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Why more Nigerians are climbing down the energy ladder

Michael Simire
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About 95,300 Nigerians die every year from smoke coming from firewood use

Despite Nigeria’s large oil reserves, energy poverty appears to be one of the most striking characteristics of the citizenry, with the formal power sector consistently failing to deliver.

With per capita electricity consumption falling below 150kwh, the situation looks dire. Rural communities, however, seem to suffer the most deprivation – even as a national programme to expand power to the poor is non-existing.

Indeed, more Nigerians are reportedly climbing down the energy ladder – moving from electricity, gas and kerosene to fuel wood and other traditional biomass energy forms. About 112 million people depend solely on wood as a source of fuel for cooking, according to scientists.

Besides burning 90 percent more wood than necessary and thus contributing to the buildup of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that cause climate change, traditional biomass stoves via the smoke they emit cause 95,300 deaths yearly, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Government funding for rural electrification and cooking energy for poor people has declined over the years, warns a new study by the International Centre for Energy, Environment and Development (ICEED).

In a recent report, the think-tank on energy and climate change warns that, without a new national programme on rural electrification and clean cookstoves, the number of poor people in Nigeria will grow exponentially.

ICEED, which has taken up a campaign to expand access to available, accessible, affordable, sustainable energy services that empowers both men and women – especially the poor, discloses in the study that the Federal Government budgets for rural electrification have consistently declined over the past decade. The campaign is titled: “Financing pro-poor energy access in Nigeria.”

As Nigeria’s population grows, the proportion with access to electricity is declining, says the study, adding that ongoing power sector reforms will deepen this trend should new national rural electrification programmes be launched.

The study warns of a deepening North and South divide in access to energy services.

“Northern Nigeria is consistently lagging behind in the proportion of households connected to the grid. For instance, while almost all households in Lagos have access to grid electricity, over one million households in Kano are not connected to the grid. Families in the North are more likely to be dependent on firewood use than Southern families. The trend is the same for access to kerosene and cooking gas,” submits Ewah Eleri, who heads ICEED.

According to him, not only has rural electrification fallen out of the policy radar of the Federal Government, Nigeria has no history of tackling the crucial issue of cooking energy.

“About 95,300 Nigerians die every year from smoke coming from firewood use. At 0.4kg/person, Nigeria has one of Africa’s lowest per capita use of LPG or cooking gas – a paradox for an LPG exporting country,” he says.

The study calls for the launching of a new National Rural Electrification Programme under the Power Sector Reform programme. It recommends that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) set aside a proportion of the power sector intervention fund for off-grid power projects using renewable energy. It also calls on the Federal Government to establish a National Cooking Energy Programme.

Besides the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission establishing a framework for the utilisation of the Consumer Assistance Fund, he likewise wants the authorities: to develop and launch a new National Rural Electrification Strategy; use a proportion of the Ecological Fund to finance cooking energy; develop clear policy incentives to support private sector investment in energy services for the poor; mobilise non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide community-level energy services; and establish a donor’s platform on pro poor energy.

According to Eleri, “energy is a crucial element in efforts to grow incomes and escape poverty. Without an expansion of government programmes and private sector investments in providing energy for Nigeria’s poor, the transformation agenda will fail”.

He laments that government response to the pro-poor energy challenge has been inadequate, and funding to address the trend is in decline. His group’s campaign, he notes, seeks to reverse the situation by agitating for the expansion of the scale of government, private sector and donor funding for pro-poor and gender-sensitive sustainable energy options.

Some donor energy interventions in the country are: $200 million Nigeria Electricity and Gas Improvement Project by the World Bank; $5 milion GEF Nigeria Energy Efficiency Project (data gathering for energy performance standards, set up testing centres, focused behavioural change awareness, and pilot projects) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); $2 million of UNDP/Bank of Industry access to renewable energy scale up initiative;  $2.73m Small Scale Associated Gas Utilisation project. (Funded by the GEF, the project started in 2011 and is being implemented by IBRD); N2 billion solar project in Katsina State being funded by JICA; $10 million – $32 million Partial Risk Guarantees for renewable energy and energy efficiency by USAID; and $1.3m for ongoing Energy Efficient Woodstoves project in Lagos and Cross River states by USAID.

Benue community to host AAP’s flagship adaptation centre

Michael Simire
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Farmers at the project sites in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State

Ehowodu, a community in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State will host the Africa Adaptation Programme’s (AAP) pilot model adaptation centre, an initiative spurred by the prospect of a communal-driven transformational legacy built on value chain agricultural enterprise.

On the table for consideration as part of the project analysis is the establishment of weather stations and satellites to predict weather patterns and information centre to support on-going agricultural and energy components of the adaptation initiative, being driven by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) under the AAP with support from the trio of the Federal Government, Benue State Government and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

Under the equity participation arrangement, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Power and Steel is committing over N400 million for the engineering works of the hydro-power component, Benue State Government is contributing a N105 million flood control measure at the bank of the River Benue, while UNIDO is procuring and installing 1.2 megawatts of electrical turbine valued at $1.2 million.

Other projects under consideration include production of organic fertilizer and energy from the agricultural and domestic waste, installation of solar powered irrigation to ensure year-round farming, exploration of economics of adaptation (especially micro-financing and weather index insurance), conducting a thorough climate analyses, setting up agro-met station and marketing the final product.

