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Cesarean delivery rates are rapidly increasing in Southeastern Europe (to more than 60%), North Africa (with a rate as high as 72% in Egypt), and in urban areas in Southern Africa (a rate of over 50% in Lagos, Nigeria). Data on the background to these increases are scarce, but likely to include poor birthing facilities in general hospitals, convenience for the doctor, private medicine, fear of litigation, socioeconomic status, shortage of midwives and nurses, and disappearance of vaginal instrumental deliveries. Options to reverse cesarean delivery trends are discussed. In this context there is a need to be better informed about how women are being counseled regarding vaginal or cesarean delivery. The long-term consequences in subsequent pregnancies for mothers and children may well be largely ignored, while these risks are highest in LMICs where higher birth numbers are desired. FIGO has begun discussions with obstetric and gynecologic societies, healthcare bodies, and governments in several countries discussed in this article, to find ways to lower the cesarean delivery rate. The requests came from the countries themselves, which may prove beneficial in helping advance progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates digital inequalities in usage within African informal sectors. In particular, we examine whether the uneven digital diffusion is embedded in pre‐existing socio‐economic inequalities. After identifying three segments of informal firms, we rely on multivariate and decomposition analyses to identify predictors of usage of digital technologies for business purposes and explain usage gaps between segments. Our findings suggest that digital inequalities are rooted in the vertical heterogeneity of informal sectors, with some firm characteristics significantly predicting professional use of digital technologies. In addition, we find that there are both common and segment‐specific levers for addressing digital inequalities between informal firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The out‐of‐sight groundwater and visible but much less extensive surface waters on land constitute a linked terrestrial water system around the planet. Research is crucial for our understanding of these terrestrial water system links and interactions with other geosystems and key challenges of Earth System change. This study uses a scoping review approach to discuss and identify topical, methodological and geographical gaps and priorities for research on these links and interactions of the coupled ground‐ and surface water (GSW) system at scales of whole‐catchments or greater. Results show that the large‐scale GSW system is considered in just a small part (0.4%–0.8%) of all studies (order of 105 for each topic) of either groundwater or surface water flow, storage, or quality at any scale. While relatively many of the large‐scale GSW studies consider links with the atmosphere or climate (8%–43%), considerably fewer address links with: (a) the cryosphere or coastal ocean as additional interacting geosystems (5%–9%); (b) change drivers/pressures of land‐use, water use, or the energy or food nexus (2%–12%); (c) change impacts related to health, biodiversity or ecosystem services (1%–4%). Methodologically, use of remote sensing data and participatory methods is small, while South America and Africa emerge as the least studied geographic regions. The paper discusses why these topical, methodological and geographical findings indicate important research gaps and priorities for the large‐scale coupled terrestrial GSW system and its roles in the future of the Earth System. Plain Language Summary: The water on the land surface (surface water) and that beneath it (groundwater), along with the water that is continuously and increasingly used and managed in human societies, are connected and constitute a coherent natural‐social water system around the world. Many unknowns and open questions remain for how the small‐scale variations add up to large‐scale variability and change of this water system on land, as an integral part of the whole Earth System. Relevant research is crucial for reducing the unknowns and answering the questions, and this study's scoping review aims to assess how they have been addressed in published research so far. The aim is to identify key research gaps and priorities for further research on how the integrated water system on land functions and evolves on large scales, from whole hydrological catchments and in multiple catchments around the world up to global scale. The scoping review results show key research gaps and priorities to be the coupling of surface water and groundwater on land, and the interactions of this coupled water system with other parts and major challenges of the Earth System. Geographically, the gaps and priorities emerge as particularly large and urgent for South America and Africa. Key Points: Coupling of the ground‐surface water system is a key gap in terrestrial water research, particularly at large scalesResearch on terrestrial water interactions with other geospheres and key challenges of Earth System change is rare but impactfulMajor geographic gaps in research on the large‐scale coupled terrestrial water system emerge for South America and Africa [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A database of journal articles and conference papers that cover the economics of agricultural development in Africa during the period 2016–2020 was compiled. These papers are first described in terms of demographic and bibliometric criteria, followed by a network analysis of the main centers of origin and of influence of this research. Finally, three different processes were used to test the policy relevance of the work. These include a simple enumeration of the policy recommendations in a sample of the papers, a megatrend analysis, and a comparison of their focus with the standard narrative of the role of agriculture in economic development. The results show that a large proportion of the literature is not forward‐looking, and is weak on policy relevance. We ignore a number of issues that engage the attention of those concerned with implementing structural change in agriculture across the many very different but very real natural resource, political, social, economic, and technological environments around the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa's population is expected to triple by 2050, owing to rapid urbanisation and overall demographic trends. The combined pressures of urbanisation and climate change impact the ecosystem and the services it provides. As a result, additional dangers such as increased flooding, and environmental disruption have risen. Therefore, devising adaptive solutions to mitigate flood risk impacts while also building community resilience is needed. Evidence suggests that Nature‐based Solutions (NbS) can potentially alleviate floods and mitigate climate change impacts while also delivering other societal benefits. Despite rising NbS popularity following its recognition in the last decade, studies on its recognition in Africa remain limited. For this reason, this paper reviewed NbS studies conducted in East Africa (EA) to evaluate opportunities and barriers surrounding NbS adoption in EA. Academic literature published from January 2012 to May 2022 was reviewed using a comprehensive search of the SCOPUS database. Results show 14 papers have been published during the period, with the majority being post‐2020. In addition, the majority of the articles focused on cities and peri‐urban settlements, while public awareness, clear guidelines on performance monitoring, stakeholder inclusion, and diverse demonstration projects were highlighted as potential success factors for the adoption of NbS in EA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an introduction to this Special Issue on Rethinking in Regional Integration in Africa which is based on a collaborative research project, implemented by African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), the leading economic capacity building institution in Africa, and funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB). This project is very timely given the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which came into force on 01 January 2021. In this introduction, we first provide a brief background on regional integration in Africa. We next describe the AERC project and the process of selection of the papers and then provide a quick summary of the ten published papers and their contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies Marcel Mauss' Gift Theory in conjunction with Qin Yaqing's Relational Theory to Chinese foreign aid. It proposed that this approach allows to conceptualise Chinese aid to Africa