Authorities in New Delhi, India declared urgent measures, including stopping construction activities and limiting cars and vehicles as residents endured third successive day of heavy pollution on Thursday.
As Delhi’s pollution levels rise to severe, the EPCA has directed governments to impose all conditions under the Graded Response Action Plan under severe category
Doctors have called on the Delhi government to declare city-wide health emergency as toxic smog choked the city since Tuesday.
“Air quality readings have soared with monitors showing levels averaging at 940,’’ Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, over 40 times the limit World Health Organisation considers to be safe.
Kejriwal told newsmen that orders were being issued to stop the entry of commercial trucks into the city, except those carrying essential goods, halting all construction activity and raising parking fees to force residents to use public transport.
The government was also likely to re-launch its odd-even scheme to curb cars on roads, under which private cars are allowed on roads on alternate days depending on whether their number plate ends with an odd or even number.
On Wednesday, the Delhi government shut down all schools in the city until Sunday, but angry residents, suffering from pollution, demanded more measures and slammed authorities for inaction.
Kejriwal, however, said crop stubble burning by farmers in the neighbouring states was the key reason for the hazardous pollution.
“Until that was addressed, Delhi’s inhabitants would continue to breathe bad air,’’ he added.
Delhi, a city with a population of 19 million, has been ranked among the top polluted cities in the world in recent years, and efforts to check the worsening air quality have not worked so far.
The European Commission failed on Thursday, November, 9, 2017 to secure EU member states’ support for the renewal of the license for the controversial weed killer glyphosate which expires December 15.
The European Parliament will decide on extending the approval of glyphosate
The commission had proposed shortening the licensing period from 10 years to five, but there was “no qualified majority for the renewal at a vote,’’ Luxembourg’s Environment Minister posted on Twitter.
“Luxembourg voted against renewal and prolongation. Good outcome for our health and environment,’’ added Carole Dieschbourg.
According to an EU diplomat, 14 countries voted in favour, nine against and five abstained at a meeting of a special committee of EU member-states.
Glyphosate inhibits the growth of unwanted plants.
It is widely used in farming and to control plants in domestic and urban settings.
Its use has been questioned amid concerns that it may cause cancer.
In 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that glyphosate probably causes cancer, although a subsequent UN study reached different conclusions.
The European Food Safety Authority and the European Union’s industry watchdog have not identified its link to cancer.
Haiti, Zimbabwe and Fiji were named as the three countries which suffered most at the hands of extreme weather during 2016 in a climate report published on Thursday, November 9, 2017.
Extreme weather: Widespread flooding in Malawi. Photo credit: Water Journalists – Africa
Worldwide, some 524,000 people reportedly lost their lives between 1997 and 2016 due to around 11,000 extreme incidents.
Furthermore, the total global financial loss was estimated at $3.16 trillion.
The study, compiled by German global justice organisation Germanwatch based on data from Munich Re NatCatSERVICE, found that the impoverished Caribbean island state Haiti was one of the most affected nations on average between 1997 and 2016 along with Honduras and Myanmar.
The “Global Climate Risk Index 2018’’ investigated directly measurable impacts such as the number of deaths and economic damage incurred by extreme events such as storms and their direct implications (for example, flooding, landslides).
Germanwatch underlined the role of anthropogenic climate change in extreme weather, writing that rising surface sea temperatures are thought to intensify storms.
In particular, the authors emphasised the hardships faced by so-called Small Island Developing States (SIDS), stating that five out of the 20 most affected nations in the past two decades belong to this category.
Both Haiti and Fiji are SIDS.
Germany is currently co-hosting a world climate conference with the tiny pacific island state of Fiji over a two-week period.
Both German Chancellor Angel Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are due in Bonn next week to address the gathering, which is being attended by more than 23,000 delegates.
Ivory and pangolin scales worth $355,000 smuggled from Congo have been seized in Thailand, Customs officials said on Thursday, November 9, 2017.
The Pangolin
Four elephant tusks and 39 ivory pieces weighing 116 kilogrammes, as well as 15 kilogrammes of pangolin scales, were found at Suvarnabhumi Airport on October 30, said Kulit Sombatsiri, Director-General of the Thai customs department.
