Effort to curb illicit logging in Africa to fall short

Subject Outlook for deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa. Significance The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's World Forestry Congress last week said that the world has lost 129 million hectares (ha) of forested area since 1990, mainly in tropical Africa and South America. Three of the ten states with the fastest declines since 2010 are in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), due to demand for wood-fuel and timber for export. Much of the timber is traded illicitly, depriving states of revenue. Impacts Large-scale deforestation could undermine long-term climate change mitigation; forests are critical for absorbing carbon dioxide. The depletion of reserves of rare trees such as Madagascan rosewood will raise its value over time, boosting demand. Gabon's afforestation push -- it has gained 200,000 ha since 2010 due to state programmes -- will support eco-tourism.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Guler ◽  
Mustafa Demir

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on suicide terrorism in different regions of the world and changes in the trends in suicide terrorism according to regions before and after 9/11. Design/methodology/approach Using the data obtained from the Global Terrorism Database from 1981 to 2019, the descriptive statistics were computed first and then, independent samples t-tests were run to compare the monthly mean percentage of suicide-terrorism incidents that occurred in each region between the pre-9/11 and the post-9/11 periods. Finally, to statistically assess the effect of the 9/11 attacks and changes in the trends for the dependent variables over time, monthly interrupted time-series analyzes were conducted. Findings The results of monthly interrupted time series analyzes showed that after the 9/11 attacks, the trends for suicide-terrorism rates decreased significantly in three regions including South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and Europe, while the trend for suicide-terrorism rates increased significantly in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, no statistically significant changes in the trends in suicide-terrorism rates occurred in three regions including North America, East Asia and Central Asia and Southeast Asia before 9/11, during November 2001 or after 9/11. Originality/value This study indicates the critical importance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in suicide terrorism and its impact on these events in different regions of the world. The research also provides some recommendations concerning the effectiveness of defensive and offensive counterterrorism policies against suicide terrorism.


2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefaan Marysse ◽  
Sara Geenen

ABSTRACTThe recent involvement of China in sub-Saharan Africa is challenging and changing the world geostrategic scene. In the article, we analyse the agreements between the Congolese government and a group of Chinese state-owned enterprises. A number of public infrastructure works will be financed with Chinese loans. To guarantee reimbursement, a Congolese/Chinese joint venture will be created to extract and sell copper, cobalt and gold. These are the biggest trade/investment agreements that China has so far signed in Africa. This article seeks to contribute to the discussion regarding the agreement's impact on internal development in Congo. Does it create a ‘win-win’ situation for all, or is it an unequal exchange? We outline the internal and international debates and analyse several noteworthy characteristics of the agreements. In conclusion, we present a balanced view on the likely impact on Congo's short-term and long-term development.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 70-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Milne ◽  
Ermias Aynekulu ◽  
Andre Bationo ◽  
Niels H. Batjes ◽  
Randall Boone ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1633-1649
Author(s):  
Anand Sharma

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of economic freedom on four key health indicators (namely, life expectancy, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate) by using a panel dataset of 34 sub-Saharan African countries from 2005 to 2016.Design/methodology/approachThe study obtains data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank and the Fraser Institute. It uses fixed effects regression to estimate the effect of economic freedom on health outcomes and attempts to resolve the endogeneity problems by using two-stage least squares regression (2SLS).FindingsThe results indicate a favourable impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. That is, higher levels of economic freedom reduce mortality rates and increase life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa. All areas of economic freedom, except government size, have a significant and positive effect on health outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study analyses the effect of economic freedom on health at a broad level. Country-specific studies at a disaggregated level may provide additional information about the impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. Also, this study does not control for some important variables such as education, income inequality and foreign aid due to data constraints.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that sub-Saharan African countries should focus on enhancing the quality of economic institutions to improve their health outcomes. This may include policy reforms that support a robust legal system, protect property rights, promote free trade and stabilise the macroeconomic environment. In addition, policies that raise urbanisation, increase immunisation and lower the incidence of HIV are likely to produce a substantial improvement in health outcomes.Originality/valueExtant economic freedom-health literature does not focus on endogeneity problems. This study uses instrumental variables regression to deal with endogeneity. Also, this is one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the relationship between economic freedom and health in the case of sub-Saharan Africa.


