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Mallam directs forestry involvement in Great Green Wall project

Michael Simire
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Mallam directs forestry involvement in Great Green Wall project

Ahead of the expected presidential flag-off of the Great Green Wall project in 11 frontline states in northern Nigeria, Environment Minister, Laurentia Laraba Mallam, has directed the active and full involvement of the Department of Forestry in the Federal Ministry of Environment in the implementation of the Great Green Wall project without delay.

Laurentia Mallam, Minister of Environment
Laurentia Mallam, Minister of Environment

She has asked the three Directors of Forestry to speedily come up with strategies to fast-rack the implementation of the project in what could be described as the “Mallam Plan” for the Great Green Wall project, akin to the “Mashall plan” of the United States that found expression after World War II.

Giving the directive recently in Utako, Abuja, when she visited the department, the minister said the content of the Great Green Wall project is 90% afforestation in nature and wondered why the department will not be involved, especially given the huge manpower resources available in the department that can easily be deployed to complement what the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the Great Green Wall in the ministry is doing.

While giving the Marching Order to the directors of the department, the minister left no one in doubt as to her resolve to achieve significant and unforgettable millage in the implementation of the GGW project in order to give practicable effect to President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda for the sector.

In an address, Director of Forest Management, Simon Adedoyin, listed the achievements of the department to include:

  • Establishment of Forest Remote Sensing/GIS Facility, which was commissioned on 7th March, 2013;
  • Establishment of National Forest Information System (www.nfis.org.ng);
  • Harvested 3,092 Metric tons of invasive aquatic weeds through the use of 45 Water Weeds Community Committees (WWCC) in 25 states in 2011;
  • Facilitated the passage of the National Biosafety Bill passed by National Assembly on 1st June, 2011 which is currently being reviewed by the National Assembly;
  • Implementation of the 1st Phase of the Presidential Initiative on Afforestation (PIA), for economic and environmental sustainability;
  • Achieved REDD+ Readiness for Nigeria which enables the country to attract international funding for the conservation of natural forest for climate change mitigation and support community livelihoods;
  • Assisted State Forestry Services in the development of management plans for selected Forest Reserves and Wetlands, e.g. Amboi/Baissa Forest Reserve in Taraba State, Omo Forest Reserve in Ogun State, Oguta Lake in Imo State, Lower Niger – Upper Kaduna Wetland in Kwara State.

Adedoyi however drew the minister’s attention to some of the challenges of the department, which he enumerated to include:

  • Paltry budgetary allocation to the department since 2010 till date (less than 0.05% of the Ministry’s envelope);
  • Capacity gap arising from non-recruitment of technical cadres;
  • Obsolete forest sector statistics;
  • Dilapidated field offices and nursery sites;

The Forestry Department, by this ministerial directive, is expected to fully get involved in the GGW project to fast-rack its implementation.

‘Water sector reforms ceding peoples’ rights to transnationals’

Michael Simire
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‘Water sector reforms ceding peoples’ rights to transnationals’

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has urged the Federal and Lagos State governments to step on the brakes on adoption and implementation of World Bank-funded water schemes that seem tailored to meeting Nigerians’ water needs but are actually white elephant projects.

ERA/FoEN position is coming on the heels of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval of a 16-year water master plan which will see Nigeria’s Ministry of Water Resources partnering with the Japan International Agency to implement the project in three phases.

Oluwafemi
Oluwafemi

The first phase of the water masterplan would run from 2014 and 2020, while the second and third phases would run 2021 to 2025, and 2026 to 2030 respectively. The scheme will be due for review by 2030 and will provide the guidelines for private sector participation in the water sector under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to fund the sector.

Water privatisation is also vigorously being pursued in Lagos by the World Bank’s private arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the same institution that is said to have advised the Manila government, designed its water contracts, and then invested in one of the resulting water corporations. The IFC is currently acting in an official advisory capacity with the Lagos government.

Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, had said that the master plan, which acknowledged the inadequacy of government funding of the water sector, also proposed the commercialisation of water services to increase the revenue base of the sector for the maintenance of facilities and development of new ones.

In a statement issued in Lagos, ERA/FoEN described the master plan and World Bank-funded water schemes in Lagos as “merry-go-round” that will neither deliver on the scheme nor provide Nigerians needed water.

