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Western states collaborate to tackle environmental challenges

Michael Simire
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A framework document that will assist the six South-West states to address the various environmental challenges confronting them is underway. The document, when completed, would be inculcated into the all-encompassing Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN).

Lagos, western Nigeria

DAWN is the blueprint document put together by all the six states early this year on how to integrate, as a region, towards bringing back economic, industrial, agricultural, educational and other fortunes that the region was well known for, and led to its sterling growth in the First Republic.

This was one of the major decisions taken at the end of a two-day high-level regional meeting held in Oshogbo, capital of the State of Osun, address climate change, environmental conservation and sustainable development in South-West Nigeria.

The meeting, attended by top government officials from Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Lagos and Osun (the host) states, was convened by the Federal Ministry of Environment under the Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the HEDA Resource Centre.

Governor of the State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, while declaring the conference open, said the Yoruba race has common identities, hence should come together had address the challenges facing the region together.

He said the problem of climate is transboundary, and that no state within the region should be isolated as if they can tackle it alone.

The governor said the time had come to jointly address environmental issues that are affecting the region, saying that it could become a harbinger of ill health to the people.

He noted that a lot of people are now being affected by environmental health because of the abuse of the environment.

He said: “Greening is a task for all. It is to promote environmental health, and everybody must be concerned about it.”

While urging participants to develop a framework on how to tackle the challenge, he stated that the governors are ready to implement it and ensure that all the major environmental and conservation measures are followed.

Deputy Country Representative, UNDP, Janthomas Hiemstra, said environmental challenges cut across lines between states, adding that borders are made by man. He said that, consequently, the issues have to be discussed among states as a group.

Hiemstra reiterated the UNDP’s willing to partner through regional integration to address inherent challenges. He added that the concept can be replicated in other regions of the country.

The UNDP boss advised that states in the region, particularly Osun and Ekiti, should conserve the forests which can earn the states money through carbon trading.
There were also presentations from the states on their activities to address climate change. The workshop was attended by the academia, media and environment stakeholders.

Rotary commits $75 million to end polio

Michael Simire
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Rotary International has announced plans to contribute $75 million over three years to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative as part of a worldwide effort to close a $945 million funding gap that threatens to derail the 24-year-old global health effort, even as new polio cases are at an all-time low.

Victims of polio

Rotary, which already has contributed more than $1.2 billion to stop this crippling childhood disease, announce its new funding commitment in New York City on Thursday, September 27, 2012 during a special side-event on polio eradication convened by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Secretary-General Ban, who has made polio eradication a top priority of his second term, issued a strong call, urging UN member states to ramp up their support for the polio eradication initiative, launched in 1988 by Rotary, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The partnership now includes the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Nations Foundation.

The New York event included two panel sessions with remarks by Wilf Wilkinson, chair of The Rotary Foundation; Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation; and top leaders and heads of state from the remaining polio-endemic countries and key donor countries.  The wild poliovirus is now endemic only to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria, although other countries remain at risk for re-established cases imported from the endemics.

“It is imperative that governments step up and honor their commitments to polio eradication if we are to achieve our goal of a polio-free world,” said Wilkinson. “We are at a true tipping point, with success never closer than it is right now. We must seize the advantage by acting immediately, or risk breaking our pledge to the world’s children.”

The urgency at the UN follows action taken in May by the World Health Assembly, which declared polio eradication to be a “programmatic emergency for global public health.” Although new polio cases are at an all-time low – fewer than 140 worldwide so far this year – the $945 million shortfall has already affected several scheduled immunisation activities in polio-affected countries and could derail the entire program unless the gap is bridged. If eradication fails and polio rebounds, up to 200,000 children a year could be paralysed.

Polio cases have plummeted by more than 99 percent since 1988, when the disease infected about 350,000 children a year. Fewer than 700 new cases were reported in 2011. Rotary and its partners have reached more than 2.5 billion children with the oral polio vaccine, preventing more than five million cases of paralysis and hundreds of thousands of pediatric deaths.

