Pollution of air (UNEP, 2021) and water (WHO, 2024), inadequate management of human waste (UNEP, 2018; Gutberlet & Uddin, 2017), trash and the plague of plastic waste (OECD, 2022), and deforestation and destruction of habitats (Manu, Chen, Hoang, & Leu, 2024) all threaten lives and livelihoods across Africa and can conspire to hold back both human and economic development. [...] Africans are divided – or in many cases uncertain – about the benefits and costs of natural resource extraction and how they are distributed: ▪ A plurality of 45% say the benefits of natural resource extraction, such as jobs and revenue, outweigh the costs, such as pollution. [...] (% who “agree” or “strongly agree”) Copyright ©Afrobarometer 2024 24 Conclusion The findings from Afrobarometer’s first module of questions about environmental governance and resource extraction are quite revealing: Africans are clearly experiencing the costs of widespread pollution and poor management of resources in their local environments, and they want to see change. [...] Regional coordination of national partners in about 35 countries is provided by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) in South Africa, and the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. [...] the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the Open Society Foundations - Africa, Luminate, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Mastercard Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the European Union Commission, the World Bank Group, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda, the Embassy of Sweden i.
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Table of Contents
- Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 896 Alfred Kwadzo Torsu and Carolyn Logan 1
- Summary 1
- Afrobarometer surveys 2
- Key findings 2
- Pollution The scope of the problem 4
- Figure 1 Extent of pollution problem in local communities 4
- Figure 2 Pollution seen as a serious problem in the community 4
- Figure 3 Pollution seen as a serious problem in the community 5
- Figure 4 Most important environmental issue in the community 6
- Figure 5 Most important environmental issue in the community 7
- Rural Urban 7
- Table 1 Most important environmental issue 8
- Trashplastics 8
- Angola 30 7 24 8 18 8
- Benin 24 25 12 28 6 8
- Botswana 67 7 4 9 6 8
- Burkina Faso 21 24 19 18 12 8
- Cabo Verde 48 4 11 20 7 8
- Cameroon 22 23 19 23 8 8
- Congo-Brazzaville 22 21 19 20 15 8
- Côte dIvoire 17 27 19 23 12 8
- Eswatini 44 5 18 10 8 8
- Ethiopia 10 28 24 24 7 8
- Gabon 22 14 18 37 6 8
- Gambia 28 21 12 17 7 8
- Ghana 31 11 16 26 6 8
- Guinea 10 32 27 14 15 8
- Kenya 25 31 14 14 6 8
- Lesotho 28 14 28 9 12 8
- Liberia 31 6 15 28 16 8
- Madagascar 11 40 25 10 8 8
- Malawi 13 62 13 6 2 8
- Mali 17 32 23 10 15 8
- Mauritania 20 6 27 26 19 8
- Mauritius 45 2 10 6 18 8
- Morocco 14 3 16 30 22 8
- Mozambique 17 24 20 12 13 8
- Namibia 29 19 10 17 12 8
- Niger 18 36 12 16 10 8
- Nigeria 27 6 15 26 10 8
- São Tomé and Príncipe 45 8 20 14 7 8
- Senegal 19 15 18 15 24 8
- Seychelles 55 3 5 5 8 8
- Sierra Leone 22 14 18 30 5 8
- South Africa 41 5 12 16 10 8
- Sudan 13 3 37 23 22 8
- Tanzania 33 33 13 8 4 8
- Togo 28 23 15 19 14 8
- Tunisia 38 4 25 14 11 8
- Uganda 22 48 11 10 5 8
- Zambia 29 24 17 6 8 8
- Zimbabwe 30 23 16 10 2 8
- 39-country average 27 19 17 17 11 8
- Highest priority problem Second Third 8
- Figure 6 Plastic bags seen as a major source of pollution 9
- Figure 7 Plastic bags seen as a major source of pollution 10
- Protecting the environment 10
- Figure 8 Who should be responsible for reducing environmental pollution 10
- Figure 9 Who should be responsible for reducing environmental pollution 11
- Figure 10 Government performance in reducing pollution and protecting the environment 12
- Figure 11 Government performance in reducing pollution and protecting the environment 13
- Figure 12 Government should do more to limit pollution and protect the environment 14
- Figure 13 Government should do more to limit pollution and protect the environment 15
- Figure 14 Should government prioritise jobs or the environment 16
- Figure 15 Should government prioritise jobs or the environment 17
- Natural resource extraction 17
- Figure 16 Natural resource extraction Costs vs. benefits and regulation 18
- Figure 17 Costs vs. benefits of natural resource extraction 19
- Figure 18 Demand for tighter regulation of natural resource extraction 20
- Figure 19 Natural resource extraction Community engagement 21
- Figure 20 Natural resource extraction Citizen voice 22
- Figure 21 Natural resource extraction Do communities receive a fair share 23
- Figure 22 Natural resource extraction Citizens voice and community benefit 24
- Conclusion 25
- Do your own analysis of Afrobarometer data on any 25
- References 26
- African Development Bank. 2017. Feed Africa. Belanger M. 2021. African environmentalism The forgotten continent in the climate conversation. 26
- Democratic Erosion Consortium. 23 October. 26
- Ben Saad M. N. Logan C. 2024. Keeping up with the peoples agenda Popular priorities for 26
- Center for Strategic and International Studies. 2023. Prospects for U.S. minerals engagement with 26
- Africa. 26
- Greenpeace. 2020. Plastic bans in Africa A reality check. Gutberlet J. Uddin S. M. N. 2017. Household waste and health risks affecting waste pickers and 26
- Health Effects Institute. 2022. The state of air quality and health impacts in Africa. Report from the 26
- State of Global Air Initiative. 26
- International Labour Organization. 2018. World employment social outlook 2018 Greening with 26
- International Monetary Fund. 2024. Harnessing sub-Saharan Africas critical mineral wealth. Manu E. K. Chen G. S. Hoang N. Leu S. 2024. Natural resource extraction and environmental 26
- OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2022. Global plastics outlook 26
- Policy scenarios to 2060. 26
- Impacts on health the economy and human capital 26
- Appendix 27
- Table A.1 Afrobarometer Round 9 fieldwork dates and previous survey rounds 27
- Country Round 9 fieldwork Previous survey rounds 27
