The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has sought
partnership with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on disaster control and
management.
Mustapha Maihaja, Director General, NEMA
Mr. Eugene Yenlong, NEMA North Central Zonal Manager, called
for the collaboration on Thursday, January 24, 2019 when he paid a
familiarisation visit to the NAN office in Jos, Plateau State.
He described the proposed partnership as a purveyor of news
that would help in disseminating information regarding disaster control and
management within the zone.
Yelong said it would also help achieve his agency’s
objective of reducing to the barest minimum, effects of certain types of
disaster.
In his remarks, Mr. Ephraims Sheyin, the Zonal Manager of
NAN in Jos, gave the assurance of NAN’s continuous support in partnering with
NEMA.
Sheyin tasked the newly posted zonal manager on the need to
engage in regular sensitisation and training of stakeholders, especially
in areas that are disaster prone.
An ecologist, Mr Richard Inyamkume, says that it is safer to
use glassware in packaging or storing food instead of plastic materials.
Glassware food packaging
Inyamkume, the Executive Director, Ambassadors of Dialogue,
Climate and Reintegration, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), said this on
Thursday, January 24, 2019 in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in
Abuja.
He said that it was also safer to use glassware to package
or store both hot and cold foods.
“Majority of the plastics which we use contain toxic
chemicals and their continued use could be linked to the occurrence of certain
health challenges such as obesity, enlarged male breasts and increased prostate
cancer, among others.
“I strongly recommend that citizens should consider the use
of glass products for food handling in place of plastics because of its
advantages.
“This is because glass is safer for packaging hot food or
even liquids; it does not leach potentially harmful chemicals into food as
plastics.
“Nigeria is facing plastics infiltration crisis, which
threatens human health systems and our environment,’’ he said.
Inyamkume said that Nigerians had indulged in the use of
plastics for packaging or storing food and other substances without any fear of
the potential harm which plastics could cause to the human body.
“I have observed with dismay that the demand for plastic
products in the country is relatively high, when compared to the demand for
plastics in other countries.
“Our people make use of plastics a lot for shopping or
garbage bags, film packaging, wrapping of foods and fluids packaging as well as
production of water bottles and toys, among others.
“This trend is unhealthy, as there are certain risks that
are associated with plastics use,’’ he said.
Inyamkume, who underscored the need for Nigerians to reduce
their use of plastics, said that people should be sensitised to the fact that
plastics were non-biodegradable materials which would remain in the environment
for decades.
“I believe if more people are aware of the risks involved in
plastics use, they would be extra-careful in taking decisions and in the choice
of the kinds of vessels to use.
“I understand that recycled plastics are even more harmful
to the environment than the initial products due to the mixture of additional
colouring agents, stabilisers, flame retardants and other addictives.
“Although plastics seem to be unavoidable in our daily life,
tangible efforts should, however, be made to inform the people that plastics
leach harmful chemicals like phthalates, xenoestrogens, lead and antimony into
foods, beverages and the physical environment,’’ he said.
Inyamkume stressed that Nigeria should enact laws that would
regulate the production of plastics so as to stem the infiltration of
communities with plastics that contained harmful chemicals.
“Government needs to strengthen environmental protection
systems that would ensure that what we produce in the country is not causing so
much harm to the citizens and the environment.
“A review of plastics production guidelines and recycling
(if at all there are any) should be top priority.
“Definite steps should also be taken to regulate
manufacturing companies which produce plastics that contain harmful
chemicals,’’ he added.
Inyamkume urged the Federal Government to invest more in the production of chemical-free plastics, while encouraging the private sector to follow suit by making such products cheaper and more readily available to consumers.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has stepped
in to assist Sri Lanka control a worm that has spread throughout the
country damaging maize cultivation.
Armyworm invasion
The worm had damaged thousands of acres of maize and
threatened to harm rice crops, the organisation said on Thursday, January 24,
2019.
More than 40,000 hectares, or half of the country’s maize, have been destroyed by the pest known as fall armyworm, or spodoptera frugiperda.
The worm has gradually started spreading to other crops.
“In the absence of natural control or good management, the
(fall armyworm) can cause significant damage to crops and affect the
livelihoods of farmers.