ERA/FoEN Director, Corporate Accountability, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: “We are not only disturbed by the minister description of the PPP as a model for funding water supply; we are also worried that the Federal and Lagos governments have started implementing a model that has been tested and failed  in other climes”.

Oluwafemi regretted that the public hearing on the water sector bill held without adequate public sensitisation and critical stakeholder input, even as he explained that, “When something as fundamental as water is concerned, we must evaluate the explicit goals of each “stakeholder.” For us, improving people’s access to clean water is of paramount importance. The private sector sees it in another light. For them, it is profit motives first and this is counterproductive.”

The ERA/FoEN helmsman insisted, “PPPs in the water sector is privatization with a softer name. Aside from siphoning resources from the infrastructure investments that are direly needed, identified water PPPs around the world have time and again caused disaster for residents, including rate hikes, service cutoffs, poor water quality, worker layoffs, and corruption, among a long list of woes”.

Oluwafemi urged the Nigerian government to learn from the examples of Manila, in the Philippines, where results of a 1997 water PPP have been devastating. In Manila, in less than two decades, rates have increased more than 500 per cent, the workforce has been cut, and poor quality which has led to disease outbreaks and the corporations have broken their infrastructure promises.

IPCC sends draft Synthesis Report to governments for comment

Michael Simire
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IPCC sends draft Synthesis Report to governments for comment

Authors of the Intergovernmental Report on Climate Change (IPCC) have finished drafting the Synthesis Report of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and sent the draft to governments for comments on the text.

The Synthesis Report is the final product of the Fifth Assessment cycle. It will integrate key messages from the three recent working group reports: the physical science basis (September 2013), impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability (March 2014), and mitigation of climate change (April 2014).

Pachauri
Pachauri

“This Synthesis Report, integrating the findings of the three working group contributions to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report and two special reports, will provide policymakers with a scientific foundation to tackle the challenge of climate change. It would help governments and other stakeholders work together at various levels, including a new international agreement to limit climate change,” said IPCC Chairman Rajendra K. Pachauri.

The review period runs from 25 August to 10 October 2014. The comments received from governments will prepare the way for the meeting in Copenhagen on 27-31 October at which the IPCC will finalise the Synthesis Report. At that meeting the IPCC’s member governments will examine the report’s Summary for Policymakers line-by-line and the longer report section-by-section in a dialogue with the authors that have written the report. The report will be released at a press conference on 2 November.

The IPCC received around 6,000 comments in the review of the first draft of the Synthesis Report held between 21 April and 13 June 2014. Besides government, experts from the scientific community were invited to take part in that review. According to the IPCC’s procedures, the authors of a report must respond to every comment received in the review process. To ensure transparency, all the comments and the responses from the authors will be published together with the drafts after the report is published.

WWF guide for banks provides plan for sustainable finance

Michael Simire
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WWF guide for banks provides plan for sustainable finance

A new guide released recently by WWF explains how banks can go beyond reputation and risk management to embrace transformative change. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Integration for Banks: A Guide to Starting Implementation shows how financial institutions acting as lenders, financial advisors and capital raising agents can adopt sustainable practices.

Stampe
Stampe

This is the first guide that maps out ‘how to’ steps for financial institutions in the earlier stages of their ESG journey. It shows them how to manage their risk exposure to unsustainable business practices and lead the trend toward green business,” said Jeanne Stampe, WWF Asia Finance and Commodities Specialist.

Banks can no longer ignore credit risks brought on by severe weather patterns impacting infrastructure or agricultural production, water stress affecting production across sectors, or regulations that affect the value of carbon assets or carbon-related infrastructure. Banks increasingly need to adapt to these emerging challenges through sustainable solutions.

The guide provides banks with a toolkit to develop an ESG strategy and an operational framework to integrate ESG issues into their practices. This is an expertise that financial institutions across Asia are seeking with urgency.

Ben Ridley, Asia Pacific Head of Sustainability Affairs at Credit Suisse, commented: “Credit Suisse is proud to sponsor this guide. It provides Asian banks with the background, knowledge and tools to develop a strategy and action plan to embed consideration of key ESG issues into their core business.”