Rotary’s chief responsibilities in the initiative are fundraising and advocacy, a role of increasing importance as the end game draws near. In early September, Rotary launched a new, interactive website http://www.endpolionow.org intended to educate, activate and inspire visitors to actively support the polio eradication effort. Visitors are encouraged to sign a petition calling for world leaders to commit additional resources to close the funding gap. The e-signatures will be presented to Secretary-General Ban in New York. Site visitors can also estimate the potential dollar value they can generate by sharing the polio eradication message through social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Earlier this year, Rotary raised $228 million in new money for polio eradication in response to a $355 million challenge grant from the Gates Foundation, which promptly contributed an additional $50 million in recognition of Rotary’s commitment.

Makurdi flood zone becomes tourist haven

Michael Simire
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The Makurdi floods have become some sort of a tourist attraction for many residents of the Benue State Capital.

After much persuasion from family members to pay a visit to the worst hit part of the town by the floods, I drove my two boys, cousin, uncle, aunty and an in-law through the grid-lock Wurukum Roundabout area where they started their sightseeing from the flooded motor parks.

We gradually braved the tortuous but useful bumps along the Makurdi-Gboko Road area of the Benue State University and made our way to Gyado Villa, also known as Ichar Ihyar. From that point, my family members became dumbfounded on the extent of damage caused by the floods.

As we alighted from the car at Kutcha-Utebe to join the horde of sightseers at the new River Benue Bank (pedestrian way) opposite former RCC Camp, I saw the sign boards around Kyabiz Hotel submerged along with the hotel.

We crossed over the highway to the other side and, behold, a large boat came rowing towards us with passengers who had gone on a trip from the new River Benue Bank through the flooded streets of the area. When they dropped anchor, I decided to go on the trip too. My six-year-old son quickly opted to go along with me when my uncle and cousin wanted to tag along but were scared. As for my aunt and in-law, they dreaded the idea of going on the boat ride and stayed back. At that point, my four-year-old son who was initially scared, mustered courage and said, “Daddy, I want to go too.”

As I and my family clambered into the solid boat that was hitherto used to convey sharp sand from the river, the boat finally pulled out into the river for the ride that cost N50 per person. I then made my way to the other end where the boatman was steering, so that I would get to chat with him.

On enquiry, the boatman, who simply identified himself as Zaki (Alias Mai Engine), told yours truly that, although he is a fisherman, he is also into several other trades, especially water-related ones. He went on to tell me that, contrary to the belief that they are making brisk business by ferrying people across the flooded areas, the floods have rather affected their previously booming fishing business.

According to him, a litre of fuel costs N130, so it is still difficult for him to conveniently make much gain. However, he plies the trade to make ends meet as well as satisfy the curiosity of people eager to take boat rides across the flooded areas. He added that he has been ferrying people and even ferried cars from the flooded areas since the floods came.

A look at the depth of the water and the strong current as we rowed past former occupied homes which were submerged up to the roofs, I asked Zaki if he thinks the water would recede anytime soon and he warned, “Oga, this water fit dey here till January next year o.”

As we made our way back to the new River Benue Bank, I wondered how the flooded areas which used to thrive with residents and businesses now thrive on a different form of business – a tourist attraction. That brought one thought to mind: that one man’s woe is truly another man’s fortune.

The beehive of ferrying activity there is not without the usual patronising hawkers of sachet water popularly known as “pure water” and other little edibles such as nuts.

In a chat with one of the tourists, Helen Ikyarsha, she said although she was scared, she had wanted to see the hippopotamus and crocodiles said to have been sighted in the area at the beginning of the floods. Six-year-old Jesse Daga too, after the trip, expressed disappointment on not seeing a hippopotamus.

Another tourist, who stood at the edge of the river, Mrs. Juliet Agbo, told this writer that she thinks the boat rides will help people to come to terms with the extent of damage caused by the floods and thereby learn to appreciate future warnings of impending disasters.

“It is frightening how a once inhabited place has suddenly been wiped off by water,” she added.

