The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Environmentalists

  • Environmentalists call for promotion of eco-religious tourism

    The preservation and survival of UNESCO Heritage site, Osun Osogbo grove in Osun State has been linked to its age-long perception and belief as sacred for centuries.

    The grove, which was listed by UNESCO in 2005 as a world heritage site, is the last of such sacred forest traditionally associated with the Yoruba. This was part of positions by leading environmentalists and conservationists at the recent 17th Chief S. L. Edu Memorial Lecture on the theme: A Quiet revolution – Faith and the environments held in Lagos.

    The lecture is a policy advocacy tool being used by Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) to drive awareness on salient environment issues affecting Nigeria and Nigerians. The lecture not only identifies the problems, but also seeks to proffer solutions to these problems for policy makers to consider.

    Guest speaker at the lecture, Secretary-General Alliance of Religion and Conservation, United Kingdom Mr. Martin Palmer described Osun grove as the last sacred forest traditionally associated with the Yoruba, noting that the survival of the sacred forest is in part due to it been seen as sacred for centuries.

    Palmer also linked its survival to concerted actionsof conservationists, building upon the heritage of the sacred in spite of the dramatic changes and development in Nigerian society over sixty or seventy years. “The forest is still there due to this fusion of the sacred and consecration,” he added.

    He stated that in 2017, Methodist Church in Kenya disclosed that its huge parcel of land on the Mombasa coast would support a new eco-hotel and retreat centre as a model for responsible tourism.

    President, Board of Trustees of the foundation, Mr.Izoma Philip Asiodu said the foundation has set out to champion the cause of nature conservation and bio-diversity in Nigeria for about four decades now, adding that its operations have been eventful through all these years due to the cooperation of local and international partners and sponsors, the Federal and States’ Ministries of Environment among others.”We have thus far recorded major landmark in the initiation and promotion of nature conservation nationwide,” he noted.

    Chairman Board of Trustees, NCF, Desmond Majekodunmi raised the alarm that there is possibility of Lagos and other Nigerian coastal states going under water. Majekodunmi however, expressed the hope that it was possible to put it in check, if certain proactive actions are taking, saying ‘we are dumping 110 million of man-made tons of global warming pollution.’

     

     

     

  • Environmentalists warn Lagos against deal

    The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has cautioned Lagos State Government from going ahead with any deal with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).

    It said the action would mortgage the future of Lagosians, because it would yield no positive result.

    ERA/FoEN warning came on the heels of the January 7 IFC and Lagos State Government announcement of a memorandum of understanding for the former to provide “advisory services” for infrastructure development across sectors, including power, transportation, municipal waste, health, education and energy efficiency.

    IFC Nigeria Country Manager Eme Essien said the announcement “is only a first step in the building of a long term strategic partnership with the largest municipality in Sub Saharan Africa…”, claiming that the IFC’s Cities Initiative will improve living conditions, expand and renew its infrastructure and help reinforce Lagos’ position as an attractive investment destination.

    ERA/FoEN is, however, wary of the deal and in a statement yesterday in Lagos raised issues with the timing and the fact that contracts designed by or involving the IFC are most times fraught with booby traps and operate only to serve private interests and maximise profit.

    A similar advisory arrangement by the IFC in the water sector was primed to open the doors for a dangerous Public Private Partnership (PPP) water privatisation scheme, but was abandoned in 2015 due to the resistance of Lagos residents led by the Our Water, Our Right Coalition.

    Deputy Executive Director of ERA/FoEN Akinbode Oluwafemi said: “It is very disturbing that the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration is taking Lagos on this questionable path, which will have long term implications even when his administration is ending in a few months. We anticipate that the incoming government will review and roll back this deal.”

     

  • World Environment Day: Scholars proffer plastic recycling option

    …laud Obaseki’s urban regeneration drive

     

    Environmentalists have called for polices at federal and state government levels that allow for innovative and participatory approaches to managing plastic pollution, urging for increased use of digital solutions to drive recycling.

    They also hailed Governor Godwin Obaseki’s efforts at urban regeneration, noting that the state government’s recent recalibration of state actors in the environment sector as well as the building of new towns will impact positively on the state.

    This was the resolution at a public lecture to mark the 2018 World Environment Day organised by the Edo State Polytechnic, Usen, also known as the Edo State Institute of Management and Technology, in Edo State.

