A cat lover is under investigation in Germany after using home-made explosive devices against birds of prey to avenge the deaths of two of his pets.
A bird of prey
The 39-year-old filled plastic bottles with drain cleaner, to which he attached wires, police said on Thursday, March 29, 2018.
The heat produced resulted in detonations, although these were not considered dangerous, according to the police.
The man, from the municipality of Sankt Oswald-Riedlhuette in south-eastern Germany, claimed he wanted to scare away birds of prey that had killed two of his cats.
Police have initially ruled out any extremist links to the case, and are also not treating the incident as a criminal act.
Following the claim of Visionscape Sanitation Solutions (VSS) that it had made some progress in a very short time of working in Lagos State, residents say the city “is becoming dirtier” than the company met it.
Despite being outlawed by government, some Lagos residents still find solace in the operations of cart pushers
VSS Head of Corporate Communications, Motunrayo Elias, recently claimed that, “though the organisation commenced full operations in January this year, some progress had been made.”
She added that Visionscape was embarking on advocacy programme at the grassroots level.
But EnviroNews checks revealed that the company was rather concentrating on “outer Lagos”, the visible part of the city. Areas like Ikeja and Ikorodu Road seem to be enjoying the services of the new company, while “outskirt” towns like Bariga and Ikorodu suffer. Similarly, highways appear to be the areas of focus while inner streets seem neglected.
Having sighted some galvanised bins in Shomolu area, EnviroNews went further into Bariga only to discover that the place had not been covered.
Chairman of Ifelodun Community Development Association (CDA) in Bariga, Hakeem Musa, told our reporter that his people were yet to see the waste managers in the community.
The retired civil servant lamented that the community still patronised the cart-pushers, who residents see as the last resort to refuse disposal.
Packed waste bags have stayed for days and weeks without disposal and now litter the neighbourhood
Visionscape also claimed that over 15,000 bins had been distributed across the state, and that it was targeting 20,000 by the end of August.
A Lagos resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, asked whether 20,000 bins was for one of the local governments in a state that boasts a population of about 20 million.
Even the waste house at the popular Ojota garage is not being taken of, as EnviroNews met it running over.
Most of the bins dropped by Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), according to a trader in Shomolu, are not serviced. He said the waste managers come to carry the waste every two weeks.
Visionscape also claimed that four million plastic bags had been distributed to residents of Lagos, and that 10 million plastic bags will be distributed before the end of the year.
However, most residents said they never saw the bags. And in some areas where the bags were distributed, the packed waste stayed for days and weeks with the residents without being disposed.
Even the 100 Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators Visionscape claimed to be working with were nowhere to be found in many parts of Lagos.
To the credit of CLI is the kits used by the employees, which the residents commended.
Visionscape Head of Planning, Kiran Reddy, also said that approximately illegal 5,000 dumpsites also known as blackspots were found during a baseline study of the state.
China reached its 2020 carbon emission target three years ahead of schedule with the help of the country’s carbon trading system according to Xie Zhenhua, China’s representative to UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) negotiations.
Xie Zhenhua, China’s representative to UNFCCC negotiations
The development provides an important boost to the Paris Agreement on Climate Action, which has the central goal to limit the global average temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible.
Reacting to the news on Twitter, the Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa, said: “Excellent news coming out of China – very encouraging as the international community seeks to accelerate the transition to low carbon and to raise ambition to achieve the #ParisAgreement #climate goals.”
Xie Zhenhua, who was formerly vice-chairman of the NDRC and is now a special envoy with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “(This achievement) is not only a great encouragement to me… but also the recognition of our country’s long-term efforts and achievement of coordinating of both domestic and international dimensions, transiting from tackling the challenge of climate change to promoting the historic opportunity to achieve sustainable development and pushing the transition towards green low-carbon development,” said Xie in Hong Kong after receiving the Lui Che Wo prize for his efforts to tackle climate change.