Meanwhile, a tourist who pleaded anonymity stated in a lighthearted manner that, with the amount of money collected by the boatmen as charge for a sightseeing ferry, the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) may as well come in handy to collect tax.

It will be recalled that the Makurdi floods, which came early September when the Lagdo Dam in Cameroun was opened for excess water to escape and besides the Benue State capital, it wreaked havoc in its path, stretching from River Benue to River Niger, among others.

Approximately, tens of thousand people have been rendered homeless with properties worth billions of naira and over 2,000 homes lost to the flood reminiscent of the Biblical 40 days and 40 nights flood. The question on everyone’s lips is: When will the waters recede? Will the flooded areas continue to be a tourist attraction and a source of income for the likes of Mai Engine?

By Damian Daga

Experts gather in Lagos for ‘ARTing Climate Change’

Michael Simire
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All roads will on Thursday 27th September 2012 lead to the University of Lagos, Akoka, venue of the “ARTing Climate Change” event being organised by Zero Carbon Africa (ZCA).

The initiative is a green carpet event tailored to showcase climate change impacts on different sectors of the Nigerian society using art – music, interpretative dance performance, poetry, sharing of real experiences and video documentary with local content. It is aimed at raising awareness about climate change and inspire positive actions among young people during the “National Day of Action on Climate Change” on 25th October.

Zero Carbon Africa (ZCA) is an alliance of youth-led/focused organisations and young people committed to championing grassroots solutions to climate change and empowering young people on environmental sustainability issues across Africa. We hosted the first ever Nigerian Youths Teleconference in the history of youth participation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, and an online radio broadcast campaign “Echoes from Rio” live from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during the Earth Summit (Rio+20) in June, 2012 to increase the quality of African youth participation at the conference.

The event will be graced by representatives and dignitaries from both the State and Federal Government, leading environment experts including Nnimmo Bassey – Environmental Rights Action; Christine Kay – Heinrich Boell Foundation; Tunde Ojei – Oxfam Nigeria; directors of Committee for Relevant Art (CORA); youth environmentalists; renowned photographers; movie-makers; and over 1,000people from difference states across
Nigeria.

Climate change, food security: African Water Facility supports new Zambia dams

Michael Simire
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The African Development Bank has approved a African Water Facility (AWF) grant of €950,000 to support a project to help the Government of Zambia develop, test and adopt updated guidelines, which will be used as framework for programming as well as designing the financing, construction and operations of multi-purpose small dams.

The dams are expected to directly improve the lives and livelihoods of an estimated 90,000 people, and indirectly benefit about a million people living in rural areas, thus enhancing water security in more vulnerable parts of the country.

Specifically, the AWF funding will be used to modernise and update the guidelines that govern and promote investments in multi-purpose small dams, with the aim to give greater relevance to the selection of potential dams using criteria based on community interest and environmental protection, as well as to build confidence of potential development partners. This project should ultimately result in attracting the massive investments required to proceed.

The urgent need for building additional small-purpose dams in the country comes as increasing hydro-climatic variability due to climate change has intensified water stress, particularly in the drought-prone areas of the Eastern, Central and Southern provinces.

The small dams would help sustain the lives and livelihoods of local communities through multiple uses, by securing access to water: for domestic use; for agriculture, with the aim of increasing the agriculture yields of smallholder farming; for fish farming; for livestock; and, for various water-dependent activities such as mini hydropower systems, brick-making, tree growing, and food processing.

The small dams will also be beneficial instruments for climate change adaptation by attenuating the impact of flooding.

“The AWF is fully committed to supporting projects such as this one that propose water solutions poised to build resilience to climate change, increase food security and support socio-economic development,” said Dr. Akissa Bahri, Coordinator of the African Water Facility. “Heavily hit by climate change, Zambia will greatly benefit from improving its water storage capacity as a way to adapt to increasingly unpredictable rainfalls – one of the main sources of water for people living in the regions targeted by this project.”

