The Antarctic ice sheets are under threat, a new research on
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 led by New Zealand and U.S. scientists who call for concrete
action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, revealed in a report.
Global warming is melting ice in Antarctica faster than ever before – about six times more per year now than 40 years ago, leading to increasingly high sea levels worldwide, scientists warned on January 14, 2019. Already, Antarctic melting has raised global sea levels more than half an inch (1.4 centimeters) between 1979 and 2017, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer-reviewed US journal. Photo credit: Chris LARSEN / NASA / AFP
The study underscored just how sensitive the ice sheet is to
climate change, according to Richard Levy of GNS Science and Victoria
University of Wellington and Stephen Meyers of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, who jointly led the research team.
“We’ve long known that the way the Earth moves in space
influences climate.
“If we fail to reach emissions targets, the Earth’s average
temperature will warm more than two degrees, sea ice will diminish.
“We will jump back to a world that hasn’t existed for
millions of years,’’ Levy added.
The research confirms a connection between those
astronomical changes and changes in the size and extent of the Antarctic ice
sheets.
“It highlights that parts of the ice sheets that sit in the
ocean are particularly sensitive to changes in the tilt of our planets axis,”
Levy said.
He said that it also raised serious questions about how
these changes would affect Earth in the future as carbon emissions rise.
“Antarctica’s vulnerable marine-based ice sheets will feel
the effect of our current relatively high tilt, and ocean warming at Antarctica’s
margins will be amplified,’’ he said.
The study’s co-author, Tim Naish of the Antarctic Research
Centre at Victoria University of Wellington, has also added that urgent action
is needed on cutting emissions, and it needs to happen on a national and global
level.
The Director of Bi-resources Department, Federal Ministry of
Science and Technology (FMST), Mr Abayomi Oguntunde, has canvassed for more
usage of renewable energy to boost power generation in the country.
Rooftop solar power panels
He made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, January 15, 2019.
According to him, renewable energy development is the best
alternative to improved electricity generation in the country.
He said that such feat would improve efforts toward national
development.
He added: “Nigeria needs more energy to meet rising demands
due to population outburst, inevitable industrialisation, more agricultural
production and improved living standards.
“It is true that energy production and utilisation will
degrade the environment, but by using advanced technologies, techniques and
sources, economic and social development are also possible with less degradation.
“This is because energy production, energy consumption,
economic development and environmental pollution are directly related.”
Oguntade said that the place of energy and power in the
sustenance of economic activities, and their contributions to the standard of
living could not be over-emphasised in any nation.
The director said that the availability and consumption of
energy were major indices in the prosperity in any nation, noting, however, that
“challenges abound due to economic, social, technical and political barriers.”
He observed that the challenges had to be overcome if
renewable energy technologies were to be deployed to make meaningful impact on
the energy mix in the nation.
Far-reaching new rules applicable to packaging disposal
became operational from January 1, 2019 in Germany.
German Environment Minister, Svenja Schulze
The law states that significantly more packaging must be
recycled, even as new standards determine to what extent a packaging is recyclable. It
also ensures that all companies that use packaging pay for their collection and
recycling. The basis for this is created by the new packaging law.
An essential element of the law is the new central office
with the packaging register LUCID. It makes it transparent for every citizen to
what extent the manufacturers fulfill their product responsibility.
Since 1993 product responsibility for packaging has been in
force in Germany. This means that those who pack packaging with goods or
import to Germany must simultaneously finance the disposal. For packaging
that is generated by private consumers, this is done via license fees to the
so-called dual systems, which in turn organise the recycling. Many
companies did not follow this obligation. This also lacked the financial
incentive to dispense with unnecessary packaging.
Federal Environment Minister, Svenja Schulze, said: “We
want the economy to think comprehensively about which packaging is really
necessary and which materials are used in an environmentally friendly
way. This works especially well if environmentally harmful behaviour is
rewarded with more expensive and environmentally friendly behaviour. That’s
where the packaging law comes in. Less packaging, but this better
recyclable – that’s the goal. “
A major innovation of the Packaging Act is the foundation Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister. It
has been operating as an authority since the beginning of the year and aims to
improve transparency and control in the use and disposal of packaging.
