{"id":92848,"date":"2017-05-12T13:30:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T11:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/deputy-foreign-minister-ioannis-amanatidis-meets-with-patriarch-theodoros-ii-of-alexandria-and-all-africa-foreign-ministry-11-may-2017\/"},"modified":"2017-05-12T13:30:18","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T11:30:18","slug":"deputy-foreign-minister-ioannis-amanatidis-meets-with-patriarch-theodoros-ii-of-alexandria-and-all-africa-foreign-ministry-11-may-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/deputy-foreign-minister-ioannis-amanatidis-meets-with-patriarch-theodoros-ii-of-alexandria-and-all-africa-foreign-ministry-11-may-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis meets with Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa (Foreign Ministry, 11 May 2017)"},"content":{"rendered":"

APO News from Africa:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis meets with Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa (Foreign Ministry, 11 May 2017)<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa paid a visit to Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis today, Thursday, 11 May, at the Foreign Ministry.
 <\/p>\n

During the meeting, Patriarch Theodoros briefed the Deputy Foreign Minister on all of the issues and needs of the Patriarchate, which, through its missionary, humanitarian and educational work, is a point of reference for Orthodoxy and Hellenism in the wider region, and he thanked the Greek government for its support.<\/p>\n

Mr. Amanatidis underscored the assistance the Alexandrian Church has provided for deepening Greece's bilateral relations with the countries of Africa, and he praised the multifaceted contribution of local dioceses in dealing with the problems the African continent is facing today.<\/p>\n

Distributed by APO on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Sustainable hydropower development case studies unveiled at hydropower congress<\/a>: <\/p>\n

The 2017 World Hydropower Congress ended in Addis Ababa Thursday with the launch of a new collection of case studies highlighting good practice in sustainable hydropower development.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

‘Better Hydro: Compendium of Case Studies 2017’ is a collection of 34 case studies based on assessments carried out under the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, a tool developed through multi-stakeholder consensus that measures the sustainability of projects across a range of social, environmental, economic and technical considerations.<\/p>\n

The case studies were written by accredited assessors who carried out on-site assessments.<\/p>\n

Topic case studies focus on specific aspects of development, such as indigenous people, cultural heritage, economic viability and water quality.<\/p>\n

In addition, the publication features five project-wide case studies that cover a broad geographical scope and focus on different stages of project development. There are six more general initiatives demonstrating innovative local and regional approaches that are detailed in the case studies.<\/p>\n

International Hydropower Association (IHA) chief executive, Richard Taylor, said: “By using the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol, project developers have been able to identify gaps in their practices and processes, and better understand how they can be addressed.<\/p>\n

“This has brought forth some invaluable information for the sector as a whole, but until now this has not been made widely accessible. With the publication of this compendium, we are taking an important step towards sharing these examples.”<\/p>\n

ECA’s Soteri Gatera, Chief of Infrastructure and Industrialisation in the Economic Commission for Africa’s Regional Integration and Trade Division, welcomed the unveiling of the case studies.<\/p>\n

“This is very important and will no doubt go a long way in highlighting good practice in sustainable hydropower development, especially here in Africa where our leaders are prioritizing hydropower development as a source of renewable energy,” said Mr. Soteri.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the closing of the congress, IHA president Ken Adams said: “Today we are launching a compendium of case studies that show it can be done well, it can be done right.”<\/p>\n

The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol is a reference framework that enables the development of a full sustainability profile of a hydropower project, with a team of accredited assessors evaluating the sustainability of a project against more than 20 social, environmental, technical and economic topics.<\/p>\n

It provides an international common language on how these considerations can be addressed at all stages of a project's lifestyle: planning, preparation, implementation and operation. Protocol assessments use objective evidence to identify gaps and drive continuous improvement.<\/p>\n

The high-level 2017 World Hydropower Congress was intended to chart the course for hydropower development and operations over the coming decade, with the aim to ensure reliable and resilient water and energy systems for all.\u200b The congress aimed to ensure that hydropower can make the greatest possible contribution to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other international milestones, while managing the challenges of a changing climate.\u200b<\/p>\n

Distributed by APO on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).<\/i><\/p>\n

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Zambia\u2019s peasants at risk of becoming squatters on their own land \u2013 UN expert warns<\/a>: <\/p>\n