“The call to address environmental concerns has grown increasingly louder over time.  Businesses, whether upstream or downstream, need to work together to do what is right and banks can play a significant role in promoting sustainability. While change will not happen overnight, the WWF guide can serve as a roadmap to provide insights on how ESG issues can be integrated into business processes to achieve this purpose,” said Samuel Tsien, Chairman of The Association of Banks in Singapore.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) will be hosting the first in a series of WWF-organised workshops to discuss the key ESG issues facing the banking sector. The workshop will also demonstrate how ESG risk management can be integrated into their own institutions using WWF’s guide as a roadmap. The workshop will be run in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore and Singapore Business Federation on 9 September 2014.

Magnus Böcker, CEO of SGX and Chairperson of the company’s Sustainability Committee, said: “SGX is delighted to support WWF in its efforts to raise awareness on Environmental, Social, and Governance issues. This guidebook parallels efforts SGX has made with its own Sustainability Reporting Guide for listed companies. Together with like-minded parties including WWF, SGX hopes more corporate leaders will embrace sustainability including diversity and governance.”

“SBF is delighted to support WWF’s Environmental, Social, and Governance Integration Guide. The knowledge and expertise provided will have significant influence on the wider business community,” said Ho Meng Kit of the Singapore Business Federation.  “SBF actively promotes the sustainability agenda through many programmes – such as its flagship Singapore Sustainability Awards – and welcomes WWF’s initiative to promote ESG in the financial sector.”

Women activists enlightened on girl child’s right to education

Michael Simire
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Women activists enlightened on girl child’s right to education

Connected Development (CODE), with support from the New Venture Fund through the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), brought together 17 young women from different spheres of life in Abuja to build their capacities in identifying issues faced when overcoming barriers to girl child education in Nigeria.

Participants at the event
Participants at the event

The workshop took place from 22-23 August 2014 as a step-down training of an aftermath workshop of the Women Leadership4girls’ Education (WL4GE) Fellowship, which Ojonwa Deborah Miachi, A World At School Global Youth Ambassador and the Policy & Advocacy Advisor of CODE, is a Fellow.

The lead facilitator, Ojonwa, noted: “Female champions working passionately to reducing the barriers to girls’ education came together for a two-day workshop on leadership training; technical assistance to document best practices; training on advocacy for girls’ education and support to access global opportunities in girls’ education. The process of advocacy and leadership was broken down to the most minimum level.

“The leadership skills of young women at the workshop interested in girls’ education were developed. There was also training on advocacy techniques, networking skills and the creation of mentoring opportunities between participants and instructors to enable the young women explore numerous leadership opportunities that can build their experience and most importantly, Increase the enrollment of girls in schools.”

Agbeje Naomi, a student of City Royal International Academy, stated: “As a 12-year-old girl, I now know I can take on the role of leadership at any point in my life. I have learned a lot about the challenges other girls face when trying to have access to education and from this training exercise, I know I can now contribute in doing something about it.”

Hamzat Lawal, the Chief Executive of CODE, stressed that this would be a starting phase for the young women activist.

“It is important for young women and girls to take leadership roles in ensuring girls have more access to education. Girls have so much potential to contribute to sustainable development and with the combined efforts of dedicated female champions, every girl can have that chance of going to school, which helps her grow into a powerful and independent person that can change the world,” he stated.

He added: “With the right tools in engaging our communities and policy makers, we would reduce numbers the out of school children and drive demand for quality education in Nigeria. This is why we shared with them our Education Budget Tracker, a web-based mobile tool with SMS integrated to track government & international aid spending as an incentive to hold government to account on providing access to quality education in Nigeria.”

At the end of the two-day training, participants came to a consensus to act more on data advocacy and information for girl child education and also agreed to work together as a team to reduce all barriers to girls’ education in Nigeria.

CODE is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose mission is to improve access to information and empower local communities in Africa by creating platforms for dialogue, enabling informed debates, and building capacities of marginalised communities which will bring about social and economic progress within communities, while promoting transparency and accountability.

Focus on energy and water as global leaders gather in Stockholm

Michael Simire
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Focus on energy and water as global leaders gather in Stockholm

Over 2,500 politicians, business leaders, innovators, thought leaders and practitioners are set to meet in Stockholm in a few days for the 24th annual World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden. This year’s focus is on energy and water, two resources that are inseparable from sustainable development and therefore must be tirelessly promoted in global decision-making.

Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm, Sweden

In over 100 seminars, workshops and events spread throughout the 31 August-5 September World Water Week, delegates will discuss ongoing and future work and collaboration between the energy and water communities, essential if we are to successfully meet some of the biggest challenges of our time, such as providing clean water and energy for a growing world population.