Schulze added: “If you separate your waste in an
environmentally friendly way, you also have to be sure that the packaging is
actually recycled. This is the only way to build trust in our recycling
system. The Central Office makes a major contribution to this. “
The packaging register basically works like this: all
companies that use a packaging and fill it must register there, their company
name and their brand names are then published. They also must report the
amount of packaging that they fill and sell or trade in, which then goes into
the household as waste. The Central Unit then compares this information
with the information provided by the dual systems on the recycled packaging
quantities. This makes it publicly comprehensible which companies
financially meet their product responsibility and ensure that the targeted
recycling rates can be achieved.
“We started the register on a private law basis back in
August 2018 because we knew there were a lot of free riders. The high
number of inquiries from first-time buyers, who do not know what product
responsibility is, has confirmed to us how necessary this measure and also the
Packaging Act are, “reports Gunda Rachut, CEO of Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister, on the first implementation
steps of the foundation.
To date, 130,000 companies have registered in the packaging
register LUCID. “Thus, 70,000 companies are more registered than was
previously the case with the dual systems. That’s a good start,”says Rachut.
At the same time, the packaging register has developed new
standards. These include a “catalog of systemic packaging” and a
“guide to measuring the recyclability of a package”, which helps the
dual systems to consider environmental issues when calculating license fees.
Rachut stated: “The standards ensure a high level of
design from packaging to recycling. At the same time, they provide a reliable
legal framework for the debtors who are now much easier to identify their
obligations. Only in this way can we achieve the objectives of the
Packaging Act, with a mixture of transparency, sophisticated standards and
efficient control.”
A traditional dhow sailing boat made entirely from plastic
trash collected from Kenya’s beaches and towns will make its maiden voyage from January
23 to February 7, 2019 from Lamu in Kenya to Zanzibar in Tanzania – a
500-kilometre expedition stopping at communities along the way to change
mindsets about plastic waste.
The Flipflopi
The “FlipFlopi”, as the vessel is called, is said to be a
first-of-its-kind, 9-metre sailing boat made from 10 tonnes of discarded
plastic. It has been built by a team calling for a #PlasticRevolution to stem
the flow of up to 12 million tons of plastic waste dumped into the world’s
oceans each year and to highlight the potential for plastic waste to be
re-used.
The dhow was launched in late 2018 in Lamu and has now
partnered with UN Environment’s “Clean Seas campaign”, which engages
governments, the public and the private sector in the fight against marine
plastic pollution. Nine African countries have already signed onto the
campaign, promising to take action to tackle marine pollution.
“The Flipflopi is living proof that we can live differently.
It is a reminder of the urgent need for us to rethink the way we manufacture,
use and manage single-use plastic,” Joyce Msuya, UN Environment’s Acting
Executive Director, said. “Kenya has demonstrated tremendous leadership in
addressing the epidemic of single-use plastic by banning plastic bags. We are
clearly moving in the right direction but we need a drastic
shift in consumption patterns and waste management practices across the world.”
Flipflopi board member, Professor Judi Wakhungu, commented:
“The Flipflopi Project is playing a vital role in engaging the public at
large in thinking about plastic differently. They have a colourful and
innovative way of talking about the issue – and their message is really hitting
home, reaching parts of the population that other initiatives seldom do.”
Only nine per cent of the nine billion tonnes of plastic the
world has ever produced has been recycled, says the UN body, adding that the
overwhelming majority of plastics – including plastic drinking bottles, plastic
bottle caps, food wrappers, plastic grocery bags, plastic lids, straws and
stirrers, and foam takeaway containers – are designed to be thrown away after a
single use, ultimately ending up in landfills and the environment.