as a continuous gift cycle initiated in Bandung and has been going uninterrupted till today. The paper argues through the language of reciprocity and relationality, China symbolically affords the recipient status in a way that Northern aid does not. The real existing power asymmetries between China and Africa do not per se translate into unlimited influence as China can never be sure of reciprocity and is obliged to keep giving continuously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the relationship between trade openness and economic growth in Africa by accounting for the heterogeneity of African countries. In addition, the paper contributes to the literature on trade openness and economic growth nexus by applying the instrumental variable panel smooth transition regression, a methodology that accounts for nonlinearity and endogeneity in the relationship between the two variables. The results of the empirical analysis reveal that the investment ratio is a channel through which trade openness affects economic growth in the African continent. In addition, the relationship between trade openness and economic growth varies according to the degree of a country's development in Africa. The study finds a negative relationship between openness and growth in low‐income countries. Conversely, for upper‐income countries, the coefficients of trade indicators are positive and statistically significant. The results indicate that African countries are not homogeneous, especially concerning trade openness and economic growth nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a policy tool for development, special economic zones (SEZs) are rapidly proliferating globally, mainly due to the new industrialization wave and competition for FDIs. However, their performance is quite mixed. What drives their heterogeneous performance? This paper intends to define a 'quality framework' for SEZs based on the key drivers for their success, and validates its effectiveness in a quantitative way through a 'quality‐performance' matrix using thirteen SEZ cases in Sub‐Sahara Africa. The research identifies seven key drivers and derives a 'quality score' for each zone based on its level at each driver. The score is then used to map with the zone's performance (mainly the jobs and investments in this paper). The regression result shows that the 'quality' of a SEZ is highly correlated with its 'performance', which provides important empirical evidence for effective SEZ policies. Based on this research, the paper also offers some key policy lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delineates the characteristics of an emerging Southern multilateralism to argue against pessimistic narratives of anarchy and disorder as well as optimistic narratives that celebrate the resilience of the Liberal International Order (LIO). It does this by staging a conversation between a top‐down International Relations literature that explores the contours of global order and a bottom‐up international development literature that investigates the changing role of the Global South in world politics. By highlighting the continuities and discontinuities of Southern multilateralism with it, the paper illustrates the ways in which Southern Multilateralism both challenges the LIO and supports it. The perspective of Southern Multilateralism suggests that countries in the Global South insist on sharing global responsibility with prevailing institutions of liberal multilateralism, neither seeking to overthrow it nor to be co‐opted within it. A subsidiary argument of the paper is that Southern Multilateralism is not homogenous: To that end, it attends to the richness of Southern Multilateralism by directing attention to variations within it. In line with the theme of the Special Issue, this paper focuses on two cases that involve India's presence on the African continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African trading brokers in China buy knock‐off or copy goods and move them through customs via bribery to African ports; this trade, although illegal, brings desired global products to Africa. This paper, based on interviews with African trading brokers, examines how the internet and Covid‐19 have affected their trade. African customers can now find out the accurate prices of goods; computerized customs regimes make bribery difficult; and Covid‐19 has raised shipping costs. While the informal economic arrangements of these trading brokers will probably continue despite policymakers' efforts to eradicate them, China may no longer be the source of their goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been hailed as a key pillar and catalyst for economic growth, industrialization, and sustainable development in Africa. One of the anticipated benefits is the promise to increase intra‐African trade through the elimination of import duties and other tariffs among countries. However, due to the heterogeneity between the African countries, questions remain as to whether each country will benefit from tariff elimination. This paper aims to evaluate the macroeconomic, fiscal, and welfare consequences of import tax removal in Senegal with the rest of Africa. We link an extended version of the partnership for economic policy (PEP) static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with a non‐parametric microsimulation approach. We calibrate the model with Senegal's most recent Social Accounting Matrix. The microeconomic model is calibrated using the latest Senegalese household consumption survey. The findings indicate that tariff removal from the rest of Africa has favorable economic, fiscal, and welfare impacts for Senegal. The paper suggests that it will lead to an increase in economic growth and investment. The removal of tariffs is expected to favor urban households over rural ones and leads to a modest decrease in income inequality, accompanied by a 3.36% reduction in the number of poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturing has the potential to drive economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction, but African manufacturers face challenges in competing with global markets. Agricultural machinery manufacturing may be one niche where African manufacturers can succeed. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities facing local agricultural manufacturers in Africa based on a survey of 386 manufacturers in four countries and qualitative methods. Results show that small, dedicated entrepreneurs have created vibrant local machinery markets. These manufacturers have several comparative advantages, in particular, the ability to develop machinery adapted to local agroecological conditions but face challenges related to financing, human resources, utilities, raw materials, production equipment and the regulatory environment. The paper offers recommendations on how to support local manufacturers to make "Made in Africa" the first choice for African farmers and agro‐food processors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding young people's lives through a focus on their micro‐geographies has been central for exercising young people's voices through research. However, such a focus has also neglected the multiple and complex realities of growing up that ripple throughout their lives, resulting in calls for more research to go beyond capturing daily snapshots of experience. This paper acknowledges that decades of research with and for young people living on city streets has underpinned activism and challenged western child rights discourse, helping to ensure that abuses and violations of street young people's rights are confronted. Yet, much of this research draws attention to lives lived in present moments – the difficulties encountered and capabilities displayed. It does not account for the temporal fluidity of how young people's realities are future impacted by slow crises and challenging daily life experiences as they grow towards adulthood. This paper explores the crisis temporalities of young people's street lives through a youth‐led ethnographic longitudinal approach. The paper focuses on 18 youth researchers and over 200 of their peers' experiences of research over three years while living on the streets of three African cities. The paper discusses the challenges of undertaking longitudinal research alongside the temporal affordances of surviving urban informality and the compounding effects of slow crises on present and future‐oriented survival. These affordances emerge as street youth respond to daily trials, experience setbacks, crises, triumphs, and failures, yet show resilience and employ capabilities. The paper concludes by demonstrating the crucial importance of ethnographic longitudinal research for policy and practice to ensure that youth who age on the streets, and their