tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/university-of-namibia-2647/articlesThe University of Namibia2024-02-13T20:16:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2234742024-02-13T20:16:09Z2024-02-13T20:16:09Z100 ans de radio en Afrique : de la propagande au pouvoir populaire<p>La radio <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/african-broadcasters-radio-still-reigns-supreme-across-continent-/7218451.html">se porte bien</a> dans toute l’<a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AD509-PAP7-Promise-and-peril-Africas-changing-media-landscape-Afrobarometer-dispatch-19feb22.pdf">Afrique</a>. Il est difficile d'obtenir des chiffres exacts car les études d'audience diffèrent d'un pays à l'autre. Mais des études estiment que la proportion d'auditeurs de radio se situe entre <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AD509-PAP7-Promise-and-peril-Africas-changing-media-landscape-Afrobarometer-dispatch-19feb22.pdf">60 % et 80 %</a> parmi les <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population-dashboard">1,4 milliard d'habitants</a> du continent. </p>
<p>Contrairement à de nombreux pays occidentaux, où l'on assiste à une <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2056305119880002">évolution</a> vers le streaming et les podcasts, la radio traditionnelle continue d'être largement adoptée en Afrique. En raison des faibles niveaux d'alphabétisation et de l'accès inégal à l'internet et aux infrastructures technologiques, la radio traditionnelle reste un média <a href="https://tidsskrift.dk/mediekultur/article/download/5489/5767">fiable et inclusif</a>. </p>
<p>Cette année, la <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/days/world-radio/radio-next-century">célébration</a> des plus de 100 ans de la radio nous offre l'occasion, en tant que spécialistes des médias africains, de réfléchir à l'importance historique, à la pertinence culturelle, au pouvoir politique et à l'impact social de ce médium sur le continent. Pour illustrer cette riche histoire, nous nous appuierons sur des exemples tirés des régions que nous avons étudiées.</p>
<h2>Les premières années</h2>
<p>L'émergence de la radio trouve ses origines dans son utilisation <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2778607">pour servir les intérêts coloniaux</a>. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001654928804200202?journalCode=gaza">Selon le chercheur camerounais Francis Nyamnjoh</a> dès son avènement en tant que média de masse: </p>
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<p>Les États européens ont rapidement compris le rôle que la radio pouvait jouer dans la réalisation de leur désir d'assimiler les cultures plus vulnérables du monde entier. </p>
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<p>Les historiens <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00083968.2020.1829832">notent</a> qu'elle a également permis aux Européens dans les colonies de maintenir les liens avec leur pays d'origine, leur culture et leur langue. </p>
<p>Au début des années 1920, des passionnés de radio amateur avaient déjà commencé à <a href="https://open.uct.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/e994713d-3d62-41fc-8420-71f87f36e183/content">expérimenter</a> cette technologie. La <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-40702-4">première diffusion officielle</a> semble avoir eu lieu le 18 décembre 1923 à Johannesburg, en Afrique du Sud. </p>
<p>En Afrique de l'Est, la radio a été introduite pour la première fois au Kenya en 1927 et en Afrique de l'Ouest en Sierra Leone en 1934.</p>
<p>Le spécialiste britannique des médias Graham Mytton <a href="http://www.transculturalwriting.com/radiophonics/contents/usr/downloads/radiophonics/A_Brief_History.pdf">écrit</a> que l'arrivée de la radio dans les colonies britanniques d'Afrique de l'Ouest - la Gambie, la Sierra Leone, la Gold Coast (actuel Ghana) et le Nigeria - représente un moment charnière. </p>
<p>Jusqu'alors, la radio était diffusée par transmission sans fil. Lorsqu'elle a été <a href="http://www.transculturalwriting.com/radiophonics/contents/usr/downloads/radiophonics/A_Brief_History.pdf">introduite</a> en Sierra Leone, au Ghana (1935) et au Nigeria (1936), c'était “par le biais de services câblés – les abonnés disposaient de haut-parleurs (reliés par fil à la station de radio) installés chez eux pour recevoir le service … Ces dispositifs avaient été créés en tenant compte des auditeurs africains indigènes”.</p>
<p>Puis, en 1936, l'administration coloniale britannique <a href="http://www.transculturalwriting.com/radiophonics/contents/usr/downloads/radiophonics/A_Brief_History.pdf">décide de développer</a> la radiodiffusion dans l'ensemble de ses colonies africaines.</p>
<h2>La propagande</h2>
<p>Les puissances coloniales telles que le Royaume-Uni et la France ont intensifié leurs efforts en matière de radiodiffusion après le déclenchement de la <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II">deuxième guerre mondiale</a> en 1939. Les années 1940 ont été marquées par l'introduction d'émissions dans les langues autochtones par les puissances coloniales désireuses d'influencer l'opinion publique et d'obtenir un soutien pour leur effort de guerre. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001654928804200202?journalCode=gaza">Alors que</a> les Britanniques diffusaient en Afrique dans certaines langues africaines, la France ne diffusait qu'en français. </p>
<p>Cela a jeté les bases des développements futurs. Après la guerre, les Britanniques ont <a href="http://www.transculturalwriting.com/radiophonics/contents/usr/downloads/radiophonics/A_Brief_History.pdf">officiellement adopté</a> une politique visant à étendre les services de radiodiffusion à la plupart de leurs colonies africaines. </p>
<p>Au Kenya, par exemple, le premier service de radiodiffusion pour les Africains a débuté en 1953, transmettant dans les langues locales pendant l'état d'urgence déclaré en 1952 pour réprimer le <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mau-Mau">soulèvement des Mau Mau</a>. </p>
<p>Des universitaires ont <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/50568/">soutenu</a> que, bien qu'elle ait été conçue principalement pour la propagande, la radio en Afrique</p>
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<p>a toujours été beaucoup plus complexe et insaisissable que ce que prévoyaient les puissances coloniales. </p>
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<p>Elle offrait également la “possibilité de créer de nouveaux publics, parfois impertinents”.</p>
<h2>La radio de la résistance</h2>
<p>Les années 1950 ont vu l'expansion et la transformation de la radio en Afrique. Les stations de radio des colonies britanniques, françaises et belges se sont rapidement multipliées alors que les populations soumises à la domination coloniale redoublaient d'efforts pour obtenir leur indépendance.</p>
<p>Au milieu des années 1950, la plus ancienne station de libération en Afrique, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057070902919892">Radio Freedom</a>, a été créée en tant que station clandestine en Zambie par le mouvement de résistance sud-africain. Elle diffusera sa première émission officielle en 1963.</p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=h0vPEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=angola%E2%80%99s+radio+marissa&ots=TfjFlqiNSY&sig=MWUjA-iVwN4TzyW67rtPKWcMMvw">En Angola</a>, la radio s'est développée avec le <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Angola/Independence-and-civil-war">déclenchement de la guerre</a> en 1961 entre les mouvements de libération et l'État colonial portugais. </p>