In the recently published “Legal
Limits on Single-Use Plastics and Microplastics: A GlobalReview
of National Laws and Regulations”, UN Environment found that 127 out of 192
countries reviewed (about two-thirds) have adopted some form of legislation to
regulate plastic bags and 27 countries have enacted legislation banning either
specific products (e.g. plates, cups, straws, packaging), materials (e.g.
polystyrene) or production levels.
Nearly two years after Kenya introduced the world’s toughest
laws on single-use plastic bags, the Flipflopi Project is playing a vital role
in engaging the public at large in thinking about plastic differently.
The project was founded in 2016 to transmit the message
about the impact that plastic is having on marine ecosystems, how this affects
us, and most important of all – what we can do about it. It’s co-founder, Ben
Morison, was inspired to create a visually engaging #Plasticrevolution after
witnessing the shocking quantities of plastic on Kenya’s beaches, an area where
he spent much of his childhood.
“The Flipflopi Project has always been about encouraging
change in a positive way, making people smile first and then sharing the very
simple message that single-use plastics really don’t make sense,” said Ben
Morison. “To create the Flipflopi boat we used only locally available resources
and low-tech solutions, enabling our techniques and ideas to be copied without
any barriers. So, we hope people around the globe are inspired by our beautiful
multicoloured boat and find their own ways to repurpose ‘already-used’ plastics.”
The Flipflopi project team has had to pioneer new techniques
to craft the various components of the boat. The plastic waste was melted,
shaped and carved by the team of traditional dhow boat builders exactly as they
would do with wood. Every single element of the boat has been constructed by
hand and the whole boat has been clad in colourful sheets of recycled
flipflops. These flipflops have been collected on beach cleanups on Lamu’s
beaches, where they are among the most prolific items found.
“We are proud to have built the world’s first sailing boat
made from recycled plastic,” said Ali Skanda, the lead boat builder. “The next
challenge is to set sail and inspire people up and down Africa’s coastline and
beyond to look at plastic waste not as trash but as a resource that can be
collected and used.
The expedition will start in Lamu on January 24. The boat is
expected to arrive in Stone Town in Zanzibar on February 7, where the Flipflopi
and Cleanseas teams will meet up with Conservation Music at the Busara Music
Festival, engaging festival goers in the fight against marine plastic pollution
through music and culture.
In Africa, marine debris represents a potential threat to
food security, economic development, and the viability of the marine
ecosystems. With over 12 million people on the continent engaged in fisheries,
their livelihood is directly affected by marine pollution, and the proportion
of protein intake from fish is high across Africa. During the Blue Economy
Conference, hosted by Kenya last month, governments committed to protect
oceans, seas, lakes and rivers.
The FlipFlopi-Clean Seas Expedition comes a month before the
next UN Environment Assembly in which more than 150 ministers of environment
will gather in Nairobi. The assembly is the world’s highest-level
decision-making body on the environment. Leading up to the event, UN
Environment is zeroing in on the urgent need for sustainable consumption and
production and innovative solutions for environmental challenges through its #solvedifferent campaign, urging
member states, the private sector and citizens to rethink the choices they make
in their everyday lives.
A recent review of the National Nutritional Report from 2003
to 2016 has shown that about 70 percent of children ages six to 23 months in
Nigeria are not receiving the minimum acceptable diet as the nation’s overall
child nutritional status is on a serious decline.
Cowpea
These children have severely low weight for their height and
are at risk of dying unless given urgent attention.
Cases of malnutrition among Nigerian children are however
not new. The problem pervades the entire country with about one million
Nigerian children dying before their fifth birthday. Malnutrition contributes
to nearly half of these deaths. The reports also discovered that the rate
of stunting in Nigeria has stagnated for more than a decade. About two in five
Nigerian children are stunted, with rates of stunting varying throughout the
country.
Almost 30 percent of Nigerian children are underweight,
meaning they don’t weigh enough for their age. This is more than double the
proportion of neighbouring Ghanaian children who are underweight. The percent
of children in Nigeria who are wasted, or too thin for their height, has
steadily increased over the last decade, rising from 11 percent in 2003 to 18
percent in 2013.