“Once established in a new area, (fall armyworm) cannot be
practically eradicated,’’ read an FAO statement.
The FAO said it had shared background information on the
pest with Sri Lanka and presented a range of options available that don’t
require hazardous pesticides and minimise the use of chemical pesticides.
Farmers have taken to the streets in some areas demanding
compensation and a quick solution to controlling the pest’s spread.
The worm has already affected cultivation in mostly the
eastern, north central and south eastern parts of the country.
Agriculture Minister P Harrison said the government proposed
paying compensation to the affected farmers, while trying all chemical and
biological controls possible for the pest, which is believed to have spread
from India.
Sri Lanka has been concerned that the pest could
spread to paddy lands, affecting production of rice, the country’s main staple.
International experts in water sector have expressed worry
over unprofessional and unscientific extraction of water resources through mass
drilling of boreholes across the country.
Borehole drilling
They made the observation at a workshop organised by the
Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), in collaboration with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday, January 24, 2019 in
Abuja.
Ms Lawrence Goorcy, an IAEA expert, said the aim of the
event was to carry out analysis to ascertain the level of groundwater in order
to prevent water crisis in the country.
Goorcy, who is also a Hydro-geologist, said that a team of
hydro-logical management experts has been in the country for a week for
critical examination of the nation’s groundwater resources.
“From our evaluation, there are gaps in the aquifer, and we
are here to adopt scientific approach because this has affected some parts of
the country.
“That is why sometimes we will have shortage of water in
some parts of the country,” she said.
Earlier in his opening remark, Mr Clement Nze,
Director-General, NIHSA, said the workshop was aimed at implementing Technical
Cooperation (CT) project, tagged: “RAF/7019”.
According to Nze, the CT project will be implemented through
International Water Availability Enhancement projects which embrace experts
from international body to investigate Nigeria’s water resources management.
Nze said the rate of extraction of groundwater resources in
Nigeria had become alarming, hence the need to engage international experts for
critical examination to prevent the country from running into water crisis in
future.
“If we are able to get proper rate at which groundwater is
being replenish or recharged, we will be able to advise properly the rate at
which we can engage in boreholes drilling.
“Our operation is just like we are mining without being
replenished which lead us to water crisis.
“There is completely risk of depletion of water, like in
Maiduguri in particular, there are three levels of aquifer.
“The first one is from 0 – 150 meters deep, the second
aquifer level is between 150 – 250 m deep, the third one is 250 to 600 meters
deep.
“It is observed that we have finished the first level and if
we don’t guide against the rate at which people are extracting water from the
ground, it might result in depletion of the second aquifer,” he said.
Also, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources,
who welcomed the experts in his remarks, explained that the goal was to help
government to tackle groundwater related issues in the country.
The Head of Department, Environment, Bwari Area Council,
FCT, Mr Timothy Nwanna, has appealed to institutions to provide toilets for
their customers to curb indiscriminate open defecation.
A toilet facility
Nwanna made the appeal in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Thursday, January 24, 2019 in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He stated that the appeal became necessary due to complaints
by some people that the council’s secretariat had been turned into a public
toilet for passers-by.
The council area harbours the buildings of the Joint
Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) headquarters, Abuja Electricity
Distribution Company (AEDC), Bwari office, FCMB and the council’s secretariat.
‘‘Most of the offenders are customers of these public
institutions. I am not trying to push blame or give excuses, but these
institutions can come together under Corporate Social Responsibility and create
a public facility for their customers.
‘‘It can be done, it doesn’t cost much, and it can help keep
a hygienic environment, which would reduce spread of diseases because this is a
very busy area.
‘‘As a council, we can enforce a monitoring team but if we
do that in the day time, you cannot monitor what happens at night, the ATM
works round the clock, so people still visit.
‘‘However, I strongly appeal to JAMB, AEDC and the bank to
consider their customers and provide them with toilet facilities to ease
themselves when nature comes calling at points of transactions,” Nwanna said.
The head of department also decried the general mindset and
attitude of Nigerians with regards to open defecation and indiscriminate
urination.