The country’s carbon emissions trading system was introduced in 2011 and includes power generation, iron and steel production and cement manufacturing sectors in seven provinces and municipalities including Shanghai, Xie said.
At the end of 2017, China had cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 46 percent from the 2005 level, fulfilling its commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 40 to 45 percent from the 2005 level by 2020.
It is important to note that China’s progress on climate action has not come at the price of economic growth. From 2005 to 2015, China’s economy grew by 1.48 times, and at the same time, the carbon intensity – the amount of carbon emissions per unit of GDP- dropped by 38.6 percent. In 2016, the rate continued to fall by 6.6 percent year on year.
Transactions totalling 200 million tons of carbon emissions quotas had been completed via the platform by the end of 2017.
Raising ambitions for a low-carbon future even further, the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) launched a nationwide carbon emissions trading system in the power generation industry in December 2017.
Under this programme, businesses are assigned emissions quotas, and those producing more than their share of carbon can buy unused quotas on the market from those that emit less.
Xie said the new system is a step toward establishing a national carbon market across all industries, and that the national market, though only at an embryonic stage, already covers about 1,700 power firms with total carbon dioxide emissions in excess of three billion tons, making it the world’s biggest. He noted China would continue to work to expand coverage to other industries.
The Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAM), known as Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators, says it has invested over N6 billion in waste management industry in Lagos State in the last 20 years.
Lagos waste PSP operators at work
AWAM Chairman, Oladipo Egbeyemi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, March 26, 2018 in Lagos that members of the association had provided over 25,000 direct and indirect jobs within the period.
Egbeyemi, however, said the association’s investment was going through a period of uncertainty since the engagement of foreign waste managers over the past two years.
According to the association, the foreign company currently engaged in waste management in Lagos does not have the capacity, hence the mountain of wastes across the state.
”The current situation is that the Domestic Waste Collection has been conceded to a foreign company, known as Visionscape, which does not have the capacity to carry out the assigned task.
”The government’s consultant, running the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), has confirmed that the PSP, as currently constituted, have 931 functional trucks following the recertification exercise.
”We now have classic case of the foreign company without capacity, trying to engage local investors (PSPs) with close to 1,000 trucks and over 20 years of experience on the job and offering unprofitable and unsustainable terms,” he said.
Egbeyemi said that the government had decided to restrict the PSP operators to manage only the commercial waste collection, which is 20 per cent less than its current activities.
According to him, the current market value of the commercial waste collection is N301 million, while the number of enlisted PSP operators are 365, with a total number of 931 trucks.
He said that the commercial premises, if shared based on capacity, would result in revenue that is grossly inadequate for any operator, thereby affecting the viability of the business.
”Further analysis of the commercial revenue that is being offered to us shows that only 31 operators earned 52 per cent of the commercial revenue that was payable by LAWMA.
”This 31 operators, representing only eight per cent of operators, are nervous at the risk of seeing their revenue reduced significantly, as a result of the redistribution.
”On the other hand, 92 per cent of operators solely operates in the domestic waste collection and earn significant revenue from it.
”They will be facing a 100 per cent loss of revenue, if and when Visionscape takes over the domestic waste collection.
”While the sharing of the commercial waste collection provides some revenue, it is still grossly inadequate to make them viable,” he said.
The AWAM chairman said that the policy to restrict the waste operators to only commercial waste collection would impede on all existing operators and their investment.
He said the association had appealed to the Lagos State House of Assembly to intervene and save Lagos people from imminent health hazard that might be caused by the current filthy environment.
Egbeyemi said AWAM remained genuinely committed to serving the Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration and Lagos people in actualising a cleaner Lagos.
Stakeholders in the maize sector have lauded Bayer Nigeria, a global company, on agricultural agro chemicals for its effort towards addressing the issue of weed and armyworm in the country.
A corn field
They spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the Maize Conference organised by Bayer Nigeria, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Abuja on Wednesday, March 28, 2018.
