Following the tour of climate change impacted sites in Lagos on Tuesday (December 15, 2015), Environment Minister, Mrs Amina Mohammed, has continued her nationwide inspection of environmentally degraded points of note. The second leg of the tour took her to the Niger Delta region as well as desertification-threatened North.
As usual, EnviroNews is closely monitoring her steps and presents images from the trips.
The Benue State Government is poised to partner the Centre for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER), Benue State University, Makurdi and other stakeholders in the Centre’s programmes on food safety and hygiene with the aim to sustaining the practice in the “Food Basket” state.
This commitment was made on Thursday, 17th December, 2015 by the Deputy Governor of Benue State, Benson Abounu. while declaring open the second phase of a short course titled: Basic Food Hygiene and Safety for Food Vendors at the College of Health Sciences auditorium, Benue State University, Makurdi.
According to him, the government will partner with CEFTER and others in order to ensure that food safety and hygiene is sustained in the state, considering its importance in the people’s livelihood.
To this end, he maintained that the government in the state has recognised the salient benefits of food security and hygiene which necessitated its effort in that regard by working round the clock in preventing the wastage of the state’s raw food.
“We have decided to add value to our agricultural products through wastage prevention and soon, we will bring on board, primary industries that would process raw food produce, especially the perishables to forestall wastage,” he stated.
Stressing further, Abounu enthused that he would be happy that the initiative of training the populace in the area of food safety and hygiene would be replicated in the local government areas of the state. “Indeed, it is in our rural communities that this training would be more needed,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Wife of the Governor of Benue State, Dr (Mrs) Eunice Ortom, said the importance of food to human existence cannot be overemphasised, more so, food properly prepared.
“However, it is a thing of worry that all over the world, people are seriously infected every day by diseases that are caused by eating unhygienic and unsafe food,” she added.
Dr Ortom, who was represented by Wife of the Deputy Governor, Justice Mary Abounu, stated that due emphasis ought to be given to good hygienic practices to prevent and control food-borne diseases, adding that it is essential for all to understand what good food hygiene is and to ensure that the food eaten is free from contaminants such as micro-organisms and chemicals.
“Food Hygiene and Safety is a global priority for food security. In Benue state, the Food Basket of the Nation, the case is not any different. Inadequate education and persistent poor attitude towards food handling practices is a bane on our safety and community. Hence, the need for training of food handlers in the aspect of hygiene and safety becomes not just important but an unavoidable necessity. A lot of effort has been put in by international agencies, notably, WHO, UNICEF, USAID towards better and improved food sanitation and hygiene methods in Benue State,” she said.
She maintained that the determination to revitalise the agricultural sector to ensure food security, agribusiness and entrepreneurship for job creation for the state’s teaming population and by extension, to boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for socio-economic development becomes feasible only when food is properly and safely processed for storage and consumption.
“This workshop is therefore a necessary precursor to the agriculture-driven Industrialisation Policy of the Ortom administration,” she noted.
The Wife of the Governor, who said she believes that the impact of the training will be enormous because of the target trainees, noted that it is a direct impact; training food handlers, mostly women, who harvest, store, market, buy and prepare food for the nation adding that it means that in no distant future education of people at all to a levels would ensure clean and safe food for consumption and/or commercial purposes.
“Therefore, having juxtaposed the entire curriculum through all the phases, I can assure participants that they will gain immensely from this training. In fact, as I stated in Phase 1, I recommend this training for at least one member of every household; it is as important as immunisation and I promise that I will not relent in ensuring that the coverage across the State is on a larger scale,” said Dr Ortom.
“As a first step towards achieving this, I have coordinated the training of at least three food handlers per local government in the first phase. The second phase of this project which is commencing today is targeted towards more food handlers as a goal towards training more food handlers from the local governments. This will engender the ideals of entrepreneurship development in Food Technology and Research as they relate to Agribusiness,” she stated.
In his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor, Benue State University, Prof. Msugh Kembe, who noted that the impact of CEFTER on the Benue community is enormous, commended the centre for its approaching the problem of poor food handling from the grassroots and being poised to network with all stakeholders in her quest to tackle post food losses.
According to the VC, a university’s impact is not in the number of graduates it churns out but the impact its courses have on developing the society, adding that is why they approved CEFTER programme as it is impacting positively on the state.
He noted that one of the distinct benefits of the CEFTER programme is the scholarship opportunity availed 70 Benue indigenes through the centre valued at over N83 billion starting at Masters and PhD degrees.
Prof. Kembe expressed gratitude to the Office of the Wife of the Governor Benue State for coordinating the funding for the Second Phase of the training on Basic Food Hygiene and Safety for Food Vendors.
“I commend and thank the Governor’s Wife for her unwavering support and for seeing to it that the Benue man, woman and child eat safe and hygienic food,” he enthused.
In his remarks, Director CEFTER, Prof. Daniel Adedzwa, stated that the programme thrives on partnership and strong support by the government which has placed the centre ahead of others said they are immensely appreciative of the government’s support.
He also commended one of their partners, Vettas Leo Services Ltd, for having done a good job on the programmes curricula, stating that they will improve on it also.
According to Prof. Adedzwa, as the Wife of the Governor has already indicated interest in replicating the programme in the rural areas and introducing it to other states, they believe that extending it to the rural areas is the right thing to do.
