July 12-15, various social movements and academics from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Ghana, Spain and Portugal will gather in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare to discuss and debate the state of land, seeds, food, climate and people in Southern Africa. The event is being held under the banner/auspices of Portugal's Popular University of Social Movements, known by its Portutguese acronym, UPMS.

Land Rights & Environment

The decision-making framework provided by the South African constitution after the dawn of democracy highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement, thus increasing the power of activism. Vast stretches of the country are now earmarked for unconventional oil and gas exploration. Activists need to be vigilant that no application goes unchallenged.

Mild-mannered and almost self-effacing, the son of the renowned Nigerian environmentalist was yet the owner of a sharpintellect that was not afraid to adopt and keep positions that seemed right to him. What the rest of the world thought was not that relevant to him.

Climate justice campaigners think the election of Donald Trump as US president is a disaster for climate and especially for the African continent. This is a moment where the rest of the world must not waver and must redouble commitments to tackle dangerous climate change.

Given the value of mapping, African governments need to raise funds from different sources, including from their development partners, the private sector, international foundations and other users to support not only the training of qualified cartographers and surveyors but also to procure new equipment and software to assist in the design of quality maps.