African Ministers of Environment Need to Implement Policies to Stop Plastic Pollution

The maladies that befall communities along with the proliferation of the environment with plastic and defacing of the landscape by sporadic mining dumps and trenches are countless.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Some policies need small or no financial resources at all to be implemented.  A typical and conspicuous example that comes to mind is the minimisation or even elimination of littering and plastic pollution in the environment, in communities and in cities. 

It takes only a pronouncement from a responsible authority to stop plastics or litter being thrown all over places, on streets and bushes.   An awareness of environmental pollution was long realised by our African governments as evidenced by the establishment of the first African Ministerial Conference of Environment {AMCE} in December, 1985, following a conference held by the same organisation in Cairo, Egypt. 

However, awareness of a problem without crafting a solution for it is meaningless.  The latest African Ministerial Conference on the Environment was last year, on September 16, 2022.  The latter conference was the 18th session of the AMCE. 

That being as it may have been, there is no evidence. whatsoever, on the ground to show that our ministers or ministries have been attending these conferences.   Plastic pollution is on the increase in virtually all our cities and communities. 

The maladies that befall communities along with the proliferation of the environment with plastic and defacing of the landscape by sporadic mining dumps and trenches are countless.  These hazards do not affect only humans directly but also indirectly.  Livestock consume plastic and get sick and die because plastic, when consumed by animals does not digest.   Game and other animals fall into the trenches dug by illegal miners.  

The effects of pollution on society in general are dire.  Overall, it lowers the standards of living of citizens and even shortens their lifespan.

The mandate of the African Ministerial Conference of Environment is to provide advocacy for environmental protection in Africa; to ensure that basic human needs are met adequately and in a sustainable manner; to ensure that social and economic development are realised at all levels; and to ensure that agricultural activities and practices meet the food security needs of the region. 

Protection of the environment through having it free of pollution could be one of the easiest to implement. It is a stressful experience to walk through an environment — a community that is polluted with plastic or litter. 

Courtesy: www.theindependent.co.zw