<p>Les mouvements de libération des pays voisins ont utilisé la radio pour rendre compte de la guerre en dépit de la censure coloniale. De son côté, la radio de l'État colonial a favorisé l'émergence de la musique des artistes locaux dans le cadre de sa propagande coloniale. </p>
<h2>Indépendance et contrôle de l'État</h2>
<p>Entre la fin des années 1940 et le début des années 1960, le nombre postes radio a été <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ereh/article-abstract/16/1/23/560883">multiplié par cinq</a>, passant de 90 appareils pour mille habitants en Afrique à 450. </p>
<p>À certains égards, les années 1960 ont été un <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064228208533427">âge d'or</a> pour la radio africaine. Une vague de mouvements <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200709-1960-a-wave-of-independence-sweeps-across-africa">d'indépendance</a> a donné naissance à de nouvelles nations alors que la technologie radio devenait plus abordable. </p>
<p>De nombreux pays nouvellement indépendants ont mis en place des services de radiodiffusion nationaux, comme la Gambie en 1965. Cela a élargi la portée de la radio et la possibilité d'adopter des langues locales, de la musique et des programmes culturels. Au Nigeria, la Broadcasting Corporation s'est étendue à l'ensemble du pays. </p>
<p>Mais certains pays nouvellement indépendants qui avaient hérité de systèmes de radiodiffusion contrôlés par l'État ont également <a href="https://africasacountry.com/2023/03/to-speak-freely-in-zambia">censuré le contenu</a> jugé critique ou menaçant, restreignant ainsi la liberté d'expression. </p>
<p>Avec l'indépendance de l'Angola en 1975, par exemple, les nouveaux dirigeants considéraient la radio comme un outil de construction nationale, mais ils ont <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=h0vPEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=angola%E2%80%99s+radio+marissa&ots=TfjFlqiNSY&sig=MWUjA-iVwN4TzyW67rtPKWcMMvw">renforcé leur emprise</a> après une tentative de coup d'État en 1977. </p>
<p>Dans de nombreux pays africains, dont l'Angola, le contrôle de la radio par l'État postcolonial persiste. Le secteur radiophonique du Zimbabwe, par exemple, est florissant. Mais le contrôle de l'État reste prépondérant avec des licences favorisant la radio nationale et des lois restrictives pour les stations de radio communautaires. </p>
<p>La Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation a été créée en 1964 et fonctionne toujours comme une <a href="https://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/me/meb/meb03a/meb03a01/mobile_browsing/onePag">radio d'État</a>. Bien qu'elle soit financée par les redevances publiques et la publicité, elle est perçue comme promouvant les programmes du gouvernement.</p>
<p>La radio a également été utilisée pour promouvoir des objectifs politiques malveillants. Le <a href="https://theconversation.com/portraying-rwandas-genocide-as-an-encounter-with-hell-114305">génocide de 1994</a> au Rwanda en est un exemple douloureux. La tristement célèbre Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines a diffusé des discours de haine et <a href="https://genocidearchiverwanda.org.rw/index.php/Radio_T%C3%A9l%C3%A9vision_Libre_des_Mille_Collines">incité à la violence</a> contre la minorité tutsie. </p>
<h2>Stations commerciales privées</h2>
<p>Au cours des 40 dernières années, de nombreux pays africains ont libéralisé leurs économies et leurs réglementations en matière de médias, en délivrant des licences pour les radios commerciales et communautaires.</p>
<p>Au Ghana, par exemple, la radio servait principalement les intérêts de l'élite jusqu'aux années 1990 avant que le secteur privé ne diverisifie l'industrie. En 2022, le Ghana<a href="https://nca.org.gh/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FM-LIST-2022.pdf">comptait fièrement</a> 513 stations de radio publiques, commerciales, communautaires, universitaires et étrangères. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/radio-in-south-africa-turns-100-and-collides-with-podcasting-and-streaming-198021">Radio in South Africa turns 100 – and collides with podcasting and streaming</a>
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<p>L'émergence de radios en langues autochtones a constitué un progrès significatif. Ces radios ont produit des contenus qui résonnent sur le plan culturel et ont donné la priorité aux questions communautaires. Mais des défis persistent. Certaines stations sont affiliées à des intérêts politiques ou commerciaux, et <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/1/8/season-of-intimidation-attacks-on-ghana-press-escalate-ahead-of-2024-polls">l'augmentation des attaques</a> contre les journalistes pose des risques pour la liberté et la diversité des médias.</p>
<p>Au cours des dernières décennies, le paysage radiophonique du Kenya s'est transformé et compte désormais plus de 200 stations. Les stations commerciales privées dominent désormais, diffusant dans les langues locales. </p>
<p>En Ile Maurice, les ondes ont été libéralisées en 2002, avec l'introduction de stations privées. Les émissions de débats, notamment en créole mauricien, ont révolutionné la radio. Les radios privées se sont étendues aux plateformes numériques, attirant le public par le biais de diffusion en direct et des réseaux sociaux, créant à la fois de la concurrence et une couverture sensationnelle. </p>
<h2>La radio aujourd'hui</h2>
<p>La convergence numérique est en train de remodeler la manière dont la radio est consommée, ce qui brouille les schémas d'audience.</p>
<p>Cette évolution n'est pas uniforme sur le continent. Les plateformes numériques sont confrontées à des défis, tels que la <a href="http://www.digitaldividecouncil.com/what-is-the-digital-divide/">fracture numérique</a> et l’<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43545-023-00626-6">inégalité</a> économique.</p>
<p>L'influence de la radio devrait perdurer, les podcasts venant en complément plutôt qu'en remplacement des émissions traditionnelles. Une étude réalisée en 2022 dans 34 pays africains <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AD509-PAP7-Promise-and-peril-Africas-changing-media-landscape-Afrobarometer-dispatch-19feb22.pdf">a révélé</a> que la radio était “la source d'information la plus répandue”. Cela témoigne de son influence durable et de sa capacité unique à toucher des publics divers, même un siècle après son introduction.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223474/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sisanda Nkoala reçoit un financement de la National Research Foundation (Fondation Nationale de la Recherche). Elle est représentante publique au sein du outh African Press Council (Conseil de Presse d'Afrique du Sud). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina Chan-Meetoo eçoit un financement de la Commission de l'Enseignement Supérieur à l'Ile Maurice (Higher Education Commission in Mauritius) en tant que membre d'une équipe de recherche sur le créole mauricien. Elle est également membre du conseil d'administration de Creole Speaking Union in Mauritius (l'Union des Locuteurs Créole à Maurice).