The CEFTER Director noted that he was motivated that one of the brains behind CEFTER’s existence, Prof. Msugh Kembe, was at the helms of affairs at the Benue State University as Vice Chancellor so he has no doubt that the programme will grow from strength to strength.
In his presentation on “CEFTER: Basic Food Hygiene Course – Progress So Far”, Project Manager/Deputy Director CEFTER, Dr Barnabas Ikyo, who emphasised that CEFTER is a Centre of Excellence for Control of Post-Harvest Losses, noted that the short course was a success in the first phase and the second phase would even have more impact.
According to him, poor hygiene and sanitation particularly in handling of food leads to many diseases which necessitates adherence to health education and training for food handlers, sanitation and hygiene, behavioural change, enforcement of public health regulations among others.
Dr Ikyo noted that closing the infections windows of food borne diseases would go a long way in giving way to healthier eating and living, which is what the short course on Basic Food Hygiene has been addressing.
He enumerated some next steps to be taken by the centre as: Looking forward of the food safety and Hygiene to involve training of 2300 participants from Benue State and facilitated by Wife of the Governor, Benue State; MoU with 12 partners. Partnership agreement for two and ensure partnership agreements are signed completely; In conjunction with NSPRI, CEFTER are organization a lecture series on the effect of climate change on post harvest losses; Organizing training of trainers for Control of PHL Agricultural Development Projects from all 36 and FCT.
Dr Ikyo also highlighted five elements of the project to include:
Enhance capacity to deliver regional high quality training to address the development challenge.
However, he regretted that the project has certain risks which include: Risk of sustainability after the World Bank funding phase of 5 years; Emerging CoEs in Africa are heavily donor dependent in financing their operations; And because of the unpredictability of donor funding and donor fatigue in supporting African countries, it has been suggested in some quarters that African countries must develop new modalities of funding their development projects to ensure long term sustainability.
To this end, he noted that an action plan for project sustainability has been included in the Centre’s implementation plan and they shall work hard to ensure that the project is sustained after the World Bank funding.
In his remarks, Deputy Managing Director, Vettas Leo Services Ltd, Vershima Tivzenda, who stated that the last five months of their operation with CEFTER and the Benue State University have been excellent commended all stakeholders working on the CEFTER project.
He charged all stakeholders not to falter in their resolve to partner with the centre to reposition the livelihood of the Benue man especially in areas of food safety, hygiene and post harvest loss to push the commitment to a logical conclusion.
Speaking earlier, the Head of Department Clinical, Benue State University, Dr Godwin Achinge, noted that although hand washing is basic, it is not common in the society whereas, it contributes to ensuring food safety and hygiene.
“CEFTER has started on a good footing by encouraging food safety and hygiene through the training on its basics,” he stated.
By Damian Daga, Makurdi
The key issues in the Niger Delta region are bordering on poverty, environmental pollution and degradation, militancy, resource allocation, inadequate infrastructure among others. Although previous governments have made attempts at addressing some of these issues, for instance the infrastructure problem with the East-West Road, the Amnesty Programme initiated to deal with militancy and a few more others, overall results are not overwhelming enough given the fact that the region occupies a major position in the political economy of the country. Perhaps, this is the reason why issues relating to the environment and resource allocation are still burning.
However, globally it is known that the peace and economic prosperity of any nation are perpetually hinged on responsible and visionary leadership. Apparently, the Niger Delta region would have shared the same fate in terms of this norm, but at present, enduring successes have not been recorded. That said, enough attention has not been given to policy implementation, meanwhile, several policy documents of the Federal Government have had a place for the Niger Delta region since independent, ranging from vision 20:2020, to the Niger Delta Master Plan and the Ledum Metee Committee Report. Evidently, these policy documents have not been given the desired attention.
With the election of the Buhari administration and appointment of a new Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Uguru Usani, expectation in the region is that, he must move away from the failure of the past and urgently focus attention on bringing real changes to address the Niger Delta question. At the level of policy implementation for instance, the Minister should assiduously work at resolving 4 issues that have remained a sore thumb. These are:
Given the change mantra of the current government, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs under the new Minister, Usani, should work with other agencies of government at the federal and state levels in the Niger Delta region, to create sustainable empowerment programmes that will improve rural livelihoods as well as embark on aggressive environmental awareness campaigns. This will reduce the prevalence of high level of poverty and also enhance environmental awareness and conservation among rural dwellers in the region. He can achieve this by first ensuring as a matter of urgency the immediate implementation of the Ledum Metee Committee Report as well as the UNEP Report and unveiling of the Niger Delta Master Plan. The yet to be unveiled document which is a comprehensive regional blueprint for the sustainable development of the area, with objectives that embrace economic growth, infrastructure development, communities’ peculiar needs, and environmental preservation for the development of the oil rich region.
The Minister should thereafter move on to ensure the establishment of three new institutions as recommended in the UNEP report, to support a detailed environmental restoration exercise. These institutions should include the Ogoni Environmental Restoration Authourity, Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Center of Excellence in Environmental Restoration.
He should join forces to push for the passing into law, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which has remained intractable. Another area the minister should focus on with sincerity, purpose and passion is the proper handling of the Bakasi People Restoration. Time is ticking if the minister really wants to bring meaningful changes to the development of the region; the first step is the immediate resolution of these issues.
