As an African citizen, Ozone Depletion is not a concept that arises a lot in my everyday conversations. Closed off in our worries about poverty-related situations, our countries are more concerned with how to enrich themselves much more than global phenomena. This is a sad reflection on our part due to the fact that we let the façade of lack of development restrict our role in facing ozone depletion. Instead, we see such problems as Western-made, driven and therefore must be handled and reversed by the West. In truth, Africa too needs to play a role in targeting the problem of Ozone Depletion because the ozone layer is not just along developed countries. This means that our ignorance about the matter has not and will not keep the effects of Ozone Layer Depletion from impacting our countries. Worst of all since our economies are amongst the poorest in the world today, it will become increasingly difficult to curb against the phenomenon. In simple terms, Ozone Depletion is caused by peculiar chemicals that are found in common products such aerosol products, refrigerators and fire extinguishers. These chemicals produce toxic by-products that damage the ozone layer. Effects of this process are increased ultra-violet radiation due to harmful sun rays that cause skin cancer and other illnesses. 

After scientists first discovered the causes of Ozone Layer Depletion, many countries, including the United States of America, embarked on a journey to phase out substances that were found to be responsible for damaging the Ozone Layer. This was in order to give the Ozone a chance to recover. In order to protect against Ozone Layer Depletion, different international projects have been implemented and are reaching positive results. With all these projects, those intensely publicized and those that have not reached media reports, the most important to me is the lack of ignorance among those individuals in the international community. As a project, I would like to talk about the efforts of different individuals that in my opinion, facilitates the combatting of Ozone Layer Depletion. Instead of taking a glance at international projects, this paper shall focus on people’s efforts in order to recognize their personal efforts as global citizens.

When Ozone Layer Depletion first became a worry to scientists, the media had to be relied on to carry out the concerns of what science had discovered about our stratosphere. The different men and women who were involved in producing newspaper articles, writing reviews, books and presenting television news of what was happening as the world slept are among the bravest and most courageous individuals. These global citizens put their reputation on the line in order to ensure that even the worst of all skeptics understood the effects of harming the Ozone Layer. The mention of reputation is important due to the fact that since it was rich companies that were making products which were harmful to the Ozone Layer, the reporters, authors and scholars talking about how harmful these chemicals were could have had their lives endangered. Moreover, the legacy of speaking out for the Ozone Layer might have been started by the discovery of scientists but it was carried out through the voices of these individuals.

Today, there might not be much to say from Africa about Ozone Layer Depletion but this is not to say that the future might not bring up powerful voices. Environmental awareness is important to the continent and has been for years because Africans have always primarily depended heavily on the environment. Yes, there still needs to be a lot of growth and awareness in the continent about issues that threaten human life but I am confident that these will bring about a renewed sense of self in all African states. In Lesotho, Mozambique, Morocco, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and all other African states, there are men and women who just need to be reminded of the real issues, such as Ozone Depletion that need out attention far more than ethnic rivalries and competition for resources. We might be behind other countries in the international community concerning important issues but the tortoise did win the race against the rabbit.