The smuggled goods were transported on a Turkish Airlines flight from Kinshasa airport in Congo and bound for a fake address in Thailand.
The package, which was declared as dried fish, was supposed to be picked up by smugglers at the Bangkok airport.
Airport authorities confiscated it after discovering that the contents were illegal.
Both the ivory and pangolin trades have been outlawed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), but smuggling from Africa into Asia persists.
Pangolins, the only mammal with scales, are one of the most hunted species on earth, as their meat and scales are believed in China to have medicinal values.
Since Oct. 2016, Thai customs agents have seized more than one billion dollars’ worth of smuggled endangered species and their products in 46 separate cases.
“Thailand serves as a popular transit for the smuggling of endangered species from Africa into other parts of Asia because there are many flights from the continent arriving in Bangkok,’’ Kulit added.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 passed a bill to provide a legal framework for mainstreaming of climate change responses and actions into government policy formulation and implementation.
Chairman, House Committee on Climate Change, Sam Onuigbo
The bill also proposed the establishment of a council to coordinate climate change governance as well as support the adaptation and mitigation of the adverse effects of climate change in the country.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Sam Onuigbo (Abia-PDP), said that the need for a strong national institution to address the effects of climate change compelled him to come up with the bill.
According to him, the absence of a law on issues of climate change has scared investors from investing in the country.
‘‘Today, there is no law on climate change, all we have are policies and that has been a serious setback for the country as far as climate actions are concerned.
‘‘Climate change is a global issue that cuts across the world and that is what informed the move of the United Nations’ convention on climate change.
‘‘But back home, there is no law both at the national and sub-national levels and that has necessitated this bill.
‘‘The early coming into force of the 2015 Paris Climate agreement reinforced the necessity of a climate change legislation.
‘‘It will facilitate the domestication of the agreement and enable Nigeria to effectively implement its commitments, particularly the emission reductions target,’’ he said.
Onuigbo further said that absence of a law that prescribed legal obligation for compliance with elements of national climate policy and all other climate-related initiatives and programmes had also inhibited climate change management in the country.
‘‘But this bill will provide a framework for a federal budget appropriation process that institutionalises transparency and accountability of climate related sources, including international climate finance,’’ he said.
The lawmaker added that the bill intended to balance institutions and approaches responsible in addressing climate challenges across economic sectors and through public and private participation.
He said it would also aid the ‘‘setting up of guidelines for prescription of range of economic instruments and regulatory techniques to reduce Green House Gas emissions.
‘‘Pursue high economic growth rate at a low carbon trajectory at the same time reduce environmental risks and ecological scarcity in an inclusive manner, and growing new jobs.’’
Onuigbo said the bill would be transmitted to the Senate for concurrence on Wednesday and subsequently to the President for assent.
‘‘Every leader determines what happens to his subjects, and the President has given climate change a go by the signing the UN treaty on Climate Change and his subsequent speeches back home,’’ he added.
NAN recalled that the House of Representatives adopted the committee report on Climate Change on Oct. 26.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, November 6, 2017 in Abuja said that the Federal Government would establish six crop processing zones in the country to enhance food security and economic development.
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria
Buhari made this known when he presented the 2018 budget proposal before the National Assembly in Abuja.
According to the President, the initiative will help to develop infrastructure for the production, processing and storage of strategic commodities.
He said the project would focus on backward integration for grains, horticulture, livestock, fisheries and sugar as well as exportable commodities such as cocoa, cassava and oil palms.
“The agricultural sector plays crucial role in Nigeria’s exit from recession.
“Today, it remains the largest employer of labour and holds significant potential in realising our vision to reposition Nigeria as a food secured nation.
“We will consolidate on existing policies and develop new ones to ensure the numerous value chain challenges in the agricultural sector are addressed,’’ Buhari said.
He said that there had been increased investment in the agro-inputs manufacturing sector such as fertilisers, adding that his administration was determined to protect those investments and encourage new ones.
