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Tag: NCF

  • Recycle to save environment from plastic pollution, NCF urges firms

    The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has urged companies manufacturing fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) to save the environment from plastic pollution through recycling.

    NCF’s Senior Consultant Officer, Environmental Education Mrs Abidemi Balogun gave the charge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. She also appealed to multinational companies to join the campaign against plastic pollution.

    Mrs Balogun said the companies could attach incentives to waste collection and recycling to create more jobs and reduce plastic pollution to save the environment.

    She said NCF was carrying out an advocacy on proper waste collection, recycling and management in 17 communities in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos.

    The consultant said the aim of the campaign was to educate residents on dangers of inappropriate waste disposal, and that the residents were trained on waste-to-wealth and recycling initiatives.

    Balogun said the foundation also introduced recycling points to buy the sorted wastes from the residents, saying most participants were earning good money from the programme.

    She suggested the need for FMCGs and multinational corporations to perfect ways of buying back plastic wastes from residents for the purpose of recycling plastic products.

    The consultant said the NCF carried along community heads as it sensitised residents and engaged in physical clean up with them.

    Balogun added that the foundation introduced a point-based collection with centres within the communities and participants were paid after reaching a particular level.

    “Some of the communities just generate the waste; they did not know that they could generate income from it.

    “One thing we identified from the exercise is that most of the waste is plastic and it is none biodegradable, it does not break down, so, most of it goes back into the environment or the water bodies.

    “That is why for the 2018 World Environment Day, plastic pollution was the focus because it is a global concern.

    “We call on other corporate organisations, the beverage companies to have initiatives like this, where they can develop programmes to buy off plastics from communities thereby engaging them.

    “It will serve as a source of employment to the communities because if some people know that they can get money from collecting plastics, they will want to go into it as a full time job because plastic is everywhere,’’ she said.

    Balogun said the NCF had also started discussing with clubs in schools across the council area, and that the schools usually went round to clean up the environment while creating awareness.

    “The students can also use the waste materials to make things they can use in the home.

    “We want continuity of the initiative, that is why we are going beyond the communities to working with the schools because even when the children graduate, other children are there to continue the activity,’’ she said.

    Mrs Balogun said the foundation got a grant of N7 million in 2017 for the programme, and the criteria for selection of communities included proximity to NCF and low income areas.

    The consultant listed the communities to include, Mopo Onijebu, Ataguntan, Sangotedo, Badore, Ikate, among others. (NAN).

  • NCF set to tackle illegal wildlife trade at lecture

    The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), has concluded plans to hold the 2018 Chief Shafi Lawal Edu Memorial Lecture. The 2018 Lecture, which is the 16th edition in the series, is scheduled to hold on Wednesday, January 17,  at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island in Lagos.

    The lecture, titled: “Combatting Illegal Wildlife Trade in West Africa: the role of Environmental Law and Governance”, is part of NCF’s sustainable development agenda and its contribution to nation building. A professor of Environmental Law and Policy and the Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Ojo, Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, will deliver the lecture.

    According to the NCF Director-General, Mr. Adeniyi Karunwi, the theme was informed by the rising cases of illegal wildlife trade in Nigeria and other West African countries.

    “Policy Advocacy is a cardinal programme of the Foundation, which is used to advocate actions on imminent environmental issues, hence the choice of the topic,” he said in a statement.

    Karunwi said the lecture was initiated by the NCF to immortalise its Founder, the late Chief Edu. “In the past 15 years, lectures in diverse environmental issues have been discussed as a way of advocating and educating the populace on the need to be well sensitised and embrace nature conservation and sustainable livelihood,” he explained.

    At the event, two PhD students studying environmental sciences in Nigerian universities will also be awarded scholarship Grants. The Grant, sponsored by Chevron, is to encourage the students to undertake research work in the fields related to nature conservation, biodiversity and sustainable livelihood.

