Do Beanz meanz [we forgive democracy] hijackerz? UK hopes Kenyan exports not disrupted!

The UK middle/ chattering classes are really hoping the Kenyan public's reaction to its hijacked election does not mean interrupted fresh green beans and roses on Valentine's Day. Although, maybe this is the sort of international pressure and exposure that is needed to resolve the current troubles -- how else to keep the developed world engaged in the emerging problems in another of Africa's success stories.
It is the Tall Economist's opinion that a greater understanding of the African nature of a number of everyday household products will be well demonstrated by such interruptions. I just hope the situation resolves and trade can begin again with gusto and great quality we have come to expect from Kenya and its feeder countries that rely on its transport hubs [Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia]. As Philip Ngunjiri notes, "Economists credit Kibaki's government with allowing private enterprise the freedom to flourish. But they say growth could have been even better if the government had tackled corruption, speeded infrastructure improvements and fought crime." If only ...

Sources: Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation "UK companies move to protect 2008"; "Uganda: Kenya Stumbles, And Uganda Loses Its Step" The Monitor (Kampala) by Charles M. Mpagi ; "East Africa: Neighbours Also Suffer As Kenya Burns" The East African (Nairobi) by Philip Ngunjiri

Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation "UK companies move to protect 2008"

British companies moved to protect hundreds of thousands of staff in Kenya following post election violence that had threatened the country's economy.
More than 60 British companies - including Barclays, Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline - have operations in Kenya, a former British colony where the UK is the country's largest foreign investor, with investments worth an estimated £1.5bn.
The supply of roses, a major Kenyan export, has been disrupted by the violence
Unilever, which owns two tea plantations and employs several thousand Kenyans, said it was "taking all necessary steps to safeguard all our employees" following violence that is feared to have claimed at least 300 lives.
"Employee welfare is obviously paramount," said a Unilever spokesman.
Both Barclays and Standard Chartered, which employ 4,000 staff combined, closed a number of branches in areas where tensions were high "until further notice". GlaxoSmithKline said it had stepped up security at its manufacturing site on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Following the violence, sparked by disputed presidential elections, the world's biggest tea auction in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa and the Nairobi Coffee Exchange suspended trading because of concerns about security.
Most east African producers sell tea at the Mombasa auctions.
Kenya is the world's third largest exporter of tea, which, together with coffee and horticultural products, contributes to about 55pc of exports.
An estimated 135,000 Kenyans are employed in the production of flowers and fresh vegetables for the UK market.
Leading UK supermarkets - which import more than £100m of produce and flowers from Kenya every year - said that imports of green beans, mange tout, sugar snap peas, aubergines and chillies had not been affected. Kenya's total exports to the UK are worth £255m.
However there were reports that the supply of flowers, a major Kenyan export, had been disrupted.
The coming weeks are a key trading period for exporters of flowers, which supply Valentine's Day roses to the UK.
An Asda spokesman said: "Asda has a long and positive relationship with our suppliers in Kenya. Many families depend on the revenue generated from supplying products to Asda and it would be inappropriate to cease trading. We will continue to monitor the situation on an ongoing basis and will review if there is further deterioration."
There have been fears that Kenya's £450m-a-year tourist industry - the largest single contributor to the country's GDP - could be affected by the violence.
Lonrho, the London Stock Exchange listed conglomerate, said its Kenya-based budget airline had suspended flights following the violence.
The majority of flights, however, resumed on Wednesday.





Uganda: Kenya Stumbles, And Uganda Loses Its Step
The Monitor (Kampala) by Charles M. Mpagi



WITHIN hours of the violent protests following Kenya's disputed elections held Thursday last week, Uganda was on the brink of its own crisis.
Landlocked to the west of Kenya, Uganda suffered the biggest shock of countries that rely on the Mombasa sea route for imports and exports.
Long queues at fuel stations and prices that shot right through the roof immediately brought the Kenyan election, long seen as a minor distraction by most of Uganda's politically unconscious "middle class" (who are generally defined by the cheap second hand Japanese car they drive and the fact that they buy their groceries from supermarkets).
But the daunting prospect of having to pay between Shs80, 000 to Shs10,000 for a litre of petrol soon shook up their indifference and made them understand that politics matters after all. The fact that there was no fuel even if one could afford to pay for it at any price helped drive the point home.
Traders in Kampala's trading hub of Kikuubo told this news paper that, "We are suffering, business is not good, we do not have fuel." One trader who preferred not to be named also posed the tricky question: "they are talking about fuel coming, but will our goods come?"
This was in reaction to reports that the Uganda government has negotiated with the Kenyans to provide armed escort to fuel tankers through the volatile western Kenya so as to replenish stocks in Uganda.
Because of the significance of Kenya as a transit route for Ugandan imports, the crisis has seen local news media lead their bulletins with the Kenyan crisis. This concentration of attention may also be partly explained by the fact that the violence and mayhem have in a way provided answers to Uganda's own crisis and therefore the newspaper reports in part helped provide the population some form of reflection of their own fears back home.
To the ruling political class, it was the fear of a domino effect where the defeat of an incumbent government by the opposition in a neighbouring country could galvanise the domestic Opposition, which has already been gaining popularity in recent by-elections even where the President has personally been chief campaigner.
This, pundits say, could have in one way contributed to the government's hurried message of congratulation to Mr Mwai Kibaki despite the many questions that still hang around the manner of his victory.
As it turned out, only Uganda, in the entire world has sent a message of support and congratulation to Kenya. This embarrassing state of affairs has since given Uganda the unflattering distinction of being the lead news item on all major international networks.
Mr Kibaki was sworn-in in dramatic fashion within minutes of the declaration by the Electoral Commision of Kenya that he had pulled off a last minute overhaul of Mr Raila Odinga. There was no live media coverage of this event instead what was conspicuous was the presence of heavily police.
To some extent the Kenyan crisis also helped focus attention on Uganda's lack of preparedness for disasters just months after the government had again been paralysed in the face of unusually heavy unseasonal rains that led to unprecedented flooding in northern and eastern Uganda between September and early November.
As noted earlier, Uganda has not only suffered the biggest effects of the Kenya electoral crisis that has so far seen the death of at least 300 people (unofficial figures put the figure much higher) but also remains the lone voice of support to Kibaki's troubled government.
The endorsement of Mr Kibaki by President Museveni has drawn sharp criticism from the Ugandan Opposition but the man who was the conduit of the statement of congratulation, Senior Presidential Advisor on Media and Public Relations Mr John Nagenda remains unrepentant and unfazed.
Mr Nagenda told Sunday Monitor that even his boss has no regrets for remaining the sole leader to endorse Kibaki.
"He did what he thought was the right thing to do," said Nagenda on Friday.
Asked to comment on whether the message wasn't premature, he retorted, "Of course he doesn't feel it was hasty, as it is the point of the matter is that on Sunday the Electoral Commission of Kenya announced that Kibaki had won and even gave the tallies. Having done that he was sworn, Museveni has two roles to play, as President of Uganda and chairman of the East African Community (EAC). What is he supposed to do other than congratulate the person who has been declared a winner?" Nagenda said.
He then observed that in spite of the violence, as chairman of the EAC, President Museveni had asked the Kenyan government if it needed any help from its neigbours and expressed readiness to help