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, today cautioned that many Zambian peasants are at risk of becoming squatters on their own land as Zambia is turned into Southern Africa’s food basket.
 <\/p>\n

“The push to turn commercial large-scale agricultural into a driving engine of the Zambian economy, in a situation where the protection of access to land is weak, can risk pushing small-holder farmers and peasants off their land and out of production with severe impacts on the people’s right to food,” Ms. Elver said at the end of her first official visit to the country.<\/p>\n

The expert drew special attention to the fact that in the Zambian dual-model of land tenure tenants on state land enjoy the full protection of their property rights. “However,” she noted, “landholders under customary tenure, affecting around 85% of the land, mostly in hands of peasants, are essentially occupants or users of land and their property and land rights remain unprotected.”<\/p>\n

“This situation is particularly alarming since small scale farmers represent 60% of Zambians and at the same time produce 85% of the food for the population,” Ms. Elver pointed out. “These people are generally amongst the poorest of the population, 40% of them live in rural areas and suffer from extreme poverty.”<\/p>\n

“Many peasants are forced to work as contract farmers for the larger commercial industrial farms in adverse conditions, or are obliged to sell their products at undervalued prices to monopoly type multinationals who buy farmers’ product for export,” the expert explained.<\/p>\n

The Special Rapporteur heard testimonies of comparatively successful small-scale farmers who were still forced to sell their animals in order to pay for their children to go to school. Many small-scale farmers have their children working from as early as the age of six to secure their families’ livelihood.<\/p>\n

Ms. Elver noted that the growth in the agriculture sector in Zambia in the last decade has not been inclusive but limited to large scale farmers, leaving the small scale farmers behind. “The agricultural sector has failed to make a dent on poverty levels in the rural areas and as such the model for the strengthening of the agricultural sectors need to be altered,” she said.
 
“It is imperative that national strategies incorporate human rights principles that include the protection of their access to land and other productive resources in order to protect the county’s traditional food system, small holder farmers and their livelihoods,” the Special Rapporteur urged.<\/p>\n

Access to adequate and nutritious food continues to be a challenge across most of the country, with women and children in the rural area faring worst. Many children and their families only eat only one meal of not necessarily nutritious food per day.<\/p>\n

A recent study has found that severe acute malnutrition in Zambia comes with a 40% mortality rate, five times the global average due to lack in access to adequate health services as well as to therapeutic foods.<\/p>\n

The expert was alarmed to find out that around 40% of children under five are stunted with this figure reaching above 50% in some of the rural provinces, and even higher in refugee camps and the most marginalized rural areas, while the country was enjoying impressive economic growth rates of over 6 per cent per year.<\/p>\n

“This is not tolerable since the effects of under-nutrition are irreversible, and lack of access to adequate and nutritious food is having a detrimental effect on future generations and must be addressed as a matter of urgency,” she stressed.<\/p>\n

The country’s agricultural development model based on intensive commercial farming has increased rates of deforestation and to bio-diversity loss. It has also increased the use of agro chemicals, including glyphosate, which have a scientifically proven adverse impact on human health, in particular on children.<\/p>\n

“It is vital that development plans and policies take into account the true cost of industrial farming methods primarily for its people, but also on soil and water resources, as well as the social and economic impact on people rather than focusing only on short term profitability and economic growth,” Ms. Elver said.<\/p>\n

During her ten-day visit, the expert met, among others, senior Government officials, representatives from the UN system, civil society members, traditional leaders and communities in various locations throughout the country.<\/p>\n

The Special Rapporteur’s observations and recommendations will be reflected in her final report, which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2018.<\/p>\n

Distributed by APO on behalf of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).<\/i><\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

APO News from Africa: Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis meets with Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa (Foreign Ministry, 11 May 2017): Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa paid a visit to Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis today, Thursday, 11 May, at the Foreign Ministry.   During the meeting, Patriarch Theodoros […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[10553,428,23703,25734,4947,7050,25733,2439,5695,7301,25735,25736],"class_list":{"0":"post-92848","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-10553","8":"tag-africa","9":"tag-alexandria","10":"tag-amanatidis","11":"tag-deputy","12":"tag-foreign","13":"tag-ioannis","14":"tag-meets","15":"tag-minister","16":"tag-ministry","17":"tag-patriarch","18":"tag-theodoros","19":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}