Specifically, the UNIDO-led component comprises a pilot scheme promoting adaptation to climate change by developing more adaptive farming practices, through agricultural interventions to increase production and reduce post-harvest losses. The intervention also entails processing agricultural products in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State and the development of a small hydropower (SHP) plant to promote adaptation by addressing the climate change-linked flooding problem by harnessing the Ochokwu River and to generate electricity for about 10 communities in Apa Local Government, all in Benue State.

In recent times, this river has overflowed its bank causing flooding, with attendant problems including crop destruction and damage to properties. This increased incidence of flooding has been linked to the increased variability of rainfall as a result of climate change. The final phase which entails the installation of the equipment is expected next month.

The adaptive farming practice entails analysing traditional methods of land preparation, agricultural production, harvesting and in-field post-harvest operations in cultivation of climate-resilient crops and identify conservation agriculture technologies (CAT) that can be introduced to enhance efficiency of the above operations and minimise losses; with a focus on best practices based on current climate variability and climate change projections for the area.

Consequently, UNIDO commissioned the FAO to carry out a pilot scheme on rice harvesting, threshing and storage under the aegis of Small Holders Rice Project (SHRP). The farmers who belonged to the Ehowodu Cooperative Society, Obagaji are drawn from five project sites of Obagaji, Adagbo, Okokolo, Okpanchenyi and Oweto all in Agatu Local Government Areas of Benue State. The project was approved in November 2010 while activities commenced in February 2011.

Already, 360 local rice farmers have been trained on global best practices in rice production, including types of herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers, application rates and methods so as to increase their yields thereby ensuring national food security.

A community leader and champion of the agricultural initiative is Solomon Agidani, a former member of the Federal House of Representative. He championed the establishment of both the agricultural and electric components of the AAP project in Agatu and Apa Local Government Areas of Benue State.

Giving the account of his steward during a meeting with the Chairman of Agatu Local Government, Momoh Audu, he solicited for the support of the local government towards the realisation of the lofty objectives of the project. In a response, Audu assured all of the support of government to the project.

Agidani, who provided accommodation at Obagaji to the two Chinese expatriates seconded to the project by FAO, gave further insight into the genesis of the projects, especially the hydro-power component during an audience with the chairman of Apa Local Government, Joy Agi.

Dr. Agi, a believer in agriculture enterprise, is highly expectant of the early completion of the hydropower project as she believes it will transform the economy of the agrarian communities of her Apa Local Government Areas.

The ranks of local farmers buying into the project is swelling by the day as an additional 20 farmers recently joined the Cooperative Society, taking the tally to 380 farmers, with a division of 20 farmers each in a 19 beneficiary groups.

Work is at an advance stage for the installation of the $500,000 integrated rice mill equipment delivered last week as experts are working round the clock at the construction site in Obagaji, the headquarters of Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State; even as the project is receiving endorsement at high levels of government and development partners.

For instance, Dr Joseph Intsiful, from the Regional Office of AAP in Dakar, Senegal, expressed satisfaction at the level of the enthusiasm and communal involvement in the scheme. He was particularly happy at the composition and ownership of the cooperative society. Of the 380 members of the association, 170 are women. Also, majority of the 19 groups to which the cooperative is divided are led by women.

Women form the majority among the farming population in Nigeria, yet they have limited access to land, agricultural technologies, extension services, markets and credit. For many, lack of secure access to land constrains what kind of crops they can grow and incentives to move into high value crops. Yet evidence has clearly shown that raising the productivity and incomes of women improves household welfare, especially nutrition, health and education.

The farmers, while assuring total commitment to best practices obtainable presented litany of request which include tools for irrigation to allow farmers to double crop, reduce yield instability and diversify into high value crops, such as horticulture, tractors, credit facilities, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, among others.

Responding, Oladipo Osibo of the Energy and Environment Unit of the United Nations Development (UNDP), expressed satisfaction at the level of progress made especially in the agriculture component and assured the farmers of brighter days ahead.

Essentially, the local farmers want income opportunities to first ensure that they get out of poverty traps and move to an income growth pathway that keeps them out of poverty.

Asked about the required help in the area of weather forecast and reliable predictions, Agidani said: “Well, the point here is that certainly, weather forecast is a very strong point in planning farming activities because here occasionally, we run into crisis and we are beginning to ask the farmers to begin to get information on agric insurance because of the lack of such information that you have enunciated, you have farmers farming at the wrong time and floods takes everything. And they lose all of the harvest. So we want them to key into the national agriculture insurance scheme so that when things like that happened. But certainly, they are more avoidable when such information is available.”

CDM: How Nigeria can rake in N86b yearly

Michael Simire
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Financial gains from the worrying climate change phenomenon are increasingly overshadowing the attendant ecological loss, thanks to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which is transforming the environmental gloom into financial boom.

A woman cooking with the Save80 Fuel Efficient Woodstove
A woman cooking with the Save80 Fuel Efficient Woodstove

A system put in place by the Kyoto Protocol to help countries meet binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, the CDM allows emission-reduction projects sponsored by developed nations in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Already, Nigeria operates six CDM projects registered by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is based in Bonn, Germany.

