Founder and project director of Nature Cares (a non-profit organisation), Toyin Oshaniwa provides a perspective on the challenges of sustainable development in emerging economies and the importance of spanning boundaries through programmes, such as the International Leadership Training (ILT), a fellowship which he recently benefited
Oshaniwa
Could you describe the current situation in Nigeria with regard to sustainable development?
The concept of sustainability has become a driving force for national development in Nigeria by focusing more on understanding and mainstreaming environmental sustainability in national challenges such as electricity and energy demand, water demand, infrastructural development and good governance. In every debate, seminar, training and summit I have attended in my home country, the term ‘sustainability’ has been used in so many diverse ways without fully understanding and integrating the basic pillars of sustainability. However, this appears to be changing over time. Recent examples of events and meetings on the subject of sustainability in Nigeria include: Promoting Energy Efficiency for National Development and Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Sanitation System for Lagos State Economy Growth and the introduction of “Environmental Sustainability” by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The latter event organised by the CBN was a move that aims at preventing loans to businesses that destroy ecosystems, including oil companies not meeting environmental standards. The new leading principle aims at raising awareness for environmental protection, social well- being and economic prosperity.
How have you been able to span your own personal boundaries through the ILT programme over the past year?
The GIZ International Leadership Training (ILT) Fellowship on Sustainability Management gave me a broad and comprehensive view on the concept of sustainability as related to global challenges. As a social developer in the NGO sector focusing more on the role of environmental education in national development, the ILT has enlarged my professional work life boundaries with information and promising practices of mainstreaming sustainability management through collaboration between NGOs, businesses, and governments. One of the biggest challenges facing emerging markets, such as Nigeria, is how to meet the needs of the present without risking our children future. The learning process through ILT has provided me a good understanding of sustainability in many ways. First, it has defined the goals towards sustainable development. Second, is has stressed that sustainability is the integration of social, ecological and economic performance to attain sustainable development, thus achieving the three pillars of sustainability in unison. Indeed, the ILT is a spanning boundary tool and platform bringing together diverse professionals from various fields, cultures, nations and continents to learn and share knowledge for a sustainable future.
As a change agent for sustainable development, how will you help others span their own boundaries and increase their understanding of sustainability through your transfer project and beyond?
The responsibility of a change agent is like going into the battle field with a common or new strategy that has been neglected or never embraced. My greatest passion has always been the promotion of environmental education and education for sustainable development, an education that is inclusive and transformative, bringing about new values in society, creativity, innovation, employment, economic growth, and respect for mother nature and the environment. Hence the most valuable key in attaining sustainability is “education”, which is the foundation of my transfer project. Thus education is promoted through sustainability training of the trainers in schools, social developers, government officials and small enterprise owner-managers. In addition, I am currently compiling a sustainability lexicon to serve as a working handbook for the basic understanding of terms and definitions of issues related to sustainability and sustainable development. In addition, this book will include promising best practice examples in various developmental areas and industry sectors.
The Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) is seeking the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria towards the adoption of an international agreement on mercury.
Adogame
In a recent correspondence to Environment Minister, Hadiza Mailafia, the ZMWG wants the government to be actively involved when governments meet in Geneva, Switzerland, this month for the fifth and final negotiation on the issue.
The ZMWG had earlier presented its findings on global mercury seafood contamination, with health effects occurring below the level considered “safe” just a few years ago – suggesting current health benchmarks should be revised.
Leslie Adogame of the ZMWG declared: “We highlighted new scientific evidence that for the first time correlates rising mercury levels in the oceans with the growth in pollution and also projects a 50 percent increase in mercury levels by 2050 in the Pacific Ocean if current pollution trends continue unabated.”
He stated that, in Nigeria as well, levels of mercury in the general environment (health and industrial products, ASGM, Oil and Gas) ultimately in fish and seafood have continued to increase significantly since the past two decades beyond permissible levels by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
According to him, “the experience of the Zamfara incident in March 2009 generated global and national concern as a one major chemical disaster and is still very fresh in our memory. Nigeria therefore requires playing a leading role for the rest African countries to stem the rising tide of mercury pollution and finalize a strong treaty.”
Adogame, who is also of the Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria), emphasised that this and other new evidences demonstrate that the mercury threat has grown substantially since the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) global mercury assessment report was completed just after the turn of the century.
“Since 2001, countries around the world have been discussing options to control mercury pollution and in 2003 the UNEP Governing Council agreed that enough was known to ‘…warrant immediate action to reduce global mercury pollution.’ Now over a decade has past and the time for bold and corrective action has come,” he said.
He went further: “The solution is not for people to stop eating fish since the nutritional benefits are substantial and many small island countries, indigenous people and others sustain on fish. While informing consumers about low mercury fish is essential to reduce exposure, it should not be a substitution for the ultimate goal: to reduce mercury contamination and all sources of exposure to the lowest possible levels in the shortest amount of time.
“Fortunately, the world community can come to grips with the global mercury crisis. Since 2009, governments have been negotiating an internationally binding agreement to control mercury pollution. The treaty is expected to include actions to reduce among others, mercury supply, trade, its use in products and processes, and atmospheric mercury emissions, which will ultimately reduce human exposure to mercury globally. Yet so far the negotiations have been slow going.
“This is not because alternatives or solutions are absent; the technology is available to manage mercury pollution – we know how to control mercury emissions, and there are mercury-free alternatives for nearly all mercury-containing products and industrial processes. What is missing is the political will to make the necessary commitments to phase out mercury use, and put the needed controls and alternatives in place.
“Therefore, as detailed in our comments on the final draft treaty text, we call on the Nigerian government to work toward a successful outcome in Geneva; an ambitious treaty leading to serious emissions reductions and mercury use phase outs for our children and for future generations. The final treaty negotiation session in Geneva is our world’s last chance to create a strong program for international action and cooperation.”
The correspondence was likewise endorsed by Elena Lymberidi-Settimo and Michael T. Bender, both ZMWG International Co-coordinators.
Let me stress that environmental issues generally have global ramifications and broadly speaking, no one country, no matter how powerful, can single-handedly cope with the problems linked to the environment. It is for this reason that Nigeria regularly coordinates action at the level of the African Group and also within the framework of the Group of 77 + China.
Mailafia
The African position on the issues discussed at COP18 embodies the Nigerian position and reflects our national interest. The African position itself is derived from the Arusha Declaration on Africa’s Post Rio+20 Strategy for Sustainable Development issued at the end of the meeting of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) held in Arusha.
The African position touches on three broad issues: the Kyoto Protocol, Long- term Cooperation Action (LCA) and The Durban Platform
Issues under the KP which are important to us include:
Commencement of the second Commitment Period by 1 January 2013
The duration of the second commitment period should be five years, that is from 2013 to 2018 to ensure more Green House gases (GHG) mitigation activities from the Annex I parties.