families, are supported in accordance with social justice concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, the lack of high‐quality empirical economic research on the state of Africa's agriculture and rural economies has been an important factor impeding the formulation of evidence‐based policy on the continent. The Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces program aims to build a critical mass of early career African scholars and policy research through an emphasis on mentorship and professional development to help remedy that deficiency. This paper explains the motivations, origins, and outcomes to date of the program, and offers lessons learned for others wishing to create research capacity development opportunities for under‐represented groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Counseling as part of the informed consent process is a prerequisite for cesarean section (CS). Postnatal debriefing allows women to explore their CS with their healthcare providers (HCPs). Objectives: To describe the practices and experiences of counseling and debriefing, the barriers and facilitators to informed consent for CS; and to document the effectiveness of the interventions used to improve informed consent found in the peer‐reviewed literature. Search Strategy: The databases searched were PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Africa‐wide information, African Index Medicus, IMSEAR and LILACS. Selection Criteria: English‐language papers focusing on consent for CS, published between 2011 and 2022, and assessed to be of medium to high quality were included. Data Collection and Analysis: A narrative synthesis was conducted using Beauchamp and Childress's elements of informed consent as a framework. Main Results: Among the 21 included studies reporting on consent for CS, 12 papers reported on counseling for CS, while only one reported on debriefing. Barriers were identified at the service, woman, provider, and societal levels. Facilitators all operated at the provider level and interventions operated at the service or provider levels. Conclusions: There is a paucity of research on informed consent, counseling, and debriefing for CS in sub‐Saharan Africa. Synopsis: This scoping review identified only a small number of peer‐reviewed papers on informed consent, counseling, and debriefing for cesarean section in sub‐Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to investigate the effect of economic complexity on environmental degradation in 20 selected African countries over the period 1991–2014. The Feasible Generalized Least Square (FGLS), and Driscoll‐Kraay estimators (DK) are used to capture the objectives of the study. The results suggest that economic complexity and economic growth enhance environmental degradation. Also, natural resources rents and globalization improve environmental quality. Furthermore, the findings reject the U‐shaped relationship between economic complexity and environmental degradation. In addition, the Dumitrescu‐Hurlin panel causality test shows a bidirectional causal relation between economic complexity and environmental degradation. Taking into account the ecological deficit or ecological reserve status of country, it is shown that while the natural resource rents reduce environmental degradation in ecological reserve countries, they increase environmental degradation in ecological deficit countries. The results are robust when an alternative measure of economic complexity is used. Based on these findings, the paper suggests that the governments of African countries should take into account economic complexity when designing their environmental protection policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses bioethics in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. The Introduction (Section 1) highlights that at the field's inception, infectiousness was not front and center. Instead, infectious disease was widely perceived as having been conquered. This made it possible for bioethicists to center values such as individual autonomy, informed consent, and a statist conception of justice. Section 2 urges shifting to values more fitting for the moment the world is in. To find these, it directs attention to the Global South, and in particular, Africa, and to the values of ubuntu, solidarity, dignity, kinship, and humility. The paper concludes (in Section 3) that 21st‐century challenges facing bioethics are increasingly global, and calls on bioethicists themselves to be more globally inclusive in their approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the impact of constitutional changes on foreign direct investment (FDI) in 49 African countries during the period 1980–2020. The paper uses a dummy variable related to the year of the constitutional change and the number of changes during the study period to capture the frequency of constitutional changes. The results reveal that an increase in the frequency of constitutional changes negatively affects FDI. The negative relationship between constitutional change and FDI is consistent across different measures of constitutional change and FDI and is robust to alternative empirical approaches. These results suggest that frequent constitutional changes may create uncertainty and instability in the investment climate, which may discourage foreign investors from investing in these African countries. The study provides evidence for policymakers that a stable constitutional framework may attract FDI in African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Okavango Delta in southern Africa has been the subject of geomorphological and hydrological investigations since the 1970s. In the early 1990s, McCarthy and co‐workers developed a geomorphological and hydrological model which describes the processes that give rise to the gently undulating topography and the lack of saline surface water in this semi‐arid environment. This model is based on extensive investigations of soil and water chemistry conducted across the Okavango Delta, and has been subject to rigorous testing by a number of independent researchers. In their recent paper, Jolivet et al. (2023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC010978) proposed an alternative hydrological model based on chemical and mineralogical analyses of samples from six auger holes drilled at a site on the lower fringe of the permanent swamp. We provide a critique of their model and explain how this model cannot describe the geohydrological functioning of the Okavango Delta. Jolivet et al. suggest there are two shallow aquifers, one hosted in sand and the other in clay‐rich material. Previous studies of subsurface soils on 18 islands have failed to reveal a deeper clay‐rich layer. Rather, the shallow groundwater is laterally fully connected and salinity varies in response to evapotranspiration. We attribute REE fractionation in subsurface soils observed by Jolivet et al. to be caused by the precipitation of calcite from groundwater which strongly accumulates REE. We are of the opinion that Jolivet et al. have insufficient data to suggest revisions to the current understanding of the functioning of the Okavango hydrological and sedimentological system. Key Points: The model proposed by Jolivet et al. cannot describe the geohydrological functioning of the Okavango DeltaPrevious studies of subsurface soils on 18 islands have failed to reveal the presumed deeper clay‐rich layerWe attribute REE fractionation in subsurface soils observed by Jolivet et al. to be caused by the precipitation of calcite from groundwater [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the trade–peace nexus in Africa and ascertains how poverty and inequality tilt the relationship in the eight regional (economic) blocs in Africa, viz. the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN–SAD), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), from 1998 to 2020 using the Driscoll–Kraay estimate. The study contributes to the literature by disaggregating the peace effect of trade in Africa by the regional (economic) blocs to allow for in‐depth and context‐specific analysis. The paper also expands the scope of existing studies by examining the direct effect of poverty and inequality on peace in addition to the indirect effect that is revealed through their interactions with trade integrations. The findings reveal that trade promotes peace in Africa, while wide income inequality and a large poverty gap increase the likelihood of conflict. The interaction of poverty and inequality with trade integration shows that while the poverty level does not improve the effect of trade on peace, inequality reduces the impact of trade on peace. The study concludes that poverty and inequality play significant roles in the trade–peace nexus in Africa. Policy