He, however, called on members of the public to assist in
making the change possible by changing their habit of passing urine on roadsides
and public buildings.
Nwanna also said that the area council was working
tirelessly to ensure that indiscriminate dumping of wastes and dump sites in
the council and its environs were tackled holistically.
He said the council was working with licenced waste control
contractors, who would periodically visit houses to collect wastes in their
trucks at meagre amount to dispose at the town’s major dumpsites.
This, he said, would depend on the final arrangement between
the council and the licencee’s, with the assistance of the litter control
casual workers employed by the council.
On the issue of refuse in Mpape area of the council, Nwanna
said that the council’s administration was collaborating with the FCT Satellite
Town Development Agency (STDA) to evacuate wastes in the area.
‘‘The Chairman is collaborating with STDA to bring in
contractors that would do the job, it is a work in progress, waiting for
procurement, I assure you, any moment from now, the wastes would be evacuated.”
Residents of Mpape had made several calls since 2018 on
the council to intervene in evacuation of refuse in the densely populated
community of the territory.
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres,
says prosperity, dignity and a healthy planet can best be achieved through
implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as world’s
blueprint.
António Guterres
Guterres made this known in a statement on Tuesday,
January 22, 2019 issued by Mr Oluseyi Soremekun, National Information Officer,
UN Information Centre (UNIC), Lagos.
According to the statement, made available to the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Guterres spoke through Mr Ronald Kayanja, UNIC in
Nigeria, in his message to the first Covenant International Model United
Nations (CIMUN) Conference.
Soremekun said the conference was organised by Covenant
University Ota, in collaboration with UNIC Nigeria with the theme,
“Restructuring the future through innovative ideas”.
He quoted Guterres as saying: “Our world today enjoys
remarkable opportunities to advance common progress.
“The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are our blueprint for
dignity, prosperity and a healthy planet,” Guterres said.
“Despite the remarkable opportunities, we the people also
face many complex challenges: “Armed conflicts have deepened, Global anxieties
about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War.
“Climate change is moving faster than we are, inequality and
nationalism are on the rise, while trust and solidarity are on the decline.”
“These problems and challenges are increasingly global and
increasingly grave.
“We need less hatred, more dialogue and deeper international
cooperation, multilateralism is more important than ever, empowering the
world’s young people is also an imperative.”
He explained that the achievement of Agenda 2030 and the
SDGs required innovative ideas, adding that no better time to discuss the
theme: “Restructuring the Future Through Innovative Ideas’’ than now.
He said that, in Model United Nations (MUN) conferences,
delegates were the Ambassadors of their assigned countries to the UN.
“Let your presentations reflect the reality of the countries
you are representing,” he said.
Prof. Aaron Atayero, Vice-Chancellor, Covenant University,
said: “It is only by innovative ideas that we can restructure, own and control
the future.”
Atayero acknowledged that the UN has either redefined
humanity or changed the world through sustained programmes, including the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, environmental development programmes and
erstwhile Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
He listed other programmes to include the current SDGs and
several other innovative programmes and initiatives.
Atayero said that the trickle-down idea of simulated UN
System through Model United Nations (MUN) which brings the vision, philosophy,
goals and workings of the UN to the micro levels, which should solidify the
UN’s reach and consolidate its gains.
“Aside preparing the youths for leadership in future, it
also inculcates in them the enduring traditions, disposition and skills of
conflict management, peace-building and a new world order in the context of
peace and stability.
“It is in light of this, that I commend and congratulate the
United Nations and particularly appreciate the United Nations Information
Centre in Nigeria for the cooperation, guidance and support,” Atayero said.
Soremokun said that the conference was attended by more 300
delegates from eight countries and twelve institutions at the opening plenary
held on Jan. 16.
Finland ranked first in the Good Country Index published on
Wednesday, January 23, 2019, Ambassador of Finland to Nigeria, Dr Jyrki
Pulkkinen, said in a statement in Abuja.
President of the Republic of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, was one of the first to sign the climate pledge
Pulkkinen said the results of the Index indicated that,
relative to its size, Finland contributes more to humanity and burdens the
planet less than any other country.