Dr Musa Mahadi, Head of Agronomy Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, who said that the conference was timely, stated that it was an opportunity to address some of the challenges limiting massive maize production.
“We are here to be part of the maiden conference by Bayer Nigeria that has produced several chemicals even pharmaceutical.
“They are now into production of agro allied chemicals, especially to control weed, of course, in Nigeria and globally.
“One of the major challenges facing farmers is weed. Weed has caused drastic yield reduction because they compete with our crops for growth resources.
“It becomes very necessary for us to control weed and Bayer has come up with several herbicides, which were found to be promising in terms of controlling this weed.
“They are organising this stakeholders meeting for various persons, companies, academia to share ideas and for us to look at ways to proffer solution to improve weed control using this herbicide.
“Few of the farmers have actually testified from their experience of using this product and they have applauded the company for producing this promising herbicide because of its efficiency in weed control.
“We are encouraging farmers to use this product to boost production and income. And not to spend so much on manual hoeing,” he stated.
Alhaji Bello Futua, President, Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), said that the product would benefit their farmers more, stating the association’s commitment to work with the company to achieve desired goal.
He added that the association’s technical committee was present at the conference to ensure that the knowledge and information gathered would be passed to farmers at the state, local and ward levels.
Funtua assured Nigerians of bumper harvest in maize production by its members through collaboration, and as such thanked the company to have their members fully involved and participated in the process.
Pastor Tunji Adenola, Chairman, Board of Trustees, MAAN, hoped that the herbicides would be superior to those available in the market and cheaper for their farmers to procure.
The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) says it is making strides in improving the regulation of trade in captive-raised animals and artificially propagated plants with the publications of two guides for inspecting facilities producing such animals and plants, as well as guidance on the use of source codes.
The Secretariat will use these two guides in a training workshop it is organising in May 2018 in Indonesia, the first of a series around the world aimed at improving the implementation of the Convention for captive-raised animals and artificially propagated plants.
Mr. John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General, highlighted that “today, international trade in ‘wild’ animals and plants is mainly in specimens from captive-raised or artificially propagated sources. This trade includes reptiles for skins, birds and ornamental fish for pets, and orchids as ornaments. The significant increase in this type of trade has given rise to some concerns related to the control of the production and trade and the Secretariat is working with Parties to improve the implementation of the Convention for these specimens.”
As the proportion of trade in captive-raised animals and artificially propagated plants increased, a number of Resolutions and Decisions were adopted by the Parties to regulate and define the terms and conditions for such production and trade. But, to date, no single consistent and coherent framework exists and there have been instances of false or incorrect declarations of the source of the animals or plants.
The series of workshops aims, inter alia, to ensure that the source codes, i.e. the letters used on CITES permits and certificates to indicate the source of the internationally traded specimen, are applied correctly and that misuse – both intentionally and inadvertently – is detected and corrected. Misuse of source codes can have negative implications for the conservation of the species concerned and undermine the purpose and effective implementation of the Convention.
Participants to the workshops will also discuss whether raising animals in captivity and artificial propagation of plants can benefit the conservation of the species in trade and the ecosystems more broadly, as well as the purpose of the system of source codes. These reflections will feed into a broader analysis and recommendations to be produced by the Secretariat for the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2019.
The Federal Ministry of Water Resources has urged the governing board of the 12 River Basins and its parastatal agencies to focus on repositioning to enhance food security and job creation.
Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources
The minister, Mr Suleiman Adamu, made this call at the opening of a two-day retreat for the Governing Boards of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities and the Parastatals of the Ministry in Abuja on Wednesday, March 28, 2018.
The ministry’s parastatals also include the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agencies and the National Water Resources Institute.
Adamu said that the functionality of the River Basins had a huge role to the agricultural revolution, while encouraging them to find alternative sources of funding through private sector involvement.
He said it was expected that the retreat would provide the board chairmen with the guidelines, rules and procedures in the exercise of their mandates and responsibilities.
