The military coup in Sudan that derailed the country’s fragile democratic transition has led to an intractable political crisis and a near economic meltdown.
But beyond the headline-grabbing events of recent years, including the military’s October 2021 power grab, a major environmental crisis has been brewing in the country's endangered forests.
An essential and vital part of the biodiversity of the vast Afro-Arab nation, they are now threatened by thousands of former rebels as well as refugees.
Three Sudanese with first-hand knowledge of the issue — two of them are in Egypt for the UN climate summit — told The National that the international isolation Sudan has suffered since the coup and the subsequent suspension of economic aid by the West has left climate change fighters with little to no resources to protect the forests in the south and west of the country.
In pictures: the global climate crisis
Former rebel groups, they explained, descended on the capital Khartoum and other major cities after their groups signed a peace deal in October 2020 with the military, which at the time was ruling in partnership with civilians.
But with the government’s coffers empty, the former rebels were left without shelter, food or jobs, forcing them to turn to crime and the forests to feed themselves.
The case of the former Sudanese rebels and their illegal logging showcases the close link between the need to protect the environment and the need for sound government leadership.
The Sudanese case comes as the countries with the largest concentration of rainforests — Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia — join hands in the fight against deforestation to keep the world’s “lungs” alive and vibrant.
“There is no budget now even for the most basic of activity to fight climate change when Sudan is perhaps one of the worst hit countries by global warming,” said Mahgoub Al Halimaby, one of Sudan’s foremost climate change experts.
“People are illegally cutting down trees and selling them with impunity.
“The Sudan segment of the Great Green Wall extending from Senegal to Djibouti has fallen into neglect and remains incomplete.”
The “Great Green Wall” is a project chiefly funded by the African Union and the UN to restore biodiversity to a stretch of Africa hit hard by climate change.
“We are heading towards a hole in the ground that may well be the abyss,” Mr Al Halimaby said.
Also threatening Sudan’s forests, particularly those in eastern and southern regions, are tens of thousands of refugees who fled to Sudan when the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region broke out in 2020.
The refugees, like the former rebels, are following the same methods for survival.
“They have no resources of their own, so they turned to the forests for a livelihood, cutting down trees to sell them as wood or burning them and selling them as charcoal,” said Hanady Awadallah, a senior official at the state agency in charge of forests who is in Egypt for the climate summit.
“You cannot do much to stop someone with an AK-47.”
About 15 per cent of Sudan’s territory — 1.8 million square kilometres — is covered by forests.
Ms Awadallah pointed out that this is well below the national target of 25 per cent.
She says authorities have traditionally allowed communities living on the edge of federal forests to grow crops among the trees, given the fertility of the land there.
In recent years, however, rogue farmers have begun to operate outside the supervision of authorities, cutting down trees to engage in large-scale agriculture.
“Our strategy with the local communities was ‘you serve the forest and the forest will serve you’ but what the others don’t understand is that the land of the forest is only fertile so long as the forest is still there, healthy and intact,” Ms Awadallah said.
Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, has for decades been a victim of desertification and incessant bouts of drought and floods. Seemingly endless civil strife since independence in 1956 has left the hands of authorities tied when it comes to protecting forests and wildlife in conflict areas.
Illegal logging
Nisreen Al Sayem, 27, who is attending her eighth straight UN climate summit in Egypt, said illegal logging in Sudan has increased 30-fold since the military takeover.
That claim could not be immediately verified, but she blamed corruption as the chief cause of deforestation, with federal forestry officials unable to stop armed rebels from illegal logging.
Turning to the question of fighting climate change and shifting to renewables, Ms Al Sayem said the suspension of western aid has led to the disruption of projects launched after the removal in 2019 of long-time dictator Omar Al Bashir and the gradual emergence of Sudan from 30 years of being a pariah state.
“Moreover, the attention of the community of climate experts and activists, like everyone else in Sudan, has shifted away to dealing with the day-to-day hardships caused by Sudan’s grinding economic crisis,” she said, alluding to three-digit inflation, the depreciation of the local currency and frequent shortages of basic foodstuffs.
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ECBDC%20real-value%20pilot%20held%20with%20three%20partner%20institutions%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20buy%20now%2C%20pay%20later%20regulations%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20for%20the%202023%20launch%20of%20the%20domestic%20card%20initiative%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPhase%20one%20of%20the%20Financial%20Infrastructure%20Transformation%20(FiT)%20completed%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
Uefa Nations League: How it Works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
Race card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m
9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