Observers have opined that these negative results indicate
an alarming trend in Nigeria’s malnutrition burden which will further impede
the nation’s economic development if not checked. Globally, stunting is an
indicator for measuring a country’s development.
But all hope is not lost as scientists working at the
federal government funded Institute for Agricultural Research; Ahmadu Bello
University have been able to successfully develop a beans variety known as Bt.
Cowpea that can withstand the deadly attack of Maruca virus that has over the
years limited the production of this good source of vegetarian protein.
About 100 grams of dry seeds cowpea contain 336 calories,
and 23.52 g or 42% of recommended daily values of protein. Cowpea which comes
in various species also carries good amounts of dietary fiber; provide 10.6 g
or 28% of fiber per 100 grams.
Cowpea popularly called beans in Nigeria is a legume
consumed as a high-quality plant protein source in many parts of the world.
High protein and carbohydrate contents with a relatively low-fat content and a
complementary amino acid pattern to that of cereal grains make cowpea an
important nutritional food in the human diet.
Cowpea has gained more attention recently from consumers and
researchers worldwide as a result of its exerted health beneficial properties,
including anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory
and anti-hypertensive properties. Among the mechanisms that have been proposed
in the prevention of chronic diseases, the most proven are attributed to the
presence of compounds such as soluble and insoluble dietary fiber,
phytochemicals, and proteins and peptides in cowpea.
Most of the children suffering from one form of nutrition
deficiency or the other are those within the school age. The school feeding
programme introduced by the current administration has failed in many states
due to the non-availability of consistent supply of raw materials.
Introducing the Bt. Cowpea into the school feeding and
making it an integral part of the food to be eaten by the children on weekly
basis has a lot of nutritional potentials and advantages for Nigeria.
The recommended amount of beans to be eaten daily for
optimal health, according to nutritionists, is 1/2 cup of beans or legumes.
Beans are a great source of protein at a very low cost and a
great source of naturally occurring folate. It is also a good source of fibre,
which improves digestive health, and antioxidants that have protective benefits
from inflammation and oxidation.
Ordinarily, beans is eaten by all households in Nigeria in
one form or the other and has over the years served as a vital part of the
daily menu with some eating it in the morning as Akara others prefer to take it
as moi moi. During the day some serve it as porridge beans for lunch, others
grind it and use it as soup but above all it is popularly called the poor’s
meat due to its high nutritional content.
It is grown in all the agro-ecological zones of the country
and over the years it has become a very critical part of farmers’ income as it
is harvested and sold to pay children’s school fees, pay medical bills and
proceeds used to settle a host of other household expenses.
Beans farming is one of the most important strategies for
farmers to improve their livelihoods. Young farmers and women especially invest
in common beans as a way to build their assets and secure their family needs.
We must take advantage of the development of Bt. Cowpea to
get right the school feeding programme as well as empower our local farmers to
get their lives back on track.
Recent advances in biotechnology have paved way for the
development of hybrid seeds which are not only high-yielding but also resistant
to pests, diseases and climate change effects.
Hybrid seeds
Some agricultural experts believe that the success of
Nigeria’s efforts to boost agricultural production and attain food security
would largely depend on the availability and effective use of improved seeds
for cultivation.
They, therefore, underscore the need for all stakeholders in
the agricultural sector to be fully conscious of the role of improved seed
varieties in efforts to enhance agricultural production and facilitate the
Federal Government’s plans to rely on agriculture in its economic
diversification schemes.
They also call on the government to encourage large and
smallholder farmers to adopt improved seed varieties in their cultivation so as
to increase their harvests and nation’s agricultural output.
For instance, Dr Philip Ojo, the Director-General of the
National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), said that the country’s farmers
should use improved seed varieties to boost crop productivity, create jobs and
improve their income.
Sharing similar sentiments, Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister
of Agriculture and Rural Development, emphasised that without the existence of
a sustainable seed system, the country would not be able to achieve its food
sufficiency targets.
“It is crucial to note that agricultural seeds play a
pivotal role in efforts to stimulate the rapid development and transformation
of agriculture.