In addition to the delivery and testing of the guidelines, another important attribute of the project is its contribution to design planning and mobilisation of funds to serve as a springboard to scale up water development program, such as the national Integrated Water Resources Management and Water Efficiency Implementation Plan (2007-30).

The project will be implemented over a period of 36 months from the date of grant signature. The Zambia Ministry of Lands, Energy and Water Development and the Department of Water Affairs will be the Executing Agency.

Mailafia tasks environmental health officers

Michael Simire
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Environment Minister, Hadiza Mailafia, has tasked Environmental Health Officers to rededicate themselves to their work by inspecting at least 50 houses per day to remove environmental nuisance and reduce the incidences of communicable diseases, diarrhea, cholera and malaria.

Mailafia

She said in Abuja on Monday during the inauguration of Environmental Health Practice Monitoring Committee that the officers should “abate the nuisances consisting of business as usual, low work output, compromise of professional responsibility and integrity, corruption and loss of impact on the society to ensure that they impacted positively and perceptibly in their operational areas.”

She restated government’s determination to reverse the ugly trend in Environmental Health Management through the recruitment and proper training of a formidable sanitation workforce and the promotion of their relevance and impact.  She appealed “to various employers of environmental health officers at state and local governments, and large private establishments and industries to consider as a matter of urgent priority the increase of Environmental Health workforce through recruitment and training, and also equipping them for greater performance.”

She appealed to the office of the Head of Service of the Federation to grant needed waivers to the Federal Civil Service Commission and other relevant Ministries to employ more environmental health officers to maintain the minimum required number of the cadre to support environmental health practice.

She lamented that the workforce of 7,000 registered Environmental Health Officers was far from the World Health Organisation  (WHO), recommendation of one Environmental Health Officer to eight thousand people, as this has left the country with a shortfall of 23,000 personnel, according to the WHO figures.

The minister observed that Environmental Health Officers had a crucial role to play in maintaining a healthy and sustainable environment and assured that the Ministry would continue to give them every necessary support.

The Registrar of the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria, Augustine Ebisike, commended the Federal Government for the huge efforts already made to enhance Environmental Health Profession in the country.  He stated that the inauguration of the Practice Monitoring Committee would further improve the standard of practice in the country.

Flood: 5,000 homes submerged in Kogi, 370,000 homeless in Edo

Michael Simire
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Lokoja, the Kogi State capital city, is one of the numerous locations severely flooded as a result of torrential rainfall and release of water from the Kainji Dam along the course of the River Niger.

A flooded community

Banda, a town which is about 30 minutes from Lokoja, is also one of the worst hit, with the Lokoja-Abuja Expressway cut into two at this point, making the nation’s capital largely inaccessible by road, a situation made dire by the crisis in the domestic aviation sector.

Residents have resorted to using the canoe to travel to adjoining villages.

Lokoja, Koton Karfi, Idah and Dekinah are among the nine affected Local Government Areas.

In Kogi West Senatorial District, no fewer than 500 houses have been submerged. To ameliorate the effect of the disaster on the people, over 10 camps have been set up. It was learnt that cash and material donations are being received in the camps.

A source close to government described the disaster as frightening, adding that he is more scared as the flood has refused to subside.

About 370,000 persons in over 20 communities have been rendered homeless in Etsako Central, Etsako East and Etsako South East Local Government Areas of Edo State after the River Niger overflowed its banks.

The ravaging flood destroyed everything in its path, including buildings and farmlands.

The affected communities were: Udochi, Osomhegbe, Udaba, Agbavu, Ofukpo, Anegbete, Ukpeko all in Etsako Central LGA; Agenegbode, headquarters of Etsako East LGA and its surrounding villages have been taken over by flood, while Ilushi, Urho, Urhowa and Inyelen in Esan South Esat LGA have been completely destroyed by the flood with the entire people moving to Ubiaja, the council headquarters.

Secondary and primary schools in the affected areas are now housing the people, who were moved down by their various local governmrnts where they are now living as refugees.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole on Sunday flew over the affected areas in an helicopter to assess the situation.

