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Tag: World Habitat Day

  • World Habitat Day: Plenty wastes, less wealth

    It’s been three decades since the United Nations General Assembly declared that decent habitat is a human right. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE writes on Nigeria’s readiness to join the rest of the world today, in drawing attention to decent habitation

    The picture that went viral on social media, on the nation’s Independence Day on October 1, was one with a million stories of Nigeria’s romance with waste and spiraling poverty.

    It was a picture of a woman in a white gown with a sash of green, holding a wine cup, with her man sitting quietly behind a table on which was a bottle of wine, also nursing a cup of wine.

    Say they had gone reveling on a dumpsite, and you may not be wrong. Behind and around them were heaps of bagged garbage. Behind them are young scavengers, rummaging the garbage for wealth.

    The picture also hit at the heart of this year’s World Habitat Day (WHD), which is celebrated across the world today.

    From solid waste, to electronic waste, deforestation, garbage control and desertification, Nigerian government has continued to confront daunting challenges that question its capacity to guaranty decent habitat for her people.

    With a total landmass of 983,213km2 and about 200 million people the quest for a decent habitation and equitable habitat has continued to dog successive administrations.

    Since 1985, when the United Nations designated the first Monday of October, every year, as World Habitat Day and the first of such marked in 1986, member nations have continued to reflect on the state of their towns and cities, and on the basic right of all people to adequate shelter.

    World Habitat Day was first celebrated in 1986 with the theme “Shelter is My Right”. Nairobi was the host city for the observance that year.

    The Day is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.

    “International days are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilise political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity,” an environmentalist Mrs. Agnes Ekpo said.

    The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool.

    Building on last year’s theme “Municipal Solid Waste Management,” which focused on managing garbage, the focus this year is promoting the contribution of innovative frontier technologies to sustainable waste management.

    Central to the WHD is the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal 11 by 2030, the next decade of action for the world to achieve meaningful human impact solutions to improve livability across 17 templates that challenge humanity.

    SDG 11 addresses the attainment of safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities. Going beyond solid waste, which includes all waste produced by human activity (solid, liquid, domestic, industrial and commercial), this year aims at promoting the adoption of frontier technologies, to manage the devastating impact of wastes on climate change, public health and the environment.

    Technology, the world over, has greatly impacted and improved how people work and live, in order to significantly accelerate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change.

    Frontier technologies, such as automation, robotics, electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, biotechnologies and artificial intelligence can transform the social, economic and environmental spheres.

    They can offer better, cheaper, faster, scalable and easy-to-use solutions for every-day problems, including waste management.

    The task ahead is to harness frontier technologies to achieve sustainable waste management while mitigating their possible adverse economic, social and political consequences.

    Even as Nigeria continues to grapple with the effect of daunting challenges of solid and e-wastes management, which has continued to expose Nigerians to worsening health challenges with cumulative effect on health care and average life span, the government only last week revealed plans to unveil its electric car by 2020, even as government continues to grapple with huge gaps in electricity distribution by its epileptic DisCos.

    At The Platform, a forum organised by the Covenant Christian Centre on Tuesday, the Peoples Democratic Party’s Vice-presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi expressed worries that the country continued to witness stunted growth despite government’s huge borrowings.

    “Nigerians have expressed worries about the growing level of borrowing which is not impacting on the country’s growth. One of the crises we face as a country is the high level of our debt accumulation.

    “At present, Nigeria’s debt profile is about N28 trillion. Our debt to GDP is about 25 per cent. Singapore’s debt to GDP is 100 per cent. In Singapore, one can only borrow for capital projects that will pay itself back.

    “Nigeria’s unemployment rate is over 25 per cent, global life expectancy is 75 years, while for Nigeria it is 54 years.

    “Nigeria is the only country where there is low literacy rate of 51 per cent and this is caused by the nonchalant attitude towards our educational system on the part of our leaders and policy makers”.

    Mr. Obi further stated that Nigeria is the home of the highest number of poor people, and in every minute, six Nigerians fall into poverty.

    Nigeria has a total land area of 983,213 kms occupied by almost 200 million people: The interaction of these millions of people with their environment has left indelible mark on the landscape.

    Urbanisation, deforestation, desertification, over population and all kinds of pollution are some of the resultant effects of man’s interaction with his environment. These changes occur as the people attempt to acquire their seemingly endless desire for food, shelter, recreation and infrastructural facilities.

    Though these wants and desires contribute to the development of the country, the unwise use of the land and its resources produces negative impacts on the environment.

    The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) was established to control the Nigerian environment, its resources, exploitation and management. But field observation revealed that environmental degradation is growing at a rate worse than the pre-FEPA period.