"East Africa: Neighbours Also Suffer As Kenya Burns" The East African (Nairobi) by Philip Ngunjiri
The ripple effects of the current political stalemate are being felt in the region, with the country's immediate neighbours that rely on the Kenyan port of Mombasa suffering the most.
According to Arun Devani, chairman of the East Africa Business Community, the five countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are suffering more than Kenya.
"In a span of four days, fuel pump prices shot up from $1.2 to $5 per litre in Kampala. The situation is equally grave in the other major cities in the region."
Mr Devani was in a Kenya business community delegation that included the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Federation of Kenya Employers, Kenya Private Sector Alliance and the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers who told a media briefing that the country was losing Ksh2 billion ($31.45 million) worth of taxes daily due to unrest caused by the disputed presidential election results.
Most business premises in Nairobi have remained closed after the announcement that declared the incumbent Mwai Kibaki the president. Since then Nairobi and its environs has been rocked by widespread riots and looting.
The results announced by the Electoral Commission of Kenya have caused tension and violence in the country and a breakdown in security because they were not considered credible and the process appeared to have been compromised, said FKE chairman Patrick Obath.
"We are concerned about the country and are keen to protect it from further violence and loss of lives.
Our hearts bleed for Kenyans who have died needlessly and we extend our condolences. In the national interest, it is important for the truth to be established about the electoral outcome," he said.
In this regard, the business community appealed to all the main political protagonists to facilitate a process of establishing the truth with regard to the disputed elections.
The numbers presented by the commission are in dispute, they said in a statement. Both parties must facilitate an independent process that establishes the truth about the verdict of Kenyans in the elections. Such results will provide a basis for negotiations between the political leaders on a settlement acceptable to both of them.
Economists credit Kibaki's government with allowing private enterprise the freedom to flourish. But they say growth could have been even better if the government had tackled corruption, speeded infrastructure improvements and fought crime.

CLIMATE CHANGE and FEAR: how the climate is changing in ways we are not being told about!

An excellent article in NYT by John Tierney "In 2008, a 100 Percent Chance of Alarm" deserves to be read by everyone. As does Bjorn Lomborg's Cool It. It covers the media ignorance on climate change and some of the key misinformations. Including the non-disappearing polar bears, the growing glaciers on Antarctica, the falling sea levels, etc. It is no wonder that the business world, both culpable for the actual climate change happening and the hope for stopping future change, finds doing nothing preferable!

WILDLIFE and ECONOMIC EQUITY: biltong being produced from elephant meat

Source: "Zimbabwe: Parks Authority to Produce Biltong From Elephant Meat" The Herald (Harare)
The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe says it plans to produce biltong from elephant meat for sale in retail outlets throughout the country as part of sustainable utilisation of the animals.
Parks director-general Dr Morris Mtsambiwa said the project begun last year after the Ministry of Environment and Tourism permitted the authority to experiment with the said resource. "It is in our plans. We plan to start this year. We tried it last year and we found that we did not have the proper infrastructure for the purpose," he said. Dr Mtsambiwa said the authority would apply to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for a quota of elephants to slaughter every year, after which it would build some abattoirs. He said slaughtering the animals for biltong would, however, not contribute in reducing the size of the elephant herd in the country, which has far surpassed the carrying capacity of the National Parks.
The country would need to slaughter at least 6 000 animals every year to have an impact on the population of the elephants. It is estimated that there are more than 100 000 elephants in Zimbabwe, a figure three times more than the carrying capacity of the protected areas. Currently, the country slaughters at least 500 elephants every year with the meat distributed to communities living adjacent to the game parks. The size of the elephant herd is posing serious environmental challenges in Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries including Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa and Zambia.
It is estimated that the regional elephant population has now surpassed 400 000 and is growing at between 4 to 7 percent every year. The affected countries have since formulated an African Elephant Management Strategy that seeks to address the problem of the ballooning population." We have agreed on a work plan which we will start implementing this year," said Dr Mtsambiwa.
He said the work plan was agreed on at a meeting of director-generals of national parks in the region held in the town of Pemba in Mozambique in November last year. The meeting agreed that an aerial survey be conducted simultaneously in the respective countries to establish the population of the elephants in order to avoid double counting, he said.
Zimbabwe currently heads the regional task force on finding strategies to control the population of elephants in the region. At least some options have since been identified to control the elephant population, including contraception, culling and translocation. It was agreed that individual countries would take options depending on resources at their disposal, capacity and situation.
Contraception was a preferred option in view of pressure from animal rights groups against culling although it is expensive and sometimes does not work.

CLIMATE CHANGE TRADE SCAREs OVER: Kenya's Horticulture Sector Upbeat On 2008 Forecast