There must be broad participation of parties in the implementation of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) especially in the trading of certified emission reduction units generated from projects.
Speedy disbursement of Adaptation Fund to finance adaptation activities in developing countries.
Long-term Cooperative Action (LCA)
Issues being considered under the LCA include adaptation, finance, mitigation and technology transfer.
Progress has been made in some areas such as adaptation
Yet, we are emphasizing the importance of food security to Nigeria, therefore agriculture should be treated under adaptation
Mitigation remains a knotty issue especially with respect to the scale of emission reduction by the Annex I parties. The levels of emission currently on offer by the Annex I parties are simply not enough to reverse the trend of global warming.
We urge them to demonstrate the political will to have more ambitious levels of emission reduction.
We call for immediate and adequate contribution to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and development of modalities for its immediate operationalisation.
We also call for the immediate establishment of institutions such as the Climate Technology Centre that would provide technological support for both adaptation and mitigation.
Capacity building is also of critical importance in implementing climate change activities.
Durban Platform
With respect to Durban Platform Nigeria is negotiated that
Discussions under the Durban Platform must be focused
Immediate development of Work Programme of the Ad hoc Working Group on Durban Platform (ADP) should be given attention to avoid unnecessary delay;
ADP must be made to work in way that will lead to another legally binding instrument in 2015 to address the challenges of climate change
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We need to intensify awareness, education and mobilisation – Media is a significant partner in this endeavour.
We need more support especially from the legislative arm of Government to institutionalise relevant climate regulations in Nigeria
More importantly, improve funding is required to undertake activities that will address the challenges of climate change in Nigeria.
Hadiza Mailafia is the Nigerian Environment Minister
We journeyed from Calabar and passed through Ikot Offiong before finally arriving at Akpabinyo Township in Cross River State. The Police Secondary School was one of the major landmarks on the voyage to discover some of the hidden treasures in the forest of Cross River. On my mind was the main objective of pinpointing the nuisance palms along the waterways of this naturally-endowed region of the Niger Delta.
L-R: Mr. Salisu Dahiru, Nigeria’s UN-REDD Coordinator and Special Adviser to Minister for Environment; Mr. Janthomas Hiemstra, Deputy Country Director of the UNDP; and Dr. Victor Fodeke, African Union Advisor on Climate Change
The Nipa Palm, known scientifically as Nypa fruticans,had been introduced to the South Eastern part of Nigeria about 100 years ago from its native locations in the Indian Ocean. Two decades ago, Alhaji A.R.K. Saba, Chief Executive of Natural Resources Conservation Council (NARESCON), said that the mangrove vegetation around Port-Harcourt, Opobo and Cross River had been taken over by Nipa Palm, which he noted is more dangerous than the Water Hyacinth whose spread can be controled. Twenty years after, I was back on the trail of Nipa Palm which had become more rooted in the ecosystem of Cross River State.
Odingha Odingha, Chairman of Cross River Forestry Commission (CRFC), admitted in an interview in Calabar that Nipa Palm is one of the major challenges that his commission is facing and the government has put in place some methods to tackle the spread of the nuisance palm.
In order to get rid of it, the CRFC set up three nursery sites at Akwa Esuk Eyamba-Akpabuyo, Esuk Idobe-Akpabuyo and Esuk Okon in Bakassi Local Government Area of the state.
Samuel Njar, Unit Head, Mangrove Wetland at the CRFC, is in charge of the three nurseries which he tends rigorously. The Forestry Commission through the nursery wants to extend the vegetation cover of the mangroves by re-introducing them to check the spread of the Nipa Palms.
Njar took me through a highly-eroded landscape and we meandered through same dangerous cliffs created by erosion until we got to the creeks of Akwa Esuk Eyamba. His courageous words and leading-by holding my hand through the cliff of the sharply eroded crevices finally took me to the destination to inspect the mangroves nursery and the menace of the Nipa Palm. Although Nipa was used over the years by local people to make the thatched roof in their houses, its negative effect on the coastline and economy is more pronounced.
Just before dusk, we watched as fishermen and women tried to earn their living by working on the creek to catch fish, crabs, etc.
Suddenly, I spotted Lancelets, the marine organisms which construction workers had wiped off the Lagos Coastline at Victoria Island where the gigantic construction of the Eko Atlantic City Project had destroyed. It’s an indication that some of Cross River Pristine ecosystems are still intact for conservation efforts.
We later met His Highness Chief Jacob Offiong Okon, Village Head Akwa Ezuk Eyamba and Reverend Anthony Offiong Essien Chairman, Forest Management Committee of Akwa Esuk Eyamba, who assist in coordinating the forest community on how to conserve their forest resources.
His Royal Highness Utsu Peter B. Ekwen, Clan Head of Okorshie, Obudu Local Government Area, said that the British Overseas Development Administration encouraged the communities to look at other ways of making money from the forest rather than deplete the forest into extinction.
Ekwem
In the early 2000, the British Department for International Development (DFID) also moved into the region to encourage the forest communities to look for alternative sources of livelihood. They set up Forest Management Committees including community leaders such as HRH Utsu Peter B. Ekwen. Some of them went into bee farming including the His Highness who seized the opportunity of the UN REDD+ University inauguration at the University of Calabar to sell his natural honey made from bees which has now become one of his livelihood options resulting from the training. Proudly, Peter B Ekwen announced to that gathering that he is now a Bee Farmer. Mrs. Helen T. Ndim from Buanchor Community in Boki Local Government also told the gathering about the enlightenment campaign she had been carrying out with the forest communities and how they can source for alternative means of livelihood from the forest rather than depleting the trees.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Federal Ministry of Environment held a programme tagged REDD+ University in Calabar, Cross River State.
The REDD+ University was meant to equip Nigerian forest communities, lecturers, students, stakeholders, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other experts on the specialised area and basic information on the United Nations programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and soil Degradation, (REDD+).
The REDD+ University event which took place under the auspices of Cross River State Forestry Commission and the University of Calabar was declared open by Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, who said that the state is committed to the protection of its forests from deforestation and soil degradation as enshrined in the UN REDD+ programme. Imoke said that it is the belief of his government that the forest in Cross River is being protected for the benefit of the present and future generation.
Imoke
The governor said that his government would support the UN REDD+ University programme and make sure that it lays the foundation for the state’s forest to be a future revenue earner similar to oil which has become a major revenue earner in Nigeria. Imoke said that it is important that the state looks inward to alternatives to oil as a revenue earner in the country.
The REDD+ University is a major step meant to implement Nigeria’s REDD+ Readiness programme which was approved by the United Nations REDD Policy Board with a budget of United States $4 million (about N650 million). The full implementation of the programme is expected within the next two years.
