Environmental Governance and Climate Change in Africa, Legal Perspectives

This monograph examines the legal perspective relevant to effects of climate change with a focus on remedies that can be used to enforce policy decisi

Africa’s major economic sectors are vulnerable to the current climate sensitivity. Th is vulnerability is aggravated by existing developmental challenges such as endemic poverty, complex governance and institutional dimensions; limited access to capital, including markets, infrastructure and technology; ecosystem degradation; and complex disasters and conflicts. It is therefore pertinent to engage in vigorous multi-disciplinary approaches to improve the impact of climate change on the African continent. In response to the latter, Law, and more specifically, environmental law, plays an important role in this respect, particularly as legal mechanisms since they are able to shape the people’s behaviour with respect to their interaction with the environment. In addressing these challenges, this monograph covers the general overview of climate change issues in some African countries; approaches to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change in certain African countries and climate change adaptation.

This monograph examines the legal perspective relevant to the effects of climate change, with a specific focus on the remedies that can be used to enforce policy decisions that need to made.

About the authors

Senay Habtezion LLB, (University of Asmara) LLM (UCLA). Th e author is presently a visiting research fellow at the W E B Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University. He is a member of the IUCN Commission of Environmental Law and, presently a member of the executive council of the Association of African Environmental Law Lecturers from African Universities (ASSELLAU).

Dr Donald Anthony Mwiturubani is a senior researcher in the Environmental Security Programme at the Nairobi office. He holds a BA degree in land use planning and environmental studies, an MA in geography and environmental studies, MRes (Master of Research) and PhD (Water Resources Management). Dr Mwiturubani has over ten years research experience in water resources management with gender perspectives; corruption and governance; youth and HIV/AIDS; traditional (indigenous) knowledge systems; tourism management; and environmental crimes management. He has over eight years teaching experience at the University level where taught courses on hydrometeorology, water resources management, tourism management and research methods at the Univeristy of Dar es Salaam.

Dr Emmanuel Kasimbazi is the Head of Department; Public and Comparative Law at the Faculty of Law, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. He has a PhD Degree in International Water Law from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. He is a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental law. He has consulted for many international and national agencies including the World Bank, African Development Bank, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), About the Authors Monograph 167 xix Rose Mwebaza and Louis J Kotzé United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Nile Basin Initiative, European Union, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Germany Technical Cooperation (GTZ), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).

Dr Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan LLB (1986), LLM (1990) and PhD (1997)) is a Professor of Law with specialisation in comparative jurisprudence, human rights, and environmental laws at the Department of Public Law of the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Professor Ladan is a member of the World Jurist Association, Washington DC, USA; IUCN Academy of Environmental Law; Association of African Environmental Law Scholars; a Hubert Humphrey Fellow, USA; member, Nigerian Society of International Law, and Member IUCN Commission on Environmental Law.

Dr Christopher Funiwe Tamasag holds a PhD in Environmental Law from the University of Yaounde II-Cameroon where is also a senior lecturer in law in the Faculty of Laws and Political Science. He is member of the Association of Environmental Law Lecturers from African Universities, the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, and Network for Environment Education and Sustainability in West and Central Africa. His present research interests include climate change law, sustainable development law, indigenous and customary law, water law, mining law and intellectual property law relating to the environment.

Major Godard Busingye is a Senior Legal Advisor in the Ministry of Defense in Uganda and a Lecturer at the Uganda Christian University-Mukono specialising in Environmental Law and Policy. Godard is also an Associate Consultant at the Uganda Management Institute (UMI) and External Examiner for the Law Development Centre, Kampala, Uganda. He is an Advocate of the Courts of Judicature in Uganda and Member of the Uganda Law Society and the East African Law Society. He has long standing experience as Legal Consultant in the fields of Environmental Law, Legislative Drafting, Review of Legislation and provision of advice to the government xx Institute for Security Studies Environmental governance and climate change in Africa and other institutions in the field of Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Human Rights, Taxation and Intellectual Property Law.

Eliamani Laltaika is a Doctoral Candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law, Munich Germany. He is also a lecturer in Intellectual Property and Environmental Law at the Faculty of Law, Tumaini University-Iringa University College, Tanzania. He holds an LLM Intellectual Property Law from the Munich Intellectual Property Law Centre MIPLC, Munich-Germany; LLM Environmental Law from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Bachelor of Laws LLB-Hons from Tumaini University-Iringa University College-Tanzania.

Michaela Lau, Olivia Rumble and Phillipa Niland are LLM (Environmental Law) students at the University of Cape Town.