Water and energy are interdependent in more ways than not. We need energy for pumping, storing, transporting and treating water, we need water for producing almost all sorts of energy. An increase or decrease in one will immediately affect the other. To feed into discussions at the Week, SIWI has just released two must-read reports: the arguments for tighter links between the two communities are explored in “Energy and Water: The Vital Link for a Sustainable Future”. One energy field that has been hotly debated in recent years is hydraulic fracturing for shale gas, commonly known as “fracking”. In “Shale Gas and Hydraulic Fracturing: Framing the Water Issue”, fracking and its impact on freshwater is critically assessed by leading researchers in the field.

At World Water Week, the main global annual forum for water and water-related issues, ministers and high-level government officials will be joined this year by CEOs, scientists, heads of UN bodies and participants from over 270 convening organisations and more than 130 countries.

Speakers at the opening session on Monday September 1 include Mr. Torgny Holmgren, SIWI’s Executive Director, Ms. Hillevi Engström, Sweden’s Minister for Development Cooperation, Ms. Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, South Africa, Dr. John Briscoe, 2014 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, CEO Sustainable Energy for All, Ms. Anita Marangoly George, Senior Director, Energy and Extractives at the World Bank, Dr. Junaid Ahmad, Senior Director, Global Water Practice at the World Bank, Ms. Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of IUCN, Ms. Héloise Chicou, AGWA, French Water Partnership. Mr. Sten Nordin, Mayor of Stockholm, and Ms. Karin Lexén, director of World Water Week.

During the Week, the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize will be awarded to Prof. John Briscoe of South Africa, for his unparalleled contributions to global and local water management, inspired by an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of people on the ground. The prize will be awarded to Prof. Briscoe by H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, during a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall on Thursday 4th September.

Other prizes that will be presented are the Stockholm Industry Water Award, which will be awarded, on Tuesday 2nd September, to eThekwini Water and Sanitation serving the Durban Metropolitan Area, for its transformative and inclusive approach to providing water and sanitation services, and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize which, on Wednesday 3rd September, is given to one national team from 29 competing nations by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

FG targets 30% electricity from coal by 2015 – Sada

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FG targets 30% electricity from coal by 2015 – Sada
Musa Sada
Musa Sada

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Musa Sada, said that Federal Government had targeted coal to contribute 30 per cent of power generation in the country by 2015.

 

 

Sada told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the Federal Government was determined to address the country’s power challenge through coal.

 

He said that the ministry was taking steps towards meeting the target by making effort to determine the amount of coal deposit in the country.

 

The minister explained that the quantity and life span of coal deposit in the country would determine the basis of designing the coal power plant to generate power supply.

 

He said that Federal Government would ensure that gas, solar and wind energy contributed to power generation, adding that all the countries that have steady power supply did same.

 

“What we are looking at now is the targeted contribution from coal and we must take the right step towards achieving it so that we don’t get stocked along the way.

 

“It is very important that we determine the amount of coal deposit that we have because that is the basis for the designing of power plant itself, otherwise, our efforts will be speculative.

 

“The problem in the gas power plant is that pipelines have not reached where some of the power plants are located and we don’t want that to happen with coal,” he said.

 

Sada said that there were no coal power plants operating in the country currently because there were factors to consider in designing and running them.

 

“For you to be able to build a coal power plant, you must determine the amount of coal deposit you have and how many years it can last.

 

“Once you start a coal power plant, you cannot switch it off and that is why we at the stage we are now.

 

“Most of the companies we have engaged now are working on the quantity of coal we have because that is the basis upon which power plant can be built,” he said.

 

The minister said that he was not aware of any power generation company in the country that imports coal from South Africa or any other part of the world.

 

Sada explained that those importing coal may be doing so for other purposes and certainly not for power generation.

 

He explained that some of the cement factories that use coal only used it to fire the limestone they used for cement making to save the power that they could have used for that.

 

“Coal is as volatile as any combustible mineral because if you pack a heap of coals here, it has a very high tendency to catch fire.

 

“Storage of coal is not an easy thing because you cannot put coal in a container or in a room; it must be stored in the open and consistently watered.