    The Rector of the Polytechnic, Prof. Abiodun Falodun, said that the public lecture was organised to raise awareness and join the rest of the world in marking the day, noting that the school intends to engage the key issues in environment management as they relate to plastic pollution and help educate the people.

    Prof. Falodun, who was recently appointed by Governor Obaseki to reposition the school as a center of excellence in technology and innovation, said there is a plethora of gains in the effective plastic waste management as well as tree planting in our environment.

    According to him, “the Edo State Government led by Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki wants this school to serve as a viable centre to drive his urban/regional development agenda. Hence, we want to set the pace by beautifying and preserving the environment.”

    He called on state’s indigenes and residents to strive to keep the state clean and adhere to regulations on plastic disposal.

    In a keynote lecture titled Fostering Participatory Model for Sustainable Management and Conservation of Plastic Wastes in Edo State, Nigeria, delivered by an environmentalist, Dr. Ekeoba Matthew Isikhuemen, he noted that there was need for a participatory approach to solving the menace of plastic pollution.

    The keynote lecturer, who is a lecturer in the Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management at the University of Benin, said state and federal governments must work together to ensure that policies are synergised.

    The event culminated in the planting of over 700 different economic trees in the school premises.

  • Environmentalists condemn privatisation of water

    The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has condemned the privatisation of water.

    Its Deputy Director, Akinbode wafemi,  spoke at a news conference in Lagos, following the visit by World Bank directors to Nigeria to promote privatisation.

    According to Oluwafemi, water is Nigeria’s common heritage, which must not be commodified.

    He urged the Lagos State government to invest in water infrastructure, including rehabilitation of existing waterworks.

    ‘We reiterate our ‘no’ to water privatisation; because we believe that the visit of the World Bank team to Nigeria and Lagos state is a whitewash. Critical stakeholders, such as civil society and the public, have been kept in the dark on the critical reasons behind the visit and the bank’s poster projects.

    “We are saying no to the wholesale privatisation of Nigeria and privatisation of our water. Federal and state governments should reject contracts designed by, involving, or influenced by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which operates to maximise private profit, among others.

    “Lagos and other states can fund water sustainably if they build the political will to prioritise water for the people and come up with a comprehensive plan to invest in water infrastructure to provide universal water access, create jobs, and improve public health.

    He added that governments must integrate broad public participation in developing plans to achieve universal access to clean water and uphold the human right to water as an obligation of the government, representing the people.

    “We have convened this briefing because of what we can now describe as a World Bank invasion of Nigeria and Lagos. We received reports of World Bank executives’ visit to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode as part of a host of engagements supposedly to study challenges and expectations of their partners in West Africa. The executive directors of the bank from different countries came for this visit.”

    According to him, Ambode’s administration continues to present Lagos as a state ready for any form of private investment, noting that water remains one of the sectors that it is pushing for investors to take control of.

    “This is disturbing. We see these activities as undermining democratic water governance; they also constitute an inherent conflict of interest within the IFC’s activities in the water sector”.

     

  • Visionscape takes environmentalists on tour of Epe landfill

    In commemoration of World Forest Day 2018, officials of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) organised a comprehensive tour of the first engineered sanitary landfill located in Epe. The landfill is being developed by Visionscape Sanitation Services.

    The tour, attended by environmentalists, waste management companies, Non-governmental Organisations and government officials, included bodies like KidsBeachGarden, 123Recycle, RecyclePoints, E-Terra,  was to give an insight into the workings of the landfill and the process of waste management within a controlled environment.

    The Landfill Operations Manager, Mr. Sumeet Singh said over 350 scavengers had been registered and inducted into Visionscape’s processes.

    According to Singh, an average of 30 trucks from various Waste Collection Operators (WCO) already use the landfill daily to dispose waste, which is then levelled to prevent waste piling.

    Sumeet reiterated the company’s commitment to working with all waste collection operators, assuring that “Visionscape is committed to building local capacity in the waste management industry; we will work and support all players to improve standards and overall efficiency of all waste management operations.”

    He said the firm kick-started operations at the landfill in January 2018. The landfill at Epe is the first in Nigeria; it is expected to serve as an Ecopark, where waste-to-energy plans, wastewater treatment, material recycling, and other vital environmental friendly procedures are carried out daily.

