each application and make the necessary recommendations to the Governing Council on the suitability or otherwise of each applicant.

(d) The Governing Council retains the discretion to admit or otherwise any application for membership.

Provided that this Sub-Article will not apply to any local authority wishing to join KOJA whose membership will be automatic upon fulfilling any requirements laid down by the Governing Council.

(3) Except where otherwise expressly provided for, all members of KOJA shall have equal rights, obligations and liabilities.

Article 3: Mandate of KOJA

KOJA shall undertake all peaceful activities leading to the establishment, functioning, sustenance and enhancement of viable, sustainable and democratic online Journalism but not limited to activities related to:

(1) Promotion, enhancement, articulation and advocacy; (2) Defence; (3) Monitoring; (4) Lobbying;and (5) Mobilization.

Article 4: Organs of KOJA

Subject to Article (5) hereof, the organs of KOJA shall be

(1) TheAnnual General Meeting; (2) TheGoverningCouncil;
(3) The Committees namely: the Provincial Committee; the Finance Committee; the Management Committee; the Operations, Relationships and Public Affairs Committee

(4) The Secretariat, which shall be headed by the Secretary-General.

Article 5: Powers of the Governing Council to form other organs ;

Subject to ratification by the Annual General Meeting, nothing in the foregoing provisions shall prohibit the Governing Council from forming such organs of KOJA as may be expedient for the achievement of the mandate of KOJA.

Article 6: Mandate of the Annual General Meeting;

The Annual General Meeting shall:

(1) Be the supreme organ of KOJA and have powers to deliberate on all matters pertaining to KOJA;

(2) Adopt, repeal or amend the Constitution of KOJA;

(3) Ratify the names of officials elected to the Governing Council;

(4) Recall members of the Governing Council where their performance is deemed unsatisfactory;

(5) Receive and deliberate on reports from the members and organs of KOJA as presented by the Governing Council including but not limited to the financial and audit reports, the Committee reports and the independent evaluation reports; and

(6) Adopt or reject such resolutions as may be presented for ratification by the Governing Council.

Article 8: Modalities of holding the Annual General Meeting ;

1) The Annual General Meeting shall be held within 12 months of the previous Annual General Meeting.

2) The Annual General Meeting shall be convened by the Governing Council of KOJA, which shall give a 21-day notice and disclose its agenda.

3) A Special General Meeting, in which shall be vested the same mandate as the Annual General Meeting, shall be convened by the Governing Council on its own motion or at the request in writing of one-third of the members of KOJA after giving a 14-day notice and disclosing its agenda.

4) In the event that the Governing Council fails, refuses or neglects to convene an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting as required, the members of Secretary- General shall convene them and where this fails, at least one-third of the KOJA can convene an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting after fulfilling the same requirements on notice and disclosure of the agenda.

Article 9: Quorums at the Annual General Meeting;

(1) Subject to Sub-Article (2) of this Article and Article 22 (5) hereof no business shall be transacted at any Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting unless there are present at least half of the members of KOJA.

(2) The adoption, repeal or amendment of the Constitution of KOJA shall not be valid unless with the support of at least two-thirds of the members of KOJA.

Article 10: Composition of the Governing Council

The Governing Council shall:

(1) Consist of 25 persons, at least 8 of whom shall be women, elected by the members.

(2) Be elected in the following manner: (a) Seven persons each, at least two of who shall be women, drawn from the following Media categories , that is: Print, Broadcast, Prodcast and

(3) The Secretary-General shall be an ex-officio member of the Governing Council and will be charged with proper recording of the proceedings.

Article 11: Election into the Governing Council, office-bearers, discipline and removal ;

1) The election of members of the Governing Council and the Management Committee of KOJA shall be conducted by the Secretariat every two years.

2) While discharging this function, the secretariat can appoint any impartial and reputable organization to conduct the elections.

3) Anyone seeking election as a member of the Governing Council of KOJA shall:

(a) Be a Kenyan citizen; (b) Be a member of KOJA; (c) and be a professional Journalist.

4) The Chair, First Vice-Chair, Second Vice-Chair and Honorary Treasurer shall be popularly elected through secret ballot by members at the Annual General Meeting from among the 25 persons elected to the Governing Council

5) The Chair shall be the ceremonial head of KOJA and shall, inter-alia, undertake to articulate KOJA policies and network locally and internationally advising the Secretariat accordingly.

6) The Chair shall serve for a maximum period of two terms each five years.

7) (a) In cases where a member of the Governing Council is to be disciplined or dismissed, any 13 members of the Governing Council shall call a meeting to do so; giving a 14-day notice provided the petitioners represent the different categories of KOJA membership.

(b) Any decision to discipline or dismiss a member of the Governing Council can only be reached by at least two-thirds of the members of the Governing Council.

(c) Any decision to discipline or dismiss a member of the Governing Council shall be ratified by the Annual General Meeting/Special General Meeting.

ABOUT -KOJA

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The Kenya On-line Journalists Association is a professional association for working journalists in Kenya. Journalists in Kenya have much in common but their circumstances vary. In many areas the media lacks resources, comes under pressure from government and commercial interests - and under threats from criminals and even terrorists. Access to high quality training is difficult among many Kenyan journalists and in most there may be no machinery for working journalists to get together and discuss their common problems, the changes to their profession and the new threats from security efforts and manipulation.

The KOJA exists to remedy this situation, to bring online Journalists, particularly ICT- journalists closer together whether they are working in print, broadcasting, or on-line journalism, and to help raise their status and quality. The KOJA will have several branches, and members spread across the country.

The KOJA mission

The Kenya Online Journalists Association is an association composed largely of professional journalists. The Association targets more than 800 professional members, that is, members whose principal livelihood involves gathering or producing news for online or digital presentation. The membership includes online news writers, Correspondents, producers, photographers and others who produce news for the Internet or other digital delivery systems, as well as academic members and others interested in the development of online journalism.

Our Founding Principles:

We believe that the Internet is the most powerful communications medium to arise since the dawn of television. As the Net becomes a primary source of news for a growing segment of the world's population, it presents complex challenges and opportunities for journalists as well as the news audience.

Editorial Integrity:

The unique permeability of ICTs and Web publications allows for the linking and joining of information resources of all kinds as intimately as if they were published by a single organization. Responsible journalism on the Internet means that the distinction between news and other information must always be clear, so that individuals can readily distinguish independent editorial information from paid promotional information and other non-news.

Editorial Independence:

Online journalists should maintain the highest principles of fairness, accuracy, objectivity and responsible independent reporting.

Journalistic Excellence:

Online journalists should uphold traditional high principles in reporting original news for the Internet and in reviewing and corroborating information from other sources.

Freedom of _Expression;

The ubiquity and global reach of information published on the Internet offers new information and educational resources to a world-wide audience, access to which must be unrestricted.

Freedom of Access:

News organizations reporting on the Internet must be afforded access to information and events equal to that enjoyed by other news organizations in order to further freedom of information.

KOJA OBJECTIVES;

1. To bring together young and energetic journalists who are hoping to excel further in online Journalism.

2. Promote online Journalism and ensure many local journalists venture into the ICTs i.e. Internet.

3. Promote networking between local and international ICT-Journalists.

4. Promote online research and information management among local Journalists.

5. Mobilize NGOs, ICT Sector and Government to promote importance online journalism.

6. Promote good working relationship between members and their organizations on ICTs reportage.

7. Promote online Journalism in local journalism institutions.