Joseph Gari, UN REDD+ Advisor for Africa, said that the UN REDD+ University represents a public inception of the programme and it is meant to prepare the knowledge base for implementation.
Gari
During the inauguration of the first REDD+ University at the University of Calabar and Cross River Forestry Commission event, about 200 participants were taught by 25 experts from Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Ethiopia, Kenya and the United States. Amongst the participants were lecturers, students, researchers, journalists, extension workers, community leaders and NGOs.
Janthomas Hiemstra, Deputy Country Director of the UNDP, said that the three-day intensive UN REDD+ University course in the country is expected to equip participants on technical and policy issues and presentation on projects that provide lessons and best practices in the area of sharing of REDD+ initiatives from other parts of the world.
Hiemstra said that the programme was designed to create sustainable environmental protection practices that will be linked to solid political affairs and governance in Cross River State as a model for the country. The UNDP Deputy Director counselled that it was imperative to create a conducive atmosphere where REDD+ can outlive any administration. He commended Governor Liyel Imoke for his passion in making Cross River State a model for sustainable development practice linked to the conservation of forests and the REDD+ programme.
Our forest initiative and tackling the wild Nipa Palm, by Odingha
Odingha
Odingha Odingha is Chairman of Cross River Forestry Commission. A recipient of many international awards, Odingha spoke to Tunde Akingbade in Calabar. Excerpts: You are the Chairman of Gross River Forestry Commission. You have also participated on the global platform on Governors Forum on Forestry. What is the current position on UNREDD+ University; what
next?
As far as UNREDD+ is concerned, it’s one of climate change programmes and you can see that it’s the easiest and fastest way to carry out mitigation of the problem of climate change. It is low cost effective and it’s a lot cheaper. As you see the UNREDD+ is going on. We in Nigeria and Cross River State are carrying out a lot of sensitisation among the people because before people begin to implement a programme, they must first of all understand it. The first step is to get the exposure to the knowledge.
So, now, we are trying to digest that knowledge, assimilate it and we also want to get the knowledge down to the community level so as to fast track the process of implementation. Our approach is that we target the communities. We have to make people who live in the communities understand so that within few months, we will train more people. Remember what Janthomas of UNDP said, that we can bring natural resources at community level at tandem with democratic governance. So that’s next step we are taking.
There are fears that the global economic crisis might affect ecological funding. Professor Emmanuel Oladipo has also stated this position at different fora and asked Nigeria to look inwards. Cross River State, from what I know from Ex-Governor Donald Duke to Governor Imoke, has been looking inwards. What is driving Cross River State?
We believe one of the greatest assets we have in Cross River State is the forest. That is our gold. We also believe with or without UNREDD+, we will continue to manage our forest. However, we see UNREDD+ as a means of helping us to manage our resources the more. Our Governor, His Excellency, Senator Liyel Imoke, has said it clearly that one of our assets is our forest. We have budgetary allocation to protect our forest and we believe in it. The Governor believes in it. We are not looking at the global economic crisis in the protection of our forest.
I have been in Calabar for days now, and I have been under so much heat your office is under trees, there is air conditioner here and there is heat. Your office is under trees, there is air conditioner here and there is heat. If we have no trees in Calabar, what do you think will happen?
It’s obvious that the level of humidity in this part of the country is high yet there is heat as you observed. Where there are no trees, people will start to experience heat waves. Experience has shown that it is important that we keep trees. There was a big storm earlier this year which pulled down trees. Imagine if those trees were not there, the storm would have pulled down other things including houses. We are not letting go the scheme to plant more trees. We will plant more trees. We will plant more trees and reach the goal of five million trees so as to recover our trees that have been lost over the years.
What is happening to the animals in this region?
We have animals moving from Cross River to Cameroon and vice versa. We call the area Cross River Bio-Region. We have parks in Cameron and a corresponding one from Cameroon down have. As far as animals are concerned, there are no boundaries. The gorillas and the elephants move freely from one area to another.
They don’t take passport or visa for their movement?
No, they don’t take passport or visa before they move from one territory to another. They don’t even need customs or immigration to regulate their movement. Another thing is that during one particular season, you may see some animals in a particular region going to another region. In fact, you see some animals resident in Nigeria in Cameroon, so the boundaries are artificial. It was the creation of the colonial masters for administrative purposes and we inherited that. We have an initiative on Trans Boundary relationship for Conservation. This is to buttress the point I am making.
Can you give is an insight into Afi River forest and Boshi/Okwango area?
We call the area Afi complex. What is going on under the Afi Complex is what we call the Afi Conservation Programme. We have the Afi Wild Life Sanctuary; also have the Pandrillus for conservation and we rehabilitation of some endangered species – the drill monkeys, the gorillas. These things are going on there. The activities are quite intensive.
The swallow birds are there. The large gorillas are there. What we need to do is how to package the place and get private sector to be involved.
The private sector should be interested in it. What we want to do is to make the place an eco-tourist destination. The private sector should be interested.
Which means you are looking at Eco Tourism to fetch a lot of money in the future for Cross River State?
Yes. We know that is the fastest growing Sub – sector. The endangered species such as the elephant and the swallow birds that are thought to be rare are coming up there. Conservation can bring tangible monetary rewards.
What is going on with this Nipa palm and the nuisance they have become to Nigeria?
What happened is this. About 100 years ago, the colonial masters introduced this plant into this environment. The Nipa palm has the tendency to spread quickly. It’s been spreading and colonising areas that have been previously occupied by the mangroves. The mangrove is the spawning ground for fishes and other marine
organisms. The problem now is; how do we contain the wild Nipa palm so that it will not destroy our fishing industry? How do we carry out a mangrove management?
Can we partner with people who have what it takes to bring out the economic use of the mangrove? How can we also turn Nipa Palm to a viable economic opportunity? So, these are the challenges we have. This is a serious issue. It is colossal to invest money to destroy Nipa palm. Some studies have shown that Nipa Palm can be used as animal feed. It can be used to produce chemicals. So we have all these kind of possibilities and we will like investors to take advantage of these and explore its uses to make money. However, we believe in the long run, it is better to have the mangrove than the threat of Nipa Palm.
Do you have the threat of ocean surge from, Atlantic Ocean or coastal erosion problem?
Yes, of course we have the threat of the rising sea level because of climate change. You know when the ice melts in the polar region, it will go into the sea and the sea level to rise. With that it will bring water from the ocean. Unfortunately our coastline has not been protected. So the coastal communities are very vulnerable. So, there is tendency that this pool towards the coast will make the impacts of climate change quite serious. We hope that with mitigation and adaptation programmes, we will be able to protect our coastline. If not our coastal cities will be submerged as a result of melting ice at the Polar region due to global warming. There is need to do something about these areas all the way from Lagos. Even our oil installations are at risk. We seriously have to
address the impact of climate change on the coastal areas.
