Illegal Logging in Guinea-Bissau

A new illegal market has begun to flourish in the impoverished nation of Guinea-Bissau. This tiny West African nation boasts a population of around 1.6 million people, and almost 50 percent of the population lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 per day. Some data puts the number at almost 70 percent.

It is not surprising to see a potentially profitable–albeit illegal–market emerge in a society with such high levels of poverty. This new market is the logging of the native Bissau-Guinean rosewood trees. Data shows that “timber exports to China from Guinea-Bissau jumped from 80 cubic meters in 2008 to more than 15,000 cubic meters last year.”

There are a few key reasons this illegal logging has emerged. First, there is the demand for the resource from China. In China, redwood is used to make “hongmu furniture, red luxury Chinese pieces replicating the styles of the Qing period.”

Logging also began because of a decrease in the price of cashews, Guinea-Bissau’s main export. With around 80 percent of the population relying on cashew production for financial stability, this decrease caused a large amount of the population to suffer a huge loss in income.

With few options for steady work outside of cashew production, many people have turned to rosewood logging to survive. A local can be paid between $2 and $6 to cut down a tree, as opposed to between 2¢ and 50¢ for a kilogram of cashews. This causes the locals to ignore the long term effects of deforestation.

The local populations use wood from the forests as their primary source of energy. They also use the animals as a source of protein in their diets, but “at this pace, deforestation is going to destroy the animals’ natural habitats and cause their disappearance.” This continued logging of the rosewood tree will lead to destabilization of the local habitat and essential aspects of the local population’s livelihood.

This issue is exacerbated by the political turmoil in the country. Local populations are turning to logging for survival, but the government has responded by either ignoring the situation or profiting from it.

In April 2012, Guinea-Bissau experienced a military coup. This has led to increased corruption, with the collapse of the rule of law. Fodé Mané, the president of Human Rights Network in Guinea-Bissau, has said that prior to the coup there had “always been illegal cutting of trees,” but now the practice is far more rampant.

Military and police officers as well as government officials accept bribes to allow the flow of rosewood to China. In fact, a “Guinean forestry official said his department could not prevent illegal logging because of the involvement of senior government officials and high-ranking military officers.”

Aside from the poverty and ineffective government, many Chinese import companies have increased the price they will pay for rosewood to keep the market intact. And it’s hard to say no to higher prices.

It would seem that the factors working to expand the illegal market of logging African rosewood are stacked against the activists trying to save the environment. There are many locals, government officials and environmentalists who want to see this practice stopped.

Yet for them, there is some hope. This April, after two years of military rule, Guinea-Bissau held elections. The elections were accepted by the local populace as well as international observers. There was worry that the military wouldn’t give up power, but they peacefully stepped down to the newly elected José Mário Vaz, who beat the military-supported candidate.

This peaceful election is a good sign that the country will move toward stability and lawful proceedings. Those trying to stem the influx of rosewood logging believe the law will work in their favor and the enforcement of the laws deeming logging illegal will become commonplace. For example, just this month, the government “suspended exports of wood in order to give priority to exports of cashew nuts.”

The recent return to the rule of law in Guinea-Bissau is a step in the right direction. However, the market can be difficult to alter. If Chinese importers are willing to pay, there will always be someone willing to sell. This issue needs some serious enforcement from the government. For the sake of the local population and its dependence on the forest, hopefully the government will continue to take action.

- Eleni Marino 

Sources: UNICEF, The Guardian, IRIN, Macauhub, Reuters
Photo: Tree Service Finder

10,000 Women

Women and girls make up 70 percent of the 1 billion people worldwide who live on less than $1 per day, yet women produce half of the world’s food, work two-thirds of the world’s working hours and play a crucial role in their local communities’ economies and in the health and welfare of their families.

Empowering women through education — especially on the topic of business and entrepreneurship — is critical to the fight against world poverty. Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women program is one impressive initiative that is playing a significant role in this fight, working to provide women entrepreneurs around the world with a life-changing business and management education.

