Africa: Time to Clean Up Our Act: Africans Demand More Government Action On Environmental Protection, Regulation of Natural Resource Extraction

6 November 2024
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Alfred Kwadzo Torsu and Carolyn Logan

Two-thirds of citizens say environmental pollution is a serious problem in their communities.

Key findings

  • On average across 39 countries, two-thirds (66%) of Africans say environmental pollution is a serious problem in their communities; urban residents are especially concerned (72%).
  • Citizens cite trash disposal, including plastics, most frequently (27%) as the leading environmental problem in their communities, followed by deforestation (19%) and water pollution (17%).
  • Three-fourths (76%) of Africans say plastic bags are a major source pollution in their country.
  • Almost half (46%) of respondents say ordinary citizens bear the primary responsibility for reducing pollution and keeping communities clean, but nearly as many believe that the government - either national (24%) or local (19%) - should take the lead. Only a handful assign a primary role to business and industry (5%).
  • On average, just four in 10 Africans (40%) say their governments are doing a good job of protecting the environment, while 51% offer a negative review. And a resounding majority (78%) want their governments to do more.
  • Citizens are evenly split on whether the government should prioritise protecting the environment even if it costs jobs and slows economic development (45%) or should focus on creating jobs even at the expense of environmental protection (45%).
  • A plurality of 45% say the benefits of natural resource extraction, such as jobs and revenue, outweigh the costs, such as pollution. But 38% believe the costs are greater, and a significant minority (17%) are undecided on this issue.
  • Three-fourths (76%) of Africans want their governments to reduce the negative impacts by tightening regulations on natural resource extraction.
  • A slim majority (51%) say ordinary citizens have a voice in decisions about resource extraction near their communities, but 36% disagree and 13% are unsure.
  • People are evenly divided on the question of whether local communities do (41%) or do not (43%) receive a fair share of revenues from natural resource extraction.

Pollution and environmental degradation pose significant risks to human health, economic growth, biodiversity and ecosystem survival, and community sustainability. Pollution of air (UNEP, 2021) and water (WHO, 2024), inadequate management of human waste (UNEP, 2018; Gutberlet & Uddin, 2017), trash and the plague of plastic waste (OECD, 2022), and deforestation and destruction of habitats (Manu, Chen, Hoang, & Leu, 2024) all threaten lives and livelihoods across Africa and can conspire to hold back both human and economic development. Pollution and environmental degradation can have disproportionate impacts on poor and vulnerable populations (UNEA, 2018).

The essential, cross-cutting impact of environmental protection is reflected in the fact that preventing pollution and effectively managing resources appear repeatedly throughout the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Explicit environmental targets appear under goals of clean water and sanitation (SDG6), affordable and clean energy (SDG7), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11), responsible consumption and production (SDG12), climate action (SDG13), life below water (SDG14), and life on land (SDG15). Pollution and resource management also have implications for ending poverty (SDG1), stopping hunger (SDG2), and other goals (UNEP, 2023; United Nations, 2015).

Lack of regulation or enforcement, inadequate infrastructure, and poverty and weak economies leave many Africans especially susceptible to the ravages of pollution and environmental degradation. The State of Global Air, for example, estimates that the death rate in Africa associated with air pollution is nearly twice the global average Health Effects Institute, 2022), while the World Health Organization (WHO, 2024) reports that water-borne disease leads to 115 deaths every hour on the continent. Plastics contaminate water sources, provide breeding grounds for insects, and destroy habitat, with severe implications for both human and animal health (WHO, 2023). And while Africa is home to 65% of the world's uncultivated arable land (African Development Bank, 2017), the continent faces an environmental crisis driven in many cases by unsustainable and poorly managed exploitation of its natural resources, exacerbated by changing climate patterns.

Resource extraction is a particularly complex area of policy and action with profound environmental consequences. As the world transitions to renewable energy, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence systems, there is a race to secure the minerals that are necessary to drive these innovations. According to the International Monetary Fund (2024), sub-Saharan Africa holds approximately 30% of the world's reserves of these essential minerals, particularly copper and cobalt, which are vital for the green transition (Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2023). Revenue from natural resource extraction is a critical component of the gross domestic product of many African countries. But as demand for mineral resources grows, so too do concerns about environmental costs, especially for local communities, as well as equity in distribution of the proceeds (Manu et. al, 2024).

Some citizens, and countries, are taking action. Nobel Laureate Wangari Mathai led the women of Kenya's Green Belt Movement in planting millions of trees. Nearly three dozen countries have banned or limited the use of plastic bags and single-use plastics, although some struggle to implement these edicts (Greenpeace, 2020). Local activists across the continent have taken aim at preventing and responding to climate change (Belanger, 2021). And as we write, Ghanaians are marching in anti-galamsey protests - described as an "environmental prayer walk" - against informal gold mining that is linked to chemical pollution and environmental destruction (Reuters, 2024).

For the first time, Afrobarometer included in its Round 9 surveys (2021/2023) a module of questions on environmental governance and natural resource extraction. The findings reported here reveal that African publics clearly share these global concerns about the impacts of pollution, environmental mismanagement, and resource extraction on their communities. Large majorities say pollution is a serious problem in their communities and offer poor ratings of their governments' performance in addressing this problem. A resounding 78% urge their governments to do more to limit pollution and protect the environment.

When it comes to natural resource extraction, too, African publics demand more, especially tighter regulation by their governments, greater voice in resource extraction, and a fairer share of the proceeds for local communities. But we can also see that Africans struggle with the trade-offs that many perceive between promoting economic growth and protecting the environment. They are divided on whether the benefits of resource extraction outweigh the costs, and higher-than-usual proportions are unwilling or unable to offer an opinion on this difficult question. But if governments can address some of the key negatives with tighter regulation, greater public voice, and fairer revenue sharing - boosting the benefits while reducing the costs - it could shift the balance of public sentiment on this important issue.

Alfred Kwadzo Torsu Alfred Kwadzo Torsu is the Data Analytics Lead at Afrobarometer, where he focuses on using data to guide and shape effective policies.

Carolyn Logan Carolyn is the director of analysis and capacity building at Afrobarometer.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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