    The NCF has its projects spread across the country, which are directly based on one or all of the Foundation’s activities in biodiversity conservation, environmental education, policy advocacy and improvement of livelihood of host communities.

  • Super-Highway: Cross River hasn’t met guidelines, says NCF

    |The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has faulted the claim of the Cross River State Government on its proposed Super-Highway adding that the state is yet to meet guidelines set by agencies and so can’t get approvals.
    In a statement signed by NCF’s Director General, Mr. Adeniyi Karunwi, there have been reported threats by some cabinet members of the Cross River State Government to resume work on the Cross River Super-Highway.
    The Foundation allergies that if the project goes on without proper EIA and BAP in place, it will have both environmental and social impact of a scale better imagined than experienced. It advised the Cross State Government to adhere strictly to the provisions of the EIA Act and suspend any plan to commence the construction of the proposed Super-Highway without the approval of the Federal Government.
    According to reports, the State’s Commissioner of Information, Mrs. Rosemary Archibong, alluded to the process by the Federal Ministry of Environment to ensure that due process is followed as “thwarting the State’s effort”. She said though it has strived to meet all the agencies demand to ensure that these projects took off smoothly, government is still battling with approvals one year after.
    NCF claims that work was already being carried out at the site before any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was submitted, which is a gross violation of the EIA Act No. 86 of 1992.
    It reads: “Contrary to the claim that the CRSG has met all guidelines, the belated EIA report was full of errors and inconsistencies, which the EIA Review Panel constituted by the Federal Ministry of Environment (FME) observed. It was then sent back to the CRSG to effect the observations and concerns raised.
    “A revised EIA and a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) from the CRSG was submitted last January to the FME, which was passed to relevant stakeholders, including NCF, for further review. It was observed that the revised EIA and BAP were fraught with a lot of inconsistencies, misrepresentations, falsification and errors. The stakeholders’ observations were recently conveyed to the FME.
    “The threat by the CRSG to go ahead with the construction without an approved EIA goes to show the level at which the CRSG is unwilling to abide by the laws governing major developmental projects. It should be stated here that all such projects all over the country are obliged to follow the EIA Act.
    “No mention was made of over 185 Communities that will be totally displaced from their ancestral lands and the vast acreage of forest land that will be destroyed. Based on the foregoing, NCF wishes to state that for the CRSG to threaten to go ahead with the work despite the FME’s efforts to see that the process is followed according to the laws of the land.

  • NCF warns on extinction of wildlife, forests

    President Board of Trustees Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Izoma Asiodu, has urged Nigerians to desist from illegal trade in wildlife and destruction of forests to prevent extinction of wildlife and desert encroachment.

    According to him, these illegal activities are not only responsible for the reduction in the population of wildlife but also desert encroachment in some parts of the nation.

    Asiodu spoke at the 27th Annual General Meeting of the foundation at its headquarters in Lagos at the weekend.

    He said: “Illegal trade in wildlife is a major driver of species loss. This callous trade is really depleting the population of wildlife that renders valuable benefits to the ecosystem.

    “It has been reported that between 2010 and 2012, approximately 100,000 African elephants were killed out of a population estimated to be less than 500,000.

    “Climate change is the biggest global environmental threat. Adaptive measures need to be taken now to protect arid regions in the Northern part of our dear nation where desert encroachment is happening at a fast rate.

    “The continuing degradation of these forests would mean loss of ecosystem services and livelihoods, extinction of endangered wildlife, loss of cultural heritage and loss of carbon storage among others”.

    Asiodu promised the group’s continuous partnership with government at different levels and other stakeholders to ensure the conservation of Nigeria’s wildlife and forests.

    “It is our intention to collaborate with the federal and state governments as their support are crucial to the success of large scale forest rehabilitation efforts.

    “Yet, humans remain the wildlife’s greatest threat and are equally its only hope for continued survival.”

