A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Promotion for the Human Rights, on Thursday, February 1, 2018 urged the Federal Government to provide improved cassava and yam seedlings to smallholder farmers across the country.
Smallholder farmers
Williams Ozase, president of the organisation, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
He said that if the farmers were provided with improved seedlings, it would boost cassava and yam production in the country.
He said that the strategy would also facilitate efforts to boost the food security of the country.
Ozase said that after harvests, part of the yield could be reserved as seedlings for the next cropping season.
“Through this way, the farmers can slowly improve the quality of their varieties. Good seed selection is also vital to efforts to control plant pests and diseases,’’ he said.
Besides, Ozase said that the agricultural institutes should produce high-yielding seedlings and make them available to farmers’ cooperative societies for distribution to farmers.
He said that the cooperative societies could easily reach smallholder farmers in the rural areas, adding that the arrangement would stimulate efforts to boost agricultural production in the country.
He stressed that pragmatic efforts should be made by all the stakeholders in the agricultural sector to enhance agricultural production in order to boost the food security of the country.
Ozase urged the Federal Government to step up its plans to diversify the nation’s economy via agriculture by investing more resources in the development of agriculture, agribusiness and value chains.
He also urged the government to provide processing and storage facilities for farm produce, saying that the venture would boost agricultural production significantly.
“The government should also develop technologies through sustained research and distribute them to farmers, while building the farmers’ capacity in modern crop growing skills,’’ he said.
He said that agriculture remained the only panacea for the country’s economic problems.
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has renewed its appeal to the National Assembly to use the findings of its audit reports to push for wider reforms in the oil and gas industry.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Waziri Adio
The NEITI Executive Secretary, Waziri Adio, made the appeal in Abuja while receiving the members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Petroleum Upstream who were on monitoring and oversight visit to the NEITI Secretariat.
Adio explained that NEITI reports contain detailed information and data on company payments and government receipts as well as the process lapses and remedial actions required in the industry.
“We see the parliament as important partners not just because we are answerable to you and we need you to approve our budget but because our reports can and should be inputs to your important work,” he said.
Adio expressed concerns that several reports with far-reaching recommendations have been placed in the public domain with clear challenges of implementation. He urged the National Assembly to study the reports as important documents that would aid their oversight representative and law-making responsibilities.
He commended the National Assembly for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, noting that the development is in support of the mandate of NEITI, fundamental to strengthening reforms in the industry and key to promoting investments and better revenue generation.
The Executive Secretary told the legislators that NEITI’s decision to develop a new strategic plan to cover the period from 2017 to 2021 was to deepen openness and shape positively the overall governance of the sector through policy engagement, thought leadership and inter agency collaboration. He identified funding, manual data collection and human capacity development as major challenges.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Upstream, Victor Nwokolo, expressed satisfaction over the impact of NEITI’s intervention in pushing for reforms in the extractive industries.
Nwokolo commended NEITI for its professionalism in the discharge of its mandate. He advised the Executive Secretary to consider as a priority the need for NEITI to work more closely with the National Assembly to advance transparency and accountability in the industry.
He explained that the visit was to review NEITI’s level of implementation of the 2017 Budget and appraise the implementation of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Nigeria in the last one year.
Nwokolo reaffirmed the commitment of his Committee to support NEITI in the discharge of its mandate.
A Bill for a law to regulate land administration and Edo State Geographic Information Service (GIS) on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 passed second reading state’s House of Assembly.
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State
Leading the debate for passage of the bill, Majority Leader, Mr Roland Asoro (APC Orhionnmwon South), said “the bill if passed, will lay to rest, all sharp practices associated with land administration in the state’’.
Asoro explained that the computerisation of all lands in the state would reduce the bureaucratic bottlenecks connected with acquisition of Certificate of Occupancy.
He added that it would also increase the internally generated revenue base of the state.
According to the leader, the computerisation of all lands in the state would provide adequate information on true ownership status of all lands in the state.
The member representing Ovia-South West, Godwin Adenomo, said that passage of the bill would ensure that Global Positioning System (GPS) services could be activated to give accurate information on any land in the state.
He explained that the bill sought to curtail the menace of illegal acquisition of lands in the state and enhance accurate data collection for land administration.