“This is the fourth edition of the Good Country Index, which
measures 153 countries’ performance and ranks them based on their overall
impact on the planet.
“In the recent Index, Finland rose from fourth place to the
top. The other leading countries are Ireland, Sweden, Germany and
Denmark,” the envoy said.
He quoted his country Minister for Foreign Affairs, Timo
Soini, as saying during recognition at the World Economic Forum in Davos
on Wednesday that “this is an excellent recognition.
“Finland is a good, down-to-earth country and we are a
reliable partner in international forums.
“Our performance is the result of consistent work and I
witness it in my work on an almost daily basis.
“The recognition is good for Finland’s internal discussion
and atmosphere. Let’s be proud of ourselves for a moment and let’s continue to
pursue even better results.”
The envoy said that the Good Country Index looks at 35
criteria, based on data produced by the United Nations and other international
organisations.
According to him, the criteria produce each country’s
“balance sheet”, which shows if the country burdens mankind or if it
contributes to the common good of humanity.
“Finland, which is now in first place, ranks best in terms
of its journal exports, number of patents, freedom of movement, press freedom,
cyber security, refugees generated, environmental agreements compliance, open
trading, FDI outflows, and food aid.
“The 35 criteria of the Index are divided into contributions
to seven categories: Science and Technology, Culture, International Peace and
Security, World Order, Planet and Climate, Prosperity and Equality, as well as
Health and Wellbeing.
“After the countries have been analysed, each of them will
receive scores on each indicator relative to all other countries measured and
corrected for the country’s GDP,” he said.
He said that the first edition of the Good Country Index was
launched in 2014 in a TED Talk.
The recording of the launch event has been viewed on the
internet for over 5.5 million times, and it has been voted the 5th most
inspiring TED Talk ever.
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in association
with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the leading
instrumentation company Horiba, Ltd has launched a pilot study on real time
source apportionment of PM2.5 (particulate matter below 2,5 micron in size) in
Delhi-NCR. The objective of the study is to identify the signature of various
sources of pollution and carry out source speciation in select hotspots in
Delhi-NCR. CSE announced the launch of the study here today at a Round Table
Meeting.
New Delhi is ranked among the most polluted cities in the world
The monitoring for the study will begin from January 28,
2019 and continue till April 28, 2019. In these three months, the study will
monitor 10-12 specific locations in Delhi-NCR. The study will be carried out
using a “Real Time PM and Elemental Analyzer PX-375”, which is a product of
HORIBA and gives a continuous analysis of PM2.5 concentration and its elemental
composition. The technology used for monitoring PM2.5 is Beta-Ray Attenuation;
the elemental analysis would be done using X-Ray Fluorescence technology. The
instrument for the study will be co-located with the DPCC’s continuous air
pollution monitoring stations.
Speaking at the Meeting, Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general, CSE, said: “The pilot study will come out with signatures to identify the major sources of pollution in real time. Once we have established the signatures for various sources of pollution, the real time elemental analysis will help us identify the source of pollution in an area, which will then help regulators in taking corrective action quickly.”
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director-research and advocacy, CSE, added: “This is an opportunity to move from static one-time source apportionment to dynamic source identification and real-time mitigation. It can inform the ongoing efforts and processes to implement the Graded Response Action Plan and the Comprehensive Action Plan for a more effective impact. The outcome of this project will help to identify the pathways for adapting new generation pollution assessment methods for more real time assessment and refinement of mitigation strategies in targeted areas as well as on a city-wide and region-wide scale to meet the clean air target.”
India will host the next global Conference on
desertification, land degradation and drought from October 7 to 8, 2019 at the
Vigyan Bhavan conference centre in New Delhi.
Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
Participants from 197 Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will
have access, for the first time, to a wealth of vital new scientific data, say
the organisers. “They will have access to Earth Observation data on the trends
in land degradation dating from 2000, gathered from 120 of the 169 countries
affected by desertification. They will also receive the first report on
desertification and climate change prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), the global authority on climate change.”
Drawing on this data, the participants attending the
fourteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP14) to the UNCCD can
assess trends in land degradation, desertification and drought more accurately.
They will also be in a position to identify associated threats and risks to
enable the international community to agree on the best solutions and actions
to take over the next 10 years.