He said eminent resource persons have been carefully selected to speak on the thematic areas of; best practice in River Basin Planning, Engineering and Management, Public Procurement Act 2007 and Board’s Duties and Responsibilities in Staff Matters.
Adamu said the retreat would provide deeper insights that will enable them contribute to the advancement of the reform agenda of the present administration, particularly in the areas of water resources management and national food security.
He underscored the role of the Governing Boards of the 12 River Basins as a critical element for the success of the Agricultural Revolution of the country.
“You are expected to bring to fore the vision of the present administration by developing sound policies and programmes that will put your Parastatals and Agencies on sound footings for effective and efficient delivery of the Ministry’s vision and mandates,” he said.
The minister noted that the Ministry had held several meetings with the Managing Directors of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) to review their 2017 – 2020 operations, especially in the execution of their strategic plans and irrigation for food production.
He said that the 12 RBDAs and the two agencies control over 50 per cent of the ministry’s budget, saying the contributions and achievement of these Parastatals and Agencies are crucial to the overall success of the ministry.
He expressed optimism that when the National Water Resources Bill, which is at the final stage of consideration in the National Assembly is passed into law, the challenges of the RBDAs would be resolved.
Dr Musa Ibrahim, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, while congratulating the newly constituted boards, urged them to work in line with the ministry’s mandate towards the overall development of the water resources sector.
He cautioned them to do away with unnecessary interference with the businesses of the Management team of the river basins and other agencies.
According to him, a retreat will be organised soon to introduce them to what is required of them.
`It is against this backdrop that I urge you to be guided by the rules and administrative procedures of the public service while discharging your duties.
“Let me further emphasise that the role of the governing board is to drive the general policies guiding of the parastatals and agencies as outlined by the ministry,” he said.
Sen. Ubale Shittu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources, expressed worry over the non-performance of all river basins since their creation.
He urged the new board members to re-strategise to see what could be done to reposition the river basins for optimum performance.
He restated the commitment of the National Assembly to ensure the speedy passage of the National Water Resources Bill before it.
The Chairman, House Committee on Water Resources, Alhaji Aliyu Pategi, urged the newly inaugurated board chairmen to ensure transparency and accountability in all their doings.
He said they were now saddled with the responsibility of making sure that Nigerians have access to water, saying they were the closest Government’s parastatal to the constituencies.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) has stressed the need to check the rising menace of Pharmaceutical drug abuse among youths in Nigeria by the government at all levels.
Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, with President Muhammadu Buhari, during a visit to Nigeria
Mr Sylvester Atere, the Communication Officer of the UNODC, made this call in a statement on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 in Abuja.
He said the presentation of the UNODC at the public hearing on Tuesday was basically on the recommendations contained in the 2017 International Narcotics Control Board report.
The communication officer said the board had urged all countries to gather data on prevalence of drug-use disorder as well as the accessibility and utilisation of treatment.
Atere said the report had urged countries to invest in making treatment and rehabilitation evidence based as well as allocate sufficient resources to treatment and rehabilitation.
The officer, however, dissociated the office from media reports calling for decriminalisation of cannabis consumption in Nigeria.
He faulted the media publication, describing it as misleading and unfounded.
According to him, some sections of the media had reported that the UNODC called for the decriminalisation of cannabis consumption in Nigeria when it appeared before the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics.
The UNODC spokesman restated the need to check the rising menace of Pharmaceutical drug abuse among youths in the country.
Atere said the publication had tendency to jeopardise the long existing relationship between Nigeria and the UNODC and called for the cooperation and understanding of the media.
Commitments to conserve peatlands in the Congo basin were announced on Friday, March 23, 2018 as the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia signed the Brazzaville Declaration at the third meeting of the Global Peatland Initiative, involving the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), UN Environment and partners.
A group photograph of delegates at the Third Meeting of the Global Peatland Initiative in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
The Brazzaville Declaration promotes better management and conservation of the peatlands, which represent one of the biggest carbon stores on the planet, for climate mitigation and other benefits.
