The case for ecological reparations in Africa

• Main Author: Obeng-Odoom, Franklin
• Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
• Format: Newsletter
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Business; Science::Biological sciences::Ecology; Africa; Ecological Reparations; Circular Economy; Imperialism
• Online Access: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/cas/news-events/news/details/the-case-for-ecological-reparations-in-africa; https://hdl.handle.net/10356/166349
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh made the point: the world faces a novel problem. The scale of socio-ecological crises that afflict the earth is unprecedented. According to the latest assessment by the IPCC, these problems are worsening and will continue to do so. There is more than 50% chance that global warming will reach or exceed 1.5°C in the near-term (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2022). The ramifications are certain, but uneven (IPCC, 2022, p.14). Reversing rapid biodiversity loss has also eluded humanity since the first global agreement to do so by 2010.[1] So, the forthcoming COP 15 in Montreal, Canada, will revisit the issue. This attempt to revisit the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, ratified by every UN member state except the U.S, is critical for Africa. Whether in terms of climate change or biodiversity loss, COP 27 or COP 15, the regions of highest exposure are Africa and elsewhere in the Global South (IPCC, 2022, p. 14). Not only 3.6 billion people face existential outcomes, but also many plants and animals risk total extinction (IPCC, 2022, pp. 14-16). In his book, Extinction, Ashley Dawson (2016, pp. 7-8) points out that in the last 20 years, 70,000 African elephants have been killed and the number of rare forest elephants in Africa has declined by 60%; We are all at risk of extinction. This is an emergency.