 

“I am not sure there are facilities to handle coal at our ports currently,” he said. (NAN)

Total Nigeria boosts fight against Ebola with 5 vans

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Total Nigeria boosts fight against Ebola with 5 vans
Companies belonging to Total in Nigeria, made up of units in both the upstream and downstream sectors of Nigeria’s oil industry, have boosted the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease in the country with the donation of five brand new vehicles to the cause.
The vans, of the Ford Pick-up specifications and with electronic fueling cards, have been handed over to the Ebola Emergency Operation Centre, Yaba, Lagos.

 

The company said the donation of the vans is part of its  support to complement efforts by the Federal Government and a number of state governments to curb the spread of the disease in the country.

 

Deputy managing director of the firm, Charles Ngoka, represented the managing Director of Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Elisabeth Proust, at the event, saying as corporate citizens, the Total Companies in Nigeria had opted to be part of the efforts to fight EVD.

 

“This prompted the companies to send representations to this centre earlier this month. The recommendations submitted necessitated the decision to do something urgently.

 

“This is why the Total Companies in Nigeria decided to provide these vehicles as a means of mobility for this centre because of the obvious need to transport cases from wherever they are in this vast state to the centre and back to their homes after treatment,” Ngoka noted.

 

In the same vein, managing director of Total Nigeria Plc, Alexis Vovk, disclosed that with the electronic fuel cards, the centre could refuel the vehicles at any Total filling station nationwide.

 

Project Director of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Abdulsalami Nasidi, thanked Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria for the donation, stating that the pick-up vans would enhance their movement and speed of response to investigating suspected cases of infection before isolation.

 

“I’m pleased to receive these brand new vehicles on behalf of the Federal Government. I thank Total Companies in Nigeria for this kind gesture, which comes at a time we are facing a national emergency on the Ebola Virus. “Before now, we have had to rely on hiring taxis and deploying private vehicles, with the attendant impact on our activities. We will put the vehicles to good use to improve our operations,” Nasi‎di said.

3 dead, one injured as UN helicopter crashes in Sudan

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3 dead, one injured as UN helicopter crashes in Sudan

south sudan plane carashThree people lost their lives while one person was reported injured late Tuesday as a helicopter belonging to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) crashed.

 

Information released to the press by the the mission indicate that three members of the crew aboard the helicopter died while another was wounded when the crash occurred in the Unity State area of South Sudan.

 

The location of the crash is near Bentiu, the capital where government troops have been locked in intense fighting with rebels led by former Vice President, Riek Machar.

 

 

“The United Nations Mission in South Sudan confirms that one of its MI-8 helicopters has crashed about 10 km south of Bentiu in Unity State,” the mission said.

 

UNMISS reported losing contact with the helicopter, which was on a routine cargo flight from Wau to Bentiu at 14:28 hours on Tuesday.

 

The mission dispatched a search and rescue team to the site of the incident shortly after news of the incident surfaced, adding that “Investigations regarding the cause of the incident will begin as soon as possible.”

 

A conspiracy theory has it that the helicopter might have been targeted by the rebels although it has been neither confirmed by the South Sudanese government nor the UN mission.

 

The incident took place only one day after the South Sudanese government and the rebels reached a fresh truce in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

 

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), who mediated the truce, gave the warring parties 45 days to reach an agreement on the formation of a transitional government of national unity.

Nigeria successfully blocks Ebola, has one case left- Minister

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Nigeria successfully blocks Ebola, has one case left- Minister
Onyebuchi Chukwu
Onyebuchi Chukwu

Nigeria has successfully reduced the number of Ebola cases in the country to one, the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said.

 

As of Tuesday, only one Ebola patient remained in isolation in Nigeria, down from the 13 cases the country confirmed since the outbreak of the virus in July, Mr. Chukwu said at a press conference. The deadly virus was first brought to Nigeria 38 days ago by a Liberian-American man, Patrick Sawyer. Mr. Sawyer later died, but after health workers who treated him had contracted the virus.

 

Mr. Chukwu said so far Nigeria has had 13 cases including the index case. Five of those infected died, while seven have successfully recovered and were discharged. Two of the nurses who managed Mr. Sawyer were discharged Monday at the isolation centre in Lago, Mr. Chukwu said. He said Nigeria has been able to curtail Ebola in the country.

 

All the 129 people who were under surveillance have completed the 21day observation incubation period and only one person was found to be symptomatic and is still being observed, he added.

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