“The vast peatlands of the Congo Basin are still largely undamaged and losing even a small part of this carbon and biodiversity-rich resource would be catastrophic. The Brazzaville Declaration is a historic moment for peatlands. The declaration contains high-level political commitments from Ministers from the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia to peatland protection, restoration and sustainable management,” says Jonathan Hughes, IUCN Global Councillor and Chair of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme.
“We know from countries like the United Kingdom, and more recently from Indonesia, that the draining and burning of peatlands has massive environmental, social and economic costs. The Cuvette Centrale peatlands of the Congo are globally important asset in the fight against climate change, biodiversity loss and social instability. It is essential this asset does not become an expensive liability through repeating the mistakes made in the UK, Indonesia and many other peatland nations of the world,” he adds.
The Cuvette Centrale peatland complex extends across The Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is estimated to hold about 30 billion tonnes of carbon and cover over 145,500 square kilometres. These relatively undisturbed peatland forests, which have been inhabited for more than 50,000 years, are home to unique species of plants and animals.
Peatlands are the largest natural terrestrial carbon store, containing more carbon than any other vegetation type, including the world’s forests. Peatlands provide safe drinking water, minimise the risk of flood and drought, and are critical for preserving global biodiversity. However, a lack of awareness about the value of peatlands has led to their drainage and conversion to other uses. Damaged peatlands currently contribute almost 6% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In the UK alone, damaged peatlands release almost 3.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year.
The meeting of the Global Peatland Initiative (GPI) took place from March 21 to 23, 2018 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. The meeting showcased progress and ongoing work relating to the management of peatlands in the UK, which can be applied to work in the Congo basin.
The GPI is a partnership of experts and international institutions, and aims to improve the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of global peatlands. IUCN is a formal partner and steering committee member of the partnership.
The continuous clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State have been hindering effective sanitation interventions.
Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom
Programme Manager, United Purpose, Mr Nanpet Chuktu, made the assertion at a Programme Coordinating Mechanism (PCM) meeting of the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) programme in Abuja on Tuesday, March 27, 2018.
According to Chuktu, the lingering crises have affected Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) interventions.
“This has also led to a relapse of communities who were formerly declared open defecation-free,’’ he said.
The NGO programme manager said that the council ought to have been declared open defecation-free by now, but for the recent disturbances in the area.
He said that with the influx of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) due to clashes, a large number of persons still practiced open defecation, with low access to sanitation facilities in place.
“As I speak today, no fewer than 20 communities are not accessible, and that is why we cannot be declared open defecation free; we are only focusing on easy way to reach areas,” Chuktu said.
He said that most volunteers working in the programme implementation stages had lost interest due to recurring conflicts, stressing the need for its reversal.
Chuktu said the purpose of the meeting was to review the RUSHPIN programme results in Benue, and highlight areas of strength and proffer solutions where there were weaknesses.
The programme manager also said it was an opportunity to share with the wider WASH sector, lessons and best practices on sanitation and hygiene.
He noted that the organisation was working with WASH Committees to create awareness on dangers of poor sanitation in the IDPs camps.
Chuktu stressed the need for strengthened collaboration with sector-actors to scale up hygiene promotion in the area.
“We received support from UNICEF, Enugu to fix broken down boreholes.
“The main challenge is the uncoordinated efforts of intervention agencies like the State Emergency Management Agency and other stakeholders,” he said.
Ms Priscilla Achakpa, National Coordinator, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council of Nigeria, decried sanitation challenges in the local government areas.
Achakpa said that the conflict had worsened the situation.
She said that there was need for the Federal Government to include emergency responses into WASH interventions.
Achakpa also called for more funding of sanitation by the three tiers of government, saying that Nigeria should take ownership of sanitation and should not rely on efforts of development partners alone.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council and the GSF are funding the RUSHPIN programme in three local government areas in Benue and Cross River.
