Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
25 March 2020
Post No. 136
The Week’s Contents
• Virtual Support during the Coronavirus Pandemic
• FACS Issue No. 67: Extractive Mining Activities, Ecology, Sanitation and Poverty Reduction in Africa
• Climate Action Month, Week Four Beginning 23/03/2020 – In Focus: Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Accounts
… and much more!
Key Messages
~ Virtual Support during the Coronavirus Pandemic (VSCP)
Last week, we told you that this Spring Relief is a special one as the coronavirus pandemic has pushed us to adapt our activities and services to the on-going health crisis. This week, we are continuing these adaptation and mitigation by re-organising our virtual support. We are doing it as many people have been affected by this crisis.
During this exceptional time of coronavirus pandemic crisis, many people are experiencing difficulties in meeting their basic life-sustaining needs and in accessing basic goods to run their daily life. These difficulties include: shopping to secure basic foods, coping with self-isolation or confinement, managing social distancing, etc. Other people lost their jobs or closed their business or any useful occupation. Other more have been forced to work from home and online.
This is why we are organising a Virtual Support during the Coronavirus Pandemic to help people manage without pain or with minimal pain this exceptional circumstance.
What is VSCP?
VSCP is about adapting our activities to help users or beneficiaries and our supporters, who have been adversely affected by the increase health risk, to mitigate coronavirus-related problems. This support, which is part of our contingency plan, is a different way of providing service to help reduce the impact of coronavirus outbreak and crisis.
VSCP, which is also flexible and supportive, is designed to ensure that needs are met during this unprecedented period. It has been conceptualised after a coronavirus risk assessment was carried out.
As the adjective virtual says, users or beneficiaries and supporters do not have to physically move in order to access the support and meet their needs. In practical terms, VSCP enables people in need to virtually access our advice services and other similar services in order to reduce or avoid sanitary poverty linked to the conditions that coronavirus crisis may cause.
For example to adapt our project known as ‘Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change’ in line with the coronavirus crisis, we have slightly altered it as ‘Consume to Reduce Sanitary Poverty and the Impacts of Health Insecurity’. Through this specific and circumstantial line of support, we can provide you with basic tips and hints regarding shopping ideas during the coronavirus crisis.
What’s on offer through VSCP
You can
√ Talk and discuss together about your poverty or hardship problem or case
√ Seek advice, support, information, guidance, lead, etc.
√ Get signposted or referral if required and where services are open during the coronavirus pandemic crisis
You do not need to physically move as we all required avoiding non-essential activities in order to help slow down and contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Accessing VSCP
To access VSCP, you do not need to register with us. You can either phone or email or text or complete the contact form on this website with your query or enquiry, and send it to CENFACS. CENFACS will get back to you.
To access or enquire about VSCP, please contact CENFACS.
~ FACS Issue No. 67
The next issue of FACS Newsletter, Issue No. 67 will be entitled as follows:
Extractive Mining Activities, Ecology, Sanitation and Poverty Reduction in Africa
How Africa-based Organisations can bring extractive activities in line with poverty reduction and ecological sustainability
This is an interesting Issue in times when the world is struggling in dealing with one of the toughest health crisis of a generation, crisis brought by the Coronavirus Pandemic that has life-threatening impacts of serious magnitude. It is as well a challenging Issue as Africa may soon head towards a double crisis (sanitary and economic) in the complex contexts of flight of foreign capital abroad, over-indebtedness and fall in revenues from the sale of raw materials and tourism.
Under the Main Development section of the post, we have provided a short introduction and the key notes that will make the content pages of this Issue No. 67 of FACS.
~ Climate Action Month, Week Four Beginning 23/03/2020 – In Focus: Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Accounts
Our Climate Action has entered its last phase this week with Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (SMNR). Although this last action has been disturbed by the coronavirus pandemic, it is about using natural resources in a sustainable way since their availability for human use is finite.
In practical terms, we are looking at how Africa-based organisations are doing in helping to manage natural resources. The action will focus on the following areas of work: conservation of wildlife and ecosystems, minimisation of environmental impacts and environmental change.
The action will as well consider their initiatives in the following matters: avoidance of degradation and destruction of natural resources, solutions to the problem of water balance and the improvement of conditions of resources.
