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Last Updated: Jul 2, 2007 - 8:51:18 AM |
On October 29, 2006 an Aviation Development
Company (ADC) Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff in Abuja
Nigeria killing over 100 people onboard, representing the third airplane crash
in Nigeria in under a year. Among those killed in the crash was the Sultan of
Sokoto, Muhammadu Maccido, one of Nigeria’s preeminent Muslim leaders. While
this and other incidents illustrate weakness in Nigeria’s air infrastructure,
the problem is widespread across the continent. Africa is responsible for an
estimated 18% of all air accidents worldwide, and only four African countries
currently meet the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) “Category 1” rating,
which means a country's civil aviation authority is in compliance with
international standards. However, this challenge spans beyond airplane crashes;
an effective air safety and security regime is necessary for a country to
develop and take care of its citizens in the modern world. Economic development
hinges on the international connections made possible by air travel.
Humanitarian and disaster relief rely heavily on air assets to move goods and
people. Airplanes are often used to monitor territory and borders to detect
criminal and terrorist activities. This article therefore reviews major air
safety and security issues facing Africa, as well as existing initiatives to
address these challenges, and recommendations for future action.
Introduction
While air safety and security are closely related, they do, in fact, refer to
two distinct concepts. Air safety refers to issues like air traffic management,
maintenance of air facilities and aircraft, search and rescue, environmental
protection, and disaster response. Air security, on the other hand, relates to
prevention of unlawful acts including sabotage, criminal activity and
terrorism. Some countries use the same force to manage air safety and security.
However, despite apparent overlaps, each issue presents unique challenges that
require the attention of national governments and could benefit from regional
and international cooperation.
Africa has experienced an increase in air traffic as well as an increase in the
number of accidents over the past decade. International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) records indicate that passenger travel in Africa rose by
10.5% between 1999 and 2003, while cargo increased by 12.1% over the same
period. Most of this growth has taken place in West and Central Africa.
Researchers expect air traffic on the continent to rise by 4.1 to 5.3% on
average annually over the next twenty years . Unfortunately, civil aviation
administrations in most African countries have been unable to upgrade
facilities, update infrastructure, improve training and strengthen oversight to
keep pace with this increase. The result has been more congestion and
over-stretched facilities. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that although
Africa only accounted for 3% of world air traffic between 1995 and 2004,
African countries recorded 18% of all fatal accidents. During this period, the
global fatal accident rate for every one million departures was 1.29 while
Africa averaged 5.26 (see table) .
Fatal Accident Rate for 1 million departures (1995-2004)
Africa 5.26
Latin America and the Caribbean 2.74
Asia-Pacific 2.13
Middle-East 1.25
North America 0.67
Europe 0.91
World 1.29
These safety and security challenges have dire economic consequences in terms
of lost revenue and slower growth, as well as higher transport, insurance and
operational costs. According to the Africa Transport Action Group (2005), the
air transport industry contributes 470,000 jobs and $11.3 billion to Africa’s
gross domestic product. Further indirect impacts of this industry are estimated
at 3.1 million jobs and $55.5 billion.
Aviation is essential in disaster management/response as well as humanitarian
relief operations. Effective airlift is necessary to deliver food to famine
stricken areas. Air transport can save lives in emergencies such as floods and
earthquakes. Aircraft can monitor large areas of air, land, and sea to help
maintain the territorial integrity of a nation and also assist in search and
rescue and other life-saving endeavors. Thus, the lack of an effective air
safety and security regime not only hurts the economy, but also removes
important tools from the national government to respond to the myriad of human
security challenges that it may confront.
Current Challenges
Most African nations face resource constraints that impede their ability to
properly upgrade their air infrastructure. The relatively small size (in terms
of population and economies) of most African countries makes it difficult for
them to make sufficient progress on their own. The assets and technology
required for monitoring and securing airspace, responding to crises and
emergencies, and securing airports, airplanes, and cargo, are expensive. In
addition to the initial upgrade costs, a modern air infrastructure requires
continual investment to maintain the equipment. Whether this involves replacing
engines, software upgrades, or training personnel, a nation must make
substantial, long-term investments in order to maintain safe skies.
Air infrastructure not only requires expensive, high-tech equipment, it also
requires well-trained, specialized technicians. This requires a significant
investment of both capital and time to train and retain relevant personnel.
Evidence suggests that many countries lose skilled personnel to the private
sector almost as fast as they are trained. This “brain drain” is a significant
hurdle for African countries to overcome.
Historically, many African countries focused on a “land centric” approach to
security. Recent paradigm shifts to more holistic approaches to security have
broadened the debate. Many policy-makers and practitioners have recognized the
significant gaps in national and regional security, including safety and
security concerns in Africa’s air domain. Some attempts to address these
problems have met with limited success because they lacked the requisite political
will, and because they were piecemeal and uncoordinated.
Establishing an effective air safety and security regime requires enhanced
national capacity and regional cooperation, both within Africa and beyond. As
such, numerous regional and international agreements and conventions have been
initiated to standardize systems and coordinate efforts. African countries
should build on recent progress aimed at implementing these international
standards, as well as work with their neighbors to foster regional harmonization
of relevant policies and procedures.