    Solution to these problems require going beyond the strategies and objectives of FEPA. Environmental protection techniques should be indigenised. It should be written and delivered in Nigerian languages. The design should take cognisance of the different ecological zones in the country and the people should be the agents.

    For an enduring legacy, Environmental Education (which should include environmental protection techniques) should be included in primary and post-primary school curricula.

  • Lagos marks World Habitat Day

    The Lagos state Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPP&UD), will today joined other global stakeholders to commemorate this year’s World Habitat Day (WHD). The event which is marked yearly the world over, has as its theme for this year: “Municipal Solid Waste Management.”

    Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development Rotimi Ogunleye explained that solid waste management is a global issue that affects everyone and needs sustainable measures in order to tackle this societal menace.

    He explained that for this year’s celebration, 37 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the government have been invited and also 19 corporate organisations and professional bodies are also expected to grace the occasion today, including the Governor of Lagos state, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, who is the special Guest of Honour.

    Other dignitaries expected at the event include the United Nations Delegate Town planner. Kabir Yari, who is expected to deliver the UN message for the WED celebration.  Also in attendance is the reknowned environmentalist, Mr Idowu Salawu, who is expected to deliver a lecture on municipal solid waste management in Lagos state.

    Since 1986, the MPP&UD the ministry had keyed into the WHD tradition. “The WHD is a wake up call to remind us that we all have the power and responsibilities to shape the future of the cities and towns in the state. Each year the state government through the ministry of physical planning and urban development bring policies to promote sustainable development policies that ensure adequate shelter for all. This year’s edition will focus on promoting all levels of government and all relevant stakeholders to reflect on how to implement concrete initiatives to ensure adequate and affordable housing for all in the state,” Ogunleye said.

     

  • Obaseki assures of sound environmental governance in Edo

    The Edo State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has assured that the state’s new environmental policy will engender a regime of sound environmental governance that will deploy best practice in waste and water management.

    Obaseki, who gave the assurance on the occasion of the celebration of World Habitat Day, observed on October 1, each year, said efforts at repositioning the state’s environment to better serve Edo people and residents have begun yielding positive results.

    “The Edo State Ministry of Environment and Sustainability recently reviewed the activities of burrow pit and abattoir operators as well as those of sand miners across the state.

    “We have undertaken an aerial survey of the state’s land assets and were shocked at the degree of abuse and exploitation of our forests and natural resources,” he said.

    The governor stressed that: “We are resolute about restoring sanity to the sector to ensure we have an environment we all will be proud of, and which will outlive us.”

    He explained that the flash floods that have wreaked havoc in parts of the state are caused in part, by human activities and called on community and religious leaders as well as other stakeholders to support the state’s blueprint for the sector.

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    “At the recent expert session convened to review the Edo State Environmental Policy, I charged experts drawn from the United Nations’ specialised organisation to fast-track work on the policy that was tabled for validation. I am confident that when unveiled, the environmental challenges we currently face will be tackled head-on,” the governor said.

    The policy document which was prepared in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), according to Obaseki, would address environmental issues such as flooding, deforestation, amongst others.

    World Habitat Day is a day set aside by the United Nations to reflect on the state of towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.

    The United Nations explained that “The Day is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.

    “The focus of this year’s World Habitat Day celebrations is taking action to address the municipal solid waste management challenge. This year’s theme is Municipal Solid Waste Management with a slogan: Waste-wise cities.

    The global body added, “On October 1, 2018, and in the period before and after this day, a concerted effort will be made to: raise awareness that Municipal solid waste is a global challenge that all of us need to address; facilitate policy dialogue and form partnerships; promote innovative solutions to municipal solid waste management and mobilise resources to address the municipal solid waste challenges.”

  • Lagos celebrates ‘Voices from Slums’

    Lagos celebrates ‘Voices from Slums’

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, has said it is the duty of any responsible government to reduce slum settlements in urban areas. This reason, he said, is the driving force behind the efforts of the state aimed at dealing with slums in the state.

    Ayinde made this declaration at the celebration of this year’s World Habitat Day in Lagos, last week. He said over the years, the state has proactively initiated policies and strategies aimed at addressing challenges of slum dwellers, thereby improving their living conditions.

    He listed some of these measures to include the identification of slums and blighted areas; enactment of Lagos State Urban Renewal Law; establishment of the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency; implementation of urban renewal schemes like that going on in Olaleye-Iponri, Otto-Otumara, Ipodo-Ikeja, Badiya and Agege areas.

    Others, according to him, include the World Bank assisted Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP), upgrading and urban regeneration in 11 slum communities of Isalegangan, Makoko, Ijora-Oloye, Iwaya, Adeniji-Adele Regeneration Project, amongst others.

