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Dear Colleagues,

It has been 50 years since the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Environment took place in Stockholm as the first global conference to make the Environment a major issue. This year, Kenya was a co-host of the two-day meetings to commemorate the anniversary, dubbed Stockholm +50. 
In Ghana and Ivory Coast, Africa's chocolate giants, farmers are making efforts to get buyers to pay them more for their cocoa. Read more in the newsletter.
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, became the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service. We draw parallels to some of the strong female leads we have in Africa. 

We hope you enjoy these and other stories especially curated for you.

Africa Co-Hosts Stockholm +50
Co-hosted by Sweden and Kenya, Stockholm+50 took place under the theme “a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity.”

The two-day meeting commemorates the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm - which marked a new era of global cooperation.

At the 1972 conference, 113 countries adopted the Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan for the Human Environment, placing environmental issues at the forefront of international concerns. The conference also led to the creation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and began an important dialogue between industrialized and developing countries on the links between the environment, economic growth and human well-being. Read more

WWF Reaction To 50th Anniversary Conference Of The UN Environment Programme: Stockholm +50

‘Furious And Disappointed’: African Activists Excluded From Stockholm+50 Summit
 

Voices From The Field

WWF Uganda, Partners Launch Five-Year Strategic Plan

The launch was presided over by the Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Sarah Mateke in Kisoro Municipality. Other dignitaries included; Western region forest officer, Hope Asiimwe, Municipality leadership led by the Mayor, Richard Ndyana and officials from the Kisoro district local government. 

WWF Tanzania Pushes for Landscape Restoration Through Strategic Hub

In joint efforts to a new demand-responsive technical facility to help countries accelerate forest landscape restoration, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is partnering with like-minded organisations on a fresh approach to help Tanzania and other countries to implement restoration through the creation of the Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) Implementation Hub. Read more

WWF At African Development Bank Annual Meetings
The WWF Africa Region Director (Alice Ruhweza) and Manager of Policy and Partnerships (Durrel Halleson) met with senior officials at the AfDB, namely Dr Beth Dunford - Director and Vice President in charge of Agriculture, Human and Social Development (AHVP), Dr Kevin Urama - Vice President, Antony Nyong, Head of the Regional Center for Adaptation based at AFDB, Vanessa Ushie - Acting Director of the Africa Natural Resources Center and Chief Economist and Dr Kevin Kariuki -  Vice President in charge of Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth.
They discussed the 10-year partnership and new areas of work, including Mainstreaming Natural Capital into Development Finance, Application of Debt for Nature and Climate Swaps in the Natural Resources Sector and a new phase of our Africa Ecological Futures Work. 
Look out for more information in these areas of work in coming digests.
Read more about the Accra declaration.
AfDB Annual Meetings: The week that Africa’s patience ran out
 

WWF Africa To Co-Host Green Economy Conference
From 14-30 June, the Africa Green Economy Conference will bring together global and regional leaders, experts, and practitioners working to put nature at the heart of economic development and policy in Africa.

The conference will open and close with two high-level virtual plenaries, on 14 and 30 June, with national meetings taking place in several African countries in-between. Read more

Bonn Climate Talks Begin - WWF Calls For Putting Food On The COP27 Menu

Ahead of the Bonn Climate Conference, WWF Africa Region Director Alice Ruhweza and WWF UK Chief Executive Tanya Steele have co-authored a blog where they ponder the questions ''Why are food systems so important to climate action?'' and "How do we tackle issues within the food system?"
Read The Blog

International Day For Biological Diversity - Q&A With Alice Ruhweza
WWF Africa Region Director Alice Ruhweza spoke to Winston Mwale of Africa Brief about the significance of International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) or World Biodiversity Day, which was commemorated on 22nd May 2022. Read more

Celebrating Africa Day
Africa has a long and special relationship with nature and we are proud to have been working on the continent, for people and nature, for over 60 years.  As we celebrated Africa Day, we also shared some of our milestones over the decades. Read more

Reports We're Reading

African Economic Outlook 2022

The theme of the 2022 African Economic Outlook is Supporting Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition in Africa. The theme highlights climate change as a growing threat to lives and livelihoods in Africa and mirrors the theme of the 2022 Annual Meetings.
Download The Report

Climate Change In Africa: Is Africa Sleepwalking To Disaster?

4 in 10 respondents said they were “not familiar” with the concept of climate change. But the survey revealed a deeper information issue. Only about 28% of Africans were “climate change literate''.
 
Download The Report

Working with Nature to Protect People: How Nature-based Solutions Reduce Climate Change and Weather-Related Disaster

The report, “Working with Nature to Protect People: How Nature-based Solutions Reduce Climate Change and Weather-Related Disasters” predicts that nature-based solutions could reduce the intensity of climate and weather-related hazards by an astonishing 26 per cent, in a world where over 3.3 billion people live in places that are highly vulnerable to climate change.
Download The Report

State of the Global Climate 2021

The global climate system is complex. 