Current Initiatives
The multifaceted nature of cross-border security threats and the resource
constraints facing most countries suggest that regional solutions must be
prioritized. This is the rationale for the Africa Union’s (AU) standby force
mechanism, which envisages the establishment of standby rapid reaction brigades
in each of Africa’s five sub-regions. Although this initiative does not make
explicit reference to the air force, it highlights the importance of collective
security in the African context. Recognizing the need to promote regional
initiatives, the ICAO has provided support to the AU’s New Economic Partnership
for African Development (NEPAD) to “improve safety, security and efficiency of
air transport” across the continent. This support has included training,
conferences, air safety audits, and the promotion of regional cooperation.
African countries have also signed a number of regional accords such as the
Yamoussoukro Agreement (1999), the Banjul Accord (2001) and the Bamako Action
Plan (2001) to coordinate their efforts to comply with international aviation
standards. There have also been a number of bilateral agreements; a recent
example is a February 2007 communiqué on air safety and security signed by
South Africa and Senegal. Relevant multilateral initiatives include the $50
million multi-donors West and Central Africa Regional Air Transport Safety and
Security Project approved in April 2006 by the World Bank, and the regional safety
and security oversight program of the East African Community (EAC).
Bilateral efforts can also significantly aid African nations, provided that
there is effective coordination of these efforts. One example of such support
is the US Safe Skies for Africa initiative. Launched in June 1999, this
initiative has supported selected African countries seeking to enhance air
safety and security both nationally and sub-regionally. In September 2003 Cape
Verde became the first Safe Skies country to attain the US Federal Aviation
Authority’s (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) “Category 1”
rating; only three other African countries (Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa)
currently have similar ratings . Another success is the November 2006 approval
by heads of state of the EAC to establish the first regional safety and
security oversight organization on the continent - with support from the Safe
Skies initiative. The initiative has also partnered with the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) and the FAA to develop Global Navigation Satellite
System (GNSS) procedures for 28 airports in 15 member states of the Southern
African Development Community.
From 23 to 24 May 2007, high ranking officials from 13 African air forces met
at Ramstein Air Base, Germany for the inaugural African Air Chiefs Conference.
This conference, hosted by the United States Air Forces in Europe, with support
from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, fostered discussion on the
primary challenges African militaries face in regards to air safety and
security, and the ways they can foster regional, bilateral, and multilateral
solutions to these issues. The conference proved a success in that the
participants felt there was a strong value in meeting together and encouraged future
meetings to enhance the communication and cooperation necessary to solve the
challenges.
Recommendations
In moving forward, African countries must commit to sustained national and
regional reform. Air security and safety must become a priority for national
governments. Cape Verde’s efforts to utilize the US Safe Skies for Africa is a
prime example of strong, effective political will. Credible enforcement by a
robust judiciary is equally important. Therefore, legislative institutions must
also be strengthened and scrutinized to pass the necessary laws to bring the
country into compliance with internationally-agreed upon conventions.
Once a credible commitment has been established, governments need to marshal
the resources required to translate this commitment into action. As mentioned
earlier, the costs to implement an effective air safety and security regime can
be onerous. New cost-effective technologies are currently being developed to
monitor the airspace. The developers of these technologies, African
governments, and their international partners need to work hand in hand to
facilitate the transfer and adoption of appropriate technology for African
countries. In addition, effective training coupled with incentives to retain
personnel should be implemented.
A regional approach to air safety and security is a particularly important
option, because it offers greater efficiency, interoperability, and cost
effectiveness. For instance, during the mid 1990s, countries in Central and
Eastern Europe began an overhaul of their air traffic management systems.
Utilizing expertise and assistance from the United States under the Regional
Airspace Initiative, these countries updated and upgraded their existing
systems to better track and control air assets in their regions. While these
upgrades were accomplished independently by each country and bilaterally with
the United States, multilateral coordination and cooperation enabled the entire
region to synchronize their systems, thus providing a larger and more effective
radar picture. African countries have a similar opportunity. As they work to
upgrade their systems they need to ensure that they are coordinating
sub-regionally and continent-wide to enable them to build upon existing
networks and help share the costs. Regional air cooperation is also critical to
the African standby force initiative. A strong air component will be necessary
in order for the brigades to provide air transport and airlift support for
peace-keeping and humanitarian missions.
Finally, international assistance will play a key role in the development of a
targeted, coordinated, and sustainable air safety and security regime in
Africa. EAC efforts to develop a regional oversight body, in conjunction with
the IATA and FAA, exemplify the benefits of building international
partnerships. This investment will reap benefits, as the region is able to
increase its economic ties to the world through effective and safe air
transport.
Clearly, air safety and security is an important goal. However, it is neither
easy nor cheap to monitor Africa’s skies and maintain the safety and security
of the airspace and air assets. Domestic and international stakeholders must
demonstrate a credible, long-term commitment to making this a reality
.
Source:Ocnus.net 2007
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