  • Environmentalists advocate ban of polythene bags

    Some environmentalists  have called on the government to ban the use of polythene bags to safeguard the environment and health of citizens.

    The environmentalists made the call in interviews with reporters in Lagos, while advocating for the use of biodegradable products as an environmentally-friendly solution to polythene bags.

    According to the experts, polythene bags are non-biodegradable and it takes about 400 years to decompose.

    An ecologist and co-founder of Clean Edge Limited, Mr. Temitope Ogunweide, said the continued use of plastic bags could be dangerous to the environment.

    “We see a lot of activities carried out with the use of plastic bags; there is also need to consider the negative impact they have on the environment. When people go to shopping malls, they use plastic bags to pack the items because of convenience. This trend has become part of us but the convenience of these bags come at a very high cost to the environment and health,” he said.

    Ogunweide urged Nigeria to emulate countries like China, France, Italy and Rwanda in ban of plastic as he highlighted the negative impact of plastic on marine life. “Most of these bags end up in the bottom of the oceans because they are petroleum based band and they do not degrade.

    “Currently there are approximately between 46,000 and 1,000,000 plastic fragments floating within every square mile of the globes’ oceans. The huge amount of plastics in the ocean has a side effect on the marine life such as sea turtles and fish,” he said.

    The expert said recycling of plastic in Nigeria had not been effective, calling for the effective recycling of plastics waste.

    “We have had many people advocating for recycling of plastics but most recycling plants do not have the capacity to recycle plastics in Nigeria. But we must consider the effect of plastic products on our health, plastic bags contain some pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyl and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are hormone disrupting. It can lead to cancer in humans or some other serious health challenges,” Ogunweide said.

    An environmentalist, Mrs. Candida Nworah, called for the gradual ban of plastic bags despite its negative effect. She said although the ban was necessary, it should follow a gradual process.

    According to her, the process of banning plastic goes beyond a one-year timeline, adding that it may take some years to complete the process. Plastic, she warned, is dangerous because it is non-biodegradable, adding that some plastics manufactured centuries ago are still in existence, while more are still being produced.

    Nworah called for the sensitisation of Nigerians on the health implication of plastic bags and products as well a provision of an alternative to plastic products before the ban.

    “We need to educate people at the grassroots and also at the top echelon of society on the non-biodegradable nature of plastic and also create an alternative before the ban,” she submitted.

  • Environmentalists hail review of excise duty on tobacco

    ENVIRONMENT Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has hailed the Federal Government for increasing excise duty on tobacco products.

    In addition to 20 per cent ad-valorem rate, each stick of cigarette will attract N1 rate (N20 per pack of 20 sticks) in 2018, N2 rate per stick (N40 per pack of 20 sticks) in 2019 and N2.90k rate per stick (N58 per pack of 20 sticks) in 2020.

    Minister of Finance Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said the  duty would take effect from Monday, June 4, 2018, after a 90-day grace to local manufacturers.

    The minister said the new duty for tobacco and alcohol was necessitated by the need to raise revenue and reduce hazards associated with tobacco-related diseases and alcohol abuse.

    With the new rate, Nigeria’s cumulative specific excise duty rate for tobacco is 23.2 per cent of the price of the most sold brand,  lower than Algeria, South Africa and The Gambia with 38.14 per cent, 36.52 per and 30 per cent.

    In a statement in Lagos, ERA/FoEN described the increase as good but urges the government to match the rates in Nigeria with that of other Africa countries.

    ERA/FoEN’s Deputy Executive Director Akinbode Oluwafemi said: “We applaud the Federal Government for acceding to the popular wishes of Nigerians for tobacco products to be priced beyond the reach of our kids and the poor who are unfortunately targeted by the tobacco industry through their cheap but lethal products.”

    Oluwafemi noted that while the rates are a good start, they fall short of recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Article 6 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which is 70 per cent excise on tobacco.

    He said survey after survey, including the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance Single Sticks Report and the Big Tobacco Tiny Targets Nigeria Report of last year, exposed the tobacco industry as targeting children through points of sale near schools and other locations they frequent to attract them to smoking.

  • Environmentalists kick against plantations replacing forests in Cross River

    A landscape governance assessment workshop in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, has kicked against oil palm, rubber and other such plantations springing up at the expense of forests in the state.