recommendations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With reference to frames as socially determined definitions of reality, this paper examines the discrepancies between the prominence of 'South‐South cooperation' terminology in globally dominant discourses and its limited usage by African stakeholders. Based on insights from the United Nations, (cross‐)regional collaboration formats and bilateral cooperation, we find that African officials employ 'South‐South' terminology mainly when 'Northern' partners are present but use other frames when engaging with developing countries. This limited resonance poses a challenge to multilateral organisations and traditional donors in their attempts to expand engagement with 'South‐South' relations. A focus on the usage and effects of frames, we argue, can clarify the assumptions based on which international cooperation unfolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents evidence on the importance of bank‐intermediated trade finance for the intensive margin of African trade, using unique data from 43 African countries. It shows that African trade is underserved by banks. Banks intermediate about 40% of the region's trade – a far lower share than the global average of 80%. It finds that bank‐intermediated finance has a positive and significant effect on the intensive margin of African trade, even after accounting for the impact of domestic credit to the private sector. Estimates from standardised coefficients show that the impact of access to trade finance on trade volume for Africa is large and exceeds that of exchange rate volatility and trade logistics. These results suggest that policies aimed at promoting the region's trade should make access to bank‐intermediated finance a priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilizes Aerosol Index (AI) data from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument, along with ERA5 reanalysis data, to identify atmospheric processes contributing to the uplift of dust from the Etosha Pan through the annual cycle. Etosha is one of the most prominent source areas in the Southern Hemisphere, although very little is known about its meteorology outside of the peak dust season (August–October). Emissions in December (AI = 1.6) are shown to be comparable to those in September (AI = 1.7), the dustiest month in the TOMS record. Unlike in September however, when a nocturnal low‐level jet is the primary emission mechanism, uplift in December is associated with an anabatic‐sea breeze that develops along the Namib coast, and propagates inland to reach Etosha during the evening. The system is a response to the thermal contrast between the elevated interior plateau and the adjacent waters of the cool Benguela Upwelling System, and so is at its strongest during austral summer, when the area of maximum diabatic heating shifts south over southern Africa. Topographic channeling of the flow through the east‐west orientated Hoanib River valley is shown to facilitate the inland propagation of the anabatic‐sea breeze, and explains the persistence of the system at Etosha's latitude. Evening surface winds at Etosha, associated with the anabatic‐sea breeze, are significantly stronger in the dustier December months, when diabatic heating over the subcontinent and hence the zonal thermal gradient are enhanced. Plain Language Summary: This paper uses satellite and meteorological data to identify the features of southern Africa's weather and climate that contribute to dust emission from the Etosha Pan throughout the year. Etosha is an important source of dust in the Southern Hemisphere, however very little work has been conducted there outside of the winter season, when emissions are at their highest. From the satellite data, it is shown that December is just as dusty as some of the winter months, however there is a difference in the low‐level winds between the two seasons; in winter, emissions are driven by a morning peak in surface wind speeds, whereas emissions in December are driven by maximum surface winds during the evening. This evening peak in surface winds is shown to coincide with the arrival of a sea breeze at Etosha, with the system a response to the strong heating of the southern African plateau at this time of year. Evening surface winds associated with the sea breeze are stronger during the dustiest December months at Etosha, and are driven by enhanced heating over the subcontinent. Key Points: An anabatic‐sea breeze helps to drive austral summer dust emissions from one of the Southern Hemisphere's most prominent source areasThe anabatic‐sea breeze is present throughout the year, however is at its strongest, and propagates furthest inland during austral summerVariability in the strength of the system is driven by changes in the pattern of diabatic heating over the interior of southern Africa [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper challenges the Eurocentric entrepreneurship narrative from postcolonial and pan‐African feminist perspectives. Based on interview research conducted with 24 Zimbabwean women entrepreneurs, we narrate their microstorias in order to expose the legacy of entrepreneurial colonialism and patriarchy in Africa. The microstorias reveal the colonial past as well as the patriarchal norms that disenfranchise women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. Yet, they also reveal their struggle, resilience, resistance and their ongoing fight to construct their own identities as entrepreneurs. The paper contributes to enhance and advance further postcolonial, decolonial and critical voices in entrepreneurship and organization studies by challenging the prevailing western discourse of entrepreneurship from the introduction of necroentrepreneurism; giving support to intersectional postcolonial and Pan‐African feminist perspectives that voice global South women entrepreneurship and, by decolonizing and decentring the theoretical debates on entrepreneurship and organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how African organisations and countries construct their geographical indication (GI) systems. It makes three primary arguments. First, that the nascent GI agenda in Africa is driven by the European Union (EU) to principally promote European interests. Nonetheless, African countries can benefit from GI regimes by crafting laws that promote African interests. Second, that simply embracing the introduction of GI laws will not result in the EU's promised socioeconomic development in Africa. This is because multifarious factors including infrastructure, investment, branding, marketing and security are required to realise successful GI regimes. Third, that African countries must leverage contextually customised GI regimes to maximise the potentials they present. Contextually customised GI regimes can engender socioeconomic development. Beyond the EU's agenda‐setting technologies, international affiliations and treaty boundaries shape GI laws in Africa, which inform the marked variation in its GI systems. This variation reflects the dissonance in international treaties for GIs. While African countries align with demandeurs that espouse stronger GIs laws at the international level, the only regional instrument on GIs in Africa is its Continental Strategy for GIs. In examining examples from the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, this timely paper maintains that although GIs present promises of socioeconomic development, policymakers, lawmakers and relevant African stakeholders must caution against their often‐overlooked pitfalls. As ultimately, it is the responsibility of Africans, not foreigners, to guarantee the generation of thriving GI ecosystems for African products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographical indications (GIs), one of a subset of intellectual property rights (IPR), have recently assumed significant role in regulating variety of sectoral policies and national and regional, and international levels. Its relevance makes it one of the critical agenda in areas such as agriculture and international trade. Internationally, the articulation of GIs under TRIPs Agreement remains unclear and leaves policy and regulatory space for each country to choose their own path. The Continental Strategy for Geographical Indications in Africa—2018–2023 has introduced a new dimension about GIs. Legal instruments governing the East African Community (EAC) proffer a harmonized policy and regulatory framework for IPR as one of the means to attain the regional objectives. However, laws governing GIs in the partner states of EAC vary in terms of the nature and scope of protection and the underlying regulatory structures, resulting into heterogeneity in GIs protection in each country. Amid this regulatory dilemma, this paper examines the GIs laws