In her contribution, Mrs Elizabeth Ativie advocated that the agency that would handle the computerisation of all lands in the state should be under the supervision of Ministry of Lands and Survey.
According to her, it is to ensure desired results and eliminate duplication of responsibility.
Many lawmakers unanimously supported the passage of the bill.
In his remarks, the Speaker, Mr Kabiru Adjoto, said that passage of the bill would ensure computerisation of all lands and put all communities in the state on the map for easy identification.
He referred the bill to the Committee on Rules, Business and Government for further input ahead of its passage.
Meanwhile, the House adopted a motion calling on local government councils in the state to perform their function of naming streets and numbering of houses as enshrined in the fourth schedule of the 1999 Constitution.
Kenya on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 unveiled ethanol stoves for refugees in Kakuma Camp in Northwest part of the country to help mitigate climate carbon emissions.
Environment Principal Secretary, Charles Sunkuli (centre), tries out an ethanol stove in Nairobi on January 31, 2018 during the launch of phase II of the Samsung Ethanol Stove Project. The Ministry of Environment has pledged to support the use of ethanol stoves. Photo credit: Salaton Njau / Nation Media Group
The Principal Secretary for Environment and Forestry, Charles Sunkuli, said the stoves launched in partnership with electronics firm, Samsung, would help reduce dependency on charcoal in the camp.
“The project will help reduce carbon dioxide emission in the country by more than 500,000 tonnes in the next five years,’’ Sunkuli said during the launch in Nairobi.
He said the camp that had 200,000 refugees would benefit from a subsidy of 12,000 eco-friendly ethanol stoves.
The official said that Kenya was in the process of formulating a new climate change action plan from 2018 to 2022, that would guide the country in actions that would deliver on an obligation of the climate change Act 2016.
About 80 per cent of Kenyans who live in urban areas use charcoal for cooking, thus putting a lot of pressure on the households from respiratory related diseases as well as adverse effects on the forest cover.
About 10 kilogrammes (kg) of wood is used to make one Kg of charcoal that is putting a lot of strains on the country’s forests.
The country in 2015, estimated a loss of 5.6 million trees daily due to deforestation.
“The use of ethanol for this cooker instead of charcoal will enable households benefit from an eco-friendly environment with less smoke, while reducing their cooking fuel costs and cooking time,’’ Patricia Kingori, Samsung Electronics East Africa’s Head of Marketing and Citizenship, said.
Kingori said that there was the urgent need to create a healthy environment for future generations through projects that significantly address the rate of deforestation and carbon emissions.
The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) says it has reviewed its operational policy to meet best global practices.
Director-General and CEO of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Rufus Ebegba
Head of Communication, NBMA, Mrs Gloria Ogbaki, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 in Abuja, the federal capital city.
Ogbaki said the reviewed policy was in “tandem with NBMA Act and emerging biosafety issues which are in line with modern biotechnology’’.
She assured that the agency was poised to ensure holistic implementation of the policy to engender effective biosafety management in the country.
The spokesperson recalled that the 2006 National Biosafety Policy was reviewed by the agency in conjunction with relevant stakeholders and MDAs, and aligned with the NBMA Act 2015.
“The reviewed policy was presented by the Minister of Environment to the Federal Executive Council and it has graciously become the new biosafety policy for the country,’’ Ogbaki said.
She reiterated the agency’s commitment to ensure certified genetically modified foods and crops are safe for people and the environment in line with the new biosafety policy.
According to her, the establishment of the agency was not to stop the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) but to ensure its safety for Nigerians with no adverse effect on humans, plants, animals and the environment.
“The agency would continue to carry out its vision which states that: The National Biosafety Management Agency is to ensure that the practice, processes and procedures, of Modern Biotechnology, is undertaken within the limits of regulatory systems.
“Such systems would guarantee its safe use, protects Nigeria’s biodiversity and provides minimum risk to human health, animals, plants and the environment, for the good of Nigerians,’’ she said.
Early intervention and strong political will to fight against environmental hazards have helped Côte d’Ivoire avert what would have been a damaging toxic dumping tragedy, says a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) audit report.
