(Osuteye et al. 2017). Interestingly, SDG11 has not been included in most efforts to
track SDG progress in SSA (e.g. UNECA 2017, 2018).
1.2.12 SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Consumption and production patterns are shifting rapidly in SSA due to the underlying rapid socio-economic change discussed elsewhere in this chapter (e.g. Sects.
1.1 and 1.2.8). Even though the total domestic material consumption (DMC) remains
one of the lowest in the world, it increased from 3.6 to 4.2 billion metric tons
between 2010 and 2017 (UN 2019). Furthermore, despite the declining material use
intensity in the past two decades, it still remains one of the highest in the world
standing at 2.5 kg per USD of GDP, compared to the global average of 1.16 kg/USD
(UN 2019). At the same time, food losses exceed 30% of total crop production in the
continent, resulting in the loss of more than USD 4 billion each year (Sheahan and
Barrett 2017). Most of this food loss comes from the production to the retailing part
of the food system, rather than the consumer side (UNECA 2018).
Despite the lack of reliable statistics between countries, effective waste management is a major challenge across the continent, especially in the rapidly expanding
cities (UNECA 2018). The lack of proper waste management facilities (and the
underperformance of existing facilities) is compounded by the rapidly increasing and
urbanizing population, funding constraints and lack of capacity and political will to
create a complex set of challenges for most countries in the region (UNECA 2018).
In Tanzania, for instance, local governments’ efforts to provide solid waste management services to local communities have been severely hampered by the rapidly
increasing human population (Hallaf 1999; Kassim and Ali 2006). However, apart
from municipal waste, the management of other forms of hazardous waste
(e.g. e-waste) is increasingly becoming a major sustainability challenge in the
region. In particular, even though SSA still accounts for only 5% of global e-waste
generation (having the lowest per capita generation rates), e-waste generation
increases, partly due to illegal transboundary flows from other parts of the world
(Baldé et al. 2017). For example, Western African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria,
Benin, Ivory Coast and Liberia have become major e-waste destinations from other
parts of the world (SBC 2011). Around 70% of all Ghanaian imports in 2009 were
used electronic equipment (Amoyaw-Osei et al. 2011), with 30% being
non-functioning (therefore e-waste), and much of the rest either repaired/sold locally
or being un-repairable (SBC 2011).
The low political priority of SDG12 proves to be a major challenge for meaningful progress (UNECA 2018). This lack of political priority is evident both at different
levels of governance (e.g. regional, national) and thematic areas (e.g. e-waste). For
example, few SSA countries are signatories of all relevant Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), while SDG12 does not feature in some of the main
documents related to SDG implementation in SSA, such as the African Union’s
Agenda 2063 and other key documents related to SDG progress (UNECA 2018;
1 Sustainability Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Context of the. . .
27
track SDG progress in SSA (e.g. UNECA 2017, 2018).
1.2.12 SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Consumption and production patterns are shifting rapidly in SSA due to the underlying rapid socio-economic change discussed elsewhere in this chapter (e.g. Sects.
1.1 and 1.2.8). Even though the total domestic material consumption (DMC) remains
one of the lowest in the world, it increased from 3.6 to 4.2 billion metric tons
between 2010 and 2017 (UN 2019). Furthermore, despite the declining material use
intensity in the past two decades, it still remains one of the highest in the world
standing at 2.5 kg per USD of GDP, compared to the global average of 1.16 kg/USD
(UN 2019). At the same time, food losses exceed 30% of total crop production in the
continent, resulting in the loss of more than USD 4 billion each year (Sheahan and
Barrett 2017). Most of this food loss comes from the production to the retailing part
of the food system, rather than the consumer side (UNECA 2018).
Despite the lack of reliable statistics between countries, effective waste management is a major challenge across the continent, especially in the rapidly expanding
cities (UNECA 2018). The lack of proper waste management facilities (and the
underperformance of existing facilities) is compounded by the rapidly increasing and
urbanizing population, funding constraints and lack of capacity and political will to
create a complex set of challenges for most countries in the region (UNECA 2018).
In Tanzania, for instance, local governments’ efforts to provide solid waste management services to local communities have been severely hampered by the rapidly
increasing human population (Hallaf 1999; Kassim and Ali 2006). However, apart
from municipal waste, the management of other forms of hazardous waste
(e.g. e-waste) is increasingly becoming a major sustainability challenge in the
region. In particular, even though SSA still accounts for only 5% of global e-waste
generation (having the lowest per capita generation rates), e-waste generation
increases, partly due to illegal transboundary flows from other parts of the world
(Baldé et al. 2017). For example, Western African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria,
Benin, Ivory Coast and Liberia have become major e-waste destinations from other
parts of the world (SBC 2011). Around 70% of all Ghanaian imports in 2009 were
used electronic equipment (Amoyaw-Osei et al. 2011), with 30% being
non-functioning (therefore e-waste), and much of the rest either repaired/sold locally
or being un-repairable (SBC 2011).
The low political priority of SDG12 proves to be a major challenge for meaningful progress (UNECA 2018). This lack of political priority is evident both at different
levels of governance (e.g. regional, national) and thematic areas (e.g. e-waste). For
example, few SSA countries are signatories of all relevant Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), while SDG12 does not feature in some of the main
documents related to SDG implementation in SSA, such as the African Union’s
Agenda 2063 and other key documents related to SDG progress (UNECA 2018;
1 Sustainability Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Context of the. . .
27