in EAC by bringing to the fore the obtaining substantive and procedural differences amongst the partner states to EAC. The paper, among others, proposes a centralized regional approach for GIs protection to attain EAC's objective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The contribution of African authors to the biomedical literature is small. We evaluated the African and non‐African scientific production published in the international literature on the COVID‐19 in Africa during the first year of the epidemic (2020). Methods: Papers on COVID‐19 in Africa were extracted from the Medline (PubMed) database for bibliometric analysis including the proportions of three leading and last authors by study type, study country, authors' and laboratories/institutions' countries of affiliation and journal ranking. Results: A total of 160 articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria were analysed. The majority (91.3%) was produced by half (53.7%) of African countries, with important regional disparities, and generally without sources of funding mentioned. The majority (>85.0) of authors in lead positions (first, second, third and last authors) were Africans. Only a small number (8.7%) of studies on COVID‐19 in Africa were carried out by laboratories not on the African continent (mainly Europe, USA and China) and generally received funding. The last and first authors were more frequently of non‐African origin in journals with an Impact Factor ranking ≥1, and more frequently of African origin in journals with a lower ranking (< 1). The first and last non‐African authors tended to report their studies in high ranking ≥1 journals. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that the emergence of promising African research capable of publishing in indexed but low‐impact factor medical journals and reveals the persistence of a North‐South asymmetry in international cooperation in biomedical research with Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the prospects and promises of continent‐wide infrastructure projects under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and its implications for intra‐regional trade and economic development in Africa. Building on the supply side theory of trade and economic development, and taking cognizance of the impacts of asymmetric market sizes on trade integration, this paper argues that continent‐wide infrastructure projects are perhaps not the biggest constraints to intra‐Africa trade. Consequently, the paper recommends caution in pursuing regional infrastructure projects under the BRI. Given that the economies of most African countries depend largely on natural resources, the BRI could be adopted strategically to establish and manage infrastructure projects that would relax the binding constraints to structural transformation and allow for the development of manufacturing and/or service capabilities in the respective countries, especially in niche areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining in Africa is at a pivotal moment. For most of the period 2000 to 2012, the extractive industries were in a "supercycle" of sustained high commodity prices. Driven by resource‐intensive growth in emerging market economies, these high commodity prices were anticipated to continue for decades to come. However, this "supercycle" ended in 2012 and there followed a severe slump in mineral prices from 2014 onwards. On the one hand, a new era of commodity market dynamics has begun, with changing patterns of economic activity, minerals governance, and environmental regulation. On the other hand, the end of the supercycle has continued or intensified pre‐existing trends towards mechanisation, automation, and enclavity, while distributive pressures on companies by local communities and host nations increase. We argue that the end of the supercycle has reconfigured the geographies of extraction in ways that are not yet reflected in existing research or taken into consideration in policy implementation, particularly around corporate strategy, state–business relations, and models for mineral‐based development strategies. In this paper we map the terrain of research on the supercycle in Africa and identify emerging post‐supercycle trends – some of which have overtaken research. The paper is structured around examining four themes: (1) new geographies of investment and extraction; (2) new geographies of struggle; (3) national minerals‐based development; and (4) labour and livelihoods, for which we identify key trends during the supercycle and post‐supercycle and areas for future research and policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with the resource curse literature, this paper examines the effect of oil dependency on the disparities in access to electricity between urban and rural areas in Africa, conditional on the quality of political institutions. Based on data from 36 African countries over the period 2000–2017, our investigation suggests that oil rents (% of GDP) increase urban–rural disparities in access to electricity. However, the quality of institutions shapes the effect of oil dependency on these disparities. Specifically, a 10% increase in the institutional quality score reduces the adverse effects of oil rent on electricity access disparity by around 19%, and the negative impact of oil dependency on urban–rural disparities is reversed when institutional quality reaches a score of 52% on a scale from 0 to 100. The robustness tests support these results and call for strengthening the quality of institutions to overcome the resource curse in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This survey paper interrogates four theoretical frameworks often invoked to analyze intersections between media and religion: mediatization, mediation of meaning, mediation of the beyond, and religious social shaping of technology. The paper surveys several research works informed by the aforementioned theories that study Pentecostals' engagement with different forms of media in Africa. This paper suggests that these theories need to be revised to provide a balanced assessment of Pentecostalism and media technologies. Advancements in technology, particularly sophisticated of algorithms, transformed media into an intelligent and dynamic space that enormously influences media consumers. The theory of mediatization gave power and agency to media logic. However, the other theories (mediation of meaning, mediation of the beyond, and religious social shaping of technology) focused on human agency and saw media as an inert space with many features that users can use as they see fit. To remedy this unbalanced relationship, the paper calls for a new theory that accounts for the agency of both the users and the media platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether technological innovations such as information and communication technology infrastructure, mobile phone subscriptions, secure internet servers and the number of automated teller machines and bank branches increased financial deepening in 43 African countries for the period 2010–2019. The study employs panel corrected standard errors, fixed effects and quantile regressions for empirical analysis. The results show that technological innovations have a positive and significant influence on financial deepening in Africa in terms of banks' mobilisation of deposits and allocation of credit to enterprises. Furthermore, the technological indicators have a strong and positive effect on higher levels of bank credit to the private sector than lower levels. As for bank deposits, only the number of branches was found to have significant and positive effects at a high level of bank deposits compared with a low level. These results imply that African governments and development partners can leverage ICT developments to increase financial deepening and reinvigorate debt financing, which is the primary funding source for small and medium‐size enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the existing literature on the unintended effects of migration management programmes beyond migration. By combining a structured literature review with fifteen in‐depth interviews with diplomats, consultants, and researchers – all involved with the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), the largest migration management programme since 2015 – this study examines why policymakers do not always learn from unintended effects. The paper identifies four unintended effects: increased border guard violence; increased organized crime of smugglers and undermined livelihoods; exacerbation of poor governance in recipient countries; and legitimation of governments with limited legitimacy. While officials involved in the EUTF recognize the occurrence of these unintended effects, the EUTF insufficiently