wfn.org | All Africa News Agency June 16 2003 (b)

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AANA BULLETIN No. 23/03 June 16, 2003 (b)

Pope Criticises Zimbabwe's Land Reform Programme

HARARE/VATICAN (AANA) June 16 - Pope John Paul II has criticised Zimbabwe's 
chaotic land redistribution programme, which is widely blamed for plunging 
the country into its current economic crisis.

Reports from the Vatican City in Italy say the Pontiff was welcoming 
Kelebert Nkomani, Zimbabwe's ambassador to the Holy See and 11 other 
diplomats in May, when he made comments critical of the country's much 
publicised land reform programme. But Nkomani has said that the programme 
would establish equity and social justice.

The Pope is said to have made reference to a 1997 Pontifical Council for 
Justice and Peace document titled Towards a Better Distribution of Land, 
which notes that "real success will not only come as a result of 
expropriating large tracts of land and dividing it into smaller units given 
to others".

In the period following rejection of a 2000 draft constitution that 
supported land redistribution without compensation, Zimbabwe's President, 
Robert Mugabe, condoned forceful occupation of white owned commercial farms 
by veterans of the 20-year liberation war that brought independence.

According to the President, the violent land seizures by the war veterans 
and his youthful supporters emanated from past colonial wrongs.

However, the Pope said: "Justice must be made available to all if the 
injuries of the past are to be left behind and a brighter future built".

He went on: "If land redistribution was to offer any practical and 
sustainable response to serious economic and social problems in a given 
country, the process must continue to develop over time, with necessary 
infrastructure being put in place".

Currently facing the country is a critical food and foreign currency 
shortage, with more than half the population in need of food aid because of 
the land reforms that has severely disrupted commercially farming activities.

Reported by Rodrick Mukumbira

Biotechnology May Rest Insecticide Resistance Problem

NAIROBI (AANA) June 16 - A leading scientists at the International Centre 
for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) has reawakened debate on 
biotechnology, saying it could be used to fight insect menace and food 
insecurity in Africa.

Speaking at the 15th biannual conference of the African Association of 
Insect Scientists (AAIS) held here from June 9 to 13, Dr. Ellie Osir said, 
"biotechnology offers great potential not only in both discovery of new 
efficacious strains but also in their production, deployment and 
improvement in control measures".

In his opinion, biotechnology could be used in a number of ways to minimise 
the insect menace, such as to induce genetic death to the pest, and to 
employ genetic engineering to enhance efficacy of natural enemies of pests.

He revealed that the possibility of developing transgenic insects with 
specific desired properties is currently receiving a great deal of 
attention, and may involve introducing genes that make 
insecticide-resistant insects more susceptible.

The interests in biotechnology would not have come at a better time for 
African agriculturists. According to Food and Agriculture Organisation 
(FAO), twenty years from now, developing countries will have to increase 
their food supply by about 70 percent to feed the population at that time.

But this is a big challenge, given the high crop and food losses due to 
pests and the warm tropical climate that favours insect life. Efforts to 
increase food production are hampered by pre-and post-harvest losses due to 
pests.

Dr. James Ochanda of the African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum says that 
yield losses due to insect pest damage range from 25 percent to 40 percent, 
reaching 80 percent in serious infestation and 40-80 percent in stored food 
products.

The conference took place against a background of increasing importance of 
pests and diseases that cause major losses in crop yields in the continent.

A source from ICIPE, says that although many achievements are documented 
and significant gains on control of pests achieved, "pests still continue 
to be a threat to agriculture, human and livestock health."

Reported by Henry Neondo

CHURCH AND ENVIRONMENT

Clergymen With An Eye For Environmental Protection

NAIROBI (AANA) June 16 - As environmentalist converged in various centres 
around the world to celebrate the World Environment Day on June 5, church 
leaders in Central Kenya, have spoken about their frustrations in fighting 
forests destruction in the region, situated on edge of Mount Kenya.

The church leaders, environmentalists and the public, led by the Green Belt 
Movement, an environmental non-governmental organisation, converged at the 
Tumu Tumu hill to plant trees, and urge the local authorities to arrest 
environmental destruction in the area.

Tumu Tumu falls in a water catchment area of key Kenyan rivers, but recent 
human activities have threatened to disrupt this environment. Experts have 
warned that should this continue, the country could experience chronic 
water shortages.

Speaking to AANA at the hill, leaders of the Presbyterian Church of East 
Africa (PCEA) said they had watched permanent streams dry and disappear. 
According  to them, logging activities have encroached on forests in the 
area and destroyed this ecosystem.

"Due to cutting of trees in this region, the rivers have been drying... We 
had never seen this before," said Rev. George  Kihuhu, a priest in the area.

Asked why the church leaders were so concerned with the destruction, the 
priest said most of the people were farmers. "If they are affected, we are 
also affected," he stated.

The newly installed church minister said that he would encourage his 
congregation to start aggressive afforestation in the area in order to 
guard against an imminent environmental disaster.

"(The) Bible tells us that God created man in his image and gave him 
dominion over the environment, but that dominion does not mean 
destruction...He is supposed to be a defender of that environment," Rev. 
Kahuhu asserted.

Tumu Tumu Presbytery Moderator, Rev. Peter Mwikumi told AANA that their 
past attempts to arrest the destruction had been hampered by the former 
powerful local leaders who had links with the last government. "The former 
councillors were really the cause of the problem. They used to (cut down 
and) sell the trees," he said.

"On the pulpit we have been telling our people that the cutting of the tree 
had to stop," added Mwikumi.

Addressing the meeting, Green Belt Movement co-ordinator, Wangeci Nderitu, 
said the issue of water, its quality and quantity, its guaranteed 
availability to all people, was among the most pressing challenge facing 
the world presently.  The theme of this year's environment day was Water: 
Two billion people are dying for it.

"With high level destruction taking place in Kenya, water scarcity is bound 
to intensify," Ms. Nderitu pointed out.

Most of Kenya's forest cover are on mountains, where rivers, whose waters 
are used by the population, originate from. Clearing some of the forest 
cover has contributed to the reduction of country's water sources.

Rivers have dwindled in volumes, according to experts, while others have 
dried up all together. A good example is Njoro River, which drained into 
Lake Nakuru in the Great Rift Valley. The river dried in 2001, posing a 
threat on the lake it served. Lake Nakuru is a famous tourist destination.

"There is a great need to re-plant trees in the destroyed areas. This will 
ensure that this does not continue to happen," said Ms. Nderitu.

Kenya relies on hydro-generated power for lighting, and for running of 
industries. In 2000, the country experienced a major power crisis, due to 
the reduction in volumes of water in the hydro-electric dams.

Even though this was attributed to prolonged drought at the time, experts 
observed that a lot also had to do with poor forest cover.

Global celebrations of the environment day were centred  in Beirut under 
the auspices of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), during when 
the UN agency urged the world populations to manage underground water more 
carefully.

Reported by Muuna Wamuli