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Our forest resources and experience with Jathropher in Jigawa –Yisa Mohammed
Alhaji Yisa Mohammed, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Jigawa State
Alhaji Yisa Mohammed, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Jigawa State, spoke to Tunde Akingbade on what Jigawa State is doing with tree planting and using it to empower the youths and reduce poverty in the state. Excerpts:
What are the peculiar environmental challenges that you are facing in Jigawa State?
There are a lot of environmental challenges in Jigawa. They range from land degradation to desert encroachment.
In terms of desert encroachment, how much of Jigawa State is being troubled by this phenomenon? Is it like a quarter of the state?
You know Jigawa State shares borders with the Niger Republic and our Local Governments have to share these borders mostly affected by this desert encroachment. About 12 local governments are affected out of the 27 we have in Jigawa State.
And, what is the government doing to help people to adapt to this desert encroachment?
What the government is doing now is to provide tree seedlings. With the coming of the present government in 2007, one of the main tasks that are being attended to is desert encroachment. The governor has directed us at the Ministry of Environment that we should do everything possible to provide enough seedlings to be distributed to the communities and institutions, free of charge for planting. That will help us to reduce the menace of desert encroachment. Right now we started in 2008, we produced three million seedlings, then from 2008 and 2009 till date, every year we used to produce over two million seedlings with support from the state government and we have been recovering some of the degraded forest reserves, degraded land. I must state that these measures also serve as an economic empowerment to the community. These are some of the efforts of the government towards reducing desert encroachment.
With the problem of climate change and desertification, the heat must also have affected some river basins. Have you found places where some rivers dried up or are drying?
Well, actually, the main river, that is River Hadeja which has been overflowing was reduced by the construction of Tiga Dam in Kano State. So, the inflow is always there, but not as much as we expect. And the river flow is year round. It has not been affected. And if you come down to the savannah area of Jigawa State, some of the rivers used to dry up. Maybe in the dry months, most of the rivers will dry as a result of the climate change.
And people find it difficult to get drinking water?
Well, you know, largely in Jigawa State, we depend on underground water. So, many of the communities will have their open wells, bore holes and motorised water pumps, that’s the source of our water, we don’t depend on river water.
I remember sometime ago the problem of Tiga Dam, over two decades ago, somebody was building his house along the river course. Do you still have people constructing along the course of Tiga River?
No, apart from Tiga and Gbagoda dams, there’s no other dam along that course for now.
Now, let’s go to the Jathropher tree that you are planting. What inspired you, your government to be doing that?
Okay, like we say that our government is for the poor. So whatever the government will do to empower he citizens of Jigawa State, we will do it. We have got this idea of Jathroper from an environmental consultancy firm doing it and we have seen it that, if that is the case, the government has come to venture into this programme so that the people can be empowered. Like you see in our presentation we made in Abuja, we have now established over 6000 hectares of this Jathropher plant produced by the government, but the government is doing it as a pilot scheme, so that the people around will see the benefit, and they can also copy and begin to do it. Now, there are a lot of NGOs that have shown interest on this our Jathropher plantation, there are some that are willing to come and establish refinery, that will provide bio-diesel and there are some that are willing to come to use the chips for fertiliser. Locally, we use the chips for soap making. You see, if the community will adopt this strategy, soap making, the fertiliser which is of more nutrient than the conventional fertiliser we are talking of, I can assure you the people and the community will be empowered. More so, the firm that will establish the refinery will also provide free electricity to the communities around using the bio diesel. So I think that one; this will be a great benefit to the community and they will be empowered. When the factory is established, the people around will be the employees of this company.
So in a way, you are also trying to fulfil the Millennium Development Goal, using all kinds of avenue through this tree planting?
Oh yes! The Governor of Jigawa State, all he is thinking about is his people at the lower level and how he will empower them. The governor will do everything possible to empower the people. So what we are doing with Jathroper is a starting point. There are other activities that we use to empower the communities. Like the government also created a new Ministry of Economic Empowerment. You see, we gather the unemployed youths, in various Skill Acquisition Centers, and we give them a sort of training, like welding, leather work, carpentry, plumbing, mechanical work. We are doing all these in Jigawa State, all in an effort to reduce poverty.
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The treasure in Moringa tree and Abia State experience, by Ogwu
Ogwu
Dr. Patrick Ogwu teaches Environmental Resource Management, Environmental Impact Assessment and Forest Impact and Sustainability Science at the Abia State University. He has been responsible for several green initiatives on the university campus and he is passionate about the resources in the forest and the efficacy of Moringa tree. He spoke to Tunde Akingbade. Excerpts:
You are so passionate about planting and use of Moringa tree. How did this start?
We started this campaign about Moringa in 2007 when we were talking about the problem of how to get the private sector involved in forest conservation. We knew very well that if you plant any Iroko tree today, it will take about 30 to 40 years to mature. So what do you do? Do you just go on spending money for 30 years? If you do that people will say you are mad. So we began to talk about how you can reduce the cost. That was the first presentation made on Moringa. If you plant an Iroko or Mahogany, 10metres space interval, you have the opportunity of using Moringa seedlings one metre interval in that order and within one year, you begin to harvest money to which you can maintain the forest estate. That was the first contact and people were asking; what is Moringa? What is Moringa? I brought out from my bag the processed Moringa powdered. And they saw it. Incidentally, Moringa is everywhere.
It’s like the Moringa is everywhere in this compound, just like the Abia State University experience?
You saw them! We are ignorant, that’s why we cut them down. So, the second point we want to make is that every single plant has a function, but because we don’t know what it was created for, we begin to cut them down. In fact, most people are paid to destroy plants. When you employ a gardener whose work is to destroy and the person is in your pay roll, you are a destroyer. So Moringa experience is one single thing that will tell you that one single plant can meet all the Millennium Development Goals, all of them, one single plant! We went into research on Moringa and we discovered that a lot has been done on Moringa right from 1945, when Dr. Marcus did a Ph D on the composition of Moringa. In Pakistan, so many people have done a lot of work on Moringa.
Where was Dr. Marcus from?
He is a Canadian, from Vancouver. If you go to Vancouver, there’s a Moringa that is preserved with an inscription; Please don’t touch! This is because they know the value there. But here we don’t k know
the value and the research that has been done on Moringa shows that Moringa can cure almost everything. We have been in the business trying to give Moringa to those who have very high level of Cholesterol. Anybody whose fasting blood sugar is above 95 is Diabetic and Moringa powder is capable of bringing down blood sugar, in fact stabilising it and will enable one to carry out what we call Gluco Neo Genetics, ability of the system, the kidney and the liver to store excess glucose and bring back to the blood stream depending on the need. That’s what we call Gluco Neo genetic. There are evidences to prove this. Recently, somebody was condemned by a medical doctor, because his Fasting blood sugar was above 500 and has shown all kinds of complication of Diabetics including, impaired vision and inability of wound to heal, so we rushed one bottle of Moringa powder and .within four days, the Fasting blood sugar crashed from 500 to 250, and within one week, the Fasting blood sugar crashed to 140.