addresses these effects. This study analyses the technical, institutional, and ideological limits to learning that prevent migration management instruments such as the EUTF from effectively mitigating unintended effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of its strategy to win African votes for election to the UN Security Council (2008–12), Canberra sought to leverage its soft power potential by presenting Australia as having "no colonial baggage" in Africa while framing Australia as "a country from the Global North, located in the Global South," and one that would "work with other small and middle powers." Ultimately, the campaign was successful, including up to 50 of Africa's 54 countries voting for Australia. This paper considers this framing in the context of a shared but differentiated colonial history, including its contradictions, given that Australians fought several wars on African soil on behalf of the British Empire, supported white minority regimes and anti‐communist movements on the continent, and maintained the white Australia policy until the 1970s. The paper deploys decoloniality theory to engage Australia's lack of a neat fit within a historicised articulation of a "coloniser‐colonised" relationship between Europe and Africa. We show that, despite this lack of fit, Australia's relations with the countries of Africa reinforce long‐standing of patterns of knowledge, power, and being associated with colonialism. Accordingly, the paper makes three recommendations for cooperation and innovative thinking in foreign policy and diaspora diplomacy between Africa and a more independent and multicultural Australia based on the "equality of being." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Social protection programmes are considered HIV‐sensitive when addressing risk, vulnerability or impact of HIV infection. Socio‐economic interventions, like livelihood and employability programmes, address HIV vulnerabilities like poverty and gender inequality. We explored the HIV‐sensitivity of socio‐economic interventions for unemployed and out‐of‐school young women aged 15 to 30 years, in East and Southern Africa, a key population for HIV infection. Methods: We conducted a systematic review using a narrative synthesis method and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool for quality appraisal. Interventions of interest were work skills training, microfinance, and employment support. Outcomes of interest were socio‐economic outcomes (income, assets, savings, skills, (self‐) employment) and HIV‐related outcomes (behavioural and biological). We searched published and grey literature (January 2005 to November 2019; English/French) in MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science and websites of relevant international organizations. Results: We screened 3870 titles and abstracts and 188 full‐text papers to retain 18 papers, representing 12 projects. Projects offered different combinations of HIV‐sensitive social protection programmes, complemented with mentors, safe space and training (HIV, reproductive health and gender training). All 12 projects offered work skills training to improve life and business skills. Six offered formal (n = 2) or informal (n = 5) livelihood training. Eleven projects offered microfinance, including microgrants (n = 7), microcredit (n = 6) and savings (n = 4). One project offered employment support in the form of apprenticeships. In general, microgrants, savings, business and life skills contributed improved socio‐economic and HIV‐related outcomes. Most livelihood training contributed positive socio‐economic outcomes, but only two projects showed improved HIV‐related outcomes. Microcredit contributed little to either outcome. Programmes were effective when (i) sensitive to beneficiaries' age, needs, interests and economic vulnerability; (ii) adapted to local implementation contexts; and (iii) included life skills. Programme delivery through mentorship and safe space increased social capital and may be critical to improve the HIV‐sensitivity of socio‐economic programmes. Conclusions: A wide variety of livelihood and employability programmes were leveraged to achieve improved socio‐economic and HIV‐related outcomes among unemployed and out‐of‐school young women. To be HIV‐sensitive, programmes should be designed around their interests, needs and vulnerability, adapted to local implementation contexts, and include life skills. Employment support received little attention in this literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghana's petroleum industry is located several nautical miles offshore in the Western Region of the country. Yet, the mechanisms and processes of production and transportation of crude petroleum are accompanied by the dispossessing of the adjoining coastal communities of their means of (re)production both on the ocean and on land. Although the insights of agrarian political economy have been deployed fruitfully to analyse land grabs in Africa, similar efforts are rare when it comes to ocean grabs. With reference to the new development thinking on the ocean economy—or 'blue economy'—as the new frontier of resource‐based industrialization in Africa, we re‐frame the agrarian question and apply it to the offshore petroleum industry, expanding agrarian political‐economic theory of industrialization beyond its traditional confines of land and agriculture. Our paper makes two main theoretical contributions. First, it contributes to efforts in agrarian political economy to incorporate the ocean and fisheries. Second, we contribute a fresh theoretical framework for analysing offshore petroleum industries and their potential to contribute to industrialization in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fall armyworm (FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda) has recently spread to many countries in Africa, the Near East, Asia and the Pacific. In sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), more than 300 million people depend on FAW's preferred host plant, maize, as a staple crop. Hence, the spread of FAW in SSA has the potential to negatively affect livelihoods and food security. Many farmers have responded to FAW by increasing their use of synthetic pesticides, but these are not always used safely or effectively. More information on sustainable alternatives to high‐risk synthetic pesticides is needed to inform decisions by farmers and policy makers. In a previous paper, the authors responded to this information need by identifying fifty biopesticides which had been registered for FAW management in one or more of 30 countries in FAWs native region and Africa. For each biopesticide identified, detailed profiles with information on their efficacy against FAW; associated human health and environmental hazards; their agronomic sustainability; and whether or not they are practical for use by smallholder farmers were developed Research for development (R4D) efforts is ongoing in Africa and Asia for development and use of biopesticides for FAW management. Hence, in this study the authors assessed the current state of knowledge and documented how information gaps have been filled (or not) since the previous paper was published. The authors found that for many biopesticides there is a growing body of information on their efficacy in the field in Africa and increased availability of commercialized products. They also note remaining information gaps, particularly the compatibility of the biopesticides with other recommended management practices, and cost‐benefit analyses, important for developing and implementing sustainable IPM. An updated list of priority biopesticides for research, development and promotion is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the determinants of venture capital investments across 25 African countries over the period 2014–2019. In particular, it considers the significance of innovation and digitalization in Africa's venture capital activity. The results show that digital infrastructure, high‐technology exports, internet coverage, market size, minority investor protection and government effectiveness are the main drivers of venture capital deals in Africa over the period examined. More generally, these findings highlight that digital infrastructure and connectivity, innovation and institutional frameworks all play an important role in shaping a favorable environment to attract venture capital funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African countries generally cut corporate income tax (CIT) rates in the hopes of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), whereas the effectiveness of tax rate reductions in attracting extractive industries FDI is controversial. This paper estimates the impact of the statutory CIT rate, as applied to mining