Speaking at Ekperi Grammar School in Ekperi, where over 10,000 persons are camped by officials of the Etsako Central LGA, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Oshiomhole on Security and Surveillance, Emmanuel Oshiogbhele, called on the Federal Government to urgently come to the aid of the affected communities by providing make-shift shelter, food and drugs to avoid outbreak of epidemics.

Oshiogbhele, who described the disaster as monumental, noted that the situation had gone beyond what the state government could handle.

Similarly, Senate President, David Mark, urged the Federal Government to provide intervention fund for states that are affected by flood to enable them meet the current challenge of relocation of the victims.

Mark stated this after visiting the flood prone areas of Kabawa and Ganaja areas of Lokoja. He donated N500,000 to the victims of the flood, who have been moved to a primary school.

He said: “The effect of this flood is devastating although we thank God that the number of casualty in Kogi is minimal. Notwithstanding, you are entitled to your descent living.

“The Kogi State Government will collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that you return to your homes as soon as the flood recedes and the rain subsides. But I urge you not to be in a hurry to return home so that you do not develop water borne diseases.

“What I have witnessed in the state as a result of the flood is saddening. I never thought the situation was this unimaginable. I had earlier visited Benue State too. I can say that nobody has seen anything near this in the last 30 years.

“I have seen the effect of the flood and I will contact the agencies responsible for situation like this so that they can come up with what could be done to help salvage this.”

‘Environmental degradation threatening Niger Delta region’

Michael Simire
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Information Minister, Labaran Maku, has isolated environmental degradation as one of the greatest threats to the Niger Delta region.

Land degradation in the Niger Delta

Maku made the submission in Abuja during a visit to the Civil Defence Academy, at the continuation of 2012 National Good Governance Tour.

He listed other threats to the region to include pipeline vandalisation, illegal refineries and bust pipes. According to him, illegal refineries in the Niger Delta have an adverse effect on the environment.

His words: “Any community that thinks that it can vandalise pipeline is really causing havoc. Our forefathers left behind a good and safe environment for us. The pollution and contamination that is coming from the Niger Delta is great. If the communities do not stop vandalisation, it will cause great danger to the future of the people of Niger Delta. So it is in the interest of those communities and the nation to stop the destructions they are doing to the Niger Delta area.”

He assured Nigerians of the commitment of the Federal Government in tackling the challenges of environmental degradation in that region, even as he commended the Commandant, Civil Defence Academy, Ade Abolurin, for his performance. He tasked all public office to make judicious use of government funding like Abolurin did.

Earlier, the entourage inspected the Inner Southern Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory, which was awarded at a cost of N13 billion in November 2010. The project, which is 65 percent accomplished, comprises four interchanges, out of which three have been completed.

FCT (Federal Capital Territory) Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, said the 3.8km road is aimed at reducing traffic congestion within the city centre. He said that, when completed, the project would reduce pressure on roads in the city centre, especially for those travelling to the airport from Nasarawa State and the South West part of the city.

National Planning Minister, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, said that, under the Performance Contract signed with the FCT Minister, the impact of the project on how it has reduced traffic gridlock and the number of hours spent while passing through the city centre to the airport would be measured.

 

By Laide Akinboade

Need for all-encompassing environment legislation underlined

Michael Simire
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The Federal Government has been called upon to put in place an all-encompassing law to regulate the environment and also address issues that may arise from its breach.

Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun

Head of Department, Akinola Aguda Postgraduate School, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of Lagos, Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, made the submission at an inaugural lecture he delivered. It is titled: “Mounful Remedies, Endless Conflicts and Inconsistencies in Nigeria’s Quest for Environmental Governance: Rethinking  the Legal Possibilities for Sustainability.”

Fagbohun said the lack of adequate and necessary legislations on issues related to the environment is responsible for poor coordination of government agencies in tackling environmental problems as such deficiency lead to overlapping and conflicting roles by different government agencies.