“India is one of the countries affected by desertification,
and is facing new challenges, among which are recurrent droughts and dust and
sand storms. The country has tremendous potential to turn these challenges into
opportunities through improved land use and management, and to provide the
leadership the world needs to take bold actions,” says Monique Barbut, the
Executive Secretary of UNCCD.
“India recognises land rehabilitation as a cost-effective
investment that can accelerate the transition to sustainable development
globally. With India’s leadership, the international effort towards achieving
land degradation neutrality could take huge strides forward. As it assumes the
COP Presidency, the Convention’s 197 Parties can create the environment we need
for innovative and ingenious solutions to our common goals,” Barbut added.
India’s population is projected to reach 1.7 billion by 2050,
and the country was one of the first to commit to the 2030 Sustainable
Development Goal target of achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN). LDN is
the Sustainable Development Goals’ target aiming to halt the degradation of
land by taking three concrete actions. Countries promised to avoid, reduce and
reverse land degradation, in that order of priority. Achieving land degradation
neutrality can help vulnerable populations to improve their livelihoods, and
communities all over the world can strengthen their resilience, especially to
natural disasters linked to climate change.
Ahead of COP14, government representatives will gather for a
preparatory meeting from January 28 to 30 in Georgetown, Guyana, for the seventeenth session of the Committee for the Review of the
Implementation of the UNCCD (CRIC 17). CRIC 17 will take stock of
results of the first global assessment of land degradation, based on Earth
observation data reported by governments, and agree on most of the
recommendations that COP14 will consider.
The Conference of the Parties was established by the
Convention as the supreme decision-making body that today consists of 197
governments and a regional economic integration organisation. The Parties have
met every two years since 2001 to review progress in the implementation of the
Convention. The last Conference of Parties, hosted by the Government of China,
was held in October 2017 in Ordos, Inner Mongolia.
Global activists, thought leaders, labour unions and human
rights advocates will congregate in Abuja from January 29 to 30, 2019 for a
national summit that will make advancements on achieving the human right to
water in Nigeria and around the world.
The Abuja city gate
The summit, which has “Nigeria’s Water Emergency: From
Resistance to Real Solutions Against Corporate Control” as its theme, is organised
by the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN),
Corporate Accountability, Public Services International and other groups on the
platform of the Our Water Our Right Coalition to set the agenda for
rejecting water privatisation and securing universal water access in Nigeria
and across the globe.
Participants will come from communities across Nigeria, the
United States, India and other cities that have faced harms caused by the
private water industry. Impacted people from Flint, Michigan, Pittsburgh and
Pennsylvania in US, and Nagpur in India will testify to the harms and human
rights abuses they have experienced from water privatising giant Veolia, which
is said to be running for a contract to manage water in Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous
city.
Members of the US Congress will also participate remotely
alongside the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation,
Leo Heller, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty, Philip Alston.
The Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of Water
Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu; and members of the National
Assembly are also expected.
Among other objectives, the summit will strengthen the
solidarity between civil society groups, labour unions, activists, policy
makers and the media to resist privatisation in the water sector and advance
real solutions to lack of access to water within the realm of public-public
partnerships.
Nnimmo Bassey, Chair, Board of the ERA/FoEN, said: “Water
is a human right which should not be subject to the whims of privatisers.
This is the key message of the Our Water Our Right Coalition and this
is the message that participants in the Abuja summit will reinforce.”
“Water needs to be in the hands of people, not
corporations,” said Shayda Naficy, campaign director with Corporate
Accountability. “Movements around the world are demanding an end to the
corporate control of this vital resource; it’s time for governments and the
World Bank to heed our calls and end the promotion of water for profit.”
Advocates are in unanimity that water privatisation, often
backed by institutions like the World Bank, has time and again failed communities and
often resulted in raised rates, labor abuses and public
health crises instead of increased water access.
After the conclusion of the Abuja summit, the Nigerian
parliament is set to discuss a precedent-setting water bill that could also
reject water privatisation.
The summit will end with a communique that the organisers believe
will chart a path forward for the future of access to water for the African
continent and millions around the globe.