Source: Business Daily (Nairobi) by Allan Odhiambo
It may have had its share of breath taking scares across the year, but players in the robust horticulture industry are looking up to success in the coming year.
First to rattle the sub-sector was the food miles concept that threatened to lock local producers from key markets especially in Europe on grounds that shipments from far flung areas were contributing to global warming through carbon emissions.
Proponents of this concept argued that to discourage such threats of environmental degradation, all produce brought in through long haulage should be accorded cautionary labels such that buyers 'skipped them' for locally produced ones.
Then came a strengthening shilling against major international currencies such as the dollar that eroded producers' earnings from exports prompting a debate over possible switch to other currencies to avoid further damage.
That aside, there were the jitters of expiring preferential trade agreements that would have disrupted export trade with the EU come December 31.
"It has been a tough year for exporters" Hasit Shah, the vice chair at the Kenya Flower Council (KFC) says.
Luckily the industry 'lived through' these scares and analysts say it could be headed for firmer performance compared to last year, going by the strong run over the first half of this year.
The carbon miles debate was fizzled out by the fact that its proponents would not scientifically justify their claims against the long haul products while the fears of trade disruptions were put to rest after Kenya and other East African Community (EAC) member States initialised new trade deals with the EU waiting the signing of comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) by 2009-guaranteeing continued duty/quota free access of their goods into Europe.
The industry's spirits are further buoyed by statistics from the Leading Economic Indicators for September released by the Planning and National Development Ministry that showed the industry's earnings hit the Sh31 billion mark as at June, representing a 57 per cent growth over a similar period last year backed by a strong demand for cut flowers in key international markets.
Kenyan horticulturists have particularly cashed in on sharp changes in weather patterns over Europe where the bulk of exports are taken. Traditionally, the onset of summer in Europe towards June spelt lower sales for Kenyan horticultural exporters as their counterparts in the EU upped own business in the warmest months for the northern hemisphere.
This year, however, unstable weather patterns attributed to global climate change has set back horticultural production programmes in regions such as the UK, and that has meant a stronger than usual demand for imports from countries like Kenya.
Analysts now predict that backed by this massive growth, the industry is likely to surpass the Sh43 billion full-year earnings for last year.
"We look up to a very successful 2008 because massive transformations are being carried out," Jane Ngige, the chief executive officer at KFC told Business Daily.
The CEO says growth in the industry is likely to come from stronger audit of operations especially among the upcoming smallholder producers which would reduce the rate of rejection of goods turned up from trading in key markets.
Faced by stringent market safety requirements players in the industry have moved to adopt practices such as Kenya Good Agricultural Practices (Kenya-Gap) protocol to counter the threats with an aspect of self regulation now ensuring the country's producers and exporters maintained an emphatic run in key markets abroad.
Based on the successes of this concept of self regulation, a recent survey by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), titled : "Bridging the Gap Between Food Safety Policies" labels the Kenya horticulture industry as a global illustration of how standards can be used to tackle competition in key markets.
The UN agency said that through investments in high-care processing facilities, private laboratories, full supply chain traceability, improved sanitation, storage systems and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) measures, the leading firms in Kenya's fresh produce industry have focused their attention and resources on premium-quality market segment and reaped significant benefit.
"In spite of more stringent standards applied by certain importing countries, some industries and supply chains in low-income countries have maintained or enhanced their competitiveness and market share," the document reads in part.
This concept of self regulation in Kenya has been bolstered by the recent accreditation of the Kenya Plant Health Inspection Services (KEPHIS) to carry out inspections of exports on behalf of the EU.
Previously, exports were checked for standards locally and later re-examined in Europe.
A step to harmonise the inspection procedure has however improved fortunes for Kenyan exporters in that their produce is only inspected once by Kephis and a binding certificate, application even in Europe, issued to them.

CLIMATE CHANGE and EQUITY: VICTORY! UK Carbon Footprint Campaign Fizzles Out

Kenyan growers rejoice at the success of their well-run campaign against food miles ignorance and for global social justice.

Source: The East African (Nairobi) by Catherine Riungu

The food miles debate that threw Kenya's flower industry into a spin at the beginning of 2007 has finally fizzled out as UK supermarkets have dropped their initial hardline stance.
According to Ron Fasol, managing director of Oserian Development Company, a leading flower exporter, although this may not have been publicly acknowledged, the food miles debate has flopped and is unlikely to resurface - unless Africa reaches the high pollution levels of the developed world.
The plane symbols put on imported produce by leading UK supermarkets Tesco and Marks & Spencer have been replaced by Kenya's "Grown Under the Sun" label which, according to Kenya Flower Council chief executive Jane Ngige, has led to increased interest in Kenya produce and a subsequent surge in earnings.
Mr Fasol said the supermarkets rushed to impose sanctions on air-freighted goods without proper scientific findings, a move that prompted urgent research into how much carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere by airlifting of goods from Africa. Growers, trade associations and scientists conducted studies whose findings discounted the retailers' theory that banning imports would reduce global warming.
The Soil Association of the UK had said it would withdraw its organic certificates from air-freighted organically grown produce, effectively denying products from Africa a vital market.
In September, when the association was to have effected the ban, the British Department for International Development (DfID) organised a debate where it charged that, "while welcoming the Soil Association's concern about the impact of food production on climate change, the air-freighting of fruit and vegetables counts for only a small proportion - less than 1 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions. There can be no denying that food transport has an environmental and social cost, but most of this - about 85 per cent - comes from UK roads."
UK Trade and Development Minister Gareth Thomas said: "The distance food has travelled is not a good way to judge whether the food we eat is sustainable. Driving 6.5 miles to buy your shopping emits more carbon than flying a pack of Kenyan green beans to the UK."
Mr Thomas added that tackling climate change was a priority in the fight against world poverty.
"The only fair option, which considers the livelihoods of those in developing countries as well as the need to protect the environment, is to ensure that the prices of the goods we consume cover the costs of their environmental impact," he said.
He added that the government was encouraging more efficient distribution within the food and drink sector, and has proposed that food industry trade bodies look into achieving a 20 per cent reduction in the social costs of transporting food in the UK by 2012.
He added, "We must ensure the world's poorest producers are not penalised for the sins of the world's richest consumers."
In Kenya, for instance, carbon emissions are 200 kg a head, while in the UK they are almost 50 times that. African economies are currently growing by around 5 per cent or more - in part due to agricultural exports.
Agriculture remains the most likely source of economic growth and poverty reduction in most African countries. If Africa is to grow by 7 per cent, and halve poverty, get its children into school and achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it must be free to trade with the rest of the world, DfID said.
The DfID stand rubberstamped the Grown Under the Sun crusade, which set out to inform British consumers about the development benefits associated with buying fresh produce from Kenya even as the food miles and carbon footprints debate continued.
Kenya Flower Council chairman Erastus Mureithi said the campaign was aimed at demonstrating to consumers that unlike flowers grown in Europe under artificial light, Kenya's are produced under natural conditions.
The Grown Under the Sun campaign was launched by Kenya's High Commissioner to the UK, Joseph Muchemi, at the Royal Show - Britain's largest agricultural trade show - in July, when the debate was at fever pitch, at a seminar on the subject of carbon emissions and food miles. It was attended by representatives from Kenya, British retailers, the National Farmers Union and Farmer's Weekly magazine, published in London.
Mr Mureithi said UK scientists have proved to carbon miles crusaders that the subject had not been scientifically focused, leading to the current change of mind.
He, however, cautioned the flower industry against celebrating because, this being the high season, human-rights groups and environmental activists focus their attacks on the high sales on Valentine's Day which is observed on February 14 worldwide with red roses. The day is the single most important event in the flower business.