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marissa J. Moorman reçoit un financement de Fulbright Hays et du Conseil Américain des American Council of Learned Societies (Sociétés Savantes) pour ses recherches sur la radio en Angola. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacinta Mwende Maweu, Modestus Fosu, and Stanley Tsarwe do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Avec une histoire politique tumultueuse, la radio est aujourd'hui la première source d'information en Afrique.Sisanda Nkoala, Associate professor, University of the Western CapeChristina Chan-Meetoo, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication, University of MauritiusJacinta Mwende Maweu, Senior lecturer in Philosophy and Media Studies, University of NairobiMarissa J. Moorman, Associate Professor of History, Indiana UniversityModestus Fosu, Associate Professor in Language and Communication Studies, University of Media, Arts and Communication, Ghana Institute of JournalismStanley Tsarwe, Lecturer in Journalism, University of NamibiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2227982024-02-12T11:25:32Z2024-02-12T11:25:32Z100 years of radio in Africa: from propaganda to people’s power<p>Radio is <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/african-broadcasters-radio-still-reigns-supreme-across-continent-/7218451.html">thriving</a> across <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AD509-PAP7-Promise-and-peril-Africas-changing-media-landscape-Afrobarometer-dispatch-19feb22.pdf">Africa</a>. Exact figures are difficult to come by because audience research differs across countries. But studies estimate radio listenership to be between <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AD509-PAP7-Promise-and-peril-Africas-changing-media-landscape-Afrobarometer-dispatch-19feb22.pdf">60% and 80%</a> of the continent’s <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population-dashboard">1.4 billion population</a>. </p>
<p>In contrast to many western countries, where there has been a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2056305119880002">shift</a> towards streaming and podcasts, traditional radio continues to be widely embraced in Africa. Because of poor literacy levels and uneven access to the internet and technological infrastructure, old-fashioned radio remains a <a href="https://tidsskrift.dk/mediekultur/article/download/5489/5767">reliable and inclusive</a> medium. </p>
<p>This year’s <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/days/world-radio/radio-next-century">celebration</a> of the 100-plus years of radio offers us an opportunity, as African media scholars, to reflect on the historical significance, cultural relevance, political power and social impact of the medium on the continent. We home in on examples from the regions we’ve studied to demonstrate this rich history.</p>
<h2>Early years</h2>
<p>The story of radio in Africa starts with its introduction <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2778607">to serve colonial interests</a>. Cameroonian scholar Francis Nyamnjoh <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001654928804200202?journalCode=gaza">argues</a> that as soon as it had established itself as a mass medium in the 1920s, </p>
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<p>European states were quick to realise the part radio could play in realising their desire to swallow up weaker cultures around the globe. </p>
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<p>Historians <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00083968.2020.1829832">note</a> that it also allowed Europeans in the colonies to connect to home, their culture and their languages.</p>
<p>In the early 1920s amateur radio enthusiasts had already begun <a href="https://open.uct.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/e994713d-3d62-41fc-8420-71f87f36e183/content">tinkering</a> with the technology. The <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-40702-4">first official broadcast</a> seems to have been on 18 December 1923 in Johannesburg, South Africa. </p>
<p>In east Africa, radio was first introduced in Kenya in 1927 and in west Africa to Sierra Leone in 1934.</p>
<p>UK media scholar Graham Mytton <a href="http://www.transculturalwriting.com/radiophonics/contents/usr/downloads/radiophonics/A_Brief_History.pdf">writes</a> that the arrival of radio in west Africa’s British colonies – The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast (now Ghana) and Nigeria – marked a turning point. </p>
<p>Until then radio had been broadcast by wireless transmission. When it was <a href="http://www.transculturalwriting.com/radiophonics/contents/usr/downloads/radiophonics/A_Brief_History.pdf">introduced</a> in Sierra Leone, Ghana (1935) and Nigeria (1936), it was “via wired services – subscribers had loudspeakers (linked by wire to the radio station) installed in their homes to receive the service … these were created with native African listeners in mind”.</p>
<p>Then, in 1936, the British colonial administration <a href="http://www.transculturalwriting.com/radiophonics/contents/usr/downloads/radiophonics/A_Brief_History.pdf">decided to develop</a> radio broadcasting throughout its African colonies.</p>
<h2>Propaganda</h2>
<p>Colonial powers such as the UK and France upped their radio transmission efforts after the outbreak of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II">second world war</a> in 1939. The 1940s were marked by the introduction of indigenous language broadcasts by colonial powers wanting to influence public opinion and garner support for their war effort. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001654928804200202?journalCode=gaza">While</a> the British broadcast to Africa in some African languages, France broadcast only in French.</p>
<p>This laid the groundwork for future developments. After the war, the British <a href="http://www.transculturalwriting.com/radiophonics/contents/usr/downloads/radiophonics/A_Brief_History.pdf">officially adopted</a> a policy of extending broadcasting services across most of its African colonies. </p>
<p>In Kenya, for example, the first broadcast service for Africans began in 1953, transmitting in local languages during the state of emergency declared in 1952 to suppress the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mau-Mau">Mau Mau uprising</a>. </p>
<p>Academics have <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/50568/">argued</a> that despite being designed mainly for propaganda, radio in Africa</p>
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<p>was always far more multifaceted and slippery than was intended by colonial powers. </p>
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<p>It also offered the “ability to create new and sometimes unruly publics”.</p>
<h2>Resistance radio</h2>
<p>The 1950s saw the expansion and transformation of radio in Africa. Radio stations across British, French and Belgian colonies rapidly increased as people under colonial rule increased their efforts to achieve independence.</p>
<p>In the mid-1950s the oldest liberation station in Africa, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057070902919892">Radio Freedom</a>, was established as an underground station in Zambia by South Africa’s resistance movement. It would air its first formal broadcast in 1963.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/radio-as-a-form-of-struggle-scenes-from-late-colonial-angola-128019">Radio as a form of struggle: scenes from late colonial Angola</a>