By Olaoshebikan Clement (Executive Director, Development and Leadership Institute (DLI),
Port Harcourt, Rivers State)
A Dutch appeals court has ruled that Royal Dutch Shell can be held liable for oil spills at its Nigerian subsidiary. The decision overturns a ruling by a lower court in 2013, which found the parent company could not be held liable.
Observers believe that the ruling, passed on Friday (December 18, 2015), could open the way for more cases against the multi-national company.
Judges in The Hague ordered Shell to make available to the court documents that might shed light on the cause of the oil spills and whether leading managers were aware of them.
The legal dispute dates back to 2008 when four Nigerian farmers and campaign group, Friends of the Earth, filed suit against the oil company in Netherlands, where its global headquarters is based.
“Shell can be taken to court in the Netherlands for the effects of the oil spills,” the court ruling stated on Friday.
“Shell is also ordered to provide access to documents that could shed more light on the cause of the leaks.”
Judge Hans van der Klooster said the court had also found that it “has jurisdiction in the case against Shell and its subsidiary in Nigeria”. The case has been adjourned till March for hearing.
The ruling was hailed by rights groups as a victory for victims of environmental pollution worldwide, while Shell said it was disappointed.
For instance, the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) welcomed the court ruling, urging other Niger Delta communities to institute similar action against the company for years of pollution.
Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), said in a statement: “We are disappointed the Dutch court has determined it should assume international jurisdiction over SPDC.”
“We believe allegations concerning Nigerian plaintiffs in dispute with a Nigerian company, over issues which took place within Nigeria, should be heard in Nigeria,” it said.
Shell has always blamed the leakages on sabotage which under Nigerian law would mean it is not liable to pay compensation. But the Dutch court said on Friday: “It is too early to assume that the leaks were caused by sabotage.”
“The ruling is unique and can pave the way for victims of environmental pollution and human rights abuses worldwide to turn to the Netherlands for legal redress when a Dutch company is involved,” Friends of the Earth Netherlands said in a statement.
Four farmers and fishermen, backed by Friends of the Earth, first filed the case against Shell in the Netherlands in 2008, demanding a clean-up oil spills in their communities, prevention of further spills and payment of compensation for the ruins caused by Shell.
In January 2013 a lower Dutch court threw out most of the lawsuit, saying the communities could not hold Shell’s parent company in Netherlands responsible for the pollution which has for years ruined their environment.
At the time, the judges said Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was partly responsible and ordered it to compensate farmers and fishermen in one claim, in Ikot Ada Udo in Akwa Ibom State, but not in the three other claims from Oruma community and Goi in Bayelsa and Rivers respectively.
In the ruling on Friday, the court said that the farmers may take their case against Shell to a judge in the Netherlands, meaning Dutch courts have jurisdiction in the case against Shell and its subsidiary in Nigeria.
Describing the landmark ruling, Geert Ritsema of Friends of the Earth International said: “There is now jurisprudence that means victims of human rights violations or pollution can sue Dutch multinationals in the Netherlands”
ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Godwin Uyi Ojo, said: “Today, we have recorded yet another victory for communities that have been under the yoke of Shell. This ruling sets a landmark precedent that opens the doors for impacted communities to sue Shell in Netherlands for the negligence of its subsidiaries in their part of the world.
“Shell would have preferred that this controversy dragged for eternity until the farmers become weary and give up, but the decision of the appeal court has turned the table on them. The resilience of the farmers will earn them victory”
Ojo recommended that other impacted communities now take their destinies in their hands, even as he added that “we firmly believe that justice will finally be served for communities tossed here and there by Shell’s attempts to evade justice in communities where it pollutes with impunity.”
According to Ojo, the case of the four Nigerian farmers is only the tip of the iceberg. “For decades, Nigeria has been the stage of the largest oil spill on earth. Over the years, an amount of oil double to that of the sinking of the Deep Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 has leaked into the environment. A 2011 report published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) shows Shell doing far too little to clean up the leaked oil.”
Akwa Ibom State will hold its first ever Climate Change Summit next year, the governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, has said.
Emmanuel, who made the disclosure on Tuesday (December 15, 2015) in Lagos, pointed out that, against the backdrop of the recently decided Paris Agreement, the state has concluded plans to develop a State Policy on Climate Change and establish 10 Forest Reserves in the next four years.
The governor, in a keynote address at the Post COP21 Dialogue that had “Climate Agreement at COP21: Success, Implementation & Implications for Africa & Nigeria” as its theme, noted that the state would likewise embark on the comprehensive survey and mapping of forest estates as well as development of the state’s REDD+ Readiness Plan. He added that government would raise 20,000 seedlings for the first phase of the climate change mitigation and REDD+ strategies for the state.
Represented by the Commissioner for Environment & Mineral Resources, Dr. Iniobong Essien, the governor stressed that, in line with government’s strategic plans, it will establish Climate Change Desks in Line Ministries, while building the capacity of Ministerial / Line Ministries Staff, NGOs/CBOs and Media on climate change-related issues.
His words: “The planned Independent Power Plant (IPP) project will utilise the abundant natural gas in the state, which will also be made available for Industrial and domestic use.
“Government has acquired additional 803 square kilometer of land for her afforestation programmes. There are also stretches of old growth African Rainforest in difficult-to-access areas along the coast and boundary of Cross River State and the Cameroons. Protected forests under communities’ control exist in such places as Obong Itam (GEF supported), Ukpom Ikono and Ukanafun.