The projects include: recovery of associated gas that would otherwise be flared at Kwale oil-gas processing plant, which is a joint venture (JV) initiative involving the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC); the Ovade Ogharefe Gas Capture and Processing Project, a Pan Ocean Oil/NNPC JV; Efficient Fuel Wood Stoves operated by Development Association for Renewable Energies (DARE); Municipal Solid Waste Compositing Facility in Ikorodu, Lagos State, courtesy of EarthCare Nigeria Limited; Save 80 Efficient Woodstove, courtesy of DARE/Atmosphair; and, Asuokpu-Umutu Marginal Field Gas Recovery Facility, operated by Platform Petroleum.

However, about 12 CDM proposals are awaiting the UNFCCC endorsement. These are: the Kanji Hydropower Rehabilitation Project, operated by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN); Displacing grid/off-grid steam and electricity generation with less carbon intensive fuels in Aba; Blended Cement Production at the Lafarge/WAPCO cement facilities; Gas Flare-out Project at Niger Delta Petroleum Ltd Oil and Gas Field;  ADDAX Petroleum Development (Nigeria) Limited’s Offshore Associated Gas Capture and Utilisation Project; and, INTOL-JPI Environ Management Systems’ “APA Integrated Waste Management Project”.

Others are: the Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria’s “Gathering, treatment, transmission and utilisation of non-associated (NAG) and associated gas (AG) for power generation and supply to customers (including domestic customers)”; BAS Consulting’s “Energy Efficient Lighting Project (CFL) for Nigeria”; CDC Company’s “Efficient Lighting Systems Project for the Nigeria Clean Energy Access Program (NCEAP)”; Global Bio-fuel Limited’s “Grid-Connected Electricity Generation from Bagasse Surplus Project; Threshold Bio fuels and Energy Company; and, two efficient cookstoves also pending now – from USA.

Erstwhile Nigerian DNA to the UNFCCC, Victor Fodeke, who laments that Africa is lagging behind other continents in CDM projects drive, however submits that a recent World Bank study that focused on low-carbon energy study in sub-Saharan identified over 750 CDM project opportunities in Nigeria.

“The report concluded that if all these CDM projects were implemented, slightly over 100 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) of GHG emission reductions can be generated annually in Nigeria,” says Fodeke.

He adds: “According to  recent study by UNISPACE/G.O.D. Corporation, and which is  in harmony with one World Bank report, considering the prevailing global carbon market price of about $12.5/tCO2e, this can inject over $1.25 billion into the Nigerian economy from the sales of carbon credits (CER units) generated. This will be in addition to investment that will flow into the implementation of clean energy technologies, especially from the cement sector for the underlying CDM projects, which has been estimated to be in the excess of $18 billion.”

According to him, the cement sector is a significant source of GHGs, which he notes makes the sector interesting for CO2 emissions mitigation options.

“As of January 2009, 203 CDM projects were initiated by the cement industry. A total of 52 cement-related CDM projects were registered, 12 were rejected, 121 projects are at the validation stage (of which 13 are located in India, 78 in China and only three in Africa) and 18 projects have been submitted for registration or are being corrected.”

He emphasises that CDM in general and the cement sector can offer attractive opportunities for supporting Nigeria’s development priorities.

His words: “At 20 percent Scenario Deforestation Avoidance, proceeding from the projected 20 percent deforestation rate at $15 per ton of CO2, Nigeria’s carbon credit sequestration capacity through the project’s implementation will generate equivalent of $229,605,000 year, which translates to about N34.44 billion per year.

“AT 50 percent Scenario Deforestation Avoidance, proceeding from the projected 50 percent deforestation rate at $15 per ton of CO2, the nation’s carbon credit sequestration capacity through the project’s implementation will generate equivalent of $574,010,000 per year, which translates to about N86.10 billion every year.

“These funds from CDM can inject real measurable, reportable & verifiable (MRV) dividends into the Transformational Agenda of the current administration and eradicate poverty, hunger and diseases.”

Out of the total 4,067 registered CDM projects worldwide, Africa hosts only 85 projects or 2.09 percent. South Africa is leading with 20 projects or about 25 percent of the lot. The remaining projects are hosted by: Egypt (10), Morocco (eight), Tunisia (two), Uganda (10), Tanzania (one), Nigeria (six), Cote d’Ivoire (three), Kenya (seven), Ethiopia (one), Cameroon (two), Mauritania (one), Senegal (two), Mali (one), Zambia (one), Madagascar (one), Liberia (one), DRC (two), and Rwanda (three) and Ghana (one).

Commenting on the Save-80 Wood Stove, Yahaya Ahmed of the Kaduna-based DARE said: “The project is one of the successful sustainable CDM projects which UNFCCC showcases on its websites. To this effect, we were invited by the UNFCCC and the World Bank Institute to present the project at the International Carbon Expo which took place early June in Cologne, Germany.

“Nigeria, as the host country of the S-80 project, was praised for getting the project as the first of its kind worldwide (in the Categorie of Household Energy using Biomass and the  Methodology AMS II-G) to be registered as a CDM project and the first Biomass Household Energy project to be issued Gold Standard CERs.

“Subsequent to the exhibition in Cologne, we have been invited to present the project again at the conference on ‘Restoring Earth’s Degraded Lands,’ which held recently in Caux, Switzerland, and was jointly organised by the UNCCD (United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification) and the Geneva-based Initiatives of Change (IoC). Executive Director of UNCCD, Luc-Marie Gnacadja, personally commended Nigeria for hosting the Save-80 project.”