    In his annual report, the Director-General of NCF, Adeniji Karunwi, noted that the achievements made by the foundation under the year review include: projects implementations in different parts of the country, conservation awareness creation, tree-planting exercises and capacity development trainings among others.

    Karunwi, who charged the media to increase the publicity for the group’s activities, also expressed optimism for improvement of the group’s numeral strength through the use of appropriate technology to enhance members’ registration.

    “We expect our membership base to increase significantly during this year as we finalise the installation of a membership software application for seamless registration.

    “We believe much more would be achieved in our drive to make NCF a mass-membership based organization,” Karunwi added.

    Chairman, National Executive Council of NCF, Chief Ede Dafinone, promised the foundation would not rest on its oars.

     

     

     

    He said the foundation will increase its efforts at “breaking new grounds in stakeholders’ engagements and awareness creation in conservation and environmental issues in consonance with NCF strategic action plan”.

     

  • NCF prepares busy schedule for Chess players

    NCF prepares busy schedule for Chess players

    Following the FIDE rating boom achieved by numerous chess players last year, there are strong indications that better chess empowerment awaits all the ambitious players following the activities lined up for the year by the board of Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF).

    At the last board meeting held recently in Asaba, Delta State, a total of rated tournaments are available both within and outside the country this year and the availability of these events, according to the President of the NCF, will add value to the development of the game in the country.

    According to the programme of activities made available to the media, the registration and licensing of players is on-going alongside the payment of affilation fees to the World Chess body, FIDE.

    Next month, Achiever University in Ondo State will stage the maiden National University Chess Championship in in Owo form 25th-29th of the month and it is FIDE-rated.

    For the first time in the history of chess at the National Sports Festival (NSF), the event will be FIDE-rated aside the medals to be awarded all the players. Barring any last-minute changes by the National Sports Commission (NSC), the event will hold in Calabar in April.

    The annual Friends of Chess will hold in April from 3rd-4th. Malogy Chess Championship will come up immedietly after and both events are to be rated and will come up in Lagos.

    The famous C4 National Chess Championship organised by the Players’ Union annually in Lagos and the South West Zonal Championships in Ibadan will take centre stage in May between 2nd-3rd and 28th-31st respectively. While the National U-14 Chess Championship will run between 14th-16th of the month.

    The Chess boss stated futher that the famous Millionaire Chess Satellite Championship will debut in Abuja from 3rd-7th of June and the South-South Zonal Chess Championship in Benin will follow from 10th-28th while Pro-Chess Quarterly event in Ibadan from 24th-28th will wrap up the half-way mark for the year.

    The National Chess League by all the registered clubs with the NCF will hold at the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan from 1st- 5th of July, and will allow ambitious players to improve their ratings just as the National Inter-collegiate Team Chess Championship will take the stage at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Lagos from 15th-19th while the Northern States’ Chess Championships will debut in Kaduna from 22nd-25th of the month.

    Four tournaments, namely; National Schools Chess Championship, Tunde Omotosho Memorial Rapid Chess Championship, National U-20 Chess Championship and Chess Height event will hold in August in Ibadan, Benin and Lagos respectively.

    In September, moments after the 86th FIDE Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE, the Blind Chess Championship for impaired chess players will hold in Lagos from 10th-12th and the National Women Championship will follow from 17th-20th in Ibadan while Pro-Chess quaterly will round up the month at the same city.

    Delta State will host the maiden Victoria Ossai Memorial Rapid Chess Championship in Warri and the event will hold on the 1st of October and in the middle of the month, the 38th edition of Nigerian Breweries Plc International Chess Championship will hold from 14th-18th of the month and the 3rd Lagos Chess Classic will follow from 21st-25th. Both events will hold at the Molade Okoya-Thomas hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

    The second edition of the NCF President’s Cup will hold in November in Benin, while the NUGA Games in Markudi will allow players to improve their ratings as well. The year will wind up with the Ashtonwells Chess Championship in Abraka, Benin Chess Championship (Oba’s Cup) and the National Closed Championship in Ibadan from 8th-13th of December, MTN Chess tournament and Gladiators’ Chess event will round up a busy year of activities for Nigerian chess players.