What is Fasting blood sugar?
Fasting blood sugar is fast, just like breakfast. If you don’t eat for six hours, you’re said to be fasting. It’s an indication, because if you just eat a bowl of ‘eba” now and you go for test, that will not be a good index of what sugar level you have. So you have to fast before you go for the test.
So they take the measurement after?
Yes, after not eating for six hours, you go and take your blood sugar. There are so many instrument that people can use. You can stay at home using acute test. Its digital so you can see the result immediately. We have also done this for people who have hypertension. It’s a very simple test. You know it’s something you tie round your hand and you can find out this thing. So many people with hypertension have had their blood pressure stabilized.
I was talking to a group of medical doctors, they went to school, medical school and were taught Chemistry, Physics and Biology. They know about titration and they know about Boye’s Law and Charles Law. They know that as volume increases, pressure will crash. That is why, when a patient comes to a medical doctor, who has hypertension, they will recommend a drug that will dilate their vessel, so that the volume that is available is increased, so that is the mechanism with which the pressure is reduced. They were not taught they have plants that have all the potentials, genetic resources that are so complex and curative and they can heal. Because some don’t know about that, the first thing they do is to condemn every single plant, except the one that has been sensitized. The combination therapy they use in malaria drugs now is an herb. Because some people don’t know that, either they call it alternatives, but some of them will just out rightly describe it primitive. This day, they have coined other things about alternative, herbal medicine and so on.
Moringa is not native to Nigeria?
Well, botanically speaking, it is native to India.
How did it come to Nigeria?
Well, Moringa for a long time has been associated with the Northern part of the country. They call it Ogele, you know in the North, they are more informed when it comes to herbs. Moringa is native to India but it is almost everywhere you find settlement of the Hausa. You find Moringa around that place and they have been using it and they know it cures, but have not been able to discover why it is used. They use it in their soup.
Chief Giwa Bisi Rodipe used it to cook for both of us in Ijebu-Ode at his Forestry Demonstration Centre?
You can use the leave to replace your Ugwu vegetable. But the dried leaf is 20 times more potent than the fresh ones in terms of carrying the active ingredient. It has more protein, more calcium than bone and all its nutrients have more vitamin A than carrot. That is why they call it a miracle plant. So when you hear that Moringa is curing arthritis, it is because of the high content of calcium that it contains. Or that it is curing somebody’s eye problem, it is because of the high content of vitamin A it contains. That it is healing is because of the protein and amino acid it contains.
What do you teach in Abia State University?
I teach Environmental Management and my Department in Abia State University is Environmental Resource Management. I also teach Environmental Impact Assessment and Forest Impact and Sustainability Science and in addition quantitative techniques. Those are the courses that I teach. My basic degree is in Horticulture and Landscaping, but my other degree Masters and PHD are in Environmental Management.
You are responsible for the greening of Abia State University and you’ve planted over one million trees?
My other name at Abia State University, if you come in and ask for me is The Lecturer who has been beautifying the Campus. If you ask for that, they will just bring you to my Department. When I was employed in Abia State University, I decided to initiate what I call the Green Citizen Club and within this club, we were able to do what we call sustainable campus programme, where we use “pure water” nylon sachets that littered everywhere. We picked them as a resource for stocking plant. And in the last three years, we’ve been able to plant trees and manage resources on the campus. Every single thing, we can cause it to take root. For example, you know, Cane doesn’t have leave and it doesn’t have root and you know once anything takes root, it will begin to produce leaves. So I am trained to induce rooting in every plant material and that’s what gives me an advantage to start the University Education project.
By Tunde Akingbade, who was in Calabar and Akwa Esuk Eyamba
The people of Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State have asked the management of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to stop the gas flaring in their area as the act causes environmental damage to their community.
Chairman, Oil and Gas Committee of Nembe Kingdom, Comrade Nengi James Eriworio, recently led the over 300 aggrieved women and youths of the community to shut down SPDC’s oil installations in the area.
“We demand that SPDC stop and put to a halt to any further flaring of gas along the Nembe creeks and its environs for the protection of our life and the property is our exclusive preserve,” Eriworio said.
Gas flaring entails burning off the natural gas associated with the crude oil during extraction in places where there is no capacity or infrastructure to trap and make use of the gas. It is a process by which unusable or excess natural gas is released by a pressure valve and burned – releasing tonnes of carbon dioxide (Co2) into the atmosphere and contributing to the global warming – and thus the climate change – scourge. .
In the 1960s and 1970s, natural gas used to be continually flared in Texas, US and Saudi Arabia. But, in more recent years, Russia and Nigeria flare the highest amount of natural gas.
Flaring natural gas has pumped out about 110 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year, representing about 0.5 percent of the world’s Co2 emissions. The act of gas flaring has reduced due to the potential energy use/commercialisation of associated gas, and has led more oil extracting companies to devise means to trap and channel the gas for energy. Gas flaring has also reduced due to more awareness of the significant health and environmental effects it produces as well as the fact that the emitted Co2 is a major driver of climate change.
But this has not been the case in Nigeria, where government has controversially been lenient with oil producing firms, who are notorious for being reluctant to put in place machinery to trap and channel the gas for energy production and thus curb the act. In Nigeria, flaring associated gas has been illegal since 1984 and the Nigerian government has set up several deadlines to end the practice, but the act continues till this day The much-publicised 2012 flare-out deadline has, once again, been shifted.
Eriworio, a human rights activist and presently chairman of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in Bayelsa State, listed the reasons for the Nembe youth’s shutting down of SPDC installations to include: brazen undermining of the supreme traditional stool of Nembe Kingdom, inadequacy of development and unjust marginalisation of Nembe people, as well as and lack of social amenities in the kingdom.
He said the women and youths of the communities voluntarily participated in the shutting down of the facilities as, according to him, the Nembe people have immensely contributed to oil production in the country.
Eriworio also accused SPDC of polluting the ecosystem in the area, saying that over four spills had occurred in the area due to the activities of SPDC. He claimed that the company had never participated in the cleaning up of the spills caused by its facilities.
“We resist attempts by anybody and SPDC to divide us, Shell should not use any divide-and-rule system to rule Nembe community.
“We also demand for 60 percent of all contracts from SPDC or the company should pack out from the Kingdom,” he demanded.
Nembe lamented that communities making up the Nembe Kingdom produce over 120,000 barrels of crude daily, but that the communities do not have a single staff with the company and lacks constant electricity.