SUPERMARKETS and MOZAMBIQUE: Small-scale farmers become entrepreneurs

In Mozambique if you shop at Shoprite, Africa's largest food retailer, with operations in 16 countries, you'll be buying vegetables produced locally by small-scale farmers.
The IFAD-funded Agricultural Markets Support Programme (PAMA) supports the implementation of major economic reforms launched by the government during the 1990s, including the commercialization of small-scale farming through better access to markets and improved linkages with private-sector operators.
The programme, funded by a US$23.6 million loan, enables small-scale farmers in Boane, 30 km south of Maputo, to grow cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes and other cash crops in the rehabilitated irrigation schemes that were severely damaged during 16 years of civil war. Today, in the Boane area, the irrigation schemes cover 405 ha of land and the programme works with approximately 400 farmers.
The PAMA team worked hard to get the farmers to where they are today. "Before we came into the picture, farmers produced low-quality products. They were unable to sell directly to the buyer and had no idea of how to link up with big buyers. At best they sold their goods through intermediaries or at farm gate, and had little or no negotiating power," said Rui N. Ribeiro, PAMA coordinator. "Now they are organized in associations and as a result have more bargaining power."
PAMA's vision was to enable farmers to produce high-quality products and to link them directly to the market. Thanks to the programme, farmers are using fertilizers and improved seedlings to produce high-value crops that they sell to supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and the main hospital in Maputo.
Strengthening capacity and institutions, and influencing policy To enter the market and trade with commercial entities, farmers needed to issue invoices and receipts. To do that they needed to become a legal entity, and consequently they had to organize themselves into associations. PAMA facilitated the creation of farmers’ associations, organized marketing committees and helped farmers conduct market research.
"Before the programme's intervention, registering as an association was a costly affair and immense challenge," said Alessandro Marini, IFAD Country Programme Manager for Mozambique. "The programme, together with other stakeholders, lobbied with the government and raised awareness about the importance of having an easy process for registering associations," said Marini.
As a result, the Government of Mozambique passed a new law on decentralizing registration formalities to the district level. The government is also developing and implementing marketing strategies and pro-poor programmes supporting market linkages.
Thanks to the efforts of Ribeiro and his team, the farmers’ associations are now well established in the market. Each association has a president, treasurer and secretary.
The programme is providing marketing and production specialists and two supervisors who provide continuous technical assistance. The associations now are supported by a marketing committee responsible for coordinating production and marketing activities. The marketing committee meets with buyers to determine their needs, negotiate prices and deliver products.
Building social capitalFarmers’ associations built their credibility and reputation by encouraging buyers to visit their plots to check the quality of products. To ensure that quality was up to par, the project arranged for a visit by a nutritionist who examined and approved the products.
Subsequently the farmers visited the supermarket, where they were able to examine the quality of the products on the shelves.
"We took this opportunity to discuss our needs with the farmers," explained Pine Oppesmon, fruit and vegetable manager at Shoprite. "For example, we told them we needed tomatoes that were half-green because they have a longer shelf life, and that we would buy potatoes from them only if they had been washed."
"Since we started buying from the associations, the supermarket’s revenue has increased by 4 per cent," said Oppesmon. "You know, labour is much cheaper here than in South Africa. Now I am buying 25 per cent of products locally. I hope one day I'll be able to buy 80 to 90 per cent of products locally." He added, "These guys have a great potential, they are producing at European standards. If they get a bit better in packaging, they will make a quantum leap."
Going one step further "My vision is to expand the association's activity and start working with agro-processing industries and become equipped to do better packaging," said Mula, the Massaca association’s president. "Today farmers sell excess or low-quality products as animal feed. Linking them to agro-processing industries would mean, for example, that they would be able to sell ripe tomatoes for tomato paste and increase income-generating activities.”
For further information, please contact: Alessandro Marini, Country Programme Manager, Eastern and Southern and Africa DivisionEmail: a.marini@ifad.org

CLIMATE CHANGE and MALAWI's Ambassador: William Kamkwamba

Forget Al Gore, Jonathan Porritt and the rest of the Eco armchair royal family. This guy puts the whole lot to shame in a country where global warming will impact harder than any European or North American community.

Take a look at this guys BLOG – I sent him $50 for Xmas as he is the only guy that managed to inspire me on climate change EVER !!

http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/williamkamkwamba/

CLIMATE CHANGE and ECONOMIC EQUITY: can industry match the efforts of citizens?

Source: INSNET

Dutch Sustainability Research (DSR) and Respect published findings of a benchmarking study on climate change best practice. The research indicates that corporations are taking part in numerous interesting and innovative climate change related initiatives. However, overall climate change disclosure remains patchy and inconsistent and it therefore remains difficult to determine real leadership.The report urges corporations and policy makers to promote accountability and stimulate best practice in the field of climate change. To this end, corporations and policy makers should further stimulate meaningful, focussed and standardised reporting on climate change. As comment to the benchmarking study, Kaj Embrén, partner of Respect, says:
All the companies in this study show that they have a formal statement on Climate Change, but only 45 % have formulated corporate targets and clear deadlines in terms of GHG-gases. So, it is important to strengthen the work with target setting in the companies further
DSR reviewed the performance of 20 corporations on a selected number of climate change best-practice indicators drawn from international guidelines. The study shows that companies are keen to demonstrate leadership in this field. There is no indication that climate change action compromises financial performance. The study however also reveals that climate change related reporting remains fragmented. Data needs to be gathered from various documents including annual reports, sustainability reports, and websites. Overall, it remains difficult to assess actual corporate leadership on climate change.
Hans-Ulrich Beck, Research Director at DSR, explains: “The difficulty stems mainly from the fact that data disclosed is not easily comparable given the scope and methodologies applied. Furthermore, current disclosure often fully omits material emission sources in particular from the use of products.”
The study highlights that the lack of transparency will make it difficult for climate change leaders to reap the full benefits of climate change leadership such as strengthened reputation or brand awareness. Similarly, there is little pressure for laggards to take action. In order to promote corporate leadership, steps need to be taken to increase corporate accountability and access to meaningful climate change data.
In order to promote transparency and corporate best-practice in the field of climate change, the study urges corporations and policy makers to take necessary steps to:
· Promote more consistent, meaningful, and focussed corporate reporting on climate change; · Facilitate public access to corporate climate change data through a public climate change repository · Provide more visibility to climate change leaders through third party climate change accountability/transparency certification; and
· Reward specific performance standards or emissions reduction achievements through third party climate change leadership labels

CLIMATE CHANGE and TRADE EQUITY: Can trade rules be leveraged to reduce climate change?

Pascal Lamy, the Director of the WTO hints at how the WTO tool-box of rules can certainly be leveraged in the fight against climate change. Normally, the WTO has rules on product standards that encourage its members to use the international norms and this would be defined only by a consensual international accord on climate change that successfully embraces all major polluters. He uses the "food miles" debate to illustrate how far away both this global consensus is and our understanding of climate cause and effects.