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<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=h0vPEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=angola%E2%80%99s+radio+marissa&ots=TfjFlqiNSY&sig=MWUjA-iVwN4TzyW67rtPKWcMMvw">In Angola</a>, radio expanded with the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Angola/Independence-and-civil-war">outbreak of war</a> in 1961 between liberation movements and the Portuguese colonial state. </p>
<p>Liberation movements in neighbouring countries used radio for war reporting amid colonial censorship. For their part, colonial state radio fostered the emergence of local artists’ music as part of their colonial propaganda. </p>
<h2>Independence and state control</h2>
<p>From the late 1940s to the early 1960s the number of radio-receiving sets <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ereh/article-abstract/16/1/23/560883">increased fivefold</a>, from 90 sets per thousand people in Africa to 450. </p>
<p>In some respects the 1960s was a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064228208533427">golden era</a> for African radio. A wave of <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200709-1960-a-wave-of-independence-sweeps-across-africa">independence</a> movements birthed new nations as radio technology was becoming more affordable. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575032/original/file-20240212-20-td3xm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575032/original/file-20240212-20-td3xm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575032/original/file-20240212-20-td3xm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575032/original/file-20240212-20-td3xm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575032/original/file-20240212-20-td3xm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575032/original/file-20240212-20-td3xm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575032/original/file-20240212-20-td3xm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575032/original/file-20240212-20-td3xm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Graphic: Gary Oberholzer</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Many newly independent countries established national broadcasting services, like The Gambia in 1965. This expanded the reach of radio and the opportunity to embrace local languages, music and cultural programming. In Nigeria, the Broadcasting Corporation expanded to cover the whole country. </p>
<p>But some newly independent countries that had inherited state-controlled broadcasting systems also <a href="https://africasacountry.com/2023/03/to-speak-freely-in-zambia">censored content</a> deemed critical or threatening, restricting freedom of expression. </p>
<p>With independence in Angola in 1975, for example, the new leaders saw radio as a tool for nation building, but <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=h0vPEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=angola%E2%80%99s+radio+marissa&ots=TfjFlqiNSY&sig=MWUjA-iVwN4TzyW67rtPKWcMMvw">tightened their grip</a> after a coup attempt in 1977. </p>
<p>In many African countries, Angola included, post-colonial state control of radio continues. Zimbabwe’s radio sector, for example, is thriving. But state control remains strong, with biased licensing for national radio and restrictive laws for community radio stations. </p>
<p>The Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation was established in 1964 and still operates as a <a href="https://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/me/meb/meb03a/meb03a01/mobile_browsing/onePag">state broadcaster</a>. Despite funding through public licence fees and advertising, it’s perceived to promote government agendas.</p>
<p>Radio has also been used to promote nefarious political ends. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/portraying-rwandas-genocide-as-an-encounter-with-hell-114305">1994 genocide</a> in Rwanda stands as a painful example. The infamous Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines disseminated hate speech and <a href="https://genocidearchiverwanda.org.rw/index.php/Radio_T%C3%A9l%C3%A9vision_Libre_des_Mille_Collines">incited violence</a> against the Tutsi minority. </p>
<h2>Private commercial stations</h2>
<p>Over the last 40 years many African countries have liberalised their economies and their media regulations, issuing commercial and community radio licences.</p>
<p>In Ghana, for example, radio primarily served elite interests until the 1990s, when private ownership diversified the industry. By 2022, Ghana <a href="https://nca.org.gh/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FM-LIST-2022.pdf">boasted</a> 513 radio stations, ranging across public, commercial, community, campus and foreign broadcasts. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/radio-in-south-africa-turns-100-and-collides-with-podcasting-and-streaming-198021">Radio in South Africa turns 100 – and collides with podcasting and streaming</a>
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<p>An essential development has been the emergence of indigenous language radio. This has produced culturally resonant content and prioritised community issues. But challenges persist. Some stations are affiliated with political or business interests and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/1/8/season-of-intimidation-attacks-on-ghana-press-escalate-ahead-of-2024-polls">increased attacks</a> on journalists pose risks to media freedom and diversity.</p>
<p>In recent decades, Kenya’s radio landscape has transformed to over 200 stations. Private commercial stations now dominate, broadcasting in local languages. </p>
<p>In Mauritius, airwaves were liberalised in 2002, introducing private stations. Talk shows, especially in the Mauritian Creole language, have revolutionised radio. Private radio has expanded to digital platforms, engaging audiences through live streams and social media, creating both competition and sensationalist coverage. </p>
<h2>Radio now</h2>
<p>Digital convergence is reshaping radio consumption, blurring audience patterns.</p>
<p>This isn’t happening uniformly across the continent. Digital platforms face challenges, such as the <a href="http://www.digitaldividecouncil.com/what-is-the-digital-divide/">digital divide</a> and economic <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43545-023-00626-6">inequality</a>.</p>
<p>Radio’s influence is likely to endure, with podcasts complementing rather than replacing traditional broadcasts. <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AD509-PAP7-Promise-and-peril-Africas-changing-media-landscape-Afrobarometer-dispatch-19feb22.pdf">A 2022 survey</a> across 34 African countries found radio was “overwhelmingly the most common source for news”. This is a testament to its enduring influence and unique ability to connect with diverse audiences – even a century after its introduction.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sisanda Nkoala receives funding from the National Research Foundation. She is a a public representative on the South African Press Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina Chan-Meetoo receives funding from the Higher Education Commission in Mauritius as part of a research team on Mauritian Creole.