“The pristine forest at Obong Itam and Stubbs Creek forest reserve are home to the endangered Sclatter Guenon, which is endemic in these area. These ungazetted protected forests are estimated to cover about 1368.5 km2 bringing the State’s total forests cover to 1682.4km2 or 20% of forested area.”
Director-General, Africa Clean Energy Summit, Dr Victor Fodeke, attempting an overview of COP21, said: “COP21 has become one of the most successful COPs in the history of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework on Climate Change). It ushers in a new era of defining moment of global decarbonisation of our production and consumption lifestyle. Through 100% decentralised renewable energy systems that is built on the strategic platform of energy efficiency – as advocated by Africa Clean Energy Summit/Group’s ‘Energy Efficiency First for Africa’.
“Thanks to the earlier indefatigable climate change diplomacy of President Barak Obama that rallied support of China, India and Brazil. However, the world must rally round to back their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) with pragmatic mitigation, financial and technical support for developing countries to drastically reduce the gigatonnes of GHGs to avert global catastrophic consequences.”
Organised by the Africa Clean Energy Summit and Federal Ministry of Environment in conjunction with the Akwa Ibom State Government, the daylong Post COP21 Dialogue featured panel presentations on: Impact of COP21 on Africa, Climate Solutions/Carbon Credits/Carbon Price/REDD+, Climate Change & Public Health, Impacts of COP21 on Africa, Role of Youth in Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation and Akwa Ibom at COP21 – The Experience.
Federal Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, apparently making good her commitment to do more in implementing the recently decided Paris Agreement on Climate Change, has embarked on the inspection of some climate impacted sites and areas of environmental concern across the country.
Her first port of call was Lagos where, on Tuesday (December 15, 2015), she led a team of officers of the Ministry of Environment and National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and representative of the civil society in the state to inspect three sites in the former federal capital city. The impacted sites include: Alpha Beach in Lekki, Kuramo Beach on Victoria Island and Makoko Community at Yaba.
Alpha Beach
According to an engineer from the Ministry of Environment who conducted the minister and her team round the beach, Alpha Beach used to be one of the top beaches in Lagos State before coastal erosion, as a result of sea level rise, started to cause massive destruction on properties around the shoreline and the close by Okun Alpha community. The beach shoreline used to be about 150 meters away from the houses that are facing the shoreline but the ocean has swallowed the 150 meters’ setback in the last couple of years, destroying all the houses along the shoreline including the community health centre, business outlets and dwelling units, said the engineer.
The ruins of the properties and the losses and damages as a result of the sea level rise are conspicuously visible around the shoreline. Some of the residents of the community have been forced to relocate further inland while several others have resorted to squatting on available vacant land around the beach due to inability to afford the rents to secure alternative accommodation.
A resident of the community said: “Every year, the water keeps coming at us, and the devastation has been unprecedented in recent years. About two weeks ago, the community was flooded including the Baale’s (Community Chief’s) house which was about two streets away from the shoreline.”
Some members of the community believe that the flooding was caused by the dredging of the bar beach and the sand filling (land reclamation) of some parts of the ocean to create the Eko Atlantic City, a mixed-use real estate development project that has been dogged by controversy.
But the engineer could not ascertain whether the incessant sea level rise in recent years at the beach was caused by the dredging of the Bar beach and the Eko Atlantic City project. According to him, the dredging of the Bar Beach began in 1990 which predates the unprecedented sea level rise and the resultant flooding. He was, however, of the opinion that the ocean rise is caused by the effects of abandoned shipwrecks within the stretch of the Lagos coastline which, according to him, was acting as a groin to disturb the free flow of the water and the creation of the east and west moles.
The government recently constructed two groins on the water to protect the shoreline from erosion. The groins were constructed with hard rocks and sand and are designed to trap sand from the waters. The minister and her team walked on the groins to see the effect of the flow of waters around the groins before inspecting the damaged properties along the shoreline. The engineer underlined the need to construct more groins but the challenge, he added, is that the cost of constructing more groins could be very high.
The minister spoke with the members of the community who lamented the neglect of government despite their plight. They however requested the minister to visit the community again so that she can be given detailed account of the impacts of the sea level rise.
Kuramo Beach
One of the engineers working at the site of the Eko Atlantic City project took the minister and her team around the estate and explained the progress made so far. The minister stood on the five-metre wall built as a shield around the estate.
According to the engineer, the wall is five meters high because the highest wave that has ever been recorded on the beach is about five metres. He disclosed that there is a plan to add additional three metres to the wall as a safeguard. The Eko Atlantic City is expected to stretch up to Goshen Beach Estate in Lekki, another shoreline development being threatened by sea level rise and coastal erosion. The rate of erosion along the Kuramo Beach cannot be measured yet but the Eko Atlantic City project is expected to reduce erosion around the beach, stated the engineer, adding that the sand being used for reclamation is pumped from the ocean at three separate sites which is about 20 nautical miles into the ocean.
“The walls were built with rock groins which is expected to last for about 50 years. The Eko Atlantic City project has a two-year delivery plan,” he said.
Makoko Community
The minister and her entourage was led by Abel Enikanologbon, the former secretary for Women Affairs at Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA) into the Makoko-on-water Community through a wooden boat paddled by local boat men in the community.
