Millions raised to rescue Africa's Niger river

AFP via Yahoo ^ | 06/24/08 | Unknown

[Abathar]

NIAMEY (AFP) - International donors have pledged almost one billion euros to save Africa's Niger river, which runs across 4,200-kilometres (2,600-miles), a source said Tuesday.

At a donors conference in the Niger capital, Niamey, about 907 million euros (1.4 billion dollars) was raised with pledges from the World Bank (500 million euros), France (250 million) and the Islamic Development Bank (100 million) comprising the lion's share.

The money will allow the Niger Basin Authority (ABN), an intergovernmental body grouping the countries irrigated by Africa's third-longest river, to begin work on the first phase in a 5.5 billion-euro, 20-year rescue plan adopted in April.

An initial five-year project will focus on two main dams -- one in Niger and the other in Mali -- as well as tree-planting, rehabilitating plains and removing silt from river bed.

Around 20 percent of the money is aimed at protecting natural resources and ecosystems.

Subsequent stages are not due to be completed until 2027.

The Niger river snakes through Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, and is the lifeblood for 110 million people, covering an area of 2.1 million square kilometres (800,000 square miles), a third of west Africa's land mass.

A fall of up to 55 percent in the river's flow over the past 20 years, mainly due to climate change and growing populations, means drastic action is required to prevent it from ultimately running dry.

Seriously threatened by drought and silting, the additional pressure of industrial waste has spawned an explosion in the oxygen-stifling aquatic hyacinth plant which is strangling the water itself as well as fish stocks.

By 2025, the population throughout the Niger basin -- which also includes lands in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Chad -- is expected to double, based on three percent annual growth predicted by the

[Abathar]

I can't believe that our leaders passed up on throwing some more of our tax dollars toward Africa. I guess we were a little strapped for cash after we put all those billions towards AIDS relief.

I wonder what the real percentage of that money will actually make it into the project and be spent on what it was intended for, my guess would be about 60% and that is conservative IMHO.

[xDGx]

Al Gore could dam the river with his tremendous bulk, creating a giant lake which would irrigate all of Africa!

[Abathar]

Too bad we can’t get some of the water in the Mississippi over there...

[SJSAMPLE]

"Subsequent stages are not due to be completed until 2027."

Riiiiight.
A twenty-year plan in Africa?

Who's kidding whom?

[usflagwaver]

I thought dams were supposed to be BAD? Here in California they want to pull down a huge dam and “restore” the area to its original state.

[SJSAMPLE]

Once they get the Niger flowing again, it will have plenty of speed to move the thousands of bodies from the latest round of genocide.

How’s Lake Victoria recovering from the Rwanda genocide?

[Rebelbase]

Typical whacked out liberal environmentalist priority. Rescue an African river yet let African people die.

[gracesdad]

“Rescue an African river yet let African people die.”

Seems a pretty sure bet that if the river runs dry millions or tens of millions die. IOW, saving the river saves people.

[Publius6961]

The money will allow the Niger Basin Authority (ABN), an intergovernmental body grouping the countries irrigated by Africa's third-longest river, to begin work on the first phase in a 5.5 billion-euro, 20-year rescue plan...

Or not.
What I see as the most probable outcome, is the transfer of wealth from Europe to many new Swiss Bank Accounts.

Cynical?
You bet. My cynicism, in the last 20 year, bats roughly .900, however.

[massgopguy]

Why doesn’t the person who keeps e-mailing me from Nigeria use the millions of dollars he has?

[RightWhale]

transfer of wealth from Europe to many new Swiss Bank Accounts

The problem is lack of private property rights. Africa is the worst. Probably the worst in the Milky Way.

[norwaypinesavage]

Wait a minute, I thought the clean pristine native populations were what saves the planet. How could it be that we need to take wealth from the industrialized populations to save this pristine river.

[libstripper]

Bush diabolically turned on his weather machine to destroy both the American Midwest and the Niger basin by redirecting rain that God intended for drought plagued Africa to the already saturated Midwest. IMPEACH BUSH!!!

[norraad]

Yes, that's there only claim to fame "The Worst in the Milky Way".

Africa so totally sucks, in every way.

A perfect example of how not to run a rocketship, I just wish this museum exhibit didn't have to reside on our planet.

[norraad]

Hey . . , I used spell check & it didn't tell me I used the rong spelling of their!!

[TheBattman]

A fall of up to 55 percent in the river's flow over the past 20 years, mainly due to climate change and growing populations, means drastic action is required to prevent it from ultimately running dry.

Bush's fault...

[Abathar]

"Bush's fault..."

We all say that in jest here, but do you know how many of these global warming idiots actually believe that in their hearts?

A big enough number to shock us all I bet...