• Home
  • Ahem
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2010 -2011
    • 2008 – 2009
    • 2004 – 2007
  • Op-eds and articles
  • Creative Writing
  • Folio
  • Services
    • Project Management
    • Consulting
    • Copywriting
  • References
ClementClement
ClementClement
  • Home
  • Ahem
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2010 -2011
    • 2008 – 2009
    • 2004 – 2007
  • Op-eds and articles
  • Creative Writing
  • Folio
  • Services
    • Project Management
    • Consulting
    • Copywriting
  • References

Op-eds and articles

Stop eating animals and save the planet

Phase out animal agriculture? It’s the quickest and only intelligent way to reverse climate change.…

3. February 2022Read More

I’m against Covid

I’m against Covid. I’ve had a primary, secondary and a booster. I had a reaction…

18. December 2021Read More

Europe’s Climate Action Opportunity

Notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic and its tragic impacts, the key challenge for the next few…

8. October 2021Read More

Charge up your communications !

Words are the least understood part of that crowded, undisciplined and noisy group of ill-fitting…

20. September 2021Read More

African Debt and International Discrimination

African countries on average spend more on interest payments on their debt than on their…

22. July 2021Read More

The brand that dies

Just 50 years ago, most large companies saw brands as the prime creators of value,…

7. July 2021Read More

Sovereignty’s silent destruction of democracy

There is a demolition going on, hardly reported by the mainstream media. The demolition is…

10. June 2021Read More

Shorted Britain: hedge funds and UK politics

What are hedge funds? Why have hedge funds become involved in UK politics? To explain…

25. May 2021Read More

Waving the flag

Waving a British flag around in public to garner votes has never been a commonplace…

24. March 2021Read More

Taking our country back: trading in vaccine, sovereignty and democracy

There is a demolition going on, hardly reported in the news and almost never by…

27. February 2021Read More

The hidden past of the bisexual pronoun

Those of all political and cultural persuasions will be delighted to hear the exciting news.…

17. February 2021Read More

Britain and European Federalism: ‘We started it!’

Just over 80 years ago on 16 June 1940, the British government made an offer…

29. January 2021Read More

Brand value and reputation management after Covid-19: From PR to sustainable integrity

We have all lived through and are still living through significant changes in corporate affairs…

17. January 2021Read More

Freedom of movement, wealth and poverty: The UK and Madagascar compared

On the same day that the UK ceased trading with the free movement privileges of…

10. January 2021Read More

Business and corporate communicators – be memorable with words!

Lionel Stanbrook Words are the least understood part of that crowded, undisciplined and noisy group…

6. January 2021Read More

IN THE YEAR 2030: What happened in the decade following Brexit and the UK-EU trade deal?

1.  England is governed by executive order and decree by the PM or the Privy…

3. January 2021Read More

Mixed metaphors and immolation: the Brexit Jabberwocky

What comes home to roost when the solids hit the fan and the rubber touches…

18. December 2020Read More

About these laws on mingling, babies, fox-hunting, pub closing times …

The new coronavirus restrictions for England ban people at gatherings from “mingling with any person…

28. September 2020Read More
Poverty, trade policy and migration

Fears of renewed civil conflict in Cote d’Ivoire

President Ouattara’s declaration threatens Cote d’Ivoire’s stability There has been civil conflict in Abidjan and…

14. August 2020Read More

Facebook is becoming Hatebook. Should we care?