The surroundings of the community appeared unkempt, the water looked dirty and many of the houses were built on stilts with solid waste being the foundation of the houses. The community displayed shabby looking schools, and a hotel where women of easy virtue hibernate. Most social and commercial activities take place on water as women, children and men were seen parading their wares on the boat. Boys and girls who seem less than five years old were seen paddling boats by themselves on the water and going about their different chores.
The minister was at the floating school but she was not allowed to go inside the school by some community touts who felt she ought to have informed them before coming. The minister observed different logging activities around, and fumes from the nearby Oko-Baba Sawmill and saw dust were very visible from the boat.
A representative of the community explained that the Lagos Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) has three offices in the community and they come to collect refuse from the community on a weekly basis. He added that this is not enough as the community generates a considerable amount of waste and even some of the wastes are dumped into the water. This explains why the water channel is full of dirt and partially blocked, he added.
The population of Makoko community living on water is more than those on the land. The community comprises Egun, Ijaws and Ilaje people. The overall community leader of Makoko is Raymond Olaiya Akinsemoyin, a lawyer. The community lacks portable water, sanitation services and toilets.
Way out
It was obvious that the Makoko community needs a thorough clean up and behavioral change to sustain the clean up. Waste-to-wealth initiatives and introduction of clean cooking solution through the use of brickets could be introduced into the community. These projects will need to be more focused and mobilise the inclusive participation of the community to foster a supportive environment for the initiatives to succeed.
Some of the important recommendations coming from the inspection include:
The inspection was obviously an eye opener. It gave the minister the opportunity to see firsthand the impacts of climate change and the loss and damages arising therefrom. She was able to understand some of the underlining issues behind some environmental challenges in Lagos State and how to set priorities to address them.
By Titilope Akosa (Executive Director, Centre for 21st Century Issues)
A recent survey by the George Mason University’s Centre for Climate Change Communication has found that majority of voters in the United States of America prefer candidates who support actions to address the menace of climate change.
Too often, the debate about climate change in the US is portrayed as one between Democrats and Republicans. In fact, study has shown that it’s not. It is, indeed, a debate between most Americans and conservative Republicans.
GMU’s national survey finds that majority of registered Democrats, Independents and liberal and moderate Republicans want climate action, will vote for candidates who will support it and represent the mainstream of American voters. The survey also finds that conservative Republicans’ views are often different than the rest of American voters.
For example:
The survey also finds that the number of Americans who know that most climate scientists think human-caused global warming is happening has increased in the past year and a half.
In a recent study investigating the degree of scientific consensus on climate change, researchers determined that 97% of climate scientists are convinced human-caused global warming is happening. By comparison, American registered voters, on average, estimate that six in 10 climate scientists are convinced (59%), an estimate that has increased since Spring 2014, when Americans estimated that just 50% of scientists are convinced. Democrats’ estimates improved the most (from median estimates of 69% of scientists in Spring 2014 to 75% in Fall 2015), followed by conservative Republicans (from 46% to 50%, respectively).
These findings suggest that efforts to communicate the scientific consensus about human-caused global warming are beginning to pay off.
The report includes many more insights about how Republicans, Democrats and Independents are responding to climate change, including recent positive trends among conservative Republicans.
President of the Lagos-based Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE), Anthony Akpan, at the instance of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently attended a three-day meeting of the Advisory Group for the UNEA-2 Marine Litter Study, of which he is a member representing the Gender and Water Alliance (GWA) in the Netherlands.
The meeting was held from 8 to 10 December 2015, and was hosted by UNEP at its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting was co-chaired by Nigeria (Dr Felicia Chinwe Mogo from the Nigeria Maritime Management and Safety Agency) and France (Ms. Marion Gust from the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy).
The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) of UNEP is the highest level of governance of global environmental affairs in the UN system. UNEA-2 will be one of the first High-Level Intergovernmental Fora following the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York (September 2015) and the UN Climate Change Conference ( COP 21 and CMP 11) that held recently in Paris, France.
UNEA-2 will be held under the overarching theme, “Delivering on the Environmental Dimension of the Post-2015 Development Agenda” and will take place from Monday, 23 to Friday, 27 May 2016 at the headquarters of UNEP, with the High-Level Segment taking place from 26 to 27 May 2016. UNEA 2 will be preceded by the Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum (GMGSF) to be held on 21 and 22 May 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The UNEA 2 High-Level Segment will bring together ministers from all UN member states and will include a multi-stakeholder dialogue involving also heads of inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations including the private sector under the call of “Healthy Environment – Healthy People”.
According to Mr. Akpan, this thematic focus will allow all relevant actors to identify concrete tools available to take an integrated and universal approach to the implementation of the SDGs, including those related to critical areas such as air quality, healthy ecosystems, chemicals, waste and others that may emerge in the preparatory process as well as do develop strategic, multi-stakeholder partnerships to address ongoing and emerging environmental issues.
He said: “For UNEP, it is of utmost importance to ensure the participation of leaders of Civil Society organisations, alongside heads of United Nations sister organisations, programmes and treaty bodies. Only with their active involvement and participation can UNEA become the major platform for international environmental governance, as envisaged at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD).”