The action goes far in considering the coronavirus pandemic crisis, particularly how this pandemic crisis may be also an opportunity to remind ourselves the need to sustainably and responsibly manage natural resources.
One thing is to say that one is doing something; another thing is to demonstrate this through evidence-based how this action is taken. So, in order to make sure that this action on SMNR is effective, the publication and availability of their natural accounts related SMNR would help in showing the extent to which they are dealing with the management. Their accounts can show actions undertaken in sustainably using natural resources, in evaluating their stocks of natural resources, if any, and in measuring environmental degradation.
Briefly, our last climate action of the month will be on the sustainable management of natural resources. This action will as well look at their handling of accounts related to natural resources.
To enquire about CENFACS’ Climate Action Month and Weeks and any of the areas of focus of these actions, please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
~ ReLive Issue No. 12: Coronavirus Spring Project
The 12th Issue of our ReLive Spring Fundraising campaign resource will be about Saving, Rebuilding and Sustaining Lives of the Victims of Coronavirus Pandemic. This theme has been selected due to the dramatic effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic on our work over this Spring and on our project beneficiaries. Following the discussion we had, it has been resolved to include the victims of the Coronavirus Pandemic in any of our fundraising appeals for this Spring.
The Coronavirus Spring Project, which is one of those appeals, is about adding value to other similar works and efforts which have been already undertaken so that the poorest people are not left behind during and after the tragic events of coronavirus pandemic.
You can find more details about the Coronavirus Spring Project under the page support us at http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/
To support and get further information about this project, just contact CENFACS.
~ ICDP (Individual Capacity Development Programme) Resource, Holiday with Relief – In Focus for Spring 2020 Issue: Holiday without Covid-19
The next Issue of our ICDP Resource entitled as ‘Holiday with Relief’ will focus on ways of passing, whether it is forced or voluntary, holiday or break without putting yourself and others at risk of getting Covid-19 during this Spring and beyond.
The Resource will give general and specific advisory tips and hints to nullify or minimise the life-threatening impacts of Covid-19 on ourselves and people around us.
Because of the specific conditions that Covid-19 has created on human habits and social gatherings, the resource will go an extra mile with some advice on adaptation and mitigation in order to manage the health challenge and crisis we are facing today.
The resource does not stop there as it reiterates the advice and measures already given to people for not to spread the virus but to slow it down and contain it as much as one can. It reiterates them in a different and enriched way so that people can apply them but not think they are burden upon them.
To enquire about the next Issue of Holiday with Relief, please contact CENFACS.
~ Covid-19, Sanitation Poverty and Natural Resource Management
As Covid-19 crisis continues to grow, we are keeping on thinking and discussing its impacts on our work as well as on the health, safety and well-being of poor people and the world in general.
This week, as part of our thoughts on Covid-19, we are dealing with sanitation poverty and the impacts of Covid-19 on natural resource management. As we are trying to fight Covid-19, we are as well striving to reduce sanitation poverty and to sustainably use natural resources.
Let us look at its possible links with sanitation and natural resource management. Before that, let us explain sanitation poverty in brief.
What is sanitation poverty?
Sanitary or sanitation poverty is the state of having little or no sanitary equipment and tools or no money to buy them in order to survive and live. It is indeed the lack of control of physical factors in the environment that can harm human health. In this unusual time of the coronavirus pandemic, one could be facing a double fight: fight against coronavirus and fight against sanitary poverty.
Covid-19 and sanitation poverty
There could be some probable links between Covid-19 and sanitation poverty if people and communities are experiencing difficulties in having sanitary resources to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic. If this lack of sanitary resources together with the lack of money becomes continuous or repetitive, they could lead to sanitation poverty. In this respect, there could be a link between Covid-19 and sanitation poverty. In particular, when people and communities fail to be free from germs (as a result of a lack of sanitary items) and increase the risk of spreading the virus to others.
Covid-19 and natural resource management
Covid-19 poses not only a challenge about the reduction of sanitary poverty, but it also raises the debate over natural resource management. Covid-19 could reveal the typing point and be a perfect case about the concern on natural resource management.
It poses a natural problem in terms of sustainably and responsibly using and managing natural resources in order to fight a virus disease. We have so far seen the scenes of people trying to stockpile goods and foods to the detriment of others, let alone the conflicts and price increases to buy those goods and foods. But, it is also at the expense of non-renewable or natural resources.