companies, on FDI inflows to the gold and silver sectors of African economies. The estimation results indicate that the impact of the mining CIT rate on the host country's gold and silver FDI inflows is negative, but not statistically significant, at the conventional levels of significance. These results suggest that cuts in the CIT rate applied to mining companies will not necessarily attract FDI to gold and silver projects. Moreover, we find a strategic complementarity in gold and silver FDI inflows between countries, suggesting that an increase in the host country's gold and silver FDI inflows may stimulate FDI to gold and silver projects in neighbouring countries. Furthermore, the results show that infrastructure, government stability and gold and silver reserves positively affect gold and silver FDI inflows. The main findings of the paper suggest that, instead of granting corporate tax incentives, governments may consider improving the quality of socio‐economic infrastructure, the availability of geological information and promoting political and economic stability for attracting mining investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious women born in Africa or of African descent have for a long time played a significant role in the parishes, schools, clinics and orphanages run by the Catholic Church. Their history has rarely been told and they tend to be invisible both in church and society. This paper presents a survey, based on already published studies and easily available primary sources, of the early history of these black women and of the indigenous women's religious congregations established, formally or not, since the nineteenth century. With one exception — in Senegal — all date from the twentieth century. A few were founded just before the First World War. More appeared in the interwar period. The paper argues that even though most of the credit is given to the missionaries, the black candidates often initiated the process leading to their admission into religious life. The most common scenario was an indigenous diocesan congregation led and mentored by white sisters for a few years. Some men's congregations, the Spiritans, the Missionaries of Africa, their women's counterparts, the Missionary Sisters of our Lady of Africa, and the Missionaries of Mariannhill showed a particular zeal in promoting the cause of black sisters in the period under review which ends in 1939. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A newly released, novel ionospheric data set of global gridded vertical total electron content (VTEC) is introduced in this paper. This VTEC data set, provided by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), is derived from very high frequency (VHF; defined as 30–300 MHz) broadband radio‐frequency (RF) measurements of lightning made by U.S. Department of Defense sensing systems on board Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. This paper presents the new data set (LANL VTEC), discusses the errors inherent in VHF TEC estimation due to ionospheric dispersion, and compares the LANL VTEC to two community standard VTEC gridded products: Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Global Ionospheric Model (JPL GIM) and the CEDAR community's Open Madrigal VTEC gridded measurements of L‐band GNSS (global navigation satellite systems) TEC. We find that the LANL VTEC data have an offset of 3 TECU from CEDAR Madrigal GNSS VTEC and a full‐width‐half‐maximum (FWHM) of 6 TECU. In comparison, the offset between LANL VTEC and the JPL GIM model is −3 TECU, but with a FWHM of 5 TECU. We also compare to Jason‐3 VTEC measurements over the ocean, finding an offset of less than 0.5 TECU and an FWHM of <5 TECU. Because this technique uses a completely different methodology to determine TEC, the sources of errors are distinct from the typical ground‐based GNSS L‐band (GHz) TEC measurements. Also, because it is derived from RF lightning signals, this data set provides measurements in regions that are not well covered by ground‐based GPS measurements, such as over oceans and over central Africa. Plain Language Summary: The ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere that is very important in communications between ground and satellite. For that reason, decades of scientific effort have been put toward developing models of the ionosphere so that we can more accurately predict what the state of the ionosphere is at any given location and time. A general product produced by many of these models is the vertical total electron content (VTEC), which is the vertically integrated electron density at a particular location at a particular time. The majority of these models use measurements of TEC from ground‐based receivers or instruments, meaning that abundant measurements that go into the models often lack data from over the oceans or in technologically limited regions of the world (e.g., Africa). Here, we present a new VTEC data set that is derived from lightning strokes detected with U.S. Department of Defense sensing systems on GPS satellites. Because the data set uses naturally occurring lightning for its source, it does not have the same limitations as ground‐based TEC measurements and can provide an additional source of validation data for ionospheric models. We introduce the data set and compare it with community‐accepted VTEC models and measurements. Key Points: New global gridded vertical total electron content (VTEC) data set derived from radio‐frequency measurements from lightning emissions during the entire year of 2018 has been releasedVTEC product adds new global coverage in areas with few global navigation satellite systems receivers (ocean and continental Africa)The VTEC values, generated from very high frequency radio‐frequency data, show bias in Madrigral data set and differences to Jet propulsion laboratory's global ionospheric model model‐derived VTEC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant proportion of trade in Africa takes place informally. In this paper we postulate that informal trade is more sensitive to securityrelated trade costs than formal trade. To test this hypothesis, we combine unique aggregated survey data on Uganda's informal crossborder trade with formal customs data and exploit the spatial and time variation of the South Sudanese civil war to causally identify the impact of conflict on different types of trade. Our preferred estimates suggest that the civil war reduced Uganda's informal exports to South Sudan by as much as 80%, compared to an estimated effect of 12% for formal exports. Further, we show that the impact of the conflict on formal exports is driven entirely by a reduction of industrial goods exports while exports of agricultural products continued to flow, presumably reflecting necessities in consumption for which willingness to pay is high. Taken together our results are consistent with the hypothesis that security‐related trade costs have heterogeneous effects on different types of international trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, using data from the Afrobarometer surveys, examines the potential for smartphones to influence attitudes to intimate partner violence (IPV). Controlling for ownership of television and radio, we find that those living in areas with a higher incidence of smartphone ownership are more likely to state that it is never justifiable for a man to beat his wife. This is the case for both male and female respondents. We find that the strength of the association between regional smartphone proliferation and attitudes to IPV is similar for those who frequently get news from social media and those who get news from elsewhere. This suggests that our results are not driven entirely by personal social media use. Finally, we only find a statistically significant relationship for those who are socially conservative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of smoke‐induced dynamical anomalies in the stratosphere associated with the 2019/2020 Australian New Year pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) super outbreak initiated a new field of study involving aerosol/weather anomalies. This paper documents the dynamical anomalies associated with the February 2009 Australian Black Saturday pyroCb outbreak. Positive potential vorticity anomalies (indicating anticyclonic rotation) with horizontal extent ∼1000 km and vertical thickness ∼2 km are associated with the plume, which we classify as a Smoke With Induced Rotation and Lofting (SWIRL). The SWIRL initially formed east of Australia, but then moved westward, crossing over Australia, and continuing to Africa. The SWIRL lasted for nearly three weeks (13 February–4 March), traveling ∼27,000 km and rising from potential temperatures of ∼410–500 K (altitudes ∼18–21 km). The altitude of the SWIRL