Launched in 2008, the Goldman Sachs Foundation set out with the goal to provide 10,000 under-served women across 43 countries — including Egypt, China, India and Brazil — with entrepreneurial and business skills, as well as with mentoring and networking opportunities.

10,000 Women was founded on research carried out by Sachs — Womenomics and Women Hold Up Half the Sky — that indicated that investing in women can have a significant impact on the gross domestic product (GDP) growth. The finding was an impressive forecast: the per capita income in 15 major developing countries would increase by 14 percent by 2020 and by 20 percent by 2030 if women’s wages would be equal to those of men’s.

The program 10,000 Women was built on the belief that partnerships between public, private and nonprofit sectors are essential to bringing about change through improved education opportunities for women. The program works at the ground level with more than 80 academic and non-governmental organizations, as well as more than 30 of the world’s top-tier business schools. Partners at all levels of the operation contribute their valuable time, mentorship and expertise necessary to implementing the locally designed certificate programs.

For each country in which the 10,000 Women program is launched, partnership is essential. Management and selection committees are formed in each country by bringing together people from the local business schools, business community and partner schools.

In some cases, a representative from Sachs will also join a selection committee. Together, committees in each country select the women who will participate in the program — women whose financial or practical situations would have prevented them from receiving such an education opportunity.

The programs, which are culturally appropriate, flexible and intensive, range from five weeks to six months and are designed to provide each female scholar with an individualized business education. Courses range from marketing and business plan writing to accounting e-commerce. Frequent guest lecturers and business plan competitions add to the exceptionality of the program, which continues to support its participants long after completion through networking, mentorship and support services.

To date, 10,000 Women has reached well beyond its titular goal, and its graduates have reported immediate and sustained business growth. Tracking its graduates’ success, the organization has reported that 30 months after completing the education program, 82 percent of graduates have increased their income and 71 percent have added new jobs. Perhaps more impressively, nine out of 10 participants of the program continue to utilize their newfound business skills by educating, mentoring and supporting other women.

10,000 Women will continue to invest not only in women, children, families and communities, but also, subsequently, in the entire future of our global economy.

- Elizabeth Nutt

Sources: Care, UN Women, Global Citizen, Goldman Sachs, Women and Girls Fund
Photo: Philanthropy Stories

Contraception in Niger

Considered to be one of the world’s poorest countries with one of the most serious food crises on the planet, Niger is also one of the countries with the highest birthrates. According to The New York Times, if the nation’s birthrate continues at its current rate, “the population will double in the next 15 years, to 35 million from over 17 million.”

Unfortunately, lack of food availability and large family sizes often go hand in hand. Although aid is given to Niger in order to help feed the starving citizens, aid in the form of birth control is not often distributed.

Moreover, even when women have access to contraception in Niger, they are often discouraged from using it by imams who are against “‘Western’ notions like birth control.”

While the Sahel Humanitarian Food Response Plan of 2014-2016 from the U.N. thoroughly discusses how to combat the severe food crisis in Niger, it does not address the topic of contraception.

Jean-Pierre Guengant, a research specialist of the Sahel region, told The New York Times that in a paper by himself and John F. May, another demographer, that “human capital formation investments (for example, education and health) and job creation appear to have been greatly facilitated by a rapid decline in fertility.”

His point is that while addressing the food crisis in Niger is very significant, it is not the only issue that needs to be examined when working to support and reconstruct the lives of the citizens of Niger. Understanding the value of contraception and figuring out a way to incorporate it into the daily lives of a majority of the people living in Niger will enormously enhance the quality of life in the region. Additionally, Guengant claims that one of the keys to fully incorporating contraception into the lives of the people of Niger is to attain a strong level of political commitment to the regular use of contraception.