    The workshop under the programme called the Green Livelihood Alliance (GLA), is an international programme of Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands, Tropenbos International and IUCN Netherlands.

    Project Officer for Forest and Biodiversity for Environmental Rights Action(ERA)/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria (FoEN) and Coordinator for Forest and Biodiversity Friends of the Earth Africa, Mrs Rita Uwaka, said it was active in nine countries and in Nigeria, where Akamkpa local government in Cross River is the focal landscape, GLA works (ERA/FoEN)

    Uwaka said, “If you plant a particular tree over a large expanse of land doesn’t make it a forest. Forests have been standing for years. The idea of bring them down in the name of development as some governments would say, or in the name of making profit it is not friendly to the environment because we know the implications, such as the contribution to global warming. In Nigeria, the second highest contributor to climate change after gas flaring is deforestation. And the major contributor to deforestation in Nigeria is the conversion of forested landmass to agro-commodities like oil palm plantations, rubber plantations, and a host of others. This is at the detriment of peoples, of the biological diversity that we have.

    “We have been talking about ways in which diverse stakeholders from different backgrounds come to discuss about issues relating to the governance of forested landscapes. Our focus here is on Akamkpa because Akamkpa is significant in a number of ways. It has a lot of environmental significance in the entire Cross River State landscape being that it is home to Cross River State National Park, which is one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world. It is also home to one of the best community forest management practice on the continent and even beyond and that is the Ekuri forest that is managed by the communities about 33, 000 hectares of forested landmass of primary forests, rich roots, biodiversity of plants and animals species. This is an initiative driven by the communities.

    “Also in this landscape, we have a lot of interests from the private sector, where there is a growing and flourishing agro-commodities business and the most common of them is deforestation for oil palm plantations. We felt that there is need for all the stakeholders to come together and talk about how best we can have a more inclusive and conducive landscape governance, because you cannot be talking about landscape governance without involving all of these people.

    “So we had civil society organizations, we had trade unions, communities representatives, people from government and also people from the traditional institutions, we had companies, quarry companies that dot the landscape.

    “All of them came and gave their own opinions about how best we can have a friendly environmental practice in the landscape without causing more threats. As a fall out from the meeting, one of the points we were to put forward is to create more awareness and engagement of civil society organizations, private sector, government, traditional councils and all relevant stakeholders.

    “There is need to adopt a system of community forest management methods and also recognize that communities are the best custodians of the environment and for us to say our environment is our life, it means all the stakeholders must be part of the sustainable use of resources and sustainable environmental practices, especially the one that is community driven. It was also an opportunity for us to put forward a plan where before any projects goes son, or any decision making process is carried out in the landscape, each of the stakeholders must be involved and this through a specified criteria under the landscape governance assessment.”

  • Environmentalists raise alarm over alleged Koko toxic dump

    Environmentalists raise alarm over alleged Koko toxic dump

    Koko, a town in Delta State which became popular several years ago as a result of harmful industrial waste dumped on its soil,  has been in the news for the same reason in the last few weeks. Environmental rights activists are urging the Federal Government to  seal off the site of the alleged toxic waste dump, writes BOLAJI OGUNDELE

    A group of environmental rights activists,  the Itsekiri Environmental and Human Rights Group (IEHRG), has urged the Federal Government to  seal off the site of an alleged toxic waste dump in Koko, Warri North Council Area of Delta State.

    The group, in a statement, alleged that in a bid to cover up the truth about the dumping of the toxic waste in the community, the company that brought the suspected dangerous substances to the community, Ebenco Global Link Limited, had started burying them in the site of the dump.

    Some community sources, weeks ago, raised the alarm over the continued dumping of substances suspected to be toxic waste in the community by the company, raising fears of compounded health hazard for the people of the community, who had had to live with the effect of a similar toxic wastes, which were imported from Italy in 1987/1988.

    According to the group, which claimed to have done some laboratory tests on samples of the substance and had confirmed they are toxic, while some leaders of Koko community, it claimed were beneficiaries of the company, had been working hard to help the company in its cover-up scheme, some officials of the federal government agency that ought to have taken action against the development had allegedly been compromised.

    It, however noted that the resort to cover up and burying the toxic materials in the soil of the community would hasten the damaging of the ecosystem in the area and expose the people to hazard more quickly, hence the need for government to swing into action immediately and stop the ongoing dangerous activity in the community.