She is a board member of the Creole Speaking Union in Mauritius. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marissa J. Moorman received funding from Fulbright Hays and the American Council of Learned Societies for her research on radio in Angola.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacinta Mwende Maweu, Modestus Fosu, and Stanley Tsarwe do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With a dramatic political history, radio is today the number one source of news in Africa.Sisanda Nkoala, Associate professor, University of the Western CapeChristina Chan-Meetoo, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication, University of MauritiusJacinta Mwende Maweu, Senior lecturer in Philosophy and Media Studies, University of NairobiMarissa J. Moorman, Associate Professor of History, Indiana UniversityModestus Fosu, Associate Professor in Language and Communication Studies, University of Media, Arts and Communication, Ghana Institute of JournalismStanley Tsarwe, Lecturer in Journalism, University of NamibiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1255852019-10-31T14:46:43Z2019-10-31T14:46:43ZWe studied mercury levels in Cape monkfish off Namibia’s coast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298513/original/file-20191024-170449-9j284o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Consumers should bear in mind that the bigger the fish, the more likely that it will have a high concentration of mercury. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The presence of mercury in the marine environment is becoming an issue of concern. Once in the ocean mercury is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14757716">converted</a> into a more toxic compound known as methylmercury. In this form it’s absorbed by the digestive tract of creatures at <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c178/fcd7e6fe4db6d76db9b211249f5e3d54207e.pdf?_ga=2.73234325.761941332.1571749086-1262164574.1569500172">all feeding levels</a> in the marine ecosystem. In fish, reduced swimming activity, loss of balance, and possibly death have been linked to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098196025907">mercury contamination</a>. Mercury has a very low rate of breakdown and excretion, which means it builds up – in a process known as bioaccumulation – through the entire food chain.</p>
<p>We conducted <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30301008">research</a> to establish the levels of mercury in Cape monkfish, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/18142320509504090">commercially important fish species</a> off the Namibian coast. This species also plays a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00004906">key ecological role</a> in the marine ecosystem. It feeds on other fishes and so regulates various fish populations.</p>
<p>The two conditions in which we found higher levels of mercury concentration were in larger fish and in fish in deeper waters. Some fish (0.57%) had higher levels of mercury above the World Health Organisation limit of 0.5mg/kg. However, most of the fish had mercury levels still below the World Health Organisation limit of 0.5mg/kg. </p>
<p>Our findings are important because although the Cape monkfish isn’t currently a risk to humans who eat it, this may change because of future industrial development in the region. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Cape monkfish is an important food source in Namibia and is also exported. The European Union is Namibia’s <a href="http://www.seaflowergroup.com.na/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Annual-Report-2017.pdf">largest</a> seafood export market. The fact that it’s a top predator increases its chance of accumulating mercury because, as <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f380/b3848c02678af9e18cf22aa1befcc107c8d7.pdf">research shows</a>, moving up the food chain, the mercury will accumulate and increase.</p>
<p>Cape monkfish also have long life spans: over <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258205860_Assessment_of_the_monkfish_Lophius_vomerinus_resource_off_Namibia">10 years</a>. </p>
<p>Our research compared the total mercury concentration between Cape monkfish muscle and liver tissue. We also related the mercury concentrations to the fish’s body size, depth and capture location. </p>
<p>We collected a total of 529 specimens of Cape monkfish from the three size classes; juveniles, sub-adults and adults, between 2016 and 2018. To check our laboratory results, we compared 50% of them with those obtained by the Namibian Standards Institution. </p>
<p>To establish whether the mercury concentration was spread evenly throughout a fish’s body we compared the concentration in its muscles and its liver tissue.</p>
<p>We found no significant difference in the two tissues. This implies that the muscle and liver tissues of Cape monkfish have statistically similar abilities to retain mercury. We expected significant differences because liver and muscles have different rates of metabolism. </p>
<p>The liver functions as a main storage organ and a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258150247_Assessment_of_Aquatic_Pollution_Using_Histopathology_in_Fish_as_a_Protocol">detoxification site</a> so we expected the liver tissues to contain higher mercury concentrations than the muscle tissues. </p>
<p>We did find that juvenile fish had lower contamination than bigger and older fish. This suggests that as the fish grows, the total mercury concentration increases. It also means that older fish are more threatened by mercury compared to younger fish. </p>
<p>We also found differences in concentration based on the location of the fish. One differentiator was lines of latitude: fish caught from areas around 19⁰S, 20⁰S and 26⁰S off the coast of Namibia had higher mercury levels than those caught in other areas off the Namibian coast. This might imply that there are mercury hotspots along these latitudes where sources of mercury are high, which can be linked to elevated industrial activities especially at 20°S and 26°S which a closer to the industrial towns of Walvisbay and Lüderitz respectively.</p>
<p>The concentration of total mercury in Cape monkfish was significantly higher in deeper water, though still similar in muscle and liver tissues. </p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>When buying Cape monkfish to eat, consumers should bear in mind that the bigger the fish, the more likely it is to have a high concentration of mercury. Mercury can potentially be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X19305345">toxic</a> to people when consumed. These <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814612005821">threats</a> may include renal failure, liver damage, cardiovascular diseases and even death. </p>
<p>Our findings should also be used to guide action taken by fishing companies operating around the 19⁰, 20⁰ and 26⁰S lines of latitude off the coast of Namibia. Fish caught from these areas should be screened for mercury and other heavy metals. </p>