Source: Business Daily (Nairobi) by Pascal Lamy
The issue of Climate Change intersects with international trade in a multitude of different ways. While the World Trade Organisation does not have rules that are specific to energy, to the environment or to climate change per se, there is no doubt that the rules of the multilateral trading system - as a whole (i.e. the WTO "rule book") - are indeed relevant to climate change.
Today, there are many different perceptions of what the trading system ought to do on climate change. While some would like to see the trading system curb its own "carbon footprint," through the greenhouse gas emissions it generates in the course of the production, international transportation, and consumption of traded goods and services; others would approach the issue differently.
Some would like to see the trading system offset any competitive disadvantage they suffer in the course of climate change mitigation. More specifically, they would like to impose an economic cost on imported products at their borders equivalent to the one they suffer in curbing their own emissions.
In other words, a "levelling of the playing field" of sorts, if you will, based on an importing country's perception of how that field may best be levelled.
And, of course, there are many different ideas floating on what these "offsetting" measures may be, with most of the discussion naturally focussing on countries' most trade-exposed, energy-intensive, economic sectors like iron and steel and aluminium.
For instance, while some are considering the imposition of domestic carbon taxes, with adjustment for those taxes at their border; others are contemplating emission cap-and-trade systems, with an obligation upon importers to participate in those systems.
Yet another group would prefer to focus on what is most immediately "deliverable" - if I may say so - by the trading system in terms of the fight against climate change. And by this, they mean the opening of markets to environmental goods and services; in particular to those that are relevant to climate change, through the ongoing Doha Round of trade negotiations.
These are but a few of the ideas I have heard so far on how some would like to position the multilateral trading system on climate change. But there are other ideas for sure, and much work is being conducted at the moment - in various quarters - on how the WTO tool box of rules may be leveraged in the fight against this environmental challenge. While some are looking at WTO rules on taxes, others are looking at the rules on subsidies and intellectual property for instance.
My starting point in this debate is to say that the relationship between international trade - and indeed the WTO - and climate change, would be best defined by a consensual international accord on climate change that successfully embraces all major polluters.
In other words, until a truly global consensus emerges on how best to tackle the issue of climate change, WTO Members will continue to hold different views on what the multilateral trading system can and must do on this subject.
There is no doubt that trade regulations are not, and cannot be, a substitute for environmental regulations. Trade, and the WTO toolbox of trade rules more specifically, can - at best - offer no more than part of the answer to climate change. It is not in the WTO that a deal on climate change can be struck, but rather in an environmental forum, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Such an agreement must then send the WTO an appropriate signal on how its rules may best be put to the service of sustainable development; in other words, a signal on how this particular toolbox of rules should be employed in the fight against climate change.Absent such a signal, confusion will persist on what would constitute an appropriate response by multilateral trading system.
Let us take the issue of the international trading system's carbon footprint for instance. Much is said in the press everyday about the carbon footprint of international transportation.
In fact, a new and emerging concept is that of "food miles." In other words, the desire of consumers in certain countries to calculate the carbon emitted in the course of international transportation, with many already drawing the conclusion that it may be better to "simply produce goods at home" to minimize emissions.
But that argument does not always stand up to empirical verification. In fact, 90% of internationally traded goods are carried by sea. And maritime transport is by far the most carbon-efficient mode of transport, with only 14 grams of CO2 emissions per ton kilometre.
Shipping is followed by train transport, then road transport. Air transport has by far the highest CO2 emissions per ton kilometre (a minimum of 600 grams), illustrating the high relative climate impact of such transport.
For instance, some studies show that a Kenyan flower that is air-freighted to Europe emits a third of the CO2 of flowers grown in Holland. Others show that New Zealand lamb that is transported to the United Kingdom can actually generate 70 per cent less CO2 than lamb produced in the UK.
Only a multilateral approach to climate change would allow us to properly address these issues. A multilateral agreement, that includes all major polluters, would be the best placed international instrument to guide other instruments, such as the WTO, as well as all economic actors on how negative environmental externalities must be internationalized. Only with such an instrument can we move towards the proper pricing of energy.
The WTO tool-box of rules can certainly be leveraged in the fight against climate change, and "adapted" if governments perceive this to be necessary to better achieve their goals. The WTO has rules on product standards for instance, that encourage its members to use the international norms set by more specialized international institutions.
The WTO has rules on subsidies, taxes, intellectual property, and so on. All of these tools can prove valuable in the fight against climate change, but in that fight, would need to be mobilised under clearer environmental parameters that only the environmental community can set.
Surely we should not miss an opportunity to open markets for clean technology and services in the Doha negotiations. But, in doing so, we should cognizant of the fact that, ultimately, it is the existence of environmental regulations that will drive demand for these goods and services.
Hence the importance, once again, of setting the right environmental framework within which market opening can take place.
The writer is the director-general of WTO.

EQUITY and CREDIT CRUNCH: Will this impact on Travel Trends to developing countries in 2008?

Worries are abounding that one indirect victim of the US-generated credit crunch will be foreign travel, particularly that to developing nations. On one hand this is inevitable, but in a growing market the answer is nuanced. It is clear that the direct victims who are losing homes in the mid-west US were a very small percentage of developing country visitors. Yet for the actual tourists, mostly ABC1s and dreadlocked neo-backpackers ... will they not invest in that new buy-to-let flat in Lewisham or Bucharest and rather have a holiday? Will they choose Nairobi and Phnom Penh over London and LA? Likely is that thrifty people will think they can get a bargain in the developing world and will go for that and save for the expensive European destinations. Tall Economist puts his money squarely on eco-tourism in developing countries sustaining its steady pace of growth.

Source: Business Daily (Nairobi) by Wangui Maina
The credit crisis that has hit the US market, in turn affecting the global markets, is expected to have an impact on travel in 2008 according to a new report by Deloitte.
According to the report, 2008 Travel Industry Trends Report, the tightening in US credit lending is expected to impact on individuals spending on leisure.
"A slumping housing market and softening in consumer confidence is likely to impact travel in the near future," the report stated. In the past consumers have relied on cash-outs from refinanced mortgagees to support THL spending.
The ongoing crisis may make it impossible for some travellers to access finances to travel especially as houses are foreclosed due to faulted mortgages.
The report which looks at the Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) industry in the American market noted in addition to the credit crisis four other trends are expected to inform travel from this market in 2008.
This include changing customer tastes, globalisation, safety and security, and technology. Customers are increasingly looking for niche products when making decisions on their travellers.
The report notes that travellers look for specific destinations to suit some of their interests especially if it is a repeat journey to a particular destination.
Already Kenya has turned its marketing towards attracting this travellers by promoting various niche products like eco-tourism, bird watching and cultural tourism as a bid to grow the tourism sector.
The growing economies of China and Russia are expected to impact on travel trends in 2008 as travellers from these countries are expected to have more disposable income. Kenya has already turned its focus to China where it hopes to attract more tourists.
Travellers are also expected to visit these countries "especially with Moscow being classifies as one of the most expensive cities in the world," the report noted.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics are expected to be a positive gain for the East Asian country whose hotel rooms is predicted to grow by 76 per cent ahead of this international fete.
According to Deloitte's October 2007 Travel Survey 17 per cent of respondents said the new security measures that have been put in place in the past year will actually deter them from travelling by plane for leisure and 10 per cent said the measures would deter them from travelling by plane for business.
Since the terror attack in 2001 security measures have been tightened in the aviation sector making travelling an excruciating process.
Today airports boast long security lines with new security requirements being unveiled regularly. Mid this year IATA introduced new rules on hand luggage on planes that were adopted in most airlines, the new rules banned the carry any form of liquid aboard the plane.
The debate on climate change is also expected to affect customers travelling patterns, in the recent years there has been an increased awareness of ethical travel. To curb this schemes like carbon offsetting have been introduced to help offset the guilt of carbon emission. In addition this has raised the awareness of sustainable tourism which mainly promotes eco-tourism.
Regardless of all these trends the travel market is still expected to grow in 2008.