One of my mentors, Akin Jimoh, had said in July 2011: “Climate Change will be one of the biggest stories of the 21st century”. Those words gingered my passion on reporting this global phenomenon, which is increasingly becoming a key component of governance.
US President, Barak Obama
As a Boot Camp fellow of the Knight Science Journalism 2012 programme on Energy and Climate Change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), I am filled with excitement by the opportunity to acquire more knowledge on the topic.
The first day’s programme featured lots of great speakers who dissected climate change from different perspectives. When Professor David Acher from the University of Chicago had his lecture with us through Skype, I realised that climate change means differently to the American people. The realisation that I was being confronted by this was heart breaking. Climate change was not really the biggest stories of the 21st century but climate change means economics to an American.
During Professor Henry Jacoby’s lecture, I saw more of the econometrics of climate change to the America government and people. He highlighted the past and future of the oil and gas sector. When he said the US government was now increasing domestic production of oil and would reduce foreign dependence, the Nigeria market and its oil-dependent economy came to my mind. After President Obama won the presidential election, he stated that the US would reduce importation of oil and, Nigeria, being a huge supplier, many of us back home were concerned. For the economy of Nigeria, oil has been her backbone for the past 50 years. So the US reducing importing oil from Nigeria would potentially affect our economy.
But President Obama had to improve the US economy and reduce cost, build domestic oil production. A member of the Obama administration, Professor Joseph Aldy, spoke extensively on what the US government is doing on energy and climate policy. In his presentation, I observed a lot of domestic measures undertaken by the US government to reduce carbon emission. The carbon and tax cut is noteworthy. I asked Professor Aldy that, as a global power, why isthe US government not active on the negotiating table in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings on carbon reduction? His answer was shocking but made a lot of sense to me. The US government has always been working on policy towards carbon and tax reduction but the other Head of States see the UNFCCC conference as a time to discuss carbon economy and tell what should be done. UNFCCC can’t dictate what countries should do or not do about carbon emission or reduction, he stated.
The American economy is dependent on the energy sector and industry, and a sudden policy on carbon is going to hurt her economy. As a global power, climate change means a lot to the US economy. What happens to the peoples’ jobs, livelihood? Climate change to the American public is a topic that should be discussed with caution. When I asked Professor Aldy why climate change was not part of President Obama’s campaign, he said it was not a topic treated by the Romney camp, so why bring up an unpopular issue to the front burner? An impact of climate change during the Obama campaign was the speedy response to victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York and environs, which is still not seen as an effect of climate change or sea level rise but a storm surge.
My conclusion on what climate change means to an American is that when more climate realities such as massive flooding due to excessive rainfall, migration due to sea level rise, and diseases from heat wave occur, maybe climate change would mean much more than just economics.
A report seeking to expand access to pro-poor energy services in the country has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to set aside 10 percent of the existing power intervention fund for pro-poor energy financing.
Eleri
Besides seeking the use of a proportion of the Ecological Fund to finance cooking energy, the report likewise clamoured the establishment of a donor’s platform on pro-poor energy; even as it urged the mobilisation of civil society in providing community-level energy services.
Titled: “Expanding access to pro-poor energy services in Nigeria,” the report was prepared by the International Centre for Energy, Environment & Development (ICEED) in collaboration with Christian Aid.
Recommending a number of action points for expanding access to energy services that benefit the poor, the study called on the Federal Government to launch an ambitious national rural electrification programme, while establishing a national cooking energy programme. It also called on the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to establish a clear framework for the utilisation of the Consumer Assistance Fund.
Ewah Eleri of ICEED said: “Nigeria experiences a remarkable paradox – the abundance of energy resources and widespread energy poverty. About 15.3 million households have no access to grid electricity. Seventy-two percent of the population depends on traditional fuelwood for cooking. Contrary to the expectations of the National Energy Policy and Vision 2020, deepening poverty has forced a reversal in the transition to modern and efficient energy forms. Today, more Nigerians are climbing down the energy ladder – moving from electricity, gas and kerosene to fuel wood and other traditional biomass energy forms. The Nigerian government’s response to this challenge has been inadequate, and funding pro-poor energy access is in decline.”
According to him, the report finds a significant decline in political interest for expanding electricity services to rural areas.
“Even though Nigeria has embarked on ambitious power sector reforms, ensuring that electricity reaches the poorest has over the years taken a back seat. Not only is investments in rural electrification in decline, Nigeria has no history of providing annual budgets for cooking energy programmes. Today, 95,300 Nigerians, mostly women and children die annually from smoke coming from the use of fire wood.”
Eleri noted that the report is being launched at a time the United Nations declared 2012 as the year of Sustainable Energy for All.
“It seeks to support a new momentum to launch energy access on the national policy agenda. The report presents new evidence of the growing energy poverty in Nigeria. It analyses the level of government, private sector and donor funding for energy services that benefit poor people and reviews international best practices in expanding access to energy services,” he added.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has said that, at its Eighteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 18) held recently in Doha, Qatar, governments took the next essential step in the global response to climate change.
Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
According to the UN body, countries have successfully launched a new commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, agreed a firm timetable to adopt a universal climate agreement by 2015 and agreed a path to raise necessary ambition to respond to climate change. They also endorsed the completion of new institutions and agreed ways and means to deliver scaled-up climate finance and technology to developing countries, it added..
“Doha has opened up a new gateway to bigger ambition and to greater action – the Doha Climate Gateway. Qatar is proud to have been able to bring governments here to achieve this historic task. I thank all governments and ministers for their work to achieve this success. Now governments must move quickly through the Doha Climate Gateway to push forward with the solutions to climate change,” said COP President Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah.
UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Christiana Figueres, called on countries to swiftly implement what has been agreed in Doha so that the world can stay below the internationally agreed maximum two degrees Celsius temperature rise.
“I congratulate the Qatar Presidency for managing a complex and challenging conference. Now, there is much work to do. Doha is another step in the right direction, but we still have a long road ahead. The door to stay below two degrees remains barely open. The science shows it, the data proves it,” said Ms. Figueres.
“The UN Climate Change negotiations must now focus on the concrete ways and means to accelerate action and ambition. The world has the money and technology to stay below two degrees. After Doha, it is a matter of scale,
speed, determination and sticking to the timetable,” she said.
In Doha, governments also successfully concluded work under the Convention that began in Bali in 2007 and ensured that remaining elements of this work will be continued under the UN Climate Change process.
The next major UN Climate Change Conference – COP 19/ CMP 9 – will take place in Warsaw, Poland, at the end of 2013.
The results of COP18/CMP8 in more detail:
1) Amendment of the Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol, as the only existing and binding agreement under which developed countries commit to cutting greenhouse gases, has been amended so that it will continue as of 1 January 2013.