Public protest against the Probo Koala waste dump in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in 2006
The audit report, presented on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at the Bamako Convention COP2 assembly in Abidjan, lauded the timely intervention of the Ivorian government with measures to mitigate what would have been the worst environmental disaster in the country.
“It is reassuring to see that, with early intervention and strong political will, a disaster like the chemical contamination incident in Côte d’Ivoire can be mitigated over time,” UN Environment Deputy Executive Director, Ibrahim Thiaw, said.
“This independent and scientific environmental audit of the sites gives us access to a vault of best practices and pitfalls of the disaster response, and allows us to learn from a tragedy like this,” he added.
The UNEP regional director for Africa, Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, noted that though there was general lethargy in most African countries to implement the Bamako Convention on preventing Africa from becoming the dumping ground for toxic waster, the example from Côte d’Ivoire shows that innovative pathways can bring lasting solutions once there is a clear political will.
“We are proud of the measures put in place by the government of Côte d’Ivoire to fight against toxic waste dumping and environmental pollution,” she noted.
It will be recalled that national and international civil society organisations decried the illegal dumping of toxic waste in and around Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, six years ago by a multinational company, Trafigura.
Different organisations had published reports including documentation of various illnesses people in the areas where such dumping were taking place have been suffering from as a result of the dumping of toxic waste in their communities.
But the good news is that the Ivorian government reacted promptly to ward off what experts say would have been the worst environmental disaster in the entire West Africa.
The UN Environment thus conducted an independent audit of the sites affected by the 2006 waste dumping from the Probo Koala in various parts of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
According to the audit, multiple innovative actions were put in place just on time by the government.
The audit noted that, in reality on August 19, 2006, the Probo Koala, chartered by shipping firm Trafigura, offloaded 528 cubic metres of liquid waste in the port of Abidjan. The waste was then transferred onto tanker trucks operated by a local contractor and dumped in 12 different locations around Abidjan.
Hours after the dumping, residents reported being overwhelmed by a strong smell and experiencing detrimental health effects such as respiratory difficulties and skin irritations.
As a precautionary measure, the Ivorian government ordered the closure of schools in affected areas and the destruction of fruits and vegetables grown near dumping sites.
Livestock raised in proximity to some sites was also culled while fishing was banned in the bays of the Ébrié Lagoon.
In other measures the government provided medical assistance and facilities to over 100,000 people affected just weeks immediately following the dumping.
A series of clean-ups began in September 2006 and saw the sites excavated and the toxic materials shipped to France for incineration.
In the following years, several further clean-up and remediation activities were conducted by various actors including the Ivorian government.
According to the audit report, the swift mitigation measures taken by the Ivorian government paid off.
In January 2017, UN Environment conducted a follow-up mission to carry out complementary sampling and to fill specific analytical gaps and to corroborate initial findings from the laboratory analysis.
In both missions, the UN experts were joined in the field by three experts from the Ivorian Anti-Pollution Centre (CIAPOL).
The results obtained showed that none of the dumping sites had contamination exceeding the limits set by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire for remediation.
As a result, none of these sites requires additional intervention, even when gauged against Dutch intervention values, which are among the most commonly used guidelines for contaminated site management and remediation worldwide.
It also showed that elevated levels of chromium were observed in soil and water at the site in Agboville where maize that was potentially, and indirectly, impacted by the Probo Koala wastes was deposited.
As a result, the UN Environment recommended further assessment and close monitoring of the Agboville site and the continuation of restrictions imposed on public access to the facility, as well as the erection of signs to warn the public against harvesting grass or vegetables from the premises.
It also calls for due diligence for the decommissioning of the Akouédo municipal waste disposal site, which has long been earmarked for closure.
In the meantime, UN Environment recommends consideration of land use restrictions, in particular for agriculture on the site.
Based on the contamination levels at the Koumassi site, UN Environment calls for a comprehensive environmental assessment of the area to be undertaken as a basis for an action plan to mitigate impacts on public health.
It further urges the government to ensure that workers are provided with personal protection equipment and trained on occupational health.
The study shows that ocean warming in 2017 has occurred in most parts of the world, even though the Atlantic and the oceans of the southern hemisphere (south of 30°) have been more impacted by this phenomenon.
