AFRICA
ECO-RESEARCH REPORTS
[AFRICER]

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In recent years, the UN environment program has focused on transitioning into a green economy with low carbon, resource efficiency, and social inclusiveness. The walkway designed to achieve a green economy involves the private and public sectors’ formulation of policies to reduce carbon emissions and pollution and invest in infrastructural and asset developments to boost economic activities, conserve biodiversity, and improve ecosystem services worldwide. However, according to a UNDP report, in 2018, “Africa is at the tipping point of the impact of climate change”. Moreover, this threatens achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Paris Agreement. 

In response, African youth have been empowered to contribute to sustainable solutions and climate change adaptation on the continent, to which the report attests. These solutions cut across all sectors, including sanitation, agriculture, water, air, etc. However, young entrepreneurs, activists, educators and change-makers still face the challenge of “data” availability and research – which is the foundation of their initiatives. As a result, most enterprises cannot reach their optimum capacity; others have collapsed, while some are moving at a languid pace to get reliable research-based data. The Center for Global Development 2014 report stated, “The quality, availability, timeliness and use of basic economic and demographic data to inform policy remain significant challenges across Africa”. The report highlighted data and research’s importance and relevance to the continent’s development.

Consequently, the Africa Eco-Research Reports (AFRICER) – a team of experienced researchers at Eco Amet Solutions – was established in 2020 to support sustainability initiatives through data collection, research, and environmental education via webinars, workshops, and dissemination of reports. Over the past two years, the team has provided research and capacity-building support to several African organisations, individuals, and stakeholders. Research forms the heart of technology and development; it’s the future of our motherland. We aim to create awareness of bio-waste management, plastic and solid waste management, and green technologies to reduce carbon emissions and climate change across Africa. This will be done in strong collaboration with diverse stakeholders across the globe. This initiative plays an essential role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including; 6, 7, 11, 13 and 17 within the African region.

Our services

Research support

Capacity building

consulting

Action against plastic pollution in africa research project

Most countries, towns, and burgeoning cities are increasingly becoming polluted with plastic waste. According to the UNEP (2018), less than 10 per cent of the over seven billion tonnes of plastic waste generated globally (mainly from “single-use”) is properly managed, while a significant amount is lost in the environment at nature’s expense. Plastic waste pollution negatively impacts human health and contributes to the loss of livelihoods, greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss. Given the dire consequences of plastic pollution, countries worldwide continue to find appropriate management solutions, including banning its usage. Plastic waste across the African continent is expected to increase geometrically in the next decade due to rising global production, importation and usage, as well as poor plastic waste mismanagement. Plastic waste mismanagement presents substantial risks to biodiversity and marine life and contributes to global warming and consequently climate change.

Many countries on the African continent have adopted policies and others are in the process of doing the same. Although policies have been developed and effected, it is prudent to empirically understand factors that make designing these policies possible, as well as challenges with their implementation.

To address the problem of plastic waste mismanagement, there is a need for critical research that provides data to bridge gaps between plastic waste policy and regulations and their enforcement.  One of our goals is to engage in research on the African continent to generate relevant data that governments and their agencies can utilize to make informed decisions about regulating and enforcing plastic regulations, creating awareness, and encouraging and training local stakeholders on effective waste management strategies.

Our approach 

A research across the continent of Africa that aims to collect data on policies on plastic usage (and waste management) and the impact on public attitudes and behaviours to inform management strategies. And to develop a template for African countries regarding the development and implementation of single-use plastics policies. This research will be replicated in different African countries to broaden the scope of the Template.

Our Impact

The research aims to 

  • Build the capacity of community members, authorities, and staff to effectively implement the plastic waste ban.
  • Generate comprehensive data about the processes and implementation strategies utilised in implementing policies in different regions;
  • Gather data and information about attitudinal and behavioural changes that policies have generated;
  • Identify factors that can help start developing a guide for the development and implementation of single-use plastic bans in other African countries and around the world – TEMPLATE for replication in other countries. 

Reports and publications

Report

action against plastic pollution in africa

Towards effective implementation of policies.

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Report

Plastic waste management in africa

An assessment of the plastic waste management strategies.

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Handout

Taking a second look at Bio waste in Africa

Circular economy in Africa: exploring potentials in biowaste.