A) Governments have decided that the length of the second commitment period will be 8 years.
B) The legal requirements that will allow a smooth continuation of the Protocol have been agreed.
C) The valuable accounting rules of the protocol have been preserved
D) Countries that are taking on further commitments under the Kyoto Protocol have agreed to review their emission reduction commitments at the latest by 2014, with a view to increasing their respective levels of ambition
E) The Kyoto Protocol’s Market Mechanisms – the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Joint Implementation (JI) and International Emissions Trading (IET) – can continue as of 2013
F) Access to the mechanisms will be uninterrupted for all developed countries that have accepted targets for the second commitment period
G) JI will continue to operate, with the agreed technical rules allowing the issuance of credits, once a host country’s emissions target has been formally established
H) As part of accounting rules, provisions relating to carry-over of assigned amount units from the first to the second commitment period were further developed, aiming to strengthen the environmental integrity of the Kyoto Protocol regime. In addition, Australia, the EU, Japan, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway and Switzerland clarified, through declarations attached to the Doha decision on the second commitment period, that they will not purchase such surplus units from other Parties.
2) Time table for the 2015 global climate change agreement and increasing ambition before 2020
Governments have agreed to speedily work toward a universal climate change agreement covering all countries from 2020, to be adopted by 2015, and to find ways to scale up efforts before 2020 beyond the existing pledges to curb emissions so that the world can stay below the agreed maximum 2 degrees Celsius temperature rise.
A) A significant number of meetings and workshops are to be held in 2013 to prepare the new agreement and to explore further ways to raise ambition.
B) Governments have agreed to submit to the UN Climate Change Secretariat, by 1 March 2013, information, views and proposals on actions, initiatives and options to enhance ambition.
C) Elements of a negotiating text are to be available no later than the end of 2014, so that a draft negotiating text is available before May 2015.
D) In Doha, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced he would convene world leaders in 2014 to mobilize the political will to help ensure the 2015 deadline is met.
3) Completion of new infrastructure
In Doha, governments significantly advanced the completion of new infrastructure to channel technology and finance to developing nations and move toward the full implementation of this infrastructure and support.
Most importantly, they have:
A) endorsed the selection of the Republic of Korea as the location of the Green Climate Fund and the work plan of the Standing Committee on Finance. The Green Climate Fund is expected to start its work in Sondgo in the second half of 2013, which means that it can launch activities in 2014.
B) confirmed a UNEP-led consortium as host of the Climate Technology Center (CTC), for an initial term of five years. The CTC, along with its associated Network, is the implementing arm of the UNFCCCs Technology Mechanism. Governments have also agreed the constitution of the CTC advisory board.
4) Long-term climate finance
A) Developed countries have reiterated their commitment to deliver on promises to continue long-term climate finance support to developing nations, with a view to mobilizing 100 billion USD both for adaptation and mitigation by 2020.
B) The agreement also encourages developed countries to increase efforts to provide finance between 2013-15 at least to the average annual level with which they provided funds during the 2010-2012 fast-start finance period. This is to ensure there is no gap in continued finance support while efforts are otherwise scaled up.
C) Governments will continue a work programme on long-term finance during 2013 under two co-chairs to contribute to the on-going efforts to scale up mobilization of climate finance and report to the next COP on pathways to reach that target.
D) Germany, the UK, France, Denmark, Sweden and the EU Commission announced concrete finance pledges in Doha for the period up to 2015, totalling approximately $6 billion.
Other key outcomes of COP18/CMP8 in Doha
Review
A) Governments have launched a robust process to review the long-term temperature goal. This will start in 2013 and conclude by 2015, and is a reality check on the advance of the climate change threat and the possible need to mobilize further action.
Adaptation
A) Governments have identified ways to further strengthen the adaptive capacities of the most vulnerable, also through better planning.
B) A pathway has been established towards concrete institutional arrangements to provide the most vulnerable populations with better protection against loss and damage caused by slow onset events such as rising sea levels.
C) Ways to implement National Adaptation Plans for least developed countries have been agreed, including linking funding and other support.
Support of developing country action
A) Governments have completed a registry to record developing country mitigation actions that seek recognition or financial support. The registry will be a flexible, dynamic, web-based platform.
B) A new work programme to build capacity through climate change education and training, create public awareness and enable the public to participate in climate change decision-making has been agreed in Doha. This is important to create a groundswell of support for embarking on a new climate change regime after 2020
New market mechanisms
A) A work programme has been agreed to further elaborate the new market-based mechanism under the UNFCCC, and also sets out possible elements for its operation.
B) A work programme to develop a framework for recognizing mechanisms established outside the UNFCCC, such as nationally-administered or bilateral offset programmes, and to consider their role in helping countries to meet their mitigation targets, has also been agreed.
Actions on forests
A) In Doha, governments have further clarified ways to measure deforestation, and to ensure that efforts to fight deforestation are supported.
Carbon Capture and Storage
A) Governments meeting in Doha have looked at ways to ensure the effectiveness and environmental integrity of projects under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism that capture and store carbon emissions
Development and transfer of technology
A) Countries have taken forward work on enabling the development and transfer of technologies that can help developing countries adapt and curb their emissions.
Avoiding negative consequences of climate action
A) In some cases, the implementation of actions that reduce emissions could result in negative economic or social consequences for other countries. In Doha, governments discussed measures to address such consequences in a special forum.
With 195 Parties, the UNFCCC has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified by 193 of the UNFCCC Parties. Under the Protocol, 37 States, consisting of highly industrialized countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market economy, have legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments. The ultimate objective of both treaties is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.
The UN climate talks in Doha, Qatar, Saturday failed to deliver increased cuts to carbon pollution, nor did they provide any credible pathway to $100 billion per year in finance by 2020 to help the poorest countries deal with climate change, according to the 700 NGOs who are members of Climate Action Network-International (CAN-I).
Conference venue: The Qatar National Convention Centre
Two weeks ago, just prior to the start of these negotiations, numerous credible reports were published by an array of well respected scientists, economists and climate change experts, all with essentially the same conclusion – we are currently on an unsustainable path which virtually guarantees the world will be faced with catastrophic effects from climate change, according to Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo.
“Two weeks of negotiations have not altered that path and that politicians need to reflect the consensus around climate change through funds, targets and effective action.”
WWF head of delegation, Tasneem Essop, said Doha was supposed to be an important element in setting up for a fair, ambitious and binding deal in 2015 and therefore needed to rebuild trust and instill equity.
“These talks have failed the climate and they have failed developing nations,” Essop said. “The Doha decision has delivered no real cuts in emissions, it has delivered no concrete finance, and it has not delivered on equity.”
Governments have delivered a very vague outcome that might lead to increased ambition but only if the politics shift to working for the people, our future, and not the polluters.