FG, UN, AAP go on stage with Climate of Change

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In an apparent bid to demystify climate change and intensify awareness on its multifaceted impacts on the Nigerian society, the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the ongoing Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) have thrown their support behind Theatre for Concerted Change’s premier staging of “Climate of Change” in Zaria, Abuja and Lagos.

FG, UN, AAP go on stage with Climate of Change
FG, UN, AAP go on stage with Climate of Change

According to the sponsors, the support is an appreciation of the Arts as a potent tool for bringing about social transformation and societal renewal.

The play is a snapshot of rural dwellers’ struggle for survival and integral development in a climate-constrained world. It takes the reader or audience on a journey into the lives of rural dwellers, while portraying their apprehension, courage, despair, hope, flaws and strengths.
By emphasising the linkage between climate change on one hand, and then gender, health, politics, conflicts and food insecurity on the other, the play seeks to draw attention to the fact that climate change is indeed one of the defining challenges of our time and must not be treated with levity, according to playwright, Elaigwu Ameh.
Speaking about his reason for writing the play, Ameh, a First Class Pholosophy graduate of the University of Zimbabwe, revealed: “I wrote this play not only because of my realisation that climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time, but also because of my burning desire to use theatre as a tool for development to raise awareness on the manifold impacts of climate change on rural livelihoods.”
He added: “The play is a proactive medium for effecting positive environmental change in society. It is a must-see not only because of its rich amalgam of entertainment and education, but also because of its creative use of theatre-for-development techniques in unveiling some overt or covert interconnections between climate change and livelihoods.”
In the same vein, he noted that “Climate of Change,” just like the story of climate change, is not all about gloom and doom. Hence, he noted, the play also endeavours to communicate climatic realities in the language of hope with a view to encouraging the Nigerian government and the public to act positively and proactively.
“Although Nigeria’s socio-economic development is climate-constrained, climate change offers distinctive opportunities for renewing the Nigerian economy. These opportunities are in the areas of renewable energy, carbon trading, transport management and technology transfer,” he added.
“After which it will be superbly staged in Abuja and Lagos as part of Nigeria’s preparations for the Climate Change Summit in Doha later this year. Over 2,000 people are expected to be in attendance at each of the events, with 1,000 of them being students drawn from schools within the FCT and Lagos State. Five thousand copies of the play printed through the generous support of the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Government of Japan and UNDP will be distributed freely to participants at the events.”
“Climate of Change,” a publication of University Press, Plc, Ibadan, will be directed by Olagoke O. Ifatimehin, an award-winning director from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
On why the UNDP/AAP is supporting the initiative, Muyiwa Odele of the Sustainable Development Unit of UNDP Nigeria submitted: “UNDP recognises that Art has a crucial role to play in changing society. Since behavioural and attitudinal changes are some of the keys to tackling climate change, this stage play is just natural.  The play will not only engage everyone in a deep way but also in a personal way.
“It is an opportunity to engage, although in a relaxed manner, with the everyday experiences and real life practical challenges faced by everyday people grappling with the impact of climate change. According to experts, what sparks engagement is something that speaks to you personally.”
By Michael Simire

Greening the Ekiti economy

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 Straddled across two vegetation belts – the tropical rainforest in the South and the savannah in the North – Ekiti State in Nigeria is predominantly rural and agrarian. The authorities however regard this situation as a blessing as, according to them, “almost everything we do is geared towards sustainable development.”
While the South is characterised by activities related to resuscitation of the hitherto depressed cocoa plantations, a considerable level of land management and conservation is ongoing in the North, which is hosting the state’s much-touted bio-fuel energy project.
Greening the Ekiti economy - Michael Simire
By Michael Simire

“You may be aware that Ekiti is actually going to become in a matter of one or two years the bio-fuel capital of Nigeria. The two major projects that are being developed now are on bio-fuel, which the Ministry of Trade & Investment, the British Petroleum and a whole range of institutions are involved in, in the northern part of the state,” discloses Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the state governor.

Describing the assignment as a major commitment and a way of resuscitating the green belt, the governor stresses that, in the light of the global climate phenomenon, the state’s multi-vegetation feature could be challenging.
“The way and manner that we also ensure that we protect the land cover in the state is in itself a statement about our commitment to green economy,” submits Fayemi, pointing out that renewable energy-related projects are likewise being addressed in the state.
According to him, the fact that equal in distance in between Lagos and Abuja has offered an opportunity that government is exploring by turning the state into a place that is infrastructurally at par – or better – that Lagos and Abuja.
“So if you have a retreat, for example, and you don’t want to run it in noisy Lagos or in busy Abuja, you will be looking for a place that really provides you a suitable environment. That is what we are turning the Ikogosi Warm Springs (IWS) to.”
Located in Ikogosi in Ekiti West Local Government Area, the IWS is a natural phenomenon where warm and cold springs flow parallel down a hilly landscape and meet somewhere down stream to form a confluence and merge into a continuous water body. The evergreen tall trees that surround the springs provide the canopy under which visitors relax. The undulating landscape adds natural beauty to the scenery.
The facility is however now being given a facelift to an international tourist destination with the construction of chalets, extensive landscaping and infrastructures.
Fayemi continues: “If you have such a facility that is close to nature, that will allow you to relax, but can also meet all the conditionalities of modernity such as wireless access and a spar and a range of other facilities, many people will rather come to that quiet environment to work rather than stay in a busy environment which has its own issue. That means we are selling different things in the market and people would have to make up their minds what they want to come here for.
“That is partly why we are doing what we are doing. But we are also doing it because it is also right. Our people are no less human that the people who enjoy good things of life either in Nigeria or outside Nigeria. As a matter of fact, given our level of education, we quite frankly should have one of the best environments in the country. And that is why, as much as possible, we are doing things that we know would even pay us better in future.”

