In the Sahel’s arid regions and Africa’s megacities, air pollution and soil degradation pose serious challenges to income, food security, climate stability, and public health. How can this be fixed? Patricia Kameri-Mbote of the United Nations Environment Programme provides a response
Whether in Sahel’s arid parts or bustling mega cities, Africa’s air pollution and land degradation are wreaking havoc on multiple fronts: income, food security, climate stability, and public health.
African leaders just landed back home from Riyadh, where global targets were set at the global conference to combat desertification (UNCCD COP16). Now, it is time to develop national and regional strategies further.
With 70% of the sub-Saharan African population under the age of 30, many of whom are directly dependent on land and natural resources for sustenance, there is a pressing need to tackle the interconnected challenges of air pollution and land degradation.
Africa’s air pollution
Air pollution ranks among the leading environmental health risks and is responsible for one in nine deaths globally. In Africa, this means more than 400,000 premature deaths annually, often linked to dust storms caused by land degradation, desertification and deforestation. At the same time, two-thirds of Africa is desert or drylands, further reducing air quality and agricultural yields, affecting urban and rural areas and even across borders.
Deforestation, agricultural emissions, and dust from degraded lands are some sources of air pollution that impact entire regions. The transboundary nature of air pollution further complicates mitigation efforts, as pollutants move across borders, affecting countries
beyond their source.
Degraded lands release dust and pollutants that worsen air quality, while air pollution accelerates soil degradation and desertification. A unified approach to bridge the gap between sustainable land management and effective air quality governance can break this vicious cycle and enhance the resilience of African populations.
Coordinated action to mitigate Africa’s air pollution
Discussions at the recent 10th Special Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) emphasised the need for coordinated action to mitigate these impacts, underscoring that countries cannot effectively tackle these problems alone.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) presented a 2023 Guide on Ambient Air Quality Legislation to support countries aiming to strengthen or develop national air quality legislation and governance frameworks. To address immediate pollution sources, but also mitigate long-term impacts such as land degradation, the Guide emphasises the importance of robust governance systems, cross-sector collaboration, monitoring systems, and actionable and enforceable standards on air quality.
UNEP’s efforts, through the Montevideo Environmental Law Programme, to promote air quality legislation align closely with the broader environmental goals set in UNCCD COP16 to combat desertification and promote sustainable land management. Now, African countries can enhance their holistic environmental governance by incorporating air quality provisions that regulate emissions from unsustainable agricultural practices and deforestation into domestic legislation.
Robust national air quality legislation and policy
Robust national air quality legislation enforces strict emission controls, promotes sustainable land use practices, and invests in monitoring systems. To ensure these laws are effectively implemented, building institutional capacity is essential. Furthermore, because pollutants transcend political boundaries, cross-border agreements and regional collaboration are essential to addressing transboundary pollution.
Cote d’Ivoire is one of the first African countries to have begun working with UNEP to align domestic legislation and regulation on air quality with global best practices. This helps ensure national policies are well-designed and can be effectively implemented.
Integrating robust air quality governance frameworks into national and regional policies offers a pathway to reducing pollution and addressing its impact on land and livelihoods. This will achieve much of what is needed to break the cycle where degraded lands contribute to poor air quality, which in turn drives further degradation.
Following the UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh, air quality governance should be prioritised in environmental policy. The time for decisive action is now. An integrated approach requires commitment, resources, and international cooperation. These will hugely pay off countries in public health and economic growth and help build a resilient future for all across Africa.