“Therefore, without a viable and sustainable seed system, we
will be very far from achieving the benefits of an improved and transformed
agricultural sector, which is a catalyst for economic recovery and development.
“Seeds, as we know, constitute the farmer’s most precious
resource; therefore, in making sustainable progress, a catalytic innovative
approach must be adopted for ensuring a sustainable seed system to drive the
growing needs and concerns of Nigeria’s agricultural and economic sectors,’’ he
said.
In spite of all these claims, the adoption of improved seed
varieties by farmers, particularly rural and smallholder farmers, who account
for a significant portion of the nation’s total agricultural output, has been
somewhat low and insignificant.
For instance, Faro 60 and Faro 61 — two
high-yielding rice seed varieties released by the National Agricultural
Research Institute (NARI) since 2011 — have yet to gain traction among rice
farmers due to several reasons.
Some of the reasons adduced for the rice farmers’ slow
acceptance of the seed varieties include lack of knowledge, poor access and
outright fear of change as well as indifference and high cost of procuring
improved rice seed varieties.
Some rice farmers voiced these reasons when they spoke at
the field demonstration of Faro 60 and Faro 61 rice seed
varieties, which was organised by NASC for farmers in Egbenti, Kacha Local
Government Area of Niger State, in November last year.
Sani Umar, a smallholder rice farmer in Niger, conceded that
he was not even aware of the existence and benefits of the new rice seed
varieties.
Umar, who was obviously excited about the improved rice
seeds on display, said that prior to the introduction of the new rice seed
varieties, he had been cultivating seeds which were selectively chosen from
previous harvests or sourced from neighbours.
Similarly, Aliyu Wakama, another smallholder rice farmer,
said that although he had heard about the high-yielding rice seeds, he was not
aware of how to gain access to them.
“Even if the seeds were readily available, I would have been
hesitant to procure them because of the health concerns raised by some people
who believe that such seeds are treated with certain chemicals that are injurious
to human health,’’ he said.
All the same, a major factor behind the slow adoption of
improved seed varieties is the apparent apathy of many farmers towards the
adoption of improved seeds.
A farmer, Babangida Marazu, said that he was not enthusiastic
about using improved seed varieties because “crops that are produced from
traditional seeds are more nutritious than crops produced from the new
varieties’’.
Besides, Marazu said that it appeared more logical for him
to use “tried and tested seeds’’ than to experiment with new seed varieties
which he was unfamiliar with.
For Rufus Yakubu, another farmer, the main challenge is the
“high cost’’ of improved seeds, which usually come in large quantities.
All the same, there are strong indications that the field
demonstration of Faro 60 and Faro 61 improved rice
varieties has impacted positively on the mindset of some cynical rice farmers,
while sensitising most of the farmers to the benefits derivable from the
utilisation of the improved seed varieties.
The farmers’ viewpoints, nonetheless, tend to reinforce the
need for the government and other stakeholders to organise awareness creation
campaigns for farmers on the use of modern farm inputs, while investing in the
distribution of the inputs, particularly in rural communities.
In this regard, Dr Sunday Abimiku, the Director of Seed
Industry Development in NASC, said that the agency had resolved to establish
demonstration blocks in each of the 774 local government areas of the country
for wider reach.
Abimiku said that although the council had been promoting
the use of improved seeds in several areas across the country, there was a
compelling need to reach more farmers.
“If you look at the population of farmers in this country,
it is so huge that one demonstration block per local government is nothing to
write home about, but we are largely constrained by insufficient funds.
“What we are trying to do is to collaborate with partners
that also have passion for the adoption of improved seeds so that we can
increase the visibility of new farming technologies across the country,’’ he
said.
Judging by the excitement of rice farmers at the field
demonstration of Faro 60 and Faro 61 improved rice
varieties last year, experts underscore the need to step up investment in the
promotion of improved seeds.
“Sustained investments in the production and acceptance of
improved seed varieties for all crops will drive the country’s quest for
sustainable food security and economic diversification,’’ some of the experts
say.