    The UN-Habitat programme manager for Nigeria, Malam Kabir Yari, noted that given the reality of a rapidly urbanising world in which more city dwellers have more than ever before found themselves in more informal settlements, this year’s celebration, therefore, drew more attention to the plight of urban residents, who today live in conditions that are at best, unacceptable.

    Yari explained that as at 2008, the rapid urbanisation had led to a situation whereby more people around the world were living in urban centres than in rural areas. He further revealed that an estimated 800 million people in the developing world lived in unplanned settlements and several of the major features that have characterised this transformation include the rapid spread of slums, which accommodates about 69 per cent of Nigeria’s total urban population.

    Based on experts’ submissions, Yari disclosed that with Lagos State accounting for just over a quarter of the country’s total urban population and with a growth rate which at 6-8 per cent is about to double the national estimate of 2.9 per cent, it is only expected that the State would have more than is fair share of people living in slum conditions to contend with.

    The guest lecturer at the event, a Professor of Architecture, University of Lagos, Olumide Olusanya, noted that the persistent problem of housing in Nigeria over the last 40 years has to do with inappropriate urban housing types for tropical climate and the inefficient building and construction methods. He regreted that the construction industry has persevered with the same wasteful practices, but expecting a different result.

    He said in the past 30 years, a research and development effort have been ongoing in the Department of Architecture at the University of Lagos, premised on the principle that for research in housing to be useful it must be actualised in practice to transform knowledge into know-how. The practice, he noted, could then in turn inform research to the development of appropriate products.

    The highpoint of the celebration was a drama presentation titled “Snaphots from a slum” by Bode Sowande group.

  • Advocating habitable environment

    Advocating habitable environment

    In a bid to provide cleaner and habitable environment for  towns and cities across the globe , the United Nations named the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. Being the first Monday in October today marks another UN World Habitat Day.

    Apart from reflecting on the state of our town and cities, this day serves as a reminder to the world that “we all have responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.”

    The environment which we live in is our responsibility. The power lies in our hands as inhabitants to make our environment worth living.

    The theme for this year is “Urban Mobility”. According to United Nations, urban mobility refers to the “access to goods and services which is essential to the efficient functioning of our cities and towns as they expand.”

    It has been stated that accessible cities encourage a shift towards more sustainable modes of transportation and draw more and more travelers out of cars onto trains, buses, bike paths, and sidewalks.

    In Nigeria, can these be said to be in place? Do we live in an environment that encourages sustainable living? Does the government ensure urban mobility through her various policies? Has the government ensured its various policies are followed to the latter by
    citizens? These are questions that stare us at the face and on a day like this, it is imperative that stakeholders reflect on these questions to ensure urban mobility.

    The need to stop indiscriminate buildings on drainages, streets and major roads is pertinent for urban mobility to strive.

    According to the Project Manager of one of the housing estates under construction in Lagos who pleads anonymity, says Nigeria can only achieve urban mobility when citizens learn to do the “right thing.”

    According to him, “The problem we have in Lagos and other states in Nigeria is due to the attitude of citizens. Citizens do not do the right thing. They build on every little space available. This is not ideal. Cities cannot be developed without adequate plans for a healthy environment.”

    For Tolulope Alabi, a secondary school teacher in Lagos state, it is important for other state governments to emulate Lagos state government in the area of ensuring urban mobility, “The good work of Lagos state government in ensuring a better habitable environment is visible. Look at the doggedness and determination to open up Oshodi. If not for that, we would have been hearing of several cases of robbery.”

    When asked if Nigeria can truly experience urban mobility, Alabi says: “With what has happened in Dubai, Singapore in terms of their development, I believe Nigeria is on the track to modernise her urban areas.”

    Chima Onuba, a civil servant in Abia state calls on all state governments to put in the right legislation for urban mobility to be achieved. “The government need to put in place the right legislation to ensure urban areas is conducive for living. UN’s theme for this year: ‘Urban Mobility’ can be only realised if proper urban planning is done in various cities in Nigeria,” he says.

    In his speech to mark this year’s World Habitat Day, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat Dr. Joan Clos calls for improved accessibility and mobility in urban areas for more efficient
    of the world’s cities and towns.

    He said: “Mobility is an important part of city design as it contributes, not only to the liveability of a city in terms of reduced congestion and pollution, but also to the
    economic potential, allowing the efficient movement of people and goods.

    “Mobility is at the core of equitable access to basic goods, services and activities – such as work, education, medical care, shopping, socializing – and to enable people to participate in
    civic life.

    “Furthermore, accessible cities encourage a shift towards more sustainable modes of transportation and draw more and more travelers out of cars and onto trains, buses, bike paths,
    and sidewalks. Over time, the collective costs of ‘auto mobility’ have become abundantly apparent – including urban sprawl, air and noise pollution, climate change, road traffic accidents,
    and the physical separation of people by class and race.