He added that make-shift approach coupled with shortcomings in legislation and overlapping functions of the different agencies saddled with environmental issues in the country are responsible for the haphazard way the organisations carry out their  work. He cited the issue of who should control the erection of  telecommunication masts, which has pitched Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), the National Environmental Standard  Regulatory  Enforcement Agency (NESRA), Urban Furniture Regulatory Unit (UFRU), and several other state environmental agencies against one another.

The erudite scholar added that, in order to build a robust legal framework for environmental management, all the stakeholders should have an input in such a law, adding that the piecemeal approach to environmental hazards in the country cannot adequately provide the required remedy.

The Research Professor of Law with bias for Environmental Law said that there is little the judiciary could do in addressing injustice arising from environmental issues once the law is inadequate to take care of the sector.

He clamoured a wholesome contribution and commitment of all the three arms of government (Administrative, Legislative and Judicial remedies) to environmental issues as the only solution to the ever increasing threat the damage to the environment poses to human existence.

Liberia land grants threaten local communities’ wellbeing

Michael Simire
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Large-scale land grants totalling more than 1.5 million acres1 to Sime Darby2 and Golden Veroleum3 for oil palm and rubber plantations jeopardizes land rights of local populations, threatens local livelihoods and wellbeing of communities, and puts the future viability of one of the world’s most significant biodiversity hotspots into doubt.

Monrovia, Liberia

A new report (Uncertain Futures) released, by the Liberian NGO Sustainable Development Institute, presents testimonies of people affected by Sime Darby operations in western Liberia and highlights the fears of others where the company plans to expand in the coming years.

According to the report, “the situation facing communities impacted by the expansion of Sime Darby’s plantation in Garwula District, western Liberia is dire: the plantation is on their doorsteps, and their farms and farmlands are being swallowed up by it. There are very few
alternative livelihood options.”

According to locals interviewed for the report, Sime Darby did not pay compensation for farm lands to them. They also claim that compensation paid for crops that had been destroyed was inadequate and that forest areas used for cultural practices had also been destroyed and planted with oil palm.

In 2009 the Government of Liberia allocated more than half a million acres of land to Sime Darby without consulting or securing the consent of those living on and using the land. Based on reaction of communities in the counties affected by the land grant, it is highly likely that communities and private landowners in these areas will continually challenge implementation of the contract. According to the report, this might lead to Sime Darby and the government using aggressive tactics to ensure that the company continues to expand, which could generate conflicts that then deteriorate into violence.

On the other hand the government and Sime Darby could accept that the contract cannot be implemented without violating the rights of others and therefore renegotiate the terms. Though this will slow down the company’s operation, it could provide an opportunity to rectify past failures by holding proper consultations with private landowners and communities, and for those with an interest in oil palm development on their land to negotiate a fair deal that takes into account their livelihoods and the overall environmental health of their communities.

But, the report cautions that, regardless of how well the contract is negotiated and how much incentive the government and Sime Darby are able to offer, there will inevitably be private land owners, families and communities who will not want to give up their land for oil palm plantation. In such situation the government and Sime Darby would do well to recognise and respect the rights and interests of these groups. This would not only demonstrate a genuine desire to uphold the rule of law on the part of the government, it would also demonstrate that the government puts the interests of its citizens above all else.

Silas Kpanan’Ayoung Siakor, the author of the report, points out that “the situation highlighted by this case study is about much more than the impacts of a single company.” He warns “allocating large swathes of fertile agricultural land to foreign companies for several decades is dangerous, because as these companies expand their plantations communities’ ability to cope will be stretched to the limit, and it will push people further into poverty, as their income generating activities are curtailed and earning capacities become limited”.

“To avoid future conflicts, the government needs to critically examine its policy on land allocation, with a view to reforming the current processes for allocating land to investors, especially in the agricultural sector. The current approach disregards the rights and livelihoods of those that inhabit these lands, and generates conflicts between the companies and the host communities. A new approach that is developed through an inclusive process should allow for those that would be affected by the proposed project to have a greater say in the decisions regarding whether or not the allocation is made. The new approach and processes should be based on the principles of fairness and justice, and backed by appropriate legislation,” the report concludes.

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