It is possible to fight and stop Covid-19 without creating or increasing sanitation poverty as well as without misusing or mismanaging natural resources on which the lives of everybody depend upon. The Covid-19 thoughts continue…
Main Development
• FACS Issue No. 67
The next issue of FACS Newsletter, Issue No. 67 will be entitled as follows:
Extractive Mining Activities, Ecology, Sanitation and Poverty Reduction in Africa
How Africa-based Organisations can bring extractive activities in line with poverty reduction and ecological sustainability
• • What this issue will be about
This short introduction gives an idea about it.
The activities related to the removal of natural resources (such as oil, gas , minerals, etc.) from the ground often have impacts on the interrelationships between organisms and their environment, on physical factors that can harm human health, and on the need to reduce poverty.
Because of this series of harmful impacts on human health and the environment that these activities can create, there is a need to make sure that when these activities are carried out they also help diminish poverty and contribute to a good structure and function of nature.
Historically speaking, there has been a number of high profile cases whereby these activities undermine the needs of poverty reduction and ecological sustainability. Many of these activities do produce some benefits in terms of local employment and taxation for States where these activities happen. However, these benefits may not be enough compared to the return they do get from investments made.
For example, employing local labour to perform these activities may not be enough if jobs created do not address poverty or if simply the workers become in-working poor. Likewise, these activities can fall short if they do not improve ecological sustainability from the negative externalities they are creating.
Reducing poverty and improving ecological sustainability are more a commitment than just doing some symbolic gesture towards the local economy so that to be seen as trying to do something. Moreover, running some symbolic green projects around extractive activities may not be enough to resolve the ecological damage these activities may create.
In this context, Africa-based organisations working on poverty reduction and ecological sustainability issues can hold these activities to account. They can make sure that poverty reduction and ecological sustainability to be at the centre of these activities rather than on the periphery.
This central position of poverty reduction and ecological sustainability should be conditional to the implementation of these activities. This is without forgetting sanitation as these activities bring as well sanitary problems. Taking on board sanitation in the way makes sense as the world of today with the coronavirus pandemic has reminded us the importance of health and sanitation in our lives.
However, Africa-based organisations cannot go alone in this difficult mission. They need to work together with other players relevant to these activities while adopting a multi-stakeholding approach.
Additionally, Africa-based organisation should consider economic conditions of the time such as the flight of foreign capital abroad, the fall of revenues from the sale of raw materials and tourism, the over-indebtedness, etc. Some of these conditions have been caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
So, the 67th Issue will explore ways that Africa-based organisations can take in order to bring extractive activities in line with poverty reduction and ecological sustainability while considering the new conditions or context of working that the coronavirus pandemic has brought.
• • What kind contents will make the pages of this Issue
The following key notes will be developed to make the main theme of the 67th Issue of FACS, CENFACS’ bilingual newsletter:
Relationships between mining companies and Africa-based organisations
Do minerals raise finances or increase poverty in Africa?
Advocacy groups and mining in Africa
Foreign direct investment in the natural resources
Equating foreign direct investment in the natural resources and poverty reduction
Natural resource management, ecological management and poverty reduction
Attractiveness of foreign direct investment and ethical investors in the mining sector subject to poverty reduction
Are informal and artisanal miners trying to help themselves in ending their poverty?
Comment peut-on assurer que la plus grande valeur ajoutée minière générée soit retenue localement pour la réduction de la pauvreté?
Comment peut-on faire que l’économie politique de négotiation avec des investisseurs miniers étrangers soit favorable à la réduction de la pauvreté locale?
Comment peut-on plaider pour que le code minier soit aussi celui de réduction de la pauvreté?
Implications of mining activities for sanitary poverty reduction and the protection of the natural environment
What leverage can Africa-based organisations can have in bring extractive activities into line
Africa-based organisations as advocates against health insecurity and sanitary poverty in the mining field
How to hold to account extractive activities in the context of the flight of foreign capital abroad, the fall of revenues from the sale of raw materials and tourism, the over-indebtedness of economies
Advocates against sanitary poverty and unsustainable ecology (Project)
To reserve a copy of this issue or to get further information, please contact CENFACS.
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Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2020 and beyond.
With many thanks.