Those of us who regularly use Facebook should be clear and precise about why we…

12. August 2020Read More
All forested areas around the world from woods to jungles are critical in global climate action. As deep resources of carbon recycling, they help to mitigate the negative effects of CO2 emissions caused by humans. These emissions are causing warmer temperatures across the world, increases in extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, severe storms etc, which result in damage to local ecosystems, upon which many poorer people depend for their livelihoods. The continent of Africa is the only major region of the world not to have experienced substantial and widespread economic development. As such it is a significant region for the future of sustainable global forestry. African forests have the potential to supply timber and other forest-based products to meet growing demand within domestic markets and abroad, and while some of these resources are being depleted unsustainably, there is still time to convert the potential of the forests into long term and sustainable economic benefits. There is a strong commercial future in Africa available for sustainable commercial forestry, which has the unique ability to catalyse economic, social, and climate-smart transformation. But despite the immense potential of Africa’s huge resource-rich forests, commercial investments in forestry have slowed to almost zero across the continent in the past 20 years as population has shifted to urban areas. The growth in new plantations during this time has been minimal, and there has been a reduction in government-owned forested land. Real and perceived financial barriers such as low returns on investments and high perceived risks have dissuaded investors from fully investigating the potential to develop Africa’s forests to their maximum sustainable capacity and for the equal benefit of rural communities. There are technical and regulatory barriers, mostly different in each African country: high establishment costs; insufficient operational scale; lack of management expertise and industrial processing facilities, among many other challenges. In addition, Africa’s forests are becoming vulnerable to climate change and global warming impacts. But these challenges produce unique opportunities at a unique time if the appropriate policies and institutional frameworks are put in place to recognise the role of the private sector, the limitations of the public sector, and public-private partnership engagements, as well as the incorporation of multilateral environment agreements into national plans and programmes. Trees, forests, people and environment are intricately related through food chains, life support systems, maintenance of the hydrological cycle and provision of other environmental services. Forests are far more significant in how they can work in a sustainable process than in what they are or represent. For example, they protect and maintain sources of genetic materials for plant breeding programmes to improve food crops and produce herbal remedies and generic drugs. Forest biomes support flora and fauna that serve agronomic purposes, such as pollination. Africa needs to invest much more in itself if it wants more foreign investment. International partnerships and understandings have to be the best way forward. But, initially, Africa may lack information more than it lacks money. It urgently needs more information on climate change impacts on African forests and the complex relationships relating to climate change that face African communities across the continent. The challenges of getting the policies and incentives right go beyond getting information on the impacts of climatic factors on forests. They extend also to acquiring knowledge and information on the interaction between the different climate change factors. In most of Africa, there is no reliable or updated information on forest and tree resources because of the lack of permanent sampling plots for monitoring long term changes. This has resulted in Africa suffering gaping holes in the data needed for informed decision making. The African forest sector is the most lucrative investment in the longer term. For now it needs effective monitoring, protection capabilities, and detection activities to face the increasing short term challenges caused by human and climate change impacts. But the forestry sector in many African countries could be growing the beanstalk to economic transformation.

The beanstalk to economic transformation: African forests, climate action and sustainable development

All forested areas around the world from woods to jungles are critical in global climate…

12. June 2020Read More

COVID-19: Mauritius kept it simple

Summary: On 11 May, the 332 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mauritius had…

29. May 2020Read More

Beating the Bounds: England and Africa

Long before the boundaries of England’s parishes were definitively mapped, people would walk around the…

15. May 2020Read More

Pubic Affairs and other Errata

Words matter most because they link actions to consequences. They remind, record and persuade humans…

5. March 2020Read More
Gender Matters in Poverty Lionel Stanbrook Clement Write Right

Gender Matters in Poverty

Most Africans suffer poverty and inequality in various different forms, including income and employment, geography,…

2. March 2020Read More
African Free Trade

Will Africa create a Free-Trade Area?

Looking at the statistics behind the claims Africa’s share of global trade has not changed…

12. December 2019Read More

The Strange Story Of Cote D’Ivoire’s Disappearing Coins

Cote d’Ivoire is by some accounts one of Africa’s best performing economies, with a reported…

16. November 2019Read More

Make words work (what did you say?)

Words are the most misunderstood part of that crowded, undisciplined and noisy group of ill-fitting…

22. October 2019Read More

Employment, Under-Employment And Unemployment In Africa

Africa’s fast-growing markets should be producing far more commercial opportunities for its businesses and yielding…

10. October 2019Read More
green revolution africa

A Green Revolution for Africa

The ‘Green Revolution’ that transformed agricultural production in Asia and Latin America in the 1960s…

3. October 2019Read More
Lords of Poverty

Lords of Poverty

Neither Oxfam or the USA appear keen to see Rwanda start up a garment business.…

30. September 2019Read More
Poverty, trade policy and migration

Poverty, Trade Policy and Migration: The promise of a better world

Poverty in Africa is passed inevitably down through the generations, even more assuredly than is…

30. July 2019Read More
Recovering the will to live Lionel Stanbrook

Recovering the will to live – From conference calls to Webinars

I get so bored with conference calls. I don’t actually want to get bored, but…

9. May 2017Read More
Why webinars

Why Webinars? Try them now for impact, brand, marketing and network.