<p><em>Johnny Gamatham and Stephanus Hamutenya also contribted to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125585/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victoria Ndinelago Erasmus is affiliated with National Marine Information and Research Centre (NatMIRC), Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Namibia and Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University, South Africa. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johannes Angala Iitembu for the University of Namibia. He receives funding from UNAM</span></em></p>Cape monkfish caught from some areas off Namibia’s coast should be screened for mercury and other heavy metals.Victoria Ndinelago Erasmus, PhD student, Rhodes UniversityJohannes Angala Iitembu, Senior Lecturer, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of NamibiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1033792018-09-26T11:43:10Z2018-09-26T11:43:10ZWhy Namibians want fresh impetus behind land reform<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237490/original/file-20180921-88806-z9gpvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Land reform discussions in Namibia don't address capital or profits.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Twenty-eight years after independence, wealth in Namibia is still skewed along racial lines laid down in the colonial period. The level of inequality is one of the highest in the world, according to the <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/si.pov.gini">World Bank</a>.</p>
<p>Land distribution plays a big part in keeping this pattern of inequality in place, and the country is holding its <a href="http://www.mlr.gov.na/land-conference1">Second National Land Conference</a> in October to discuss reform. But many Namibians are unhappy with this approach – and new forms of inequality are emerging too. This calls for a more radical approach to distribute not only land, but wealth more evenly. </p>
<p>The October conference will focus on the fact that 48% of the land is privately owned (freehold), 35% is communal land vested in the state and administered by customary authorities, and the rest (17%) is state land link to (Namibia Statistical Agency, 2018), including national parks and restricted areas. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236653/original/file-20180917-158225-1pzejk5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236653/original/file-20180917-158225-1pzejk5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236653/original/file-20180917-158225-1pzejk5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236653/original/file-20180917-158225-1pzejk5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236653/original/file-20180917-158225-1pzejk5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236653/original/file-20180917-158225-1pzejk5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236653/original/file-20180917-158225-1pzejk5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Over 70% of the Namibian population make their living from communal land, but fewer than 5000 individuals - out of a population of just over <a href="https://www.google.co.za/search?q=what+is+the+population+of+namibia+in+2018&rlz=1C1NHXL_enZA711ZA711&oq=what+is+the+population+of+Namibia&aqs=chrome.1.0l6.10930j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">2.5 million</a>- own freehold farmland. The pattern of land distribution and ownership reflects class inequality and perpetuates racial inequalities. </p>
<p>This inequality is a direct consequence of land dispossession during the colonial and later apartheid eras and its division into the three categories. </p>
<p>Since independence <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/namibia-gains-independence">in 1990</a>, the land reform programme has focused on two ways of correcting historical wrongs. The <a href="http://www.mlr.gov.na/documents/20541/634749/National_Resettlement_Policy.pdf/5514cc05-c81a-4195-a80f-a41e131474e1">National Resettlement Programme</a> allows the government to buy freehold land to resettle landless Namibians. It has followed the “willing seller, willing buyer” principle. The <a href="http://agribank.com.na/product/affirmative-action-loan-scheme-aals-1">Affirmative Action Loan Scheme</a> allows formerly disadvantaged people to get subsidised loans from the Agricultural Bank of Namibia to buy land. </p>
<p>There is general discontent with the success of the programme and calls are growing for the land reform programme to be reviewed and for a new direction. </p>
<h2>Policy failure</h2>
<p>Since 1990, only <a href="https://cms.my.na/assets/documents/NamibiaLandStatistics2018Draft.pdf">3 million hectares</a> of land have been acquired through the National Resettlement Programme and <a href="https://cms.my.na/assets/documents/NamibiaLandStatistics2018Draft.pdf">6.4 million hectares</a> through the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme and private commercial banks. About <a href="https://cms.my.na/assets/documents/NamibiaLandStatistics2018Draft.pdf">70%</a> of the freehold agricultural land is still owned by white people. The previously disadvantaged (black and coloured people) <a href="https://cms.my.na/assets/documents/NamibiaLandStatistics2018Draft.pdf">own only 16%</a>. </p>
<p>There’s a scramble among the previously disadvantaged for what little freehold land has been acquired by the government for resettlement. A new elite, often with close ties to government and international investors - rather than the most disadvantaged - tend to benefit. </p>
<p>As for communal lands, increasing demand and a variety of new uses of the land are posing a challenge to customary rights and systems. Emerging <a href="https://neweralive.na/posts/illegal-sale-of-customary-land-rampant">informal land markets</a> in populated areas threaten people’s security of tenure and their user rights. What Namibia needs in these areas is a plan for thorough agrarian reform.</p>
<p>The land reform discussions don’t address the way land is being turned into capital, or who profits from it. Very few of the commercial farms are profitable agriculturally, and the most lucrative farm lands are now the ones with mining, tourism, trophy hunting, conservation or real estate potential. Many landowners have long since withdrawn the capital from their land and put it into these more profitable business. </p>
<h2>Redistributive justice</h2>
<p>To bring about redistributive justice, Namibia needs to analyse where the profits go that are gained through the capitalisation of land that was stolen in colonial times. </p>
<p>Urban land, much of it still owned by the old elite, is where real profits are made today. As in many other African countries, the profits made in Namibia by international conglomerates or the small Namibian elite no longer come directly from land ownership. They come from owning the capital to invest, from having the know-how and networks to link up with global markets, or from owning urban land paid for by selling private farm land illegally acquired during colonial and apartheid times. A national and international elite has withdrawn its capital from the land, while the majority of the people never had a chance to accumulate land or capital.</p>