    “The irony of the matter is that some Koko community leaders and residents are aiding, abetting and supporting Ebenco in the cover up of the criminal dumping of highly toxic and carcinogenic wastes in their town because they are on the payroll of the company and its backers. We also understand that some officers of the regulatory body that were sent to the site were alleged to have been compromised.

    “As at Tuesday, February 28, 2017, the company, Ebenco has heaped tons of sand on the dumped site and used bulldozers to grind and press the toxic wastes into the ground perhaps unknowingly hastening the seeping of the toxic and carcinogenic materials into the underground water system. The intention of the company is to create an impression that there is no toxic waste dumped at the site because the pits have been covered with sand.

    “It is evident that the exposure of the company’s activities in Koko has kicked in a survival instinct which has resulted in high spending, cover up and other criminal activities.

    “The government has responsibility to the people of Koko. It must take immediate and positive action on the unfortunate occurrences in Koko. The place should be sealed up, while Government is conducting its investigation.

    “The time lapse since we raised an alarm and petitioned the Federal Ministry of  Environment  has given the company the opportunity to think that it can cover up the criminal dumping of toxic and carcinogenic waste in Koko community. In the mean time, the company is busy hoodwinking the locals and corrupt local government officials”, the group said.

    The House of Representatives, on Wednesday in Abuja, passed a resolution to investigate the dumping of toxic waste in Koko community in Warri, Delta, to avert failure of human organs.

    The House also mandated its Committees on Environment and Habitat, Petroleum Resources (Downstream) and Gas Resources to investigate the extent of the environmental impact of the toxic waste on the community.

    The resolution followed the adoption of a motion titled “Need to Investigate the Dumping of Toxic Waste in Koko Community of Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State,’’ sponsored by Rep. Daniel Reyenieju (PDP-Delta).

    Moving the motion, Reyenieju recalled that in June 1988, toxic waste was dumped in Koko which resulted to illnesses and environmental damages to aquatic life of the people.

    He expressed concern that apart from the incidence that happened in 1988, there was recurrence in 2017 which violates the environmental guideline and standard for the petroleum industry in Nigeria.

    The lawmaker said 80 per cent of oily sludge is considered hazardous because of the presence of toxic organics such as aromatics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and complex compounds with very high molecular weights.

    “The consumption or absorption of toxic and carcinogenic contaminants by plants and lower animals will ultimately lead to bioaccumulation in humans from food chain in nature which will result in failure of organs and ultimately death.

    “During the rainy season, surface and underground water which is the source of drinking water for the people is gravely contaminated through seepage of toxic and carcinogenic substances into aquifer.

    “The area around the dump site is residential and a primary school, with its numerous pupils and teachers, also share a common perimeter fence with the dump site facility,’’ Reyenieju said.

    The House mandated the relevant committees to report back their findings within four weeks for further legislative action.

  •  ECOWAS urges FG to tackle logging, wildlife crimes

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has appealed to the Federal Government to employ the services of environmentalists to tackle issues of logging and wildlife crimes.

    Mr Bougonou Djeri-Alassani, the Head of Division, Environmental Policies and Regulations of the commission, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Djeri-Alassani, explained that many citizens depended on tree cutting to earn a living, hence the need for the consultation to tackle the challenges in the country.

    He suggested that adequate financial support be given to dependents on those natural assets to encourage and enable them find alternatives to their illegal businesses.

    Djeri-Alassani said the damages which were currently done in forests at the sub-region were dangerous for the future generation.

    According to him, ECOWAS has adopted a convergence plan for the sustainable management and utilisation of forest ecosystems and a Sub-Regional Action Programme to combat desertification in West Africa.

    “Tackling issues of illegal logging and sale of ivory products are not easy to handle without adequate consultation of experts in the field.

    “If some supports can be given to the dependents of these forests, it will help to reduce illegal logging and sale of ivory produce,’’ he said.

    On the forthcoming Conference of Parties (COP 22), Djeri-Alassani said the commission had just concluded a meeting with its member states to prepare them on decisions and the adoption of the Paris Agreement.

    He said that ECOWAS member states would participate in the conference to be held in Morocco by November.

    NAN reports that during the COP 22, parties will begin preparations for entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change.