In order to unpack such complexity, the WMO State of the Global Climate uses seven Climate Indicators to describe the changing climate—providing a broad view of the climate at a global scale. They are used to monitor the domains most relevant to climate change, including the composition of the atmosphere, the energy changes that arise from the accumulation of greenhouse gases and other factors, as well as the responses of land, oceans and ice.
Download The Report

Climate Action 2030

On May 24, the U.S. Navy released Climate Action 2030, its response to the Presidential directive to integrate climate considerations into all aspects of the Department of Defense. The Navy is the second of the armed services to release such a strategy – the Army released its version in February, and the Air Force continues to work on its plan.  
 
Download The Report

Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report

The 2022 edition of Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report shows that the impacts of the pandemic, including lockdowns, disruptions to global supply chains, and diversion of fiscal resources to keep food and fuel prices affordable, have affected the pace of progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 7) of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy by 2030. Advances have been impeded particularly in the most vulnerable countries and those already lagging in energy access. Nearly 90 million people in Asia and Africa who had previously gained access to electricity, can no longer afford to pay for their basic energy needs.
Download The Report
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Other Top Stories

Africas Animal Kingdoms And Their Strong Female Leads

As the Queen celebrates 70 years on the throne, the environmental organisation WWF takes a look at animal societies that also have strong females at the helm. From queen bees to elephant matriarchs and bonobo sisterhoods, female leaders can be found across the animal world. Read more

Hotter Kalahari Desert May Stop Hornbills Breeding By 2027

Research is showing that increasing temperatures, for instance, are having negative effects on animals. These range from mass die-off events during heat waves to less obvious problems like difficulty finding food. Read more

Name And Shame? African Cocoa Giants Make New Move With Chocolate Sector

Ivory Coast and Ghana are stepping up efforts to pressure the global chocolate industry into paying more to help support poor farmers.While publishing the premiums may not have much effect, any naming of companies paying below the level could have a temporary impact on the price paid. Read more

Africa Needs Better Cities, Not More Cities

Combating the threats of radicalization, terrorism, armed robbery, and petty theft in Africa’s urban areas has been one of the toughest tasks for governments. Read more

We Still Don’t Know Why More Than 400 Elephants Died In Botswana

The first cluster of 44 elephants died in March 2020. By mid-June, conservationists had counted more than 350 carcasses scattered across the remote, roughly 3,000-square-mile region. By the following January, the number of mysterious deaths surpassed 450. Read more

This Digest Is Made In Africa But Globally Curious! 

Here is a selection of global news that caught our attention

A New Billionaire Emerged Every 30 Hours During The Pandemic

There were 573 more billionaires in the world by March 2022 than in 2020, when the pandemic began, Oxfam said in a brief. Read more
 

More Than 40% Of Earth's Land Surface Must Be Conserved To Stop The Biodiversity Crisis

The research found some 64 million square kilometres (24.7 million square miles) -- 44% of the Earth's land -- needs "conservation attention" to prevent major biodiversity losses. Read more

Rare Albino Galapagos Giant Tortoise Faces The World

A rare albino Galapagos giant tortoise made its public debut at a Swiss zoo on Friday.
Two of the tortoises were born last month at the Tropiquarium in the western town of Servion as part of a programme to preserve the endangered species. Read more

50 Years Of UN Environmental Diplomacy: What’s Worked And What Can We Expect?

The Stockholm Conference was a turning point in how countries thought about the natural world and the resources that all nations share, like the air. Read more
 

German Judges Visit Peru Glacial Lake In Unprecedented Climate Crisis Lawsuit

In a global first for climate breakdown litigation, judges from Germany have visited Peru to determine the level of damage caused by Europe’s largest emitter in a case that could set a precedent for legal claims over human-caused global heating. Read more

‘Systemic Greenwash’: Scientists Call On UN To Ditch Sustainability Goals

The experts are calling for the United Nations to abandon the “Sustainable Development Goals” — a group of 17 targets adopted in 2015 to tackle global social and environmental issues from hunger to climate change to economic growth. Read more

What We Are Listening To
Well-being Series Podcast With Anne Merkle and Marion Osieyo - Soundcloud

Is Ukraine A Game-Changer For Aid And The Private Sector? - The New Humanitarian

If Only You Could Smell This Podcast - Quartz







 

What We Are Watching

 
Mount Kenya: A View of Climate Impacts and Opportunities

Mount Kenya: A View of Climate Impacts and Opportunities

Graphic Of The Week
Mauritius, Libya and Ivory Coast are Africa's leading countries on the latest World Happiness Report released on International day of happiness.

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Solutions Network published its annual World Happiness Report.
If happiness or well being are often deemed subjective notions, experts who participated in the report focused on 6 indicators: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. The rankings did not rely on the index of these factors but rather on individuals' own assessments of their lives. 
Read more

Coming Up

 

Africa CEO Forum - 13th to 14th June 2022

Africa Green Economy Conference - 14th to 30th June 2022

Desertification and Drought Day - 17th June 2022

48th G7 Summit - 26th June to 28th June 2022

The IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) - 18th to 23rd July 2022

Our Time on Earth Exhibition (UK) - Ongoing until 29 August 2022



 
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