Buhari added that several investors had deployed significant capital in the production and processing of rice, sugar, maize, soya beans, cassava, yam, tomato, oil palm, rubber, and poultry among others.
“We are determined to protect these investments and encourage more. Food security is an important aspect of this Administration’s National Security agenda.
“Any person involved in smuggling of food items is a threat to our national security and will therefore be dealt with accordingly,’’ he said.
The president further stated that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was working with development partners and the private sector to initiate numerous capacity building projects.
He added that the administration would continue to intensify its interventions through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative to ensure that the drive was sustained.
“We have also made provisions in the 2018 Budget to complete ongoing Irrigation Projects in Ada, Enugu State; Lower Anambra, in Anambra State; and Gari, in Jigawa State,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the sum of N118.98 billion was allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the budget proposal.
The death toll following flash floods in Central Vietnam has risen to 106, authorities said on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 with 25 people still missing and 197 others receiving treatment for their injuries.
A flooded community in Vietnam
Khanh Hoa province, home to the popular beach resort city of Nha Trang, reported 39 dead, followed by Quang Nam province with 24 dead, Vietnam’s National Committee for Search and Rescue said in a report to the government.
Authorities are sending more than 18,000 soldiers to take part in search-and-rescue operations and to deal with the aftermath of the flood, the Committee added.
Typhoon Damrey made landfall on Saturday with winds of up to 135 kilometres per hour.
Regional rainfall of up to 1,800 millimetres has been recorded for the past eight days, according to the committee.
Rain is expected to ease off from Thursday.
The storm damaged 121,000 houses, killed nearly 10,000 pigs and cows, knocked down power lines and uprooted countless trees.
Ten cargo ships and nearly 1,300 fishing boats have sunk.
Typhoon Damrey arrived days before a global foreign leaders’ summit for next week’s APEC conference in Da Nang, where weather authorities said there was a risk of flooding and landslides.
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive on Friday for the leaders’ summit, which Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to attend.
Registered town planning practitioners in Lagos have expressed concerns over what they describe as the “occasional mis-governance” in the strategic planning, implementation and sustainability of a robust physical planning and urban development policy for the comfort of human habitation in the state.
National Vice President, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) and former Commissioner, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde (2nd left); Chairman, Lagos Chapter, NITP, Mr. Kunle Salami (2nd right); his deputy, Mr Ayo Adejumo (right); and the chapter’s Secretary on the left, during the briefing
By this admonitions, the professionals are metaphorically referring to the pains and economic hardship that have been inflicted on the poor masses because of the ways and manners in which the governments, both in the past and present, have dealt with the challenge of waste management, flooding, infrastructures, slum residency, demolition of structures, land reclamation and location and relocation of market places.
The experts, who gathered under the auspices of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), were making the assertions while responding to questions from newsmen at a press conference on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 to commemorate the 2017 World Town Planning Day.
In the context of the theme of the celebration, tagged “Inclusive Cities and Communities,” the experts offered substantial ideas on how best to tackle the growing challenges of co-habiting a comfortable human being in a strategically developing megacity state like Lagos.
On attendance were the current National Vice President of NITP and former Commissioner of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Lagos State, Mr. Toyin Ayinde; President, Town Planning Regulatory Council of Nigeria (TOPREG), Mr. Moses Ogunleye; President, NITP, Lagos Chapter, Mr. Kunle Salami; and Chairman, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigerian, Lagos Chapter, Mr. Omotayo Awomosu, among others.
Speaking at the event, on the question of planned banning of Yellow Buses on the roads among others, Ayinde, said that in the most advanced countries of the world “where you have moving population en-masse, you don’t move them in mini buses. It won’t get us anywhere. In fact, it’s the reason for gridlock. And if we do not change our attitude, one day we would want to get out from our house, and vehicular traffic would hold us back.”
Reacting to the aggressive land reclamation project on the Lagos Island and its environmental implications, Ayinde noted that most of the known water-logged communities today, especially around Oworonsoki, Ahmadu Bello Way and Adeniji Adele area of the state, were formerly dried land, eroded because of the construction of the Third Mainland Bridge and other urbanisation projects in the state.