He insists that his aim is to make Ekiti a destination of choice for business, investment and tourism.

By Michael Simire

Tackling Africa’s energy poverty sustainably

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To address the persisting energy poverty on the African continent, national and community energy needs should be prioritised over global economic models.

This formed part of a range of resolutions from a recent gathering of stakeholders, who urged civil society organisations (CSOs) to advocate for decentralised alternative energy with a focus on affordable and environment-friendly renewables.

Tackling Africa’s energy poverty sustainably
Tackling Africa’s energy poverty sustainably

At the end of a two-day Lagos forum that examined “Energy Access and Alternatives for Africa,” participants resolved that, besides community alternative energy model being vigorously pursued to deliver on community energy needs, African governments should adopt alternative energy sources that are community-driven and sustainable.

They noted at the workshop – organised by the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) in collaboration with Counter Balance and Mani Tese/CRBM Europe – that African governments must put in place clear-cut laws and policies on compensation for communities negatively affected by resource extraction in whatever form.
While African governments were on one hand urged to allocate five percent of their annual income to funding for research and development of alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass, they were on the other hand tasked to put in place adequate regulatory frameworks for monitoring compliance with environmental standards that include the genuine conduct of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by indigenous and transnational corporations.
“Governments must establish appropriate institutional infrastructure and frameworks to support expanding energy supply and access and their sustainability. Sustainable energy policies must be harmonised and integrated in development at all levels,” the communiqué reads, adding that African governments should review their judicial processes to ensure speedy dispensation of justice in legal suites between impacted communities and the extractive companies.
It adds: “African governments must increase support for energy models that are beneficial and friendly to the community and environment, and civil society groups must partner with the media in deepening understanding of energy issues as well as the struggles against environmental and climate injustices.”
The forum was attended by energy advocates, civil society groups, community representatives, lawyers, media executives and academics from across Africa. They discussed, shared experiences and analysed critically issues concerning energy poverty on the continent, as well as the environmental and social impacts of extractive processes. They proffered solutions and energy models to address energy access and peoples’ rights for a new energy model for the continent.
The conference brought to the fore critical issues on the growing energy scarcity and renewed aggressive extraction of natural resources including oil and gas from Africa to meet increasing demand in North America, Europe and countries like Russia, Brazil, India and China.
Since energy remains critical for development, individuals and civil society groups have underscored the need for a halt to the fossil fuel economy and a change to clean alternatives such as solar, wind and mini-hydro projects.
Participants had observed that, in the quest to meet the ever-increasing energy needs of industries in the developed and emerging economies, Africa carries the burden of massive extraction of raw materials and its impact on the environment, health and livelihoods.
They noted that current energy policies in Africa reflected in high tariff have largely unleashed poverty on local communities, especially on rural women who can hardly afford the cost. Also, local communities that are barely visible in the media are said to suffer daily untold hardship in the quest for extraction of resources for energy.
A dearth of funding from African governments and donor agencies for research into alternative energy sources in Africa was likewise underlined, even as oil and solid mineral exploration and exploitation continue to degrade the environment in local communities, whose protests have been met with repressive actions by the state and transnational corporations.
“This is evident in many places such as Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, where gas flaring has continued in spite of several deadlines imposed by the Federal Government and a subsisting court order of the Benin Federal High Court on November 14, 2005 that gas flaring is illegal and must stop by 2007.”
Participants also expressed misgivings over the fact that corporations ignore local communities in the conduct of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on projects, adding that the framework and administration of EIAs make the EIA system more of lip service than a tool for regulating development and ensuring compliance to environmental protection standards.
The World Bank and other financial institutions were accused of investing in energy projects which have adverse effects on energy development in Africa, which was described as a dumping ground for fake or substandard alternative energy products from the developed world.
Most private investors in energy were blamed for being more interested in profits than actually bridging Africa’s energy deficit. Similarly, the cumbersome and time-consuming legal processes in suits between impacted communities and the extractive companies were frowned at, as well as a dearth of information on energy issues in the media, deepening public ignorance and inhibiting contribution to solutions.
Signatories to the communiqué were: (ERA/FoEN); Friends of the Earth Ghana; Young Volunteers for the Environment (YVE Togo); Cee Bankwatch Network, Ukraine; Campagna perla Riforma della Banca Mondiale (CRBM/ Mani Tese), Italy; Corner House, UK; Foundation for Good Governance and Social Change; Host Communities Network (HoCoN) Nigeria; and Ogoni Solidarity Forum (OSF), Nigeria.
Others included: Third World Network Africa, Ghana; Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) Zambia; National Association of Professional Environmentalists/Friends of the Earth Uganda (NAPE/FoEU) Uganda; Ndokwa Youth Congress, Nigeria; National Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Nigeria; Earthcare Foundation, Nigeria; and, Niger Delta Progressives Union on Environment, Nigeria.