He disclosed that Major Groups and Stakeholders (MGS) are invited to contribute to the development of Global Thematic Report on Healthy Planet and Healthy People through a planned E-discussion as well as during the multi-stakeholder and regional consultative meetings on the way to UNEA2. Of particular interest to MGS will be the planned adoption of the draft Stakeholder Engagement Policy during UNEA-2, Mr Akpan added.
Cross River State of Nigeria is among the almost 700 major regions, cities, companies and investors from around the globe who on Wednesday pledged their support for the Paris Agreement, which emerged on Saturday at the close of the UN climate change conference (COP21) in Paris, France.
Last week at the COP, governments of the world under the UN united in action on climate change by adopting the Paris Agreement, the first universal, legally binding climate change deal. The agreement will spur a transformation of global growth and development and open the door to a low-carbon, stable, sustainable future, the French Presidency of COP21 said.
And in the spirit of the milestone development, regions and business on Wednesday promised to quickly and effectively help implement the Paris Agreement and accelerate the transformative changes needed to meet the climate change challenge.
L’Appel de Paris, or the Paris Pledge for Action, is a call to action in support of the Paris Agreement which brings together a multitude of voices on an unprecedented scale within a single, collective statement: “We welcome the adoption of a new, universal climate agreement at COP 21 in Paris, which is a critical step on the path to solving climate change. We pledge our support to ensuring that the level of ambition set by the agreement is met or exceeded.”
According to the UNFCCC, the landmark pledge is a clear signal that the message sent by the negotiations has been received loud and clear and that cities, regions, business, investors and other non-state actors are now ready and willing to stand shoulder to shoulder, alongside governments, to implement the terms of the agreement.
“This is our best opportunity to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius – and pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees – and raise ambition even before the agreement takes effect in 2020,” the UN body declared in a statement.
Essentially, L’Appel de Paris is an inclusive initiative by the French Presidency of COP21 that invites all businesses, regions, cities, and investors to join and vow to act on the outcomes of the Paris UN Climate Change Agreement. It has already been signed by over 400 businesses, 150 cities and regions and 120 investors controlling $11 trillion in assets.
Initial signatories include businesses such as Acciona, Allianz, Mars, Kellogg’s, Tata Group, Unilever; investors like Lloyd’s and Aviva; megacities such as New York, Johannesburg, Quezon City, Hong Kong, Rio De Janeiro and Mexico City; and regions such as Cross River State (Nigeria), Scotland (UK), Chiapas (Mexico) and California (United States).
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, President of COP 21, said: “Non-state actor leadership is key to the success of COP21 and to the effective transition to a low-emissions and climate-resilient future. The world needs you to step up and rise to the challenges of climate change and sustainable development. This is why I strongly encourage you to take bold actions and make ambitious commitments, both individually and collectively, register them on NAZCA, and sign on to the Paris Pledge for Action, to make sure the commitments made in Paris by governments are achieved or even exceeded.”
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said: “COP21 was a landmark, and not just for the Paris Agreement by governments. The extraordinary momentum witnessed before and during the UN conference by cities, provinces, regions, companies and citizens was also a hallmark.
“The Paris Pledge for Action is about taking that momentum to the next level in support of nations as they work towards raising ambition up to 2020 and well beyond—it is about building ever more support by non-state actors who are aligning with government policy as never before.”
The pledge uniquely incorporates under one roof a diverse range of entities that are already committed to quickly mitigate emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. These non-state actors include members of the Under 2 MOU, the White House Act on Climate Pledge, the Montreal Carbon Pledge, the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) Initiative, the We Mean Business ‘Road to Paris’ initiatives, the Paris City Hall Declaration, ICLEI and many more. The pledge is open to more signatories and will spread around the world. All non-state actors are invited to join this call to action in support of the Paris Agreement.
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State at the COP said that the application of renewable energy solution as a measure to minimise climate change challenges is un-African.
Speaking at the Climate Change Conference in Paris, Governor Ayade said that applying renewable energy as a solution to mitigating the effect of climate change will mean that developing countries like Nigeria may have to stop the exploration of its hydro-carbon.
Ayade noted that the exploration of hydro-carbon is key to the development of the economies of a good number of African countries.
He said that there has been so much talk about measure against the challenges of climate changes but that the commitments to these agreements has been very weak. He was of the opinion that the major resources for African nations are the forests while for the Europeans, it is their technologies.
He explained that while Europeans are struggling to sell technologies to Africans, they (Europeans) are telling African to stop deforestation so that carbon can be conserved.
“Renewable energy is not the way for Africans at this point in time, renewable energy means put an end to the sale of your hydro carbon, it means Nigeria should stop exporting crude oil, but they are busy doing research, inventing technology using solar energy and wind power. When all of that happens, when the oil price goes down, when you stop producing oil, what are you going to use as an alternative?
“The in balancing of the livelihood that is the alternative to that renewable energy must follow with development, must follow with technology, Africa cannot be in a haste to adopt renewable technology. I would rather have you use fossil fuel with mitigate measures than to cap it and focus on renewable energy.
“While that technology works for them, it is harmful for our economy and until we provide an alternative economy for now. We cannot cap it.”
He advised that Africa should shut its doors and reinvent itself.
According to Ayade, there has been a growing concern about the reality of climate change, adding that adaptation is not the way to go. He explained that adaptation is like accepting the situation and learning to live with it.
Ayade, who led the African Governors Forum to the forum, said that mitigation as against adaptation is the way to go.