<p>The shortcomings of the current land reforms suggest that voluntary, market-based transactions of land might not be a suitable measure to redistribute land, not to speak of wealth and power. The “policy” of national reconciliation has delivered one-sided benefits. The politics of national reconciliation are used to justify the status quo - an avoidance strategy to address the structural problems in Namibia. A more radical approach must be considered to redistribute land and capital. Only then will formerly disadvantaged people become equal co-owners of Namibia’s land and wealth.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103379/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Shortcomings of Namibia’s land reforms suggest that voluntary, market-based transactions might not be suitable.Luregn Lenggenhager, Researcher at the Centre for African Studies, University of BaselRomie Vonkie Nghitevelekwa, Sociology Lecturer, University of NamibiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/616002016-07-11T14:33:34Z2016-07-11T14:33:34ZWhat Africa’s drought responses teach us about climate change hotspots<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130022/original/image-20160711-9271-io67zj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People in Namibia are seeking ways to reduce vulnerability to problems like drought.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world may still argue about whether or not climate change is for real. But in vast expanses of arid southern Africa, the daily struggle to cope with a changed climate is well under way. The lessons being learnt here on a small scale could prove vital in the fight for human survival.</p>
<p>The impact of drought has been felt acutely this season over southern Africa, as <a href="http://reliefweb.int/report/world/el-ni-o-undermining-resilience-implications-el-ni-o-southern-africa-food-and-nutrition">El Nino hit hard</a>. Perhaps this is what we might expect under future climate change conditions and so we had better learn how to prepare for it: more frequent years that record less rainfall than usual, along with the associated crippling impact on livelihoods and the economy. </p>
<p>This is particularly the case in semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia. These <a href="http://www.assar.uct.ac.za/node/471699">climate change hotspots</a> are highly dynamic systems that already experience harsh climates, adverse environmental change and a relative lack of natural resources. People here are often further marginalised by high levels of poverty, inequality and rapidly changing socio-economic, governance and development contexts.</p>
<p>This requires an effective response. In northern Namibia and eastern Botswana, research is already under way into what’s currently working and not working in relation to managing climate impacts. A major <a href="http://www.assar.uct.ac.za/southern-africa-0">regional project</a> is seeking ways to reduce vulnerability and develop longer term climate adaptation responses.</p>
<h2>Minimising vulnerability</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.assar.uct.ac.za/">Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions</a> (ASSAR) project aims to redress the lack of information about the best ways to minimise vulnerability and develop adaptation responses. In addition it aims to produce future-focused and societally-relevant knowledge of pathways to wellbeing.</p>
<p>One of the initial steps has been to undertake vulnerability and risk assessment workshops. The case study sites are in northern Namibia’s Omusati region and eastern Botswana’s Bobonong district. These workshops differ from many vulnerability assessments that often focus either on the village scale or on a resource-based sector. </p>
<p>The workshops bring together people from all walks of life. These include village leaders, nongovernmental organisations and government officials among others. This group is called the Knowledge Group. Issues and hazards of most concern are identified through prior interviews and then refined by this group. During a two-day workshop the Knowledge Group unpacks how the most important issues impact different livelihood groups in the area and the best responses.</p>
<p>During workshops in Botswana in November 2015 and in Namibia in March 2016, drought was found to be one of the three most important issues facing both regions. One of the exercises was to develop an impact chain to assess possible positive and the negative future impact of drought. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130045/original/image-20160711-9285-dchzoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130045/original/image-20160711-9285-dchzoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130045/original/image-20160711-9285-dchzoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130045/original/image-20160711-9285-dchzoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130045/original/image-20160711-9285-dchzoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130045/original/image-20160711-9285-dchzoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130045/original/image-20160711-9285-dchzoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130045/original/image-20160711-9285-dchzoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Impact chain from Botswana workshop - the red text shows potential interventions that were identified.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gina Ziervogel</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Groups mapped how drought affects the biophysical system – farming, water and natural resources, for example – and then how this will further impact on families’ lives, economic activities and broader political and institutional environments. </p>
<h2>How drought affects Namibia</h2>
<p>In Namibia, the indirect impact of drought on livelihoods that were identified included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Reduced crop yields from crop failure leading to loss of income and inadequate food supply in households. This has an impact on health.</p></li>
<li><p>Reductions in water available to wildlife leading to loss of wildlife. This affects the number of tourists and earnings from tourism.</p></li>
<li><p>Reduced fodder production, heat stress and outbreak of diseases affecting livestock health and mortality rates. This reduced milk and meat production leads to loss of income.</p></li>
<li><p>Livestock mortality had an impact on cultural practices. The death of livestock often leads to loss of status, prestige and participation in social networks. Livestock deaths limit the ability of people to participate in social and cultural events like wedding ceremonies.</p></li>
<li><p>All of the above lead to lower household incomes which increases hunger. Malnutrition of school children leads to poor health and an increased number of school dropouts. Limited household food availability can also increase participation in risky behaviour such as theft and transactional sex in exchange for food or cash. This then leads to an overall increase in household social conflicts.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Impact of drought in Botswana</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130024/original/image-20160711-9289-ws85lt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130024/original/image-20160711-9289-ws85lt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130024/original/image-20160711-9289-ws85lt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130024/original/image-20160711-9289-ws85lt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130024/original/image-20160711-9289-ws85lt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130024/original/image-20160711-9289-ws85lt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130024/original/image-20160711-9289-ws85lt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130024/original/image-20160711-9289-ws85lt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Livestock farmers in Botswana are highly vulnerable to drought.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Botswana, there were some similarities and some additional points that were raised related to the impact of drought:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Rainfall patterns had not been consistent in the past 15 years and the frequency and impact of drought had increased.</p></li>