is corroborated with coincident satellite‐based profiles of H2O, CO, HCN, O3, and aerosol extinction. A vertical temperature dipole (±3 K) accompanied the PV anomaly, as verified with coincident Global Navigation Satellite System radio occultation temperatures. The SWIRL dissipated as it passed over Africa. Operational ECMWF forecasts with early initialization (13 February) and late initialization (21 February) are examined. In the early case, the forecasted PV anomaly disappeared within 4 days, as expected due to lack of smoke heating in the forecast model. In the late case, while the forecasted PV anomaly was weaker than in the reanalyzes, a remnant anomaly remained out to 10 days. Plain Language Summary: Large bushfires in February 2009 in Australia led to large thunderstorms called pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) that injected significant amounts of smoke high into the atmosphere. When this smoke was warmed by absorbing sunlight it became buoyant and started to rise and rotate. This feature has been named a Smoke With Induced Rotation and Lofting (SWIRL) and had previously been observed in large pyroCbs that occurred around New Year's Day 2020 and in Canadian fires that occurred in 2017. The February 2009 SWIRL was a pancake‐like structure 1000 km across and 2 km thick. It lasted for three weeks, traveling over 27,000 km, and rising from 18 to 21 km in altitude. The SWIRL was observed both in weather maps and in satellite observations of gases such as water vapor, carbon monoxide, and ozone. Forecasting the SWIRL is difficult because current numerical weather models either do not consider smoke heating or lack inputs of pyroCb events as they are occurring in real time. Key Points: The February 2009 Australian Black Saturday pyroCbs injected a smoke plume into the stratosphere that induced a mesoscale anticycloneThe anticyclone was 1000 km across and 2 km thick and traveled 27,000 km in three weeks as it rose from 18 to 21 km in altitudeSatellite trace gas and aerosol anomalies coincide with potential vorticity anomalies, confirming smoke‐induced dynamical perturbations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clean cooking fuels and technologies remain essential in addressing the climate crises, environmental degradation, deforestation, air pollution, health complications, and poverty. Nevertheless, many countries in Africa lack access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking. The extant literature remains scarce on the determinants of clean cooking fuels and technologies using macroeconomic indicators covering many African countries in a single study. This article addresses this gap using panel data from 38 African countries. The paper shows that rural population, particulate matter emission, and natural resources depletion significantly decreased access to clean cooking fuels and technologies in the long run while the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita significantly increased access to clean cooking fuels and technologies in the long run in Africa. The results show a bi‐causal relationship between clean cooking fuels and technologies and rural population, GDP per capita, natural resource depletion, and particulate emissions damage. Understanding the determinants of clean cooking fuels and technologies will expand insights into addressing challenges associated with particulate emission damages. Governments in Africa should target improvements in GDP per capita, promote advocacies, and advocate for investments to address the limited access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, particularly for the rural poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global, continental and regional maps of concentrations, stocks and fluxes of natural resources provide baseline data to assess how ecosystems respond to human disturbance and global warming. They are also used as input to numerous modelling efforts. But these maps suffer from multiple error sources and, hence, it is good practice to report estimates of the associated map uncertainty so that users can evaluate their fitness for use.We explain why quantification of uncertainty of spatial aggregates is more complex than uncertainty quantification at point support because it must account for spatial autocorrelation of the map errors. Unfortunately, this is not done in a number of recent high‐profile studies. We describe how spatial autocorrelation of map errors can be accounted for with block kriging, a method that requires geostatistical expertise. Next, we propose a new, model‐based approach that avoids the numerical complexity of block kriging and is feasible for large‐scale studies where maps are typically made using machine learning. Our approach relies on Monte Carlo integration to derive the uncertainty of the spatial average or total from point support prediction errors. We account for spatial autocorrelation of the map error by geostatistical modelling of the standardized map error.We show that the uncertainty strongly depends on the spatial autocorrelation of the map errors. In a first case study, we used block kriging to show that the uncertainty of the predicted topsoil organic carbon in France decreases when the support increases. In a second case study, we estimated the uncertainty of spatial aggregates of a machine learning map of the above‐ground biomass in Western Africa using Monte Carlo integration. We found that this uncertainty was small because of the weak spatial autocorrelation of the standardized map errors.We present a tool to get realistic estimates of the uncertainty of spatial averages and totals of natural resource maps. The method presented in this paper is essential for parties that need to evaluate whether differences in aggregated environmental variables or natural resources between regions or over time are statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black carbon (BC) absorbs solar radiation, increasing the buoyancy and vertical ascent of absorbing aerosol in the atmosphere. This self‐lofting process has been observed for individual plumes in the troposphere and lower stratosphere but here we show it occurring at broader scales through enhanced large‐scale ascent over BC‐rich regions. This is demonstrated in a pair of simulation using the UKESM1 Earth‐System model where BC aerosols were modeled either with or without the ability to absorb radiation. With absorption included the annual global mean concentration of BC in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (8–22 km) rose by up to 50% and the column loading over some remote oceanic regions more than doubled. The increase in aerosol height was particularly notable over the southeast Atlantic where biomass burning aerosol from Africa was elevated up to 1 km higher when their absorption was included. Similar effects were seen over the Arctic where the absorbing haze was transported in at higher levels and surface concentrations were halved. The absorption by BC also increased ascent over southern Asia, which tended to thicken the Asian brown cloud during the dry season but in the wet season enhancing ascent promoted deep convection and had the tendency to deplete the aerosol through wash‐out. We conclude that representing aerosol absorption accurately is important in simulating the vertical distribution, transport and abundance of aerosol in the Earth‐system that will affect their interactions with climate. Plain Language Summary: Black carbon is an important component of atmospheric aerosols as it absorbs solar radiation thereby heating the atmosphere and potentially warming climate. The localized heating can also affect clouds and atmospheric motions making the regional and climate effects more complex and uncertain. The vertical distribution and geographic spread of the aerosol is also key to how it interacts with the climate system. In this paper we highlight the fact that the absorption taking place in BC aerosols can affect its vertical ascent in the atmosphere and therefore how it becomes distributed across the globe. This self‐lofting process was demonstrated in a climate model and was particularly important in aiding the elevation and downwind transport of absorbing smoke layers from regions such as central Africa, as well as increasing the amount of BC reaching the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Key Points: Absorption of solar radiation helps to raise the altitude of black carbon aerosol by increasing buoyancy and vertical ascentThis self‐lofting mechanism has been captured in a climate model where radiative heating affects the large‐scale ascent and circulationSelf‐lofting increased the altitude and long‐range transport of black carbon to remote regions and the upper troposphere [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]