VIETNAM and CAMBODIA: more trade ... but what about sustainable tourism?

Facilitating trade is always the excuse for new border crossings. Given the competing needs for the rural poor in Cambodia and the integrity of the eastern Plains forests, the opening of a new border gate in Rattanakiri is worrying. Has a feasibility study been conducted? And what is this trade going to be facilitated in -- timber, poached wildlife and chainsaws?

Source: Nhan Dan ... "Vietnam opens another border gate with Cambodia"

Vietnam on December 15 put into service an international border gate in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, which borders Ratanakiri province in Cambodia.
The border gate, situated in Gia Lai province’s Duc Co district, is called Le Thanh in Vietnamese and Oyadao in Cambodian.
It is hoped to facilitate trade activities in the two countries’ border areas and also cement the ties between residents on both sides of the border.
The establishment of the border gate is also expected to help create a breakthrough for development in the triangle area which encompasses Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

EQUITY and HUNTING: rural poor benefit from elephant hunting

Source: The Namibian (Windhoek)
EVERY member of the 5 000-strong San community in the Bwabwata National Park in the Caprivi Region received N$136 from the Kyaramacan Association in October.
The Association, representing San people living in 10 villages in the newly proclaimed park, was given hunting rights in the park by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
It generates money from trophy hunting and meat sales.
The Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) project leader in West Caprivi, Friedrich Alpers, says a total amount of N$300 000 was distributed among the association's members.
Alpers said 16 elephants were hunted during the year and the meat was given to the community for domestic consumption.
"They had about 30 000 kg of elephant meat," he said.
Alpers said the association's members have indicated that they will use the money to pay their children's school fees and buy food.
For the past two years, the Kyaramacan Association has contributed N$1,2 million a year to the Ministry's Game Products Trust Fund, which finances conservation projects and compensates people for losses caused by wild animals.
According to the agreement signed between the Government and the association, 50 per cent of the income generated from trophy hunting must be handed to the Fund.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND EQUITY: Namibia: Poor 'Will Be Hit Hard' By Climate Change

Source: SciDev.Net (London) by Carol Campbell

Climate change is expected to dramatically alter the lifestyles of poor people in Namibia, say the authors of a study.
Their findings were published by the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) this month (December).
Namibia is economically dependent on natural resources. Up to 30 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to be reliant on the environment. Climate change could increase temperatures by 2-6 degrees Celsius by 2100, and rainfall is expected to be lower and more variable.
The researchers used data from Namibia's natural resource accounts to model the economic impact of climate change.
They found that under a best-case scenario over 20 years, the overall GDP would fall by about one per cent (about US$70 million). But under a worst-case scenario, livestock farming would be hit hard, fishing production would be greatly reduced and GDP would fall by almost six per cent (about US$200 million).
Even in the best-case scenario, subsistence farming would be greatly reduced and a quarter of the population would eventually have to find new livelihoods.
Extreme events like drought are expected to become more common, while changes in sea temperature will play havoc with the fishing industry. Economic diversification will be an important development strategy in future, especially in farming and coastal communities.
Phoebe Barnard, founder of Namibia's national climate change programme, now based at the South African National Biodiversity Institute in Cape Town (SANBI), told SciDev.Net that a detailed modelling study of climate change impacts on Namibian biodiversity and ecosystems was conducted by SANBI for Namibia in 2003.
The SANBI study projected significant additional bush encroachment of the savannah under climate change, and an expansion of Nama Karoo-type (dwarf shrubland) habitat.
"This will severely compromise the livestock production sector, one of Namibia's main livelihoods, and put pressure on the ecology of areas marginal for farming," said Barnard.
"It is up to industrialised nations -- the most responsible for climate change -- to help Namibia and other vulnerable countries cope with the impacts and plan for a climate-constrained future," says the study.

CAMBODIA: Silver bullets? How the sustainable tourism dream is being subverted by business and the government

According to Global Witness, Cambodia's government ranks as one of the most corrupt and its ruling cliques as the most incestuous. The government at all levels is grappling with how to deal with rising populations, pressures from its neighbours for its natural resources and the cries of conservationists. A policy of laissez-faire is supported. The latest silver bullet is proposed by a hunting safari company which wants to develop a hunting bag of 30 species in Rattanakiri province. As WWF point out (a) no assessment of populations has been conducted to discern suitability of these species for hunting (b) no supporting infrastructure exists for community benefits to be dispersed (c) poaching from Vietnamese hunters is a huge problem for species conservation and needs to be addressed. Experience from southern Africa shows that well-managed hunting operations integrated with communities, local and national official channels, and in harmony with nature, can be a positive addition to the conservation mosaic for an area. It is rarely the first tool one would use, and then only with good information.

Source: Reuters ..."Cambodia plans hunting safaris for VIP tourists" By Ek Madra; Illegal Logging ... "Global Witness Report Accuses Cambodia's International Donors of Inaction while a Corrupt Elite surrounding the Prime Minister loots the Country's Forests"
Cambodia is considering laying on hunting safaris for well-heeled foreign tourists in its remote jungle-clad northeast, to the consternation of green groups who say it could be a recipe for disaster.
Officials said on Tuesday a Spanish firm called Nsok Safaris had already drawn up plans for a five-star jungle camp to house hunters after trophies on a list of 30 mammals, birds and reptiles in a 100,000-hectare (250,000-acre) forest reserve.
The area, in Mondulkiri and Rattanakiri provinces, is home to several indigenous hill-tribes whose first main contact with the outside world was during the Vietnam War when their territory was crossed by the myriad paths of the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Dany Chheang, deputy director of the Agriculture Ministry's Wildlife Protection Office, said allowing foreigners to pay to shoot game was far better for conservation than having poachers take it illegally.
"Illegal hunters are burning dollars every day," he told Reuters. "We have not explored all the potential of our natural resources. Now is the time to do so."
"The money we net will be invested in preserving the animals and forest. It is better for sustainable development than letting local hunters deal with cheap black markets."
He did not say what the 30 approved species were. The forest area is thought to be one of southeast Asia's last wildernesses and is home to wild elephants and tigers.
Environvmental group WWF, which has been promoting wildlife conservation in war-scarred Cambodia since 1998, said it was concerned about the plan, which has been in the pipeline for two years but which has remained shrouded in secrecy.
WWF's Cambodia programme manager, Bas van Helvoort, said little was known about animal population numbers in the two provinces, and so allowing them to be hunted could be disastrous.
"Putting species up to be hunted is not going to contribute to making them safe," van Helvoort said. "This has been done in Africa but it is very carefully selected and very controlled."
So far, Phnom Penh -- which is routinely accused of allowing rampant illegal logging -- appears oblivious to the concerns.
"These are our natural resources. We do not need permission from wildlife conservation experts to run our business," Dany Chheang said.
The Finance Ministry was still working with agriculture officials on the finer points of the plan, such as trophies and fees, he added.
Madrid-based Nsok Safari's Web site advertises hunting expeditions in Cameroon and Tanzania. (Editing by Ed Cropley and Roger Crabb)