“The Federal Government has banned the importation of rice,
so the market for rice is so huge. Rice farmers should take advantage of the
new varieties of rice to boost their productivity and incomes as well as feed
the nation,’’ they add.
All in all, analysts say that tangible efforts should be
made to improve the agricultural production of the country via increased
adoption of improved seed varieties by farmers.
A new report is calling on the African
governments to consider expanding irrigation projects since the continent has
the potential to boost agricultural productivity.
Irrigation in Eritrea. Photo credit: www.treehugger.com
The study that was done by the Malabo
Montpellier Panel finds potential to expand irrigation across 47 million
hectares in Africa to improve livelihoods and economic growth.
“Helping more farmers to access and use irrigation
systems holds the key to African countries meeting hunger and food security
targets, a new report sets out,” the report, launched on Monday, January 14,
2018, revealed.
Titled: “Water-wise: Smart irrigation strategies
for Africa”, the report highlights success stories from six African countries
where greater levels of irrigation have led to better and longer harvests,
higher incomes and better prospects for farmers.
The report is being released at a time that
food production in Africa still relies almost exclusively on rain-fed
agriculture, leaving farmers and rural communities vulnerable to increasingly
erratic rainfall patterns and extreme climate conditions.
“There is vast potential to scale up
irrigation, particularly across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), to increase crop
yields and improve resilience to climate shocks, the report finds,” the report
noted.
The study, which was conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Morocco,
Niger and South Africa, revealed that yields from irrigated crops can be double
or more of comparable rain-fed yields on the continent.
It noted that the economic benefits of
expanding areas under irrigation are estimated to be double the costs under
climate change.
“This report shows the great potential for irrigation to improve
agricultural output across Africa,” Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, Vice President of
Malawi and co-chair of the Malabo Montpellier Forum, said while unveiling the
report in Rabat, Morocco.
Chilima observed that from the study, there
are lessons to learn from the countries within the continent to help expand
arable land through irrigation.
He revealed that Malawi has already seen
incomes rise by up to 65 percent through the expanded areas.
The study found several common features
among the countries that have made significant progress in expanding irrigation
and called on other countries to embrace irrigation to improve food security
and nutrition targets under the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Malabo
Declaration.
It said that irrigated agriculture can
enable farmers extend the growing season, increase productivity and incomes,
and improve their livelihoods.
In Niger, up to 20 per cent of
agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated through irrigated
agriculture.
The report however calls on governments to carefully
plan the expansion to avoid adverse impacts on the environment and human health.
Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Africa Director
for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), said that the
expansion calls for dedicated, effective government institutions and
significant increase in public investment for irrigation programs in the
continent.
“Partnership with the private sector and
farming communities and improved regulations for safe and sustainable use
of water, are other driving factors,” he added.
Professor Joachim von Braun, Director
of the Centre for Development Research at Bonn University in Germany, noted
that for success to be realized there is need for robust technology that saves
water and energy and can be sustained locally.
He said that the governments must also
engage local organizations with women and men farmers in the lead of their
irrigation.
“We must elevate irrigation to a top
policy priority to bring it to scale as a key ingredient to ensure the
continent’s food security in the face of more extreme weather conditions,” said Dr.
Agnes Kalibata, President of Alliance of Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
Dr. Kalibata called for emphasis on farmer-led
irrigation to scale household level resilience to shocks through new models.
She challenged governments to design
irrigation projects to fit local environments and meet the needs of smallholder
farmers.
In Africa, only six per cent of cultivated
land is currently irrigated, compared to 14 per cent in Latin America and
37 per cent in Asia.
China will launch an expedition to collect samples from the
moon around the end of this year, a space official said on Monday, January 14,
2019, weeks after Beijing hailed the successful touch down on the far side of
the moon.
An artist’s conception of the Chinese Chang’e-4 Lunar lander and rover. Photo credit: news.com.au
The Chang’e-4 lunar probe landed on Jan. 3 and transmitted
the first-ever “close range” image of the far side of the moon.