The ocean plays many roles in the climate process. As a carbon pump, it absorbs about a third of the world’s CO₂ (carbon dioxide) emissions. It is also a thermal buffer: it stores huge quantities of heat which it then transports according to its movements, currents and its depths.
It is partly because of the ocean that climate change has not accelerated further than it has today and global average temperature rise of the atmosphere is not higher than it is. IAP CAS researchers say that more than 90% of Earth’s climate-related heat is absorbed by the oceans.
The results of the new study partly reiterate the November 2017 World Meteorological Organisation’s provisional publication which said: “Global sea surface temperatures are on track to be among the three highest on record. Global ocean heat content in 2017 to date has been at or near record high levels.”
The Atlantic and Southern hemisphere oceans (south of 30°) have been warmer than the Pacific and Indian oceans. The Atlantic Ocean (north of 30°) and the Southern Ocean experienced higher temperature rises than the period 1981-2010.
Rising ocean temperatures have serious consequences. For example, water expands when it is warmer, adding to sea-level rise. Sea levels rose by 1.7 mm in 2017. Warmer seas also mean less oxygen for the ocean, coral reef bleaching and the melting of land and sea ice.
Fully implementing the Paris Climate Change Agreement is crucial to protecting California’s natural vegetation, nearly half of which is at risk from the impacts of rising global average temperatures. This is the key finding of a new study from University of California Davis.
Coastal vegetation in Big Sur, California. Photo credit: Mongabay.com
The central goal of the Paris Agreement is to hold the global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F), and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F). Global greenhouse gas emissions, primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, are currently on the rise and need to peak as soon as possible and then rapidly decline in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, which include more droughts, flooding and wildfires.
The study projects that, at current greenhouse gas emission rates, more than 50 % of the vegetation in southwestern California, the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada mountains will be impacted by 2100, including 68 % of the lands surrounding Los Angeles and San Diego.
“About 45-56 % of all the natural vegetation in the state is at risk,” said lead author James Thorne, a research scientist with the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis. “If we reduce the rate to Paris Accord targets, those numbers are lowered to between 21 and 28% of the lands at risk.”
Vegetation has many important functions for humans, including protecting valuable water resources. As vegetation is destroyed, watersheds are damaged, which serve as vital freshwater resources.
The report is only a conservative estimate, as it only examines direct climate exposure. Natural vegetation can suffer high rates of mortality when subjected to climatic events that are the indirect product of climate change, such as drought.
Even in the study’s most conservative estimate, if total emissions remain at present rates, the amount of impacted land doubles to more than 50%.
Referring the map pictures above, UC Davis researcher Thorne said. “This is the map of where we live. The natural landscapes that make up California provide the water, clean air and other natural benefits for all the people who live here. They provide the sanctuary for California’s high biodiversity that is globally ranked. This map portrays the level of climate risk to all of those things. In some cases, the transformation may be quite dramatic and visible, as is the case with wildfire and beetle outbreaks. In other cases, it might not be dramatically visible but will have impacts, nevertheless.”
These are some of the highlights from the report:
Urban region impact: At current rates of greenhouse gas emissions, 68 % of the lands surrounding Los Angeles and San Diego will be impacted by climate stress 2100.
Valuable ecosystems left vulnerable: the Sierra Nevada, a particularly important region for natural ecosystem services, is left 62% climatically exposed under current emission trajectories models.
25% of vegetation already at risk: If emissions are cut now, about a quarter of state’s vegetation will still be climate stressed by 2100.
Marginal lands forecast low productivity: The failure to achieve the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement will result in 24-28% more of California’s natural lands becoming climatically marginal by remaining on the current emission trajectory
A new analysis by Sandbag and Agora Energiewende shows that the European Union generated more electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass than coal in 2017, with renewables accounting for over 30% of Europe’s electricity for the first time.
Matthias Buck, Director of European Energy Policy, Agora Energiewende
Wind, solar and biomass generation surpassing coal is “incredible progress”, says the report, not least because coal power generation was more than twice that of wind, solar and biomass just five years ago.
The study, titled: “European Power Sector in 2017”, suggests that Germany and the United Kingdom are leading the onward march of renewable technologies as both have contributed to 56% of the growth in renewables in the past three years (2014-2017).