Insisting that the only significant difference is the resolve to erect structures on the reclaimed land space, Ayinde also touched on the challenge of brutal eviction of people living in the slum by the government.
His words: “Whoever entertains fear over the ongoing reclamation in the state and or blaming the government are doing so either because they dont have sufficient research or information on the history of the areas.
“We are a nation that has passed through history. And that is why some people are saying we should reintroduce history as a subject back to the school curriculum. The reason is because there is a generation of people now who don’t know Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola and who don’t know that we passed through a civil war.
“Therefore, there may also be a generation now that doesn’t know that when the first Urban Renewal was conducted in 1951-52 in Broadstreet, Nnamdi Azikwue, Marina, Lagos, the exercise was done peacefully. And that is exactly what gave birth to where you call Surulere today.
“You may not know also that, throughout the four years I was in government, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development didn’t carry out any eviction. Did we relocate people? Yes, we did. How did we do it? We brought down some blocks at Adeniji Adele Housing Scheme. But we followed the due process. We met with the residents. We showed them what government wanted to do. We gave them an offer of what was available, which is either for them to be moved into relocation settlement or to be given Rent Advance. And they made their options. And government did what was supposed to be done. And the people moved without anybody hearing any noise about it.
“This is not about us being violent. It’s just about following the due process. So, the stand of NITP is that there is a process to everything. And we will always advice that anyone undertaking any project should follow due process, including the government.
“Therefore in all of these questions of removal and replacement of the Yellow Buses on the road, the truth is in anywhere in the world.
In a brief submission, Ogunleye, who is also the Managing Director of Beachland Resources Limited, said the end-product of an efficient planning is a satisfactory result, insisting that arriving at such a feat “requires a wider consultation and harmonisation of professional ideas.
“The city belongs to us all. Those in government should not see themselves as the kings of philosophy. They should consult wider and reach out to all the relevant professionals and stakeholders on the most efficient ways to management an inclusive yet megacity state like Lagos.”
In an address, the Chairman, Lagos Chapter of NITP, Mr. Kunle Salami, said that, given the staggering growth rate in the migration of people from rural to urban areas, there must be serious commitment to managing the aftermaths.
According to Salami, these highlighted challenges are infrastructural decay, high rate of slum growth, urban crime and insecurity, climate change (flooding), waste disposal and other associated environmental problem.
His words: “Lagos is undoubtedly a rapidly growing megacity located in South West Nigeria and one of the most populated cities sub-Sahara Africa. According to the World Bank report, Lagos has both the highest annual urban growth rate (of 4.58%) and the highest slum growth rate of (4.53%) in the world.
“From the foregoing scenario, Lagos is so populated and confronted with severe pressures from overcrowding, prevalence of incidences of slum development, ecological and climate change impairment, industrial pollution, overdevelopment and as well as poor allocation of resources to physical planning programmes,” he added.
The certified town planner however admonished the government to do much more than what its currently doing, saying it would also be helpful to engage all the professionals and other stakeholders in the sector for better result.
He said, “Though we must acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of the past and present administrations in ensuring that sustainable physical planning and urban development is accorded its due regards.
“However, much still need to be done, especially in areas of democratisation of the planning process, sustainable megacity development, adequate allocation of resources for planning and city management, prioritisation and coordinated interventions especially on infrastructure improvements, safety and crime reduction and as well as robust policy initiations to facilitate socio-economic development and creation of a sustainable and resilient Lagos Megacity,” he adds.
Corroborating the earlier speakers, Awomosu said it’s unfortunate “that Nigeria is not a shining example in the area of tow planning efficient, attributing the retrogression to inconsistency of government policy, lack of political will to implement existing planning and public empathy to embrace and assist in the implantation of the existing physical planning policies.
“Yes, in the world today, Nigeria is not a shining example in the area of town planning. And the fault rests on the shoulders of all of us – the professionals, regulators, government and the people.
“Otherwise, who is responsible for building houses without obtaining the necessary approval documents, thereby subjecting lives to risk accruable from possible demolition or collapse of such building? It’s we the people! Also, who are those blocking the drainage with refusing at night? Is it ghost? Definitely no, but we the people.