Insecurity challenge: Nigeria goes satellite

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satelliteThe National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) of Nigeria will soon begin a series of trainings for the country’s security agencies on how to use simple satellite technologies to tackle some of the security challenges facing the country.

This, according to the agency’s Director General, Dr. Seidu Mohammed, is in tandem with its vision “to uncover and exploit the capabilities of science and technology for national socio-economic and technological development through cutting-edge research.”

Disclosing this when a group of science journalists from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region namely Nigeria, Benin and Ghana visited NASRDA, Mohammed said, “Personnel of the relevant security agencies would be trained on simple interpretation of information obtained by the country’s satellites and processed at the base stations.”

At the tour organised by the Nigerian Association of Science Journalists (NASJ) as part of the capacity building programme during the association’s International Annual Science Communication Conference, Mohammed said, “A communication Satellite in place, Tariffs on GSM Phone Services as well as tariffs on Satellite Television Broadcasting Services will be reduced, it will also link the rural areas with telephone services and promote E-Commerce and E-Government.”

The DG also disclosed that the centre is currently focused on the coordination and implementation of projects and programmes in specific areas including remote sensing and geographic information systems, meteorology, astronomy and astrophysics, communication as well as human capacity development. It is also to establish a centre of excellence in space science and technology, to foster teaching and learning as well as the commercial application of space research, for the economic transformation of Ghana and West Africa.

The agency currently has a 25-year road map that will begin with the training of Nigerian astronauts in 2015. This is to be followed by the development and building of made in Nigeria Satellites in 2018, development of rocketry/propulsion system (2025), spin-off of allied industries – electronics, softwares, among others, expected to happen in 2026.

Meanwhile, the DG said the agency is hopeful that it will launch a Nigerian Satellites from Nigerian launch pad in 2030.

NASRDA has the capacity to develop satellite technology for various applications and be the repository of all satellites data over Nigeria’s territory.

Nigeria launched the first satellite into orbit in 2003 (NigeriaSat-1) as part of a Disasster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). Subsequently, NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X, made by local scientists were launched in August 2011 as part of the Satellite Development Programme. The major application areas are to enhance Precision Agriculture to tackle food insecurity, support Nigerian Peace Missions all over the world with information, Urban Mapping to improve settlement in the urban centres, disaster monitoring and management such as floods, as well as National Security Applications.

By Onche Odeh

Rio+20: Green Economy, SDGs, UNEP upgrade approved

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EconomyHeads of State and more than 190 nations have given the green light to a Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

This followed a range of outcomes that emerged at the close of the Rio+20 Summit that held recently in Brazil. Observers believe that, if the outcomes are embraced over the coming months and years, they offer the opportunity to catalyse pathways towards a more sustainable 21st century.

The nations agreed that such a transition could be “an important tool” when supported by policies that encourage decent employment, social welfare and inclusion and the maintenance of the Earth’s ecosystems from forests to freshwaters.

The decision supports nations wishing to forge ahead with a green economy transition while providing developing economies with the opportunity for access to international support in terms of finance and capacity building.

The Summit also gave the go-ahead towards a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to bring all nations – rich and poor – into cooperative target setting across a range of challenges from water and land up to food waste around the globe.

The SDGs, which are expected to compliment the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015, reflect the reality that a transition to an inclusive green economy and the realisation of a sustainable century needs to also include the footprints of developed nations as well as developing ones as they aim to eradicate poverty and transit towards a sustainable path.

Other potentially positive outcomes include: a 10-year framework on sustainable consumption and production; a decision to work towards a new global indicator of wealth that goes beyond the narrowness of GDP; and encouragement for governments to push forward on requiring companies to report their environmental, social and governance footprints.

After some four decades of discussion and calls, governments agreed on an upgrading of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in order to strengthen the environmental pillar of sustainable development.

The decisions include addressing the limited membership of UNEP which currently stands at 58 member states into a body with universal membership of its Governing Council while increasing UNEP’s financial resources by an increased allocation from the UN’s regular budget.

The Rio+20 outcome also calls on the next General Assembly of the UN to strengthen UNEP’s ability to assist member states at the regional and national level and to build on its science-policy interface including through UNEP’s flagship Global Environment Outlook process.

Similarly the World Congress on Justice, Governance, and Law for Environmental Sustainability, hosted by the Brazilian Supreme Court and UNEP in partnership with a number of international organisations, committed to use international and national laws to advance sustainability, human and environmental rights and the implementation of environmental treaties.

The Congress, involving some 200 delegates including chief justices, senior judges, attorney-generals, chief prosecutors, auditor-generals and senior auditors, called on governments to back an Institutional Framework for the Advancement of Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability in the 21st Century backed by UNEP.

UN Under-Secretary General and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said: “The outcome of Rio+20 will disappoint and frustrate many given the science, the day-to-day reality of often simply surviving as individuals and as families, the analysis of where development is currently heading for seven billion people and the inordinate opportunity for a different trajectory. However if nations, companies, cities and communities can move forward on the positive elements of the Summit’s outcome it may assist in one day realising the Future We Want.”