<li><p>Arable farmers, livestock keepers and phane (mophane worm) harvesters are most vulnerable to drought because a lack of water increases the likelihood that their crops will fail, animals will die and mophane worms will be in short supply.</p></li>
<li><p>Livestock farmers in the area are highly vulnerable to drought because they are not able to migrate with their animals in search of water. Those who have migrated have experienced livestock theft when they move closer to the border.</p></li>
<li><p>Traders were thought to be moderately affected by drought because some items are more scarce in a drought but also because households have less income to spend.</p></li>
<li><p>Youth are particularly sensitive to drought. In some cases, youth who take out loans for an agriculture business cannot pay them back during a drought resulting in further hardship. In some families, the assistance of youth is not needed in the fields or to harvest phane during drought and so they are unoccupied and get into trouble.</p></li>
<li><p>When there is a drought the elderly have to use their old age grant for food instead of other vital supplies and services. This is made worse by their limited physical fitness.</p></li>
<li><p>The associated lack of food and income can have far reaching social consequences. These include people adopting risky behaviours include drug and alcohol abuse, truancy, criminal activities, theft and corruption that lead to family breakdowns.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Solutions from local communities</h2>
<p>One of the strengths of the workshops is that they help the Knowledge Group to identify solutions they think could be strengthened or implemented at the local or district level. So in Namibia, there was a discussion about promoting food banks to address food insecurity at the community level. As part of this, each household is encouraged to contribute 20 litres of mahangu (millet) that is stored by the traditional authority and used in time of distress. </p>
<p>In Botswana, a number of strategies were mentioned like irrigation using underground water, leaving phane worms on the ground to allow them to reproduce for the next season and using water harvesting more. There was also support for moving away from dependency on government projects. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130028/original/image-20160711-9271-15ec8h8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130028/original/image-20160711-9271-15ec8h8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130028/original/image-20160711-9271-15ec8h8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130028/original/image-20160711-9271-15ec8h8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130028/original/image-20160711-9271-15ec8h8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130028/original/image-20160711-9271-15ec8h8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130028/original/image-20160711-9271-15ec8h8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130028/original/image-20160711-9271-15ec8h8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Food banks were suggested to address food insecurity issues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gina Ziervogel</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Namibia, the regional actors talked about <a href="http://www.assar.uct.ac.za/news/governance-climate-risk-namibia-part-1of-2-managing-floods-and-droughts">the impact of drought on their activities</a>. Water in northern Namibia is transferred from Angola first through an open canal and then through a piped reticulation system. When there is a drought there is greater demand for water and people land up damaging the canal when getting water for their livestock. This reduces both the overall amount of water and reduces the water pressure. </p>
<p>The decrease in water pressure reduces the reliability of water supply for the villages at the end of the pipeline. During droughts people move even further afield with their livestock for grazing and so require water in these far off areas too. These additional challenges not only compromise the water supply system, but lead to increased maintenance and operational costs.</p>
<p>To help meet the water supply demands, the Omusati Directorate of Rural Water and Sanitation requests resources from the national level to drill more boreholes, particularly in remote areas. <a href="http://www.namwater.com.na/">NamWater</a> also has plans to improve the quality and extent of pipes in the area over the coming five years.</p>
<p>The Department of Planning, in the Regional Council, is central to managing drought, even though this might not be obvious at first. It helps with sanitation which is particularly important during disease outbreaks that commonly occur during drought. It also tankers water into villages when supply is low. </p>
<p>One of the department’s responsibilities is for constructing clinics, hospitals and schools. Illustrating how drought can impact on these services, the director explained that the construction of a school in the region had been put on hold for two months tin 2016 as there was not enough water for the building process. Examples like this show how education and other services can be impacted by drought directly.</p>
<p>It is clear that drought is already affecting many parts of the system in semi-arid regions. Unfortunately with climate change, drought is likely to become more frequent. It is critical to assess the viability of scaling up successful local solutions as well as identifying new solutions. Importantly, this needs to be done by including local stakeholders, as well as local government and NGOs and connecting them to international funding and organisations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61600/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gina Ziervogel is part of the ASSAR project that is run by the African Climate and Development Initiative, UCT and funded by UK Government’s Department for International Development (DfID) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Angula works at the University of Namibia as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography, History and Environmental Studies. She is also a Namibian lead researcher for the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-arid Regions (ASSAR) project.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Salma Hegga works for the African Climate and Development Initiative - ASSAR Project. ASSAR is one of four research programmes funded under the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), with financial support from the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DfID) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). </span></em></p>Understanding how drought is impacting on livelihoods and local governments can help in the development of longer term climate adaptation responses.Gina Ziervogel, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science and African Climate and Development Initiative Research Chair, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.