“Therefore, until we embrace governance as a collective duty, the effort to plan and implement a habitable settlement for all of us maybe a mirage,” he added.
Syria has indicated its interest to join the Paris Agreement, effectively leaving the United State of America all alone in the cold conclave of climate deniers.
Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria
“I would like to affirm the Syrian Arab Republic’s commitment to the Paris climate change accord,” Syrian Deputy Environment Minister Wadah Katmawi told delegates of the 196 nations at the ongoing climate talks in Bonn, Germany.
Katmawi said the accord would be signed “as soon as possible”, adding that Syria would seek foreign aid to help it meet its commitments under the deal.
UNFCCC spokesman, Nick Nuttall, confirmed the move, saying that Syria would first have to submit ratification documents at the UN headquarters in New York.
Some 196 countries excluding Syria and Nicaragua in December 2015 agreed to keep global temperatures well below the 2c level above pre-industrial times and endeavour to limit them even more to 1.5c.
Contained in what later became known as the Paris Agreement, countries further agreed to limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity, and enable rich countries to help the poorer nations by providing climate finance to adapt to climate chance and switch to renewable energy.
With its pariah status and the bloody civil war going on then, Syria was in no position to attend the discussions in Paris. Nicaragua on the other hand, withheld its signature from the agreement until last October when stronger measures were put in place.
The United States began a three-year process of withdrawal from the agreement in June 2017. President Donald Trump while announcing the withdrawal invoked his “solemn duty to protect America” and promised to seek a new deal that would not disadvantage US businesses.
He claimed that the accord would cost the US 6.5 million jobs and $3 trillion (£2.2 trillion) in lost GDP – while rival economies like China and India were treated more favourably. He also said that he could revisit the decision if the United States could renegotiate terms he sees as unfair.
With the Syrian declaration today and Nicaragua’s signature in October, US now treads on the lonely path to seeking a seeking the renegotiation of a landmark climate deal aimed at protecting the planet and the people of the earth.
The Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, has urged Nigerians to construct toilets in homes and public places so as to prevent the outbreak of diseases.
Ibrahim Usman Jibril, Minister of State for Environment
The minister made the call in Abuja on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at a news conference organised to commemorate the 2017 World Toilet Day.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the United Nations General Assembly has set aside Nov. 19 every year as the World Toilet Day because of the relevance of toilets to environmental sanitation.
Jibril, who underscored the need for environmental sanitation in efforts to promote preventive health care, said if people built and used clean toilets, it would improve their well-being.
He said that the purpose of celebrating the World Toilet Day was to reawaken societal consciousness on the importance of having and using safe toilets in every household.
He said that the celebration was also aimed at improving hygiene and tackling the menace of open defecation in the society.
“For this year’s event here in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with other stakeholders, has put together series of activities to commemorate the day, with a particular emphasis on institutional sanitation.
“We have noted with dismay the sad fact that public conveniences in many institutions such as government offices, markets, petrol stations, private and public schools are in a deplorable state,’’ he said.
The minister urged all stakeholders, including the media, to sensitise Nigerians to the importance of environmental sanitation and the need to make their toilets clean and accessible to the members of the public.
He said that the National Council on Environment had recently approved the deployment of Sanitation Desk Officers to all the 774 local government areas of the country.
Jibril, who also called for the construction of good sewage systems across the country, urged relevant stakeholders to take a cue from the activities of a human waste management company in Israel.
He said that in the course of treating human waste, the company produced bio-gas to power its plant, turned the waste into organic fertiliser for farmers and treated the water recovered from the waste for irrigation and other farming purposes.
Mrs Nnenna Didigu, the National Coordinator, Initiative for the Prevention of Malaria, an NGO, said that there was no improvement in environmental sanitation across the country.
Didigu noted that many people believed that the issue of sanitation was the primary responsibility of the government, adding that the misconception had hindered efforts to have clean surroundings.
She stressed that environmental sanitation was a collective responsibility, saying that a clean environment would also engender a healthy, disease-free society.