    “But mobility is about more than just the mode of transport we use. Urban planning and design should focus on how to bring people and places together, by creating cities that focus on accessibility, rather than simply increasing the length and capacity of urban transport infrastructure.

    “By optimizing urban densities and minimizing land zoning we start to make the city work for its citizens; proximity of goods and services exploits the urban advantage and encourages investment and opportunity,” he said.

    Compact, well-designed cities can also be cleaner and have less impact on their environment per resident than more spread out areas. “In an environment characterized by scarcity, this is not only preferable to our standard of living but vital if we are to grow our urban space in a sustainable and desirable way. We need to ensure the cities of the future are well-planned, sustainable and accessible to all,” Clos says.

    Also, the UN Secretary- General, Ban Ki-Moon in his message, calls on the provision of appropriate and efficient systems that serve people in the best
    and most equitable manner.

  • World Habitat Day: Experts push for functional cities

    World Habitat Day: Experts push for functional cities

    Globally, the first Monday of October is celebrated as the World Habitat Day. It’s a day to reflect on the state of towns and cities as well as on the basic right of all to adequate shelter, urban services and movement. The transformation in cities has brought with it several challenges. In some major cities, over 69 per cent of residents live in slums, grappling with poor infrastructure, lack of basic amenities and high cost of funds. Experts have agreed on the need to make the cities functional to act as engines of growth, reports, OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE.

    The World Habitat Day offers an opportunity for governments to bring to the fore the challenges of millions who live in towns and cities.

    It’s a fact that millions of the urban–poor live in slums with little or no access to basic amenities and well below the United Nations-Habitat standard for decent housing. People live in houses without toilets or in some cases over five people share a toilet and bathroom.

    Lagos State Governor Mr Babatunde Fashola, speaking on this year’s theme, Changing cities; building opportunities, said it aptly described Lagos and the pursuit of his administration to become Africa’s model mega city.

    He said positive change could help develop livable cities as engines of growth, which have the capacity to translate into opportunities for a larger number of people to have improved well–being if planned, but if not will result into urban degradation and unemployment.

    Fashola said the reality that Lagos would be home to over 25 million people by 2015 challenged his government and stimulated innovative ideas which galvanised their plan to adopt systematic and directional developmental programme.

    He, however, agreed that they wouldn’t have done much in creating a livable environment without the cooperation of the people.

    On areas his government has worked on to create a livable environment, he listed good road network, construction of the Blue and Red light-rail network, which is progressing at an appreciable pace.

    He said the affordable housing scheme of the government was also geared towards an innovative and sustainable solution to make home ownership accessible to first-time buyers in a livable city.

    UN Habitat Programme Manager for Nigeria Mallam Kabir Yari said the day is to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

    He said over seven billion people reside on earth with half living in cities, calling on stakeholders to make the earth livable by their actions.

    He said the United Nations agency had embarked on pro-poor land and housing programmes in some parts of Lagos, such as Ifako/Agege, and Jos while engaging in structured planning in Anambra, Nasarawa and Osun states.

    He observed that the theme of this year was underscoring the need for our cities to be better planned to avoid chaotic development, urban sprawl and declining economic productivity.

    He said: “When cities are well planned, they continue to provide opportunities to the current and future residents. One distinguishing factor of our urban challenge today is that while the urban population continues to grow phenomenally, the supply of natural land is fixed.

    “This implies that, despite efforts at creating new sand-filled sites, there is a tendency for the cost to spiral upwards, as the contest for land by competing uses increases.”

    Yari advised governments to ensure that, in present and future developments, land is efficiently and effectively utilised in a sustainable manner so that future generations are not denied the benefits and use of land.

    Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Architects (NIA), Mr Ladipo Lewis, while commending Lagos for some of its strides on the environment, urged the citizens to be part of the development and obey building control and planning regulations to have a livable city.

    An environmentalist, Uko Umoh, asked governments to use this year’s theme as a guide in their various development plans.

    He decried a situation where they allow people to develop houses and then turn around to demolish them, citing non-adherence to planning regulations. He stressed that cities must build opportunities for their residents if not, they would stand the risk of abuse and degradation.

    Director-General, Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau, Mr Bolaji Uthman, urged that historical places in the state should be preserved. He decried the destruction of such places for newer development, which has no history. He argued that for a city to create opportunity for its residents, it must have a history.

    Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development Mr Olutoyin Ayinde said the state has accomplished many development plans, such as the Lekki, Badagry, Ikoyi/Victoria Island, Ikeja, Alimosho and Lagos central master plans, that have made the city livable.

    He said the state has continued to experience change and also build opportunities for its residents, which has made it synonymous with the theme of this year’s celebration.