In particular, countries including the US, who have continually blocked progress in the talks, need to fundamentally change their positions in line with their obligation to lead on the solution to this crisis that they created.
Tim Gore, International Climate Change Policy Advisor for Oxfam, said Doha had done nothing to guarantee that public climate finance would go up next year, not down.
“Developing countries have come here in good faith and have been forced to accept vague words and no numbers,” Gore said. “It’s a betrayal.”
Wael Hmaidan, director of CAN-I, said ministers needed to go back to their capitals and work hard to put concrete proposals on the table for the next talks so that progress could be made towards to secure a fair, ambitious, and binding deal in 2015.
“The path forward is actually quite clear: we have the technology and know-how to reduce dangerous carbon pollution, protect vulnerable communities, and grow sustainable, resilient, economies.”
“But we also need people in all regions of the world to demand leadership from their governments on climate change – just like the new youth movement in the Arab region has done.”
The Doha Decision:
An extraordinarily weak outcome on climate finance which fails to put any money on the table or to ensure a pathway to the $100 billion a year by 2020 target. The decision asks for submissions from governments on long term finance pathways, calls for public funds for adaptation but does not mention a figure, and encourages developed countries to maintain funding at existing levels dependent on their economies.
An eight-year second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol with loopholes that allow carry over, use and trading of hot air
A call – though not an official ambition ratchet mechanism – for Kyoto Protocol countries to review their emissions reduction target inline with the 25-40% range by 2014 at the latest. While it could have been stronger, the decision reinforces clear moral obligation for countries to increase their emission reduction targets prior to 2020 and provides opportunities for them to do so
An agreed work program on loss and damage to help victims of climate change will start immediately and a decision “to establish institutional arrangement, such as an international mechanism, at COP19”
Developed countries failed to agree a way to account for their carbon in a comparable way
Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth International has strongly condemned the governments of industrialised countries for blocking action on the climate crisis at a failed UN climate summit in Qatar.
Asad Rehman, Friends of the Earth International spokesperson in Qatar said: “The Doha deal is as empty as a desert mirage. Despite the official spin, these talks delivered nothing: no real progress on cutting greenhouse gases and only an insulting gesture at climate finance.
“The blame lies squarely with the rich industrialised world, most notably the US. The Obama administration is succeeding in its efforts to dismantle the UN global climate regime and other wealthy nations have joined in, paralyzing the climate talks and forcing the world¹s poor to pay the price.”
“We demand justice for the people of developing nations who suffer the most from the crisis, a crisis caused mainly by the rich industrialised world.”
“Hope for a solution lies with the people. We must demand action from our governments and reject them if they fail to deliver.”
The 18th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change saw no substantial progress on the promises made by the industrialised world to address its historic role in causing the climate crisis.
Under the Convention, developed countries are committed to deliver strong and binding emissions cuts in line with climate science and equity, and adequate climate finance to compensate developing countries and support their sustainable development.
Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Friends of the Earth International energy coordinator said: “The fossil fuel lobby won the Qatar desert climate battle, where we witnessed dirty industry elites still holding the reins of our governments. Meanwhile the climate crisis worsens and the window for action shrinks day by day. Developed countries did not even try to solve the climate crisis at these talks. Instead, they continued to protect the interests of fossil fuelled corporations and helped financial elites grow their latest cash cow: the global carbon market scam.”
Dipti Bhatnagar, Friends of the Earth International climate justice coordinator said: “We need a strong and binding international agreement to curb the global climate crisis. But as the talks in Doha show, people around the world cannot wait for our governments to see sense and deliver the solutions. Working together in our communities, people are already resisting fossil fuels and dirty energy, building clean energy cooperatives, transforming our food systems, and protecting our forests, land and water from multinational corporations. Only people-and-planet-centred solutions will solve the climate crisis and create a better future for us all. We must make our governments listen and demand climate justice now.”
A new report released on Thursday has identified large-scale land acquisitions and other commercial investment in agriculture in Nigeria and three other countries as threats to small-scale food producers.
A smallholder farmer
Prepared by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Oxfam, the report is titled: “Tipping the Balance: Policies to shape agricultural investments and markets in favour of small-scale farmers.”
Apart from Nigeria, the study also surveyed Guatemala, Tanzania and The Philippines.
“Small-scale farming in Nigeria is characterised by unequal access to key resources and low levels of investment. The policies shaping investment include expansion of outputs through agricultural projects, subsidies on inputs, agricultural insurance, and policies on investment promotion, agricultural finance, land tenure, and tax, which are designed to shape investment in a positive direction.
“However, discrimination is widespread in three areas: land, finance, and input supply policies.”
The report stated that one important policy element that could help increase women farmers‘ access to extension services entailed a commitment to recruit more female agricultural extension staff.
“In recognition of this, the Nigeriangovernment‘s Women in Agriculture Programme is trying to ensure that the extension service in each of the country‘s states has female extension workers at every level of operation, from state headquarters down to the field level,” it added.
It identified the non-involvement of representatives of smallholders and women in agricultural policy decisions, such as the Association of Small-Scale Agro-Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN) and the Nigerian Women Agro-Allied Farmers Association, especially considering their centrality to employment and income generation.
According to the report, ASSAPIN and the Voices for Food Security coalition in Nigeria have developed a framework for engaging in the design (review) and implementation of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda.
The report also stressed that a participatory framework for agricultural policy design and implementation should extend to small-scale traders and processors, such as the National Association of Nigerian Traders and women involved in marketing associations.
While highlighting the difficulties that small-scale farmers face in accessing finance, the report stated, “The Ogun State Government is to manage the sum of N1 billion ($6.3 million) for on-lending to small-scale farmers, but until now no money has been disbursed, and the state has been busy trying to identify genuine farmers.”
It disclosed that some commercial investments in agriculture are undesirable under any circumstances, for example if investments lead to large-scale clearances; or have no connection to or multipliers with the domestic economy; or privilege just a small group of the rural population; or make no contribution to domestic food security.
The report stated further, “But there is a strong economic rationale for a disaggregated approach to investment that caters for the three rural worlds, to bring better market opportunities, technology, and – of particular importance to the landless and women – jobs, as well as reforms that increase their access to and control of natural resources.
“The nature and relative importance of policy levers will vary in different contexts – such as the extent of landlessness. But if agriculture is to support investment in the smallholder sector, then policy will need to do more than attract corporate investment. It will need to recognise smallholders themselves as the main investors in agriculture. Policy biases and structural exclusion of smallholders and of women will have to be tackled with less tokenism and more vigour, going beyond policy formulation to implementation.
“As we head into an uncertain era of extremes in commodity prices, climate change, and generation change, with disillusionment with farming livelihoods deterring young people from going into farming, getting this policy environment right for investments and markets is more important than ever.”