CLIMATE CHANGE and EQUITY: Namibia's poorest lose out

Natural resource based economies in Africa to be hit hard economically by climate change with the poorest paying the highest relative price.

Source: The Namibian (Windhoek) ... "Climate Outlook Grim - Study" by Absalom Shigwedha

The impact of climate change on Namibia's natural resources alone could reduce the country's Gross Domestic Product by one to six per cent, says an opinion paper by four climate change experts.
The paper, 'Counting the cost of climate change in Namibia', was compiled by Hannah Reid of the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), James MacGregor (IIED), Linda Sahlen of Umea University and Jesper Stage of Goteborg University It was launched at the conference of parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) currently on in Bali, Indonesia.
"Its [Namibia's] natural legacy underpins much of the national bank balance - and also leaves it highly vulnerable to climate change," said the two-page paper. It is estimated that up to 30 per cent of Namibia's GDP is reliant on the environment. The paper said there was a need for Namibia to mainstream climate change into national policies and planning. Employment opportunities, it says, could shrink and wages fall, with wages for unskilled labour dropping by 24 per cent in worst-case scenario. "So, along with climate change policies and activities, Namibia needs a strategy to deal with displaced farmers and farmworkers," said the paper. Low rainfall is particularly expected in the central regions, while overall rainfall is projected to become even more variable that it is now.
"Even if rainfall changes little from today's levels, hotter temperatures will boost evaporation rates, leading to severe water shortages. Poor rural pastoralists and dryland populations will be affected most. Extreme events such as drought are likely to become more frequent and more intense," said the four experts.
They said it was up to industrialised nations - the most responsible for climate change - to help Namibia and other vulnerable countries to cope with the impact.

CLIMATE CHANGE, EQUITY and MARKETS: Stern warning

Nicolas Stern estimates the extra costs developing countries face as a result of climate change are likely to be upwards of $80bn per year and it is vital that extra resources are available for new initiatives.
Source: Royal Economics Society
Climate change is a result of the greatest market failure that the world has seen, Sir Nicholas Stern, whose review last year warned of the economic and social costs of climate change, said tonight.
Delivering the Royal Economic Society (RES) public lecture in Manchester, ahead of next week's world summit on climate change in Bali, Sir Nicholas said targets and trading must be at the heart of a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The problem of climate change involves a fundamental failure of markets: those who damage others by emitting greenhouse gases generally do not pay," said Sir Nicholas.
"Climate change is a result of the greatest market failure the world has seen. The evidence on the seriousness of the risks from inaction or delayed action is now overwhelming. We risk damages on a scale larger than the two world wars of the last century. The problem is global and the response must be a collaboration on a global scale."
He added that rich countries must lead the way in taking action. "That means adopting ambitious emissions reduction targets; encouraging effective market mechanisms; supporting programmes to combat deforestation; promoting rapid technological progress to mitigate the effects of climate change; and honouring their aid commitments to the developing world," he said.
Sir Nicholas used the RES lecture - entitled, Climate Change, Ethics and the Economics of the Global Deal - to set out a six-point global deal for tackling climate change.
The first involves rich countries reducing their greenhouse emissions by at least 80% - either directly or through trading schemes - in order that the overall 50% reduction in global emissions by 2050 is met.
Secondly he called for substantial trade between countries, including rich and poor countries, in greenhouse gas emissions.
The third point requires a major reform of the clean development mechanism, a Kyoto protocol mechanism that allows developing countries to sell emission reductions, but does not penalise them for emissions themselves, making it a "one-sided trade mechanism", said Sir Nicholas.
He also argued for an international programme to combat deforestation, which contributes 15-20% of greenhouse gas emissions.
"For $10-15bn (£4.8-7.2bn) per year, a programme could be constructed that could stop up to half the deforestation," he said.
There also needs to be urgent promotion of rapid technological advance for climate change mitigation, said Sir Nicholas.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) for coal is particularly urgent since coal-fired electric power is currently the dominant technology round the world and emerging nations will be investing heavily in these technologies, he said.
"For $5bn a year, in terms of feed-in tariffs (which could be reduced as carbon prices rise), it should be possible to create 30 commercial scale coal-fired CCS stations within seven or eight years. Unless the rich world demonstrates, and quickly, that CCS works, developing countries cannot be expected to commit to this technology."
The final plank in Sir Nicholas's action plan is for rich countries to honour their commitments to 0.7% of GDP in aid by 2015. This would yield increases in flows of $150-200bn per year. The extra costs developing countries face as a result of climate change are likely to be upwards of $80bn per year and it is vital that extra resources are available for new initiatives.
Sir Nicholas argued that this global deal invokes effectiveness, efficiency and equity.
"The problem is deeply inequitable with the rich countries having caused the bulk of current stocks of greenhouse gases and the poor countries being hit earliest and hardest - which means that the rich countries must take the lead," he said.
"Within different countries, there will be different choices of instruments - such as taxes, trading and standards - and different technological mixes.
"In all countries, there is scope for energy efficiency, which both reduces emissions and saves money. But trading must be a central part of the story because it can provide the international incentives for participation, and promote efficiency and equity, while controlling quantities of emissions."
Sir Nicholas Stern said that his programme could be developed if rich countries take a lead in Bali on their targets, the promotion of trading mechanisms and funding for deforestation and technology.
He said: "Bali is an opportunity to draw the outline of the common understanding or framework, which will both guide action now, and build towards the deal."

Meat and equity: Zambia questions EU policies over imports and trade

Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa questions EU policies over imports and trade complaining that Zambia is losing as much as $150 million annually on potential meat exports alone .... close to what the EU gives Zambia in grants every year.He called for delegates to find ways on how Africa and European nations can build a new relationship based on equality.