Subject Implications of Africa's growing internet connectivity Significance Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which has lagged behind the rest of the world in terms of internet connectivity, is now the continent in which internet penetration is growing the fastest. This includes improvements in both fixed line and mobile internet connectivity. However, this growth will be accompanied by an explosion in cybersecurity threats. Impacts Cybercrime will undermine confidence in African online businesses, denting prospects of online commerce. The rise in cybercrime in SSA will necessitate improvements in law enforcement capabilities. This could mean greater assistance from and cooperation with other countries.


Subject EU-North Africa migration deals. Significance Large-scale migration movements from Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have challenged European governments in recent years, including stoking support for far-right/populist parties such as the French Front National, the Alternative for Germany, and the Austrian and Dutch freedom parties. Impacts EU member states’ ability to control the EU’s external borders is central to seeing off populist parties and restoring support for the EU. If Europeans believe their governments cannot control immigration, support for the extreme right will again increase. Were the far-right to come to power on the continent, the EU -- and its single market -- could be imperilled. However, high migration is unlikely to reorder EU politics to the benefit of the extreme right in the medium term.


Subject Infrastructure outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa. Significance Africa's infrastructure needs are under increasing scrutiny after several recent high-profile summits, as well as visits by international leaders to the continent. Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries need to invest collectively an estimated 130-170 billion dollars per year to maintain and enhance transportation networks, achieve near 100% electrification and 100% access to water and sanitation. However, SSA faces an annual deficit of more than 68 billion dollars unless financing commitments increase sharply. Impacts A growing number of international insurance firms are likely to invest in regional and continent-wide infrastructure funds. Sovereign wealth funds could lead the private financing drive as they face fewer restrictions than pension funds and invest long-term. Amid growing African debt levels, development banks and multilateral bodies will increasingly support private infrastructure deals.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney Chikalipah

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of financial inclusion (FI) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Design/methodology/approach The paper uses the World Bank country-level data from 20 SSA countries for the year 2014. Findings The empirical findings in this study indicate that illiteracy is the major hindrance to FI in SSA. The findings provide useful information to government agencies and international development organisations. Also, the findings can help accelerate and strengthen FI strategies among SSA countries. Research limitations/implications Some countries were excluded from the final analysis due to lack of data. Practical implications In the last two decades, there has been renewed interest in fighting financial exclusion in Africa. Therefore, this study provide evidence which clearly shows that enhancing literacy levels in a country can immensely contribute towards building the financially inclusive societies in the SSA region. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to empirically test the determinants of FI in SSA using the World Bank FI data set. Furthermore, this is the first attempt to estimate the determinants of FI with a combined data of SSA countries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathews J. Phiri ◽  
Alistair George Tough

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and records management in the context of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative research taking the form of a collective case study of six institutions. Findings That good records management can and does contribute to effective corporate governance and accountability. However, this relationship is not necessarily present in all circumstances. Research limitations/implications That further corporatisation in higher education is likely to be supported by, and result in, better records management. Originality/value The paper proposes governance record keeping as an approach to managing records and documents in the world of governance, audit and risk.


1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain J. Mckendrick ◽  
George Gettinby ◽  
Yiqun Gu ◽  
Andrew Peregrine ◽  
Crawford Revie

Large scale population growth in sub-Saharan Africa makes it imperative to achieve an equivalent increase in food production in this area. It is also important that any increase be sustainable in the long-term, not causing lasting damage to local ecosystems. Recent advances in information technology make the successful diffusion of relevant expertise to farmers a more practical option than ever before. How this might be achieved is described in this paper, which considers the transfer of expertise in the diagnosis, treatment and management of trypanosomiasis in cattle. Using current technology, the combination of different software systems in one integrated hybrid system could allow the delivery of high quality, well focused information to the potential user.


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