The gathering likewise addressed growing concern that Gross Domestic Product may have out lived its usefulness in a world where natural resource scarcity, pollution and social exclusion are also becoming drivers of whether a nation’s wealth is truly going up or running down.

The Summit’s outcome document requests the UN Statistical Commission to work with other UN bodies including UNEP and other organisations to identify new approaches for measuring progress.

The Commission’s work will draw on a range of assessments and pilot projects ongoing across the globe.

Another potentially significant step forward was the adoption of a 10-year framework on sustainable consumption and production covering several sectors ranging from tourism to government procurement.

During Rio+20, over 30 governments and institutions including Brazil, Denmark, Switzerland and UNEP announced a new global International Sustainable Public Procurement Initiative (SPPI) aimed at scaling-up the level of public spending flowing into goods and services that maximize environmental and social benefits.

Studies indicate that sustainable public procurement, which represents between 15 and 25 percent of GDP, offers a tremendous opportunity towards green innovation and sustainability.

Examples from around the world show that sustainable public procurement has the potential to transform markets, boost the competitiveness of eco industries, save money, conserve natural resources and foster job creation.

In India, for example, government procurement is worth about $300 billion and is expected to grow by more than 10 percent annually in the coming years.

An estimated 25 per cent of the 20,000 companies tracked by Bloomberg are reporting their environmental, social and governance footprints – but 75 percent are not.

Such in-depth data offers the opportunity for pension funds to invest in companies with a long term perspective of profits through sustainability reporting while assisting governments in measuring the contribution of multi-nationals towards national sustainability goals and progress beyond GDP.

On 20 June, several countries including Brazil, Denmark, France and South Africa – several of whom already have stock exchanges requiring better reporting – announced they would move forward on the issue with support from UNEP and the Global Reporting Initiative.

Drawbacks to climate communication, by study

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By Michael Simire

Dearth of experts with in-depth knowledge of the climate change phenomenon, reluctance on the part of media managements to take the bill for trips that will enable reporters come up with quality reports as well as lack of access to comprehensive data and research journals on the topic have been identified by a study as challenges to reporting the issue in Lagos.

ClimateTitled: “Climate change needs analysis survey amongst journalists in Lagos State,” the study observed that apart from the fact that frequency of reporting has been given limited attention, the prominence accorded climate change stories are on the other low.

“Most of the reports are news items, which carry neither significant nor great import to the reader, viewer or listener, as compared to if it were a features, commentary or documentary,” the document noted, adding that a considerable number of the respondents had not benefitted from any training on climate issues.

Prepared by the Policy Advocacy Project Partnership on Climate Change in Lagos State (PAPPCC), the survey however unfolded some cheering scenarios, going by disclosures that there is an appreciable level of consciousness in reporting the topic, that the ownership of the medium did not influence the journalists’ decision on reporting the issue, and that the media executives were enthusiastic over having a capacity building training.

Consequently, the survey underlined the need for strategic engagement with media organisations through key officials such as editors, editorial board members and line editors. It also called for journalists’ linkage with several sources of information through field investigative reporting, case studies that could help improve public understanding of the science of climate change and other resources for capacity in terms of fellowships.

“The need for sound periodic training for journalists in the area of climate change cannot be overemphasised. The rationale behind this is that this will enable them go beyond producing or publishing superficial reports.”

The report likewise suggested that journalists should be attached to civil society organisations and government agencies for a short period so that they can be mentored and immersed in climate change topics. It also wants the management of media houses to be encouraged to be committed to the task of using stories on climate change.

The report submitted: “A change of attitude on the part of these managers is vry germane to better the reporting on climate change. The encouragement should come in the emphasis of the need for them to use such stories prominently as they do other stories on politics, business and sports.

“Climate-friendly organisations, foreign donors and funders could also give small grants to journalists to enable them go and do stories that they have always wanted to do, but could not because they lack the funds.

“Journals, research and other informative materials should be readily made available. The culture of not speaking or withholding of relevant information by public officers should be prevailed upon to make information available for journalists on climate change.”

Legislative response to global water pressure

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Growing pressures on water resources worldwide are forcing nations to take remarkable steps to address the increasingly dire situation.

Rising populations, swelling urban centres and the mounting threat of climate change have in recent decades ensured limited access to water for drinking and agriculture, as well as portending a risk to human health.

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Nigeria’s Water Resources Minister, Sarah Ochekpe

According to a recent United Nations report, over 80 percent of countries have reformed their water laws in the past 20 years, a move that has, in most cases, produced significant impacts on development.

The effort is nonetheless still underway in some nations, apparently spurred by local and international exigencies, and greeted with mixed feelings.

In the United States of America for instance, the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2012 introduced last November by sponsor, Representative Earl Blumenauer, is presently being considered by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Mr. Ted Poe, representing Texas’s 2nd Congressional District, is the Bill’s cosponsor.

According to Congressman Blumenauer, who is representing the Third District in Oregon State in the U.S. House of Representatives (in the 112th Congress), the Bill is an improvement on the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005, in respect of which the U.S. has reportedly invested $3.4 billion in water programmes around the world.

In 2003, the United Nations passed Resolution A/RES/58/217 declaring 2005-2015 the International Decade for Action: “Water for Life”, a development believed to have influenced the U.S. Congress passing the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (WPA). The WPA requires “the Secretary of State, in consultation with other U.S. government agencies, to develop and implement a strategy to increase affordable and equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation within the context of sound resources management in developing countries.”

