UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT
complement the continent’s decadal plans. 1 The East African
Community (EAC) has entrusted the Inter-University Council
for East Africa with the mission of developing a Common
Higher Education Area. The ongoing development of
networks of centres of excellence across the continent should
foster greater scientific mobility and information-sharing, as
long as obstacles to the mobility of scientists can be removed.
The decision by Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda in 2014 to adopt
a single tourist visa is a step in the right direction.
It will be interesting to see the extent to which the new
Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) fosters regional
scientific integration in the years to come. Modelled on the
European Union (EU), UNASUR plans to establish a common
parliament and currency for its 12 members and to foster the
free movement of goods, services, capital and people around
the subcontinent (Chapter 7).
Environmental crises raising expectations of science
Environmental crises, be they natural or human-made, have
also influenced STI policy and governance in the past five
years. The shockwaves from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in
March 2011 carried far beyond Japan’s shores. The disaster
prompted Germany to commit to phasing out nuclear energy
by 2020 and fostered debate in other countries on the risks of
nuclear energy. In Japan itself, the triple catastrophe 2 made a
tremendous impact on Japanese society. Official statistics
show that the tragedy of 2011 has shaken the public’s trust
not only in nuclear technology but in science and technology
more broadly (Chapter 24).
It doesn’t tend to make the headlines but growing concern
over recurrent drought, flooding and other natural
phenomena have led governments to adopt coping strategies
in the past five years. Cambodia, for instance, has adopted a
Climate Change Strategy (2014–2023) with the assistance of
European development partners to protect its agriculture. In
2013, the Philippines was hit by possibly the strongest
tropical cyclone ever to make landfall. The country has
been investing heavily in tools to mitigate disaster risk, such
as 3D disaster-simulation models, and building local
capability to apply, replicate and produce many of these
technologies (Chapter 27). The biggest single US economy,
the State of California, has been experiencing drought for
years; in April 2015, the state governor announced a 40%
carbon emissions reduction target by 2030 over 1990 levels
(Chapter 5).
1. Namely, Africa’s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action (2005–2014)
and its successor, the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA–
2024)
2. A subterranean earthquake generated a tsunami that swamped the Fukushima
nuclear plant, cutting off the power supply to its cooling system, causing the
nuclear rods to overheat and sparking multiple explosions which released
radioactive particles into the air and water.
Angola, Malawi and Namibia have all experienced belownormal
rainfall in recent years that has affected food security.
In 2013, ministers from the SADC approved the development
of a Regional Climate Change programme. In addition, the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA),
EAC and SADC have been implementing a joint five-year
initiative since 2010 known as the Tripartite Programme on
Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (Chapter 20).
In Africa, agriculture continues to suffer from poor land
management and low investment. Despite the continent’s
commitment, in the Maputo Declaration (2003), to devoting
at least 10% of GDP to agriculture, only a handful of
countries have since reached this target (see Table 19.2).
Agricultural R&D suffers as a consequence. There have
been moves, however, to reinforce R&D. For instance,
Botswana established an innovative hub in 2008 to foster
the commercialization and diversification of agriculture and
Zimbabwe is planning to establish two new universities of
agricultural science and technology (Chapter 20).
Energy has become a major preoccupation
The EU, USA, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and others
have all toughened national legislation in recent years to
reduce their own carbon emissions, develop alternative
energy sources and promote greater energy efficiency.
Energy has become a major preoccupation of governments
everywhere, including oil-rent economies like Algeria and
Saudi Arabia that are now investing in solar energy to
diversify their energy mix.
This trend was evident even before Brent crude oil prices
began their downward spiral in mid-2014. Algeria’s
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme was
adopted in March 2011, for instance, and has since approved
more than 60 wind and solar energy projects. Gabon’s
Strategic Plan to 2025 (2012) states that setting the country
on the path to sustainable development ‘is at the heart of
the new executive’s policy’. The plan identifies the need to
diversify an economy dominated by oil (84% of exports in
2012), foresees a national climate plan and fixes the target of
raising the share of hydropower in Gabon’s electricity matrix
from 40% in 2010 to 80% by 2020 (Chapter 19).
A number of countries are developing futuristic, hyperconnected
‘smart’ cities (such as China) or ‘green’ cities
which use the latest technology to improve efficiency in
water and energy use, construction, transportation and so
on, examples being Gabon, Morocco and the United Arab
Emirates (Chapter 17).
If sustainability is a primary concern for most governments,
some are swimming against the tide. The Australian
government, for instance, has shelved the country’s carbon
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