  • NCF: ICC World Cricket League loss a blessing

    The not-too impressive performance of the Nigerian cricket team to the last ICC World Cricket League Division five has been described as a blessing in disguise.

    The President of the Nigerian Cricket Federation, (NCF), Engr Emeka Onyema, told NationSport that the failure to qualify for the Division 4 league of world cricket at the just concluded International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cricket League Division 5 in Malaysia is a blessing in disguise for Nigeria.

    He added that top on the priority list of the federation is to ensure that the local League is developed with intent to return the game to the glory days.

    Recently the Nigerian team of 14 players and five officials stormed Malaysia for the 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division 5 which started from March 4 to March 14.

    According Onyema, though the team failed to gain promotion to play in division four of the league, the players did well shooting into global reckoning with the surprise promotion to the World Division 5.

    He said; “Like I said before Nigeria is in division five and the players have done marvelously well. We went to Sri Lanka to compete for promotion to division four but we came fourth and the rules says two teams will advance further  while two teams will go down. So the reality is that Nigeria will be playing in division five of the championship next term and that is a very big achievement.”

    On how he intends to develop the local league Onyema said: “My assessment of the league is that it is a function of how far cricket has gone in Nigeria. We have so many clubs, all I feel is that we need to take advantage of the opportunities and convert these efforts into a more commercially rewarding venture for those playing and those organizing. Cricket has come of age in Nigeria and that is why the Lagos state league which has brought a lot of clubs together is ending today. (Last Saturday).

    “You remember the last time we came back from Malaysia I said it was a blessing in disguise, because if we had qualified we would have rushed like aimless chickens playing in division four without making effort to solidify the game in Nigeria. Just like it is happening now that we have a window to appreciate and make the game come to stay, we are doing a lot,” he said.

    Onyema further informed that the major bane of the sport in Nigeria is the absence of a pitch of international standard, which he stressed that discussions with the government as regards this are ongoing.

    “Once we can get a standard pitch the game will move like a rocket in Nigeria. With this we can invite players from Britain, Sri Lanka and other parts of the world to come play in Nigeria and you know what that will mean for our country. So many people will come with their sponsors, money, and everything we need to boost our economy and improve the sport. I didn’t play this game in London or other parts of the world but in Nigeria so we must develop this game here”.

    On the efforts made to return the sport to schools, the former cricket player said: “That is development, sustainability of the game. We have taken cricket back to the Nigeria School Sport festival, which is the beginning of sports development. That is encouraging children from age ten to seventeen which are found in secondary schools. The Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF), has accepted us, we did the demo in Ilorin Kwara state at the last edition and we hope to continue.”

  • NCF introduces chess in schools to enhance academic performance

    Lekan Adeyemi, the President of Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF), on Friday said the body had concluded plans to introduce the sport in schools to enhance academic performance.

    Adeyemi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the introduction would benefit the students when it eventually kicked off sometime later in the year.

    “Chess has been found to actually help children in their academics because when you can concentrate, you can equally assimilate. That is why we plan to introduce it in schools so that our children can play chess.

    “It will improve their grades because chess is a calculative sport, it will help the brain to think fast. The brain can develop only if you put it under test. We believe that if chess is introduced in schools it will help students’ academics and help them to make choices. It will help their perception about how they see life. Chess is life,” he said.

    He said the NCF would partner with Garry Kasparov, a former chess world champion, to roll off his chess foundation known as Kasparov Chess Foundation to bring this event to a success. Adeyemi said the initiative would impact positively on the development of chess.

    “We all know Kasparov; he is a legend in the game of chess. He came to the country last month to start this initiative, collaborating with the NCF in developing chess and also establishing his foundation.

    “Many schools will benefit from this and it will raise the standard of chess in the country,’’ he said.