Blumenauer’s Legislative Assistant, Michael Harold, said at the Capitol Hill in Washington, District of Columbia (DC), that the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2012 seeks to amend the WPA regarding the strategy to further the U.S. foreign assistance objective to provide access to safe water and sanitation in developing countries to: transfer primary authority from the Secretary of State to United States Agency for International Development (USAID); include hygiene; and, include designation of high priority countries.

Harold noted that the Bill (Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2012) amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct: the Administrator of the USAID to designate a Global Water Coordinator to coordinate and oversee water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance, and the Secretary of State to designate a Special Advisor for Water Resources to coordinate and oversee policy relating to water and sanitation assistance.

While directing the Administrator to maintain a webpage for information on U.S. water, sanitation, and hygiene foreign assistance programmes, the Bill sets forth principles to ensure that water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects carried out under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the WPA achieve maximum impact.

“The Bill is a re-authorisation of the WPA and it will improve access to water and sanitation by needy countries and appropriate money for the purpose, and where the money should be spent. The U.S. spends about $600 million yearly to improve access to water in developing countries,” Harold stated.

International agency, WaterAid, stressed that, in introducing the Bill, the U.S. Congress has taken an essential step in improving existing US international development programmes seeking to address the water and sanitation crisis, as well as reaching the sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to halve the proportion of people with access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.

Lisa Schechtman, WaterAid in America’s Head of Policy & Advocacy, said, “The Water for the World Act is a critical opportunity for the US Government to take decisive steps towards further alleviating the suffering of those worst affected by the global water and sanitation crisis, and at the same time contribute to broader foreign policy objectives, such as child survival and poverty reduction.

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Blumenauer

“In addition, the legislation advances key principles of aid effectiveness, ensuring that coordination and monitoring and evaluation are improved so we can be sure we are making the most of the dollars invested. The bipartisan support for the Water for the World Act only reinforces the value of WASH programmes in and of themselves and as a tool for amplifying US leadership around the world.”

In Nigeria, the National Water Resources Bill sent to the National Assembly five years ago is yet to see the light of the day. After missing out of being passed into law in the Sixth National Assembly (2007-2011), it was apparently reintroduced to commence a fresh process in the current and Seventh National Assembly (2011-2015).

Recognising the importance of water resources management for the nation’s economic development and the wellbeing of its citizens, government adopted numerous initiatives bordering the review of an existing water policy, supervising a World Bank-sponsored study as well as an EU-funded report.

Upon its enactment, the Act will replace the Water Resources Decree 101 of 1993, and repeal and modify other related laws. Among other submissions, the new law ensures the role of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources as a policy making body with responsibility to establish national strategies and set general standards for water resources management across the country will be strengthened and its capacity for maintaining information systems on various aspects of water resources management in the country enhanced.

The proposed legislation has similarly met with a barrage of criticism, essentially by civil society activists, who allege that it is a government agenda aimed at shifting its responsibility to the private sector. They stressed that besides laying too much emphasis on private sector participation, the Bill possesses several components that are alien to the country – in reference to inputs made by the World Bank, EU and the consulting firm of Louis Berger/Haskoning.

Babatope Babalobi of the Bread of Life Foundation said: “We are not too happy with the Bill’s provisions, which copiously promoted the role of the private sector as being primarily responsible for the delivery of water and sanitation services. The citizen’s right to access to water can only be guaranteed by efficiently managed publicly-owned water supply agencies.

“The government should not abdicate its responsibility in the water sector for the private sector. Rather, government should through this Bill promote the democratisation of water management through Public Utility Partnerships (PUPs) rather than Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).”

Nigeria’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target is to supply 74 percent of its population with safe water by 2015 and 69 percent of the population with adequate sanitation.  According to statistics presented by the Head of WaterAid in Nigeria, Michael Ojo, only 58 percent have water and 32 percent have sanitation.

“This means that nearly 64 million people do not have access to safe drinking water with 103 not having access to sanitation.  At current rates of progress, Nigeria will miss the water target by 18 years (2033) and is completely off track on its sanitation target, coverage having fallen from 37 percent in 1990 to 32 percent in 2008 (with the most current update showing even further decline to 31 percent for 2010),” he said.

However, the United Nations survey of over 130 national governments on efforts to improve the sustainable management of water resources, focuses on progress towards the implementation of internationally-agreed approaches to the management and use of water, known as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

Amid increasing and conflicting demands on the world’s water supply, IWRM integrates domestic, agricultural, industrial and environmental needs into water planning, rather than considering each demand in isolation.

The latest survey is intended to inform decision-making at the Rio+20 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, next month.

The survey, which was co-ordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on behalf of UN-Water (the UN inter-agency co-ordination mechanism for freshwater issues), asked governments for their feedback on governance, infrastructure, financing, and other areas relating to water management, to gauge how successful countries have been in moving towards IWRM.

Overall, 90 percent of countries surveyed reported a range of positive impacts from integrated approaches to water management, following national reforms.

While 110 wastewater treatment plants have been built in Tunisia and access to water supply increased from 15 percent in 1990 to 50 percent in 2011 in Chad, Ghana rehabilitated 40 percent of its irrigation schemes for more effective water use and productivity.

 By Michael Simire

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