Source: The Times of Zambia (Lusaka)... Zambia: President Call for EU Countries to Open Up Their Markets to Africa

THE call by President Mwanawasa for European Union (EU) countries to open up their markets to African agricultural produce is a serious matter, which should be accorded the attention that it deserves. For a long time, African countries have been crying about the restricted access to the lucrative EU and other markets.
That Zambia is losing as much as $150 million annually on potential meat exports alone as a result of these trade restrictions is indicative of the magnitude of the opportunities that the EU has been denying African countries. This figure, according to Dr Mwanawasa is close to what the EU gives Zambia in grants every year.
This clearly demonstrates that Zambia and other African countries are capable of eventually standing on their own if only EU members and other developed countries could be supportive by offering them chance to trade equitably, instead of keeping them hooked on foreign aid.
In fact, Africa has always stated that it does not wish to live on hand-outs because it is capable of standing on its own with genuine support from the developed. Such support could entail the removal of some of the rigid packaging specifications and phyto-sanitary standards demanded by the EU.
The other way that the EU could help Zambia would be through the deliberate boosting of Africa's capacity to meet some of these measures demanded by the European nations, and allowing the country to trade itself out of aid dependency.
Europe can enable Africa to trade more equitably by removing agricultural subsidies, which make African produce uncompetitive on the EU market.
Of course, the EU cannot be expected to relax the trade restriction and open up its markets rapidly and at once, but there is room for the EU member states to remove some of the barriers and meet the African nations half way.
The EU-Africa Summit, which closed yesterday in Lisbon, was called to find ways on how Africa and European nations can build a new relationship based on equality. The suggestion made by Dr Mwanawasa is one way of achieving that.
The World has followed the deliberations of the summit in Portugal with keen interest and is waiting to see the results of the meeting.
Now is the time to implement the resolutions of the EU-Africa summit. Otherwise the meeting will be branded just another talking shop.

EQUITY and GAS: how loudly purrs the tiger in your tank?

Nice data and graphical representation in this article ... but no purchasing power parity vibe ... still a good read, even if unrelative equity is the watchword.

Source: Foreign Policy ... "Prime Numbers: Pain at the Pump" by Gerhard Metschies
Drivers grumble about high gasoline prices all over the world. But with oil prices at record highs, many countries are saying goodbye to gas subsidies, making a trip to the filling station more expensive than ever.

Gasoline prices are based largely on the price of crude oil, but refining costs, distribution, and taxes also add to the tab. Some governments, such as Venezuela and Iran, pick up much of the bill through subsidies. But as the price of crude has risen, many countries have abandoned subsidies in favor of higher gas taxes. Indonesian motorists have perhaps been hit hardest: Gas prices there have increased a whopping 238 percent since 2000.
Countries that keep prices artificially low do so at the peril of their budgets’ bottom line. Iran’s subsidies cut into its total state spending by nearly 40 percent. On the flip side, gasoline taxation can help curb state deficits. South Korea’s high fuel taxes bring in 15 percent of the country’s spending

KENYA and sustainable development: Bank Gets Long Term Credit for SMEs

Smaller businesses in Kenya will get a new leg-up from leveraged cheaper finance from Fina Bank [through EIB]. The credit market in rural areas is one missing market that needs filling and could radically alter the profile of rural poverty.

Source: The Nation (Nairobi) Kenya: Fina Bank Gets Long Term Credit for Smes

Fina Bank's small and medium clients can now access long-term financing of up to 10 years following an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to provide funding.
Under the agreement signed on Friday, Fina Bank will receive Sh273 million (3 million euros) from the European bank's Sh1.8 billion (EUR 20 million) line of credit.
Mr Carmelo Cocuzza, the EIB head of regional representation for Central and East Africa, said the loans will be available in Kenya shillings, US dollars or Euros at either floating or fixed rates.
"Besides being long-term, the loans will be beneficial to the clients because they will be cushioned against the local interest rates fluctuations," said Mr Cocuzza.
Fina Bank group CEO, Mr Frank Griffiths, said the agreement will allow the banks to provide longer term loans to its growing number of SME customers.
"Expanding a business is not easy and being able to finance a project for up to 10 years will be greatly appreciated," said Mr Griffiths.
He added that the ability to offer up to a 10-year loan, in a variety of currencies, and with the option of a fixed rate of interest, is relatively unique in this market.
It targets the agro-industry, fishing, mining, food processing, manufacturing, tourism, education and health-care.

TRADE and EQUITY: Namibian meat, economic dominoes

WINDHOEK: The Namibian government has made a bizarre decision which will cripple its lucrative export industry to the EU for fresh produce and meat -- seemingly for no gain, political or economic. New tariffs will AVERAGE 90% on all exports. Clever Namibians are buying shares in haulage companies, gas stations along the TransCaprivi and TransKalahari Highways. Meat-eating Namibians are wondering what this means for the local price of meat which has for a long time been subsidised by lucrative exports to the EU. Plus, the value of land is intimately linked to these high returns from exports - and cattle rangeland supports cattle and wildlife complementarily. The tourism industry, based around sustainable tourism [and community-based natural resource management, is equally watching these emerging events with a sense of loss and impending problems.

Source: The Namibian ... "Farmers Shocked About EU Trade Loss" by Brigitte Weidlich

SHOCKWAVES have rippled through the private sector since Government announced on Wednesday that it refused to sign a new trade deal to kick in on January 1 2008.
The signature would have safeguarded duty- and quotafree access of all Namibian agricultural produce, such as beef, grapes and fish, to the European Union (EU).
"Namibia is facing very stiff tariffs for beef imports to the EU, averaging 90 per cent, three weeks from now against the present eight per cent," said Juergen Hoffmann, Special Trade Advisor at the Agricultural Trade Forum (ATF).
"This is because the European Union does not grant GSP to any meat products," he said yesterday.
The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) is a scheme whereby a wide range of industrial and agricultural products from some developing countries are given preferential access to EU markets.
An insider of the beef industry told The Namibian yesterday the steep increase in tariffs from next January would make it uneconomic to export beef to the EU.
Currently Namibia exports some 9 000 tonnes of beef a year to the EU.
"It is deboned meat and only the best pieces, being the prime cuts, are exported," said the person, who spoke on condition off anonymity.
"I would not be surprised at all if some abattoirs shut down in Namibia and jobs will be lost.
I also wonder if the Etunda feedlot, which is to be set up by Meatco near Ruacana with EU grant money, will actually come off."
Trade and Industry Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko told reporters on Wednesday that Government would set up a special task team to assess the losses the beef, fish and grape producers will suffer.
"We can meet them only halfway," the Minister stated. The grape industry is also affected by the Government decision. It employs about 1 500 people permanently and 6 000 seasonal workers in southern Namibia. Namibia exports about 22 500 tonnes of table grapes, most of them to the EU.
The higher import tariffs of EU countries will amount to over N$300 million, which producers have to cough up next year to sell their grapes in Europe