The first time I hosted a webinar I was extremely nervous. It was the enormity…

14. April 2017Read More

Copywriting

The right words… Clement Reputation writes words in the right order to support, amplify, encourage…

14. April 2017Read More

Project Management

The right actions… Clement Reputation manages projects in the right order for you to achieve…

14. April 2017Read More

Consulting

The right advice… Clement Reputation helps you build or improve your reputation with distinct and…

14. April 2017Read More

Seven hints for risk communicators

One of the communicator’s most difficult dilemmas is how to reconcile the conflicting views of…

4. December 2016Read More
Be memorable with words

Be memorable with words

Words are the most misunderstood part of that crowded, undisciplined and noisy group of ill-fitting…

13. November 2016Read More

Slay the Jabberwock

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: /…

5. September 2016Read More

The Mosaic

I do it a lot late at night and early in the morning. I like…

3. September 2016Read More

The brand – a forgotten relic in a dusty museum

Just 40 years ago, most large companies saw brands as the prime creators of value,…

23. August 2016Read More

The Unacceptable Waste of African Human Potential

It should be taken as unacceptable everywhere that Africa loses every year over 10% of…

17. August 2016Read More

The Open Book

Today, most people are literate. They can and do read, whether the texts they read…

8. July 2016Read More

Business English, the Lingua franca of Europe, is losing its imagination

An EU report has confirmed that English is the most popular foreign language in all…

14. April 2016Read More

Words are lying between the lines of age: After Virginia Woolf

Words – much more than their subjects – are almost immortal. Since words survive the…

24. March 2016Read More

Six Links in the Reputation Management Chain

1. Identify the Stakeholder Concentrate on the stakeholders who can influence your reputation. This ensures…

10. March 2016Read More
Todays hungry

Today’s hungry could be feeding us all tomorrow

There are 2.5 billion people today who live and work on 500m smallholder farms, each…

18. February 2016Read More

Strategy and Alignment: don’t hang up a banner

When it comes to informing staff about a new strategy and encouraging alignment with it,…

28. January 2016Read More

Good Storytelling: The gift that keeps giving

The best stories are those which quickly and effectively illustrate the purpose, policy or objectives…

16. January 2016Read More
Keep the blade sharp

Keep the blade sharp

Our generation may be communicating less literately amongst ourselves than any generation past, despite being…

26. November 2015Read More
Hymn sheet

The Hymn Sheet

Every action an organisation takes these days is subject to intense scrutiny. The world grows…

2. November 2015Read More

Can literature reviews ever provide conclusive evidence?

Decision makers, scientists, journalists and the public often base their judgements on particular issues on…

28. July 2015Read More
Goldfish bowl Kennington

The Goldfish Bowl

Assisted by all the available communications resources cheaply obtained and even more cheaply used, it’s…

9. June 2015Read More

Building a great corporate reputation

Three steps provide the basis for good reputation management. Participation: Seek input from a broad…

29. May 2015Read More
Portmanteau words

Portmanteau words: a living list

“Portmanteau” words pack two meanings into one word by taking part of one word and…

22. May 2015Read More
Kill the mission

Kill the mission

Kill the mission statement – create a mission narrative. A compelling mission has the power…

5. May 2015Read More
Reputation in the picture

Reputation in the picture

It’s not a useful generalisation that a corporate reputation takes years/volumes to build but can be…

22. April 2015Read More

Archives

Categories

  • Creative Writing (3)
  • Folio (11)
  • Ahem (213)
    • 2021 (12)
    • 2022 (4)
    • 2020 (12)
    • 2019 (12)
    • 2018 (12)
    • 2017 (12)
    • 2016 (12)
    • 2015 (12)
    • 2014 (12)
    • 2013 (12)
    • 2012 (12)
    • 2010-11 (24)
    • 2008-09 (24)
    • 2004-07 (39)
  • Op-ed (58)
  • Portfolio (8)
  • Services (6)
  • Blog (17)
    • Archive (1)

Contact Us

We're currently offline. Send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Send Message

About

Lionel Stanbrook is an editor, diarist, journalist, writer, re-writer, word designer, and content creator. This site contains the best of Lionel’s articles, prose, poetry, blogs, musings and perspectives, as well as a writer’s folio, a recent CV (perhaps the most creative part of all his work), and the monthly diary Ahem, written about his personal life, work, travel, emotions and experiences since 2004.

Contact

Call +44 (0)7734 970163

Email: cjlcs50@gmail.com

 

Posts

Ahem Gallery

Family Gallery

Latest Posts

PUMMELLING OBLOQUY ESCARPMENT: April 2022

PUMMELLING OBLOQUY ESCARPMENT: April 2022

1. May 2022

Ahem Ant and Susanne, the magnificent Miles from Luxembourg,...

DISCOMBOBULATED GRANDILOQUENT JURY: March 2022

DISCOMBOBULATED GRANDILOQUENT JURY: March 2022

1. April 2022

Ahem Our dogs have not been well. Both Bonnie and Max have...

FITBIT HOBBLING PIDDLE: February 2022

FITBIT HOBBLING PIDDLE: February 2022

2. March 2022

Ahem A small section of the road outside the house was...

© 2004 - 2022 · Lionel Stanbrook. All rights reserved.
Site design, hosting and management by MEGANWEB