  • Conservation Foundation immortalises director

    The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has promised to keep alive the memory of its former Executive Director, Prof Emmanuel Obot, who died in the June 3, last year Dana plane crash.

    Speaking at the launch of deceased’s Orchids Centre consist of his collections of lower plants (orchids, epiphyte and ferns), NCF’s Acting Executive Director, NCF, Mr Alade Adeleke, said: “We will ever cherish his legacy, hard work and commitment to nature conservation. He remains ever in our mind. One of the ways of keeping his memory alive is setting up this Orchids Centre, which is a collection of Prof Obot works.”

    The centre is within the Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC).

    The late Obot’s widow, Emma, described her husband as a man who worked tirelessly and fearlessly to make life meaningful to all.

    She said: “His simplicity and hard work had always amazed me. He talked less but communicated well to me and the children. He was simply passionate about what he did and it pushed me and the children to aspire to greater things.”

    She added: “This is what my husband has always loved to do. He was so passionate about these orchids. I know if he was alive he would have love to see this.”

  • Fed Govt pledges N10b to Great Green Wall project

    •NCF seeks ‘proper implementation ‘

    The Federal Government has pledged N10billion for the implementation of the Great Green Wall Project.

    Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has praised the government for its gesture.

    The Minister of the Environment, Hajiya Hadiza  Mailafia, said  at the National Conference on Environment in Makurdi, Benue State that the government had made a N10 billion commitment towards the implementation of the United Nations-backed programme.

    Great Green Wall brings together 11 countries to plant trees across Africa to hold back the Sahara Desert with a swathe of greenery to lessen the effects of desertification and improve the lives of communities.

    In Nigeria, the project aims to address desertification, enhance natural resource management and promote ecosystem integrity in the dryland in the  northern parts of the country.The Nigerian Project stretches from Zamfara and Kebbi states in the Northwest corner to a belt along the northern border of the country to the extreme eastern border in Borno State. Eight sstates are involved in the project.

    While praising the government for its commitment to the initiative, the Acting Executive Director, Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Alade Adeleke, called  for a framework  that considers the expected benefits and elements which the project would capture.

    Adeleke said it should have effective follow up and action, based on the principles and actions highlighted in the strategic plan.

    The project, he stressed, should be seen as an opportunity to boost natural resource productivity and reduce stress and tension in natural resource use among major stakeholders.

    Adeleke, however, insisted that a conflict mitigation and management strategy should be put in place by participating states to guide against actions that can punctuate or slow down the process of implementation.

    He said: “The project should be seen as a solution rather than a problem for communities, states and people of the benefiting areas. Science and adaptive field research should be inculcated into the implementation plan of the project. This should be fashioned out in collaboration with key Universities and Research Institutions in the project implementation areas.”

    The Wall, an initiative spearheaded by African Heads of State, will stretch to about 7,000 kilometres from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east and will be about 15 kilometres wide traversing the continent. It will pass through Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

    The programme aims to support efforts of local communities in the sustainable management and use of forests – a key theme of the 10th session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF10), taking place in Istanbul, Turkey as well as other natural resources in dry lands.

    The tree planting, among other things, is expected to provide a barrier against desert winds and help to hold moisture in the air and soil to allow agriculture flourish.

    It is also expected that the Wall will reduce erosion, enhance biodiversity and improve countries’ resilience to climate change.

  • NCF, Chevron others launch GIS

    Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF), Chevron and Birdlife International have launched the Geographic Information System (GIS) to create awareness for their activities.

    At the event, a scientist, Mr Ogunsesan Adedamola, described GIS as a computer-based tool for managing and analysing data that has a spatial or geographic dimension to aid work flow.

    Prof. Seyi Fabiyi said GIS helps in managing the security of data in a given area.He added that low internet density is a major factor militating against the country from benefiting from Geospatial technologies.

    The Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria Limited, who was represented by Mr Muyiwa Agboola, praised the initiative promising to do more.