He said: “My optimism has since been burnt to cold impotent ash because strong commitments are very weak and the applicability of all the discussions are not seen in the course of time, so essentially, there is this strong feeling that there is so much talk with little work.
“But far more importantly is the growing concern that climate change is real, as real as it is , African must continue to survive and feed.
Our key resource is our forest, for the developed country, their key resource is their technology. So while they struggle to send technology into Africa, we are told to stop deforestation and maintain our forest stock so we can conserve carbon.”
“As Africans, we must shut our doors and reinvent ourselves, adaptation is not the way to go because it is adjusting yourself.”
“In all of these, there is very little Africa is doing in terms of technology, in terms of even mechanical cultivation of young plants that have capacity for the assimilation of carbon dioxide.
“We have also been very inefficient. But I ask you as we come here for COP 21 what is Africa’s position, what have we brought to the negotiation table, we cannot continue to play the role of a victim,
“Africans own the largest tropical rainforest; we stand at the middle between the West and the East. It is that place that sinks all the carbon dioxide that comes even from the US, Canada, Asia, they all come into Africa.
Africa must have a stronger say and have their own pre COP conference before they come to COP. Africa’s negotiation must be single, firm, clear. Africa cannot come cap in hand always looking for alms.
“That is what I want to say that Africa must stop coming to the international community to seek funds, we must seek technology, seek equality and relevance, because indeed, it is one of the most blessed continent.
“And as a professor of Environmental Science and the leader of the African Governors Forum for Climate Change these are some of the articulations I made in some of the side events I attended.
“Today, our black colour is no longer a colour but an attitude, the black man signifies the man who comes and say we don’t have money, that has to end we don’t have the earthquakes that characterize their environment, so why is Africa always on the international scene seeking fund? Why don’t you seek partnership, why don’t you seek technology? Let’s put an end to that.”
The Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO), touted as a model in Africa, has become a major destination for out-sourced debt management skills and services in nearly two decades of its existence.
The DMO under the leadership of Dr. Abraham Nwankwo has been galvanised to become a leading player in sub-Sahara Africa. And the achievements it has recorded so far has earned it many accolades from renowned global institutions, as it has become a one-stop-shop for effective public debt management.
It will be recalled that the DMO resuscitated the Domestic Bond Market in 2003 when it first issued FGN Bonds. This landmark achievement was intended to restructure the Government’s domestic borrowing which was predominantly short term and to develop the domestic bond market which had been moribund for about 20 years. To achieve these objectives, the DMO in collaboration with other stakeholders introduced several measures to deepen the market amongst which are: regular and transparent FGN Bond Auctions; the appointment of dedicated market makers known as Primary Dealer Market Makers to support the Bond Auctions and ensure an active Secondary Market; a Two-Way Quote based market; existence of Benchmark Bonds; a Sovereign Yield Curve Extending to 20 years and, a diversified domestic investor base.
In essence, a strong and well established domestic bond market had been developed through inherent local capacity without any foreign facilitation.
Based on the achievement of the DMO, the Nigerian Bond Market received international recognitions through the inclusion of FGN Bonds in Global Bond Indices. The inclusions were recognition that Nigeria was one of the few emerging market countries with a robust domestic bond market. Thus, FGN Bonds were included in J P Morgan’s GBI – EM (October, 2012) and Barclays Capital’s Emerging Markets – Local Currency Bond Index (March, 2013).
Since these awards came after the Nigerian Bond Market had been developed, it follows therefore, that they were recognitions for achievements already recorded rather than pre-requisites for the development of the market.
It is important to note that Nigeria became the only African country after South Africa to be included in the GBI – EM and also that there are several other emerging market countries such as Venezuela whose domestic Bonds are not included in any international Bond Index. Their non-inclusion has not limited their markets or economies.
Notwithstanding the benefits of the inclusion of FGN Bonds in the GBI – EM, the DMO continued to introduce measures to attract more domestic investors to the Bond market particularly, non-bank institutions and retail investors in order to enlarge and diversify the Nigerian economy.
Despite the delisting of FGN Bonds from J P Morgan, the Director General of the Debt Management Office, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, insisted that the Nigerian economy remains on a growing path, arguing that the country is operating at near full unemployment of its resources. This, he said leaves the country with all the potentials for real growth.
He also said a country like Nigeria that is yet to tap into its huge solid mineral resources and a well fallowed agriculture sector, then the potential for growth is incalculable.
According to him Nigeria had its own Bond Market before JP Morgan ventured in, and that the Nigerian Bond market has been developing before they joined and that their exit mean little or nothing to the existence of the FGN Bond Market.
Nigeria’s economy has been described as one of the most attractive investment destinations in the emerging markets despite the headwind blowing across most oil producing nations since 2014, and according Nwankwo, the country’s economy will be attractive to investors all the time because Nigeria is still a virgin and a great place for both local and foreign investors.
Since its inception in 2000, the DMO which was primarily established to centrally coordinate the country’s debt has attracted the interest of a host of African countries including Uganda, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and recently South Sudan, to learn Nigeria’s experience in public debt management.
Coming at a time when their country was battling with stifling foreign and local debt, it was inevitable that the attention of the world was glued to the DMO having saved Nigeria from its debt crises and for the unprecedented success of the FGN Bond Market, particularly in reducing debt stock and cost of public debt servicing in a manner that saves resources for investment in poverty reduction programmes.