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workshops & projects

Action Against Plastic Pollution in Africa: Towards Effective Implementation of Plastic Waste Policies- AFRICER Workshop 2022

This AFRICER workshop sought to provide opportunities for those in the plastic waste management space (i.e. policy analysts, enforcement officers, plastic waste management practitioners and educators, etc.] to engage in conversations and discussions on effectively implementing plastic waste policies in Africa. The outcomes will be relevant for policy planning and implementation. Specific focus areas will include:

  1. Overview of plastic waste policies across African countries;
  2. The importance of data in developing, implementing, and enforcing plastic waste policies;
  3. Behavioral change as an outcome of effective policy implementation; and
  4. Building capacities of local authorities to enforce plastic waste policies.
 Registration is closed.
Find the webinar recording here.
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TAKING A SECOND LOOK AT BIO-WASTE: CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AFRICA WEBINAR

The “Taking a second look at Bio-waste: Circular economy in Africa” is the first of the AFRICER webinar series, and it aims; (1) to create awareness of the current burden of bio-waste and reduce the load; (2) to examine food waste prevention methods, practices, and strategies; (3) to assess the feasibility of selling biogas to local businesses; (4) to examine regulations surrounding the production of biogas; (5) to develop and encourage a waste segregation system in local communities; and (6) to encourage food waste composting in local communities to recycle locally sorted food waste to sell valuable products.

The webinar will be held virtually on 31st July 2021 at 12 pm GMT (8 am Toronto, 8 pm Beijing). Check the “Webinar Invitation and Agenda“ for more details.

Registration is closed.
Find the webinar recording here.
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PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT IN AFRICA - WEBINAR

In the second phase of the AFRICER webinar series, our discussion will focus on the framework for plastic waste policies and management across the African continent.

Specifically, we intend to achieve the following objectives; (1) to discuss current plastic waste management and policy frameworks across different African countries; (2) to examine the best legislative and regulatory model, methods, and practices that have helped to manage and prevent plastic pollution in African countries; (3) to assess the feasibility through a plenary session of the applicability and implementations of the such model(s) across other African countries for plastic pollution management; and (4) to develop a proposed model of proper management and prevention of plastic pollution that will include the local communities.

Registration is closed.

Find the webinar recording here and report.

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Meet The Team

Research Analyst

Anderson Assuah, Phd

Dr Anderson Assuah is an Assistant Professor at the University College of the North (UCN), Canada. He obtained his PhD in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, and Canada. Anderson has extensive research experiences in sustainable waste governance, food waste, cultural determinants of waste, and extended producer responsibility. He is a member of the Solid Waste Association of North America, Manitoba Association of Regional Recyclers, and UCN’s Sustainability Committee chair.

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Research Analyst

Felix Gyawu Addo

Felix Addo's experience as an environmentalist spans the past seven years. His expertise and research interests include environmental biotechnology, microbial ecology, aquatic macrophytes and wastewater treatment. He is very passionate about environmental protection, and as a young researcher, he has been involved in several works addressing environmental sustainability.

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Lead Research Analyst

David Ewusi-Mensah

David is currently PhD research candidate reading Environmental Engineering. He has several years of experience in environmental research, environmental consulting and waste (solid and water) management. His expertise includes water and wastewater treatment, sustainable technologies, environmental consulting and solid waste management. He is very passionate about environmental protection and giving back to society.

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Research Analyst

Collins Little-Tetteh

Collins is a Customer Experience Analyst with a Bachelors in Marketing and communication. A youth activist in sustainable waste management in Ghana which saw him champion a solo initiative in Rwanda, Kenya and South Sudan on plastic littering. My Assertive Nature has led plastic punch (NGO) in the area of communication, which aims at behavioural change through citizen science and awareness raising towards sustainable waste management practices with an emphasis on reducing plastic pollution with a multi-faceted approach and a current research analyst on the AFRICER team.

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Research Analyst

Isimbi Aubine Esther

Isimbi Aubine Esther is a recent graduate from University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy and pursued Global Governance studies- School of Economics. She majored in Science and Technology and towards the end of her college life she focused her thesis research on Waste Management and Plastic issues in Africa where she analysed some of the solutions to tackle plastic pollution already existing in some African countries and called out the necessity to apply those solutions to the whole continent for a circular economy. As for now, she is taking a gap year in Rwanda where she is doing professional internship in FONERWA-Rwanda Green Fund. She is also pursuing a virtual internship in the Global Division Unit of UN-Habitat in Kenya in addition to being a research-analyst intern for the AFRICER project in Ghana.

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