- Jordyn Horowitz

Sources: The New York Times, OCHA, Guttmacher Institute
Photo: Women Advance

World Bank and Tunisian Government

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a U.S. $300 million program that will focus on increasing efficiency within local governments. The campaign is the first project that will aim to prioritize decentralization within the Tunisian government. It is particularly interested in increasing municipalities’ ability to deliver services to urban populations.

The campaign is called Urban Development and Local Governance Program and will impact all 264 Tunisian municipalities. It will also act as an aid to support the Tunisian government’s own plan to decentralize authority, a plan that took effect this year and will run through 2019. Although the municipalities are not equal in size, historically they have all lacked the power to make decisions. Additionally, they hold weak authority, have almost no connection to the citizens and play a miniscule role in local development.

The program will attempt to reverse these trends. While financial stability and increased authority in decision-making positions are the main points, the program aims to increase community involvement, especially in regard to the youth and women. The program looks to have these groups involved in the decision making process.

As a part of the Arab Spring, Tunisia celebrated independence three years ago. In January of this year, the country drafted and adopted a new version of the constitution. The Tunisian Republic, as it is now called, fares well when compared to other products of the uprising such as the coup in Africa and the war in Syria. But freedom comes at a steep price and the republic is dealing with economic, security and political challenges.

The recent program seems to have come at an ideal time for the Tunisians. Previously, giving aid to the government was described as “a noose,” by one critic. The constitution that was ratified in January faced an incredible amount of setbacks, not the least of which included several assassinations.

In January, the United States State Department announced that Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia was a terrorist group. The State Department alleged that the AST had ties with al-Qaeda. The Tunisian government responded by banning the group, although there were many subsequent clashes. Included in these uprisings was Mohamed Brahmi, a founder of the People’s Movement in Tunisia.

But the World Bank has pledged its faith in Tunisia. In total, 1.2 billion USD will be given to the country in 2014. This number represents quadruple the amount given in the pre-revolution period and double what has been given in the wake of the uprising.

- Andrew Rywak

Sources: The World Bank, Wamda, Al Jazeera
Photo: Infrastructure North Africa

Africa’s Farming Gender Gap

From the work place to politics to the home, movements from every corner of the globe are working to address the continued disparities in gender equality.

In a recent joint World Bank and O.N.E. Campaign report called “Leveling the Field, Improving Opportunities for Women Farmers in Africa,” it appears that addressing the gender gap in agriculture in Africa is not as straight-forward as it may seem.

The general argument goes that if female farmers have the same access to productive resources as men, then they will be able to reach similar yields in their crop outputs. However, despite this well documented and well-argued position, it seems that this is not enough to address the gender gap between men and women farmers.

For example, in Ethiopia women produce 23 percent less per hectare than men; in Malawi 25 percent less; in Tanzania 14 percent less. In Niger (19 percent less), even when women use the same amount of labor for their plots, men still hold an advantage in yield rates.

There are a number of reasons that female farmers are producing consistently less than their male counterparts, including the fact that there is a continued gap in access to farming inputs (labor, better seeds, fertilizers etc.). In addition, many women often have to split their time farming with childcare duties, reducing the amount of energy and focus they are able to give to producing high crop yields.

There are also cultural norms in place, which influence male laborers to work harder for a male farmer than a female. This means that the females are not able to command as much authority on their hired labor, which impacts the production rates during planting and harvesting seasons.

In order to overcome these barriers, African governments and partners must work to put in place more effective and targeted policies that will enhance gender equality among African female farmers. The report listed several possible policies including: strengthening women’s land rights, improving women’s access to hired labor – as well as tools and equipment– and finally promoting women’s cultivation of high-value or cash crops, to help them reap better and more profitable yields.

Addressing gender gaps around the world requires the same type of targeted policies as the World Bank and O.N.E. Campaign report suggests for African female farmers. Making women a priority for economic growth, in all sectors of society, is not just good social policy, but also a good policy for long-term economic development.

- Andrea Blinkhorn 

Sources: The World Bank 1, The Guardian, The World Bank 2, The World Bank 3
Photo: Africa Green Media