China’s National Space Administration applauded the event as
a first that “lifted the mysterious veil” of the far side of the moon and
claimed it as a major achievement for the country’s ambitious space programme.
The tasks of the Chang’e-4 include astronomical observation,
surveying the moon’s terrain and mineral makeup and measuring the neutron
radiation and neutral atoms to study the environment of its far side.
“The Chang’e-5 mission, set to collect samples from the near
side of the moon, will be carried out at the end of the year, while another
probe will be sent to Mars by 2020,’’ Wu Yanhua, deputy head of the space
administration, said at a conference.
Wu said that the Chang’e 5 mission would lay the ground work
for further probes to be sent to the moon’s South Pole and possibly to return
samples from the far side of the moon.
He noted that probes would depend on the results collected
in the upcoming mission.
“Tests carried out by future missions could lay the
groundwork for building on the moon’s surface, by testing technologies like 3D
printing or the use of moon soil in construction.
“China, the United States, Russia and European nations,
among others, are all exploring whether or not to build a base or research
station on the moon,” Wu said.
The moon is tidally locked to Earth, rotating at the same
rate as it orbits our planet, so most of the far side – or “dark side” – is
never visible to us. Previous spacecraft have seen the far side, but none has
landed on it.
China has made space exploration a top priority in recent
years, as it races to catch up with Russia and the U.S. and become a major
space power by 2030.
Beijing plans to launch construction of its own manned space
station in 2020.
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency says the agency has
employed 110 workers to execute its mandate aimed at monitoring and assessing
the nation’s surface and ground water resources.
Suleiman Adamu Kazaure, Water Resources Minister
The Director-General of the agency, Mr Clement Onveasonze,
made the disclosure on Monday, January 14, 2019 at a three-day induction
workshop for the newly recruited staff in Abuja.
Onveasonze said that the training was in tandem with the
agency’s new resolve to develop a positively motivated and skilled workforce
able to adapt to growing needs of the agency.
He said that the training would build the capacity of new
staff to provide the services required for assessment of the nation’s surface
and ground water resources in terms of quantity, quality, distribution and
availability.
“We will use three days to induct our new staff to know the
reasons why they are bringing into the public service.
“They will be inducted to carry out ground water exploration
and monitoring, using various scientific techniques to provide hydrological and
hydro-geological data needed for planning, design, execution and management of
water resources and allied projects,’’ he said.
The director-general called for construction of small dams
on the routes leading to River Benue to check water released from the Lagdo Dam
in Cameroon.
He said that if the dams were built and well monitored, they
would go a long way in addressing flooding along the River Benue.
Onveasonze, who recalled that Lagdo Dam was built 40 years
ago, said that Nigeria had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cameroon
to notify Nigeria before releasing excess water from its dam.
Uganda has intensified Ebola screening at Entebbe
International Airport to prevent the disease from spreading from the
neighbouring eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Entebbe International Airport
Emmanuel Ainebyoona, ministry of health spokesperson, told Xinhua by telephone on Monday, January
14, 2019 that all passengers arriving through Entebbe airport, about 40 km
south of the capital, Kampala are screened of Ebola.
Previously, the medical people at the airport have been
screening passengers on direct flights from DRC.
“We realised that some passengers from DRC were using
connecting flights from other airport on their way to Entebbe,’’ Ainebyoona
said.
In September 2018, the east African country installed
Automated Temperature Scanners at the airport to screen passengers mainly
coming from DRC.
According to Ayinebyoona, the screening at the different
border entry points between Uganda and DRC is still ongoing.
Uganda is on an Ebola alert as parts of neighbouring eastern
DRC are facing an outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever.
According to the World Health Organisation, the highly
contagious Ebola virus causes a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting,
diarrhea, generalised pain or malaise and in many cases internal and external
bleeding.
Mortality rates of Ebola fever, according to the
global health body, are extremely high, with the human case fatality rate
ranging from 50 per cent to 89 per cent, depending on viral subtype.