Back in 2006, Uganda came on a study tour to Nigeria on two occasions, when a delegation came to learn from the DMO model as a basis for institutional arrangement.
In its desire to further developing of its bond market alongside building strategic alliances, the Bank of Uganda also sought to engage Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO), in its capacity as a frontline regulator for all secondary market activities and a platform provider for the efficient listing, quoting and trading of bonds. Whilst acknowledging the impact of the DMO in the Nigerian financial market landscape, with emphasis on technology as a key enabler of its activities, the representatives noted that effective collaboration with other domestic and international financial market infrastructures such as DMO will serve to foster active market development in the Ugandan financial market and encourage cross-border capacity building.
Sudan also came on a study tour to Nigeria on two occasions. The first delegation came in December 12-16, 2005 to learn the workings of the DMO and its interface with stakeholders.
Similarly, another delegation from the External Debt Management Unit in the Central Bank of Sudan and Domestic Debt Unit in the Ministry of Finance of Sudan, visited the DMO for a month secondment programme from Monday, June 23 -Tuesday July 15, 2014 to learn from the Nigeria’s debt relief and restructuring phases as well as Nigeria’s debt management experiences prior to the establishment of the DMO.
Another instance, was a visit by: A delegation from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning of the Republic of Zambia, who undertook a one-week study tour of the Debt Management Office, Nigeria, from 20th – 24th September, 2009. The purpose of the study tour was to enable the Zambians learn how the Debt Management Office, Nigeria is structured, the functions of the Office and how it carries out its responsibilities of managing the country’s public debt and issuance of the FGN Bonds.
If that was not enough, A seven man team from the Zimbabwe Aid & Debt Management Office (ZADMO) in the Ministry of Finance of Zimbabwe visited the DMO for a week study tour from July 17 to 27, 2011 to understudy the processes of establishing and running an effective debt management office in its efforts to set up a centre of excellence in debt management in Zimbabwe.
The World Bank (WB) in August requested the DMO to host a delegation of Kenyan Officials from Kenya’s Central Bank, Capital Market Authority, and National Treasury & Debt Management Office on a Study Tour of the Nigerian Domestic Bond Market.
The main purpose of the Study Tour is for the delegation to gain insight into the developmental initiatives undertaken by the DMO which have led to the remarkable growth and development of Nigeria’s Domestic Bond Market, considering the fact that up until 2003, when the DMO floated the first Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds, the FGN Bond Market which is the pivot for the domestic bond market was in comatose for about two decades.
The Kenyan delegation centered their interest on Formulation of Issuance Strategies for Securities, Policies for Benchmark Building, Primary Dealer Market Maker Programme, Communication Strategies with market stakeholders, Price formation and dissemination in the primary and secondary markets, types of secondary market, architecture, price discovery and transparency.
In accordance with the global recognition of the effectiveness of the DMO, on Tuesday, November 30th 2015, a seven-man team from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) of the Republic of South Sudan came on a five-day Study Tour of the Debt Management Office to understudy the DMO and gain insight into the developmental initiatives undertaken by the DMO which have led to the remarkable growth and development of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, which has earned it, its global recognition.
Speaking on the objectives of their visit to the country, the Director-General, Directorate of Macroeconomic Planning, Philip Ajack Boldit, who led the delegation, said South Sudan was keen to learning the various strategic debt management plans that DMO Nigeria has, adding that they came with high expectations.
“We expect to get a lot of experience in skill transfer from Nigeria to South Sudan, especially on how to manage the debt, it is one thing to get it done, it is another thing to manage it.
“Nigeria got the experience, we will pick up a lot of experience which we can apply to our situation to be better and be able to manage our debt like Nigeria did.”
Also speaking was the Director-General, DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, who said the DMO appreciates the need to reach out to other African countries, and so in DMO strategic objective, we’ve a programme for us to share our ideas, knowledge and experience with other African countries and also to learn from other African countries.
“So today we have received a delegation from South Sudan which came to the DMO Nigeria on a five-day study tour so that they can share from our experience how we have developed public debt management in Nigeria, how we’ve developed the bond market and how we’ve managed Nigeria’s public debt.”
One industry expert, Chief Gabriel Nwonuma, noted that the DMO has been outstanding on debt management, calling for the sustainability in service delivery.
“Governance is a continuum; the DMO should sustain what it is doing considering the economic crisis in the country. I am happy that they have a very competent team that can sustain its service delivery framework. DMO staff are frequently invited as resource persons to various training programmes workshops, seminars and conferences by international organisations including the United Nations and World bank,” he said.
The DMO’s transformation of the Nigerian financial market, has deepened secondary market liquidity and transparency, thus further aligning it with international best practices.
The remarkable growth in Nigeria’s secondary market has contributed immensely to the growth in the overall domestic bond market.
The DMO is on a mission to ensure that other African governments subscribe to its principles of prudent and sustainable borrowing, and effective utilisation of resources by injecting breath of new life over management of internal and external debt through best practices in the way of improved policies, efficient administration, and the sweeping away of old abuses to foster transparency and sustainability.
Nonetheless, the success of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, has not only being recognised by Nigerian’s alone, both home and abroad but has become a model in Africa.
By Ifeanyi Omokwe (Business Editor of The Whistler Newspapers. He wrote in through ifeanyi@thewhistler.ng)