“EU renewables growth has been increasingly reliant on the success story of wind in Germany, the UK and Denmark, which has been inspiring. If all countries in Europe engage in this, 35% renewable energy by 2030 is entirely possible. Solar deployment in particular is still surprisingly low, and needs to respond to the massive falls in costs,” said Matthias Buck, Director of European Energy Policy, Agora Energiewende.
The growing share of renewables in the continent’s energy mix is set to further bolster global climate action in line with the central goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to keep the rise in global average temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees. Power generation from renewable sources is crucial to reducing carbon emissions and achieving the temperature goal.
The study notes that good wind conditions and huge investment into wind plants led to a massive 19% increase in wind generation in 2017 – two-thirds of this was in Germany and the UK. However, solar power generation grew only by 8% despite huge recent price falls.
Wind, solar and biomass rose to 20.9% of the EU electricity mix, up from just 9.7% in 2010, and represents an average growth of 1.7 percentage points per year. The report projects that renewables could provide a third of Europe’s electricity in 2018, and by 2020 renewables may account for 36% of Europe’s power demand – up from 20% in 2010.
The report also takes a closer look at the uneven nature of decarbonisation across Europe, since the lion’s share of the recent gains was mainly due to Germany and the UK. The remaining 26 EU countries 43% of the renewables growth from 2014 to 2017, whilst they had 58% of the growth from 2011 to 2014.
The report also highlights how individual companies are increasingly leading the transition to a low-carbon economy. For instance, EDF announced plans to scale up renewable generation and build 30 gigawatts of solar in France from 2020 to 2035. Ørsted (previously Dong) announced in February 2017 that they would phase out coal by 2023.
Eurelectric, an association representing the interests of the power industry in Europe, announced in a vision statement last month that it will actively pursue efforts to become carbon-neutral well before mid-century.
The UN Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 said it is partnering with the Federal Government of Nigeria to use scientific and cultural methods to restore the Lake Chad basin.
Scientists say the Lake Chad, that borders Nigeria and some other countries, has shrunken by 95 percent over the past 50 years. They have also linked the Boko Haram insurgency to the lake’s situation. Photo credit: AP/Christophe Ena
The partnership will be done through the Ministry of Water Resources to launch BIOPALT, a project targeted at scientifically and culturally restoring the basin.
Dr Osuji Otu, the National Programme Officer for Sciences of UNESCO, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
BIOPALT project aims to strengthen the capacities of the member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission – Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Niger and Nigeria – for three years.
The project is to safeguard and sustainably manage the hydrological, biological and cultural resources of the Lake Chad basin across their borders in order to support poverty reduction and promote peace.
“Presently we are having consultation with partners which is aimed at launching BIOPALT in Feb. 15 and 16.
“This is a Lake Chad project that restores the depleted basin using scientific and cultural methods to restore peace in Lake Chad as well as sustainable development within the basin.
“The BIOPALT is the launching of the special project funded by African Development Bank which will last for three years and benefiting five countries – Chad, Nigel, Cameroon, Nigeria and Congo.
“It has been launched in other countries. Once it is launched here, we can start the project implementation within the Lake Chad basin for the next three years,” Otu said.
According to him, the consultation meeting involves lots of partners working together toward the implementation of the project when it is launched.
NAN reports that the restoration of the Lake Chad basin became necessary following discussions between President Muhammadu Buhari and UNESCO’s former Director General, Ms Irina Bokova in August 2016.
The discussion was on issues of mutual interest toward attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and to reflect on the future of the lake.
At that time, President Buhari called for UNESCO’s assistance to organise an international conference to reflect on the future of the Lake and support the preservation of the surrounding environment.
Buhari in Dec. 2017 approved the conference to be hosted in Abuja with the objective of creating global awareness on the socio-economic and environmental challenges arising from the shrinkage of the Lake Chad.
Other concerns to be discussed at the conference are threat to livelihoods including insecurity with a view to developing a comprehensive programme for action to save the lake from extinction.
The conference is expected to also discuss and develop consensus on the different options to restore Lake Chad, including the Inter-Basin Water Transfer project from the Ubangi River in Central Africa to the Lake Chad.
