The Federal Government is to build an independent power plant at Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), Ebonyi State as part of it’s policy to connect all federal universities to the national power grid.
L-R: DPPWS, Dr. A. I Ezeocha; Mr. Heaven Upadhyay; Akhileshkumor Singh; Registrar, Mrs. Odisa C. Okeke; VC, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba; DVC, Prof. Sunday Elom; Bursar, Alhaji R. K Aliu; Piyush Budhauliya; REA team leader, Mr. Saheed Oseni-Wahab; and the University Librarian, Dr. O. O Adediji
This was made known recently when a team from the Rural Electricity Agency (REA), Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing visited the university to take-over the project sites for its eventual commencement.
Giving an insight on the project, the leader of the REA team, Mr. Saheed Oseni-Wahab, noted that the idea was initiated in 2016 by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to take all federal universities to the national power grid, adding that FUNAI is among the nine universities selected for the first phase of the project.
“FUNAI is one of the nine universities that are benefiting from this power project in the first phase,” he said.
Other beneficiary institutions are Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Efurun; University of Lagos, Akoka; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Federal University of Agriculture, Markudi; Bayero University, Kano; Usaman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto; and Abubakar Tafa Belewa University, Gubi Campus, Bauchi.
He further stressed that the power project would not only lead to the construction of a solar farm but also an independent power plant and a training centre in the university.
Welcoming the team to the university, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, thanked the Federal Government for choosing the institution as one of the first beneficiaries of the power project, charging the contractor to start work immediately and, more importantly, to ensure quality work.
“Let us have action immediately. It is our dream to switch-off all generators
“Our university is young and growing. Our interest is that you carry out a quality work,” the Vice Chancellor stated.
Responding on behalf of the contacting firm, SWL Nigeria Limited, Mr. Heaven Upadhyay, noted that the power plant when completed would be a hybrid system, with the capacity to work with or without the power grid.
He further stated that, through the project, a solar farm would be constructed in the university to generate one megawatt of renewable energy, adding that it would enable the institution overcome power problem confronting most organisations in Nigeria.
The Katsina State Fadama III agricultural initiative says it will supply farm implements to 100 tomato farmers in Daura in a bid to boost commercial production of tomato in the state.
Tomato farming
Alhaji Bashir Zango, the state Fadama Programme Coordinator, made this known on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at the distribution of the implements to deserving farmers in Daura, a town and Local Government Area in Katsina State.
He said the programme was organised in collaboration with the state government to ensure early procurement and distribution of farm implements to farmers.
Zango said the beneficiaries were drawn from the 10 registered tomato growers associations in the area.
“We will in due course expand the scope to accommodate more farmers who have interest in the programme,’’ he said.
Zango said the implements include 300 bags of fertiliser, 30 insecticides sprayers, 30 water pumping machines and 1,000 water pipes for channeling water into the farms.
“We have also provided hundred of gallons of insecticides to farmers,’’ he said.
Zango warned the beneficiaries against diversion of the implements, stressing “we have inscribed the name of the programme on the implements for easy identification.’’
In his remarks, Alhaji Rabe Bala, Chairman of tomato growers association in Daura, lauded the efforts of the state government on the programme.
He said the initiative would encourage production of tomato in commercial quantity and provide stable income to farmers.
Bala said the state government has provided `a ready-made’ market for the commodity in Katsina and every registered farmer is expected to sell at least 60 per cent of his harvest to a government accredited tomato processing industry.
The chairman also commended the Federal Government for placing a ban on importation of tomato, stressing that the singular act had encouraged local farmers to engage in mass production of the commodity.
“With this intervention, I may cultivate 6 hectares of tomato this farming season,” he said.
Bala described Fadama III programme as timely and a very important source through which agricultural activities would receive deserved attention.
“We were provided with improved, treated seedlings and insecticides against tomato ebola disease,’’ he said.
Bala called on youths to key into agriculture with a view to becoming self reliant and contribute to the growth and development of the nation’s economy.
The National Coordinator, Environmental Advancement Initiative, Habib Omotosho, has urged government at all levels to provide an enabling environment for the use of clean cooking stoves to curb tree felling and air pollution in the country.
Clean cook stoves
Omotosho, who is an ecologist, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 that governments should subsidise the production of clean cooking stoves.
According to him, the current trend of felling trees and the use of wood for cooking would result in deforestation and air pollution.
“Governments should create awareness about the hazards of indoor air pollution and deforestation.
“If people can actually see the benefits of clean cooking technologies, they will embrace it easily, and it will ultimately translate to a better environment for all,’’ he said.
Omotosho also urged the government to provide land for relevant stakeholders to plant economic trees for commercial purposes to contain deforestation.
He said that such land was necessary because some stakeholders, particularly rural women, depended on firewood for cooking.
According to the coordinator, unless the government provides alternatives to tree felling, the trend will continue at the detriment of people’s health.
He stressed the need for government at all levels to provide an enabling environment by way of supporting stakeholders with seedlings and other farm implement.
The ecologist reiterated that tree planting and campaigns against deforestation would help government’s efforts in tackling effects of climate change in the country.
“One of the best ways to mitigate the effects of climate change is by planting more trees that can absorb and reduce the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
“This is because younger trees absorb carbon dioxide quickly while they are growing.
“However, as a tree ages, a steady state is eventually reached and at this point, the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed through photosynthesis is similar to the amount lost through respiration and decay,’’ Omotosho stressed.
The Federal Government on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 said it would intensify efforts to ensure its “waste-to-wealth” programme alleviates poverty in the country.
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology
Mr Abayomi Oguntade, Director, Bio-Resources Technology, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST), made this known in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to him, the aim of the waste-to-wealth programme of the ministry is to implement a sustainable end-to–end solution for an Integrated Waste Management System in Nigeria, through a well-coordinated national plan.
He said the “Waste-to- wealth” programme of the ministry established in the six geopolitical zones in the country had started improving the health and livelihood of citizens.
The director explained that the programme had started revealing the considerable quantity of direct employment across various sectors by driving the spread of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Oguntade affirmed that the projects had the potential to promote large scale industries in all six political zones in Nigeria, where they were domiciled.
“There is technology in place that guarantees sustainable development of the country through accurate and reliable data collection and development, analysis and documentation,” he said.
He said the ministry was determined to channel efforts towards advancing productive decision making processes.
He maintained that the condition of any country was directly related to its technological know-how and facts.
Oguntade said better understanding and utilisation of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) helped in almost all spheres of human endeavour, which improved the standards of living of many known great nations.
According to the director, Nigeria cannot be excluded.
Beides, he said the ministry had also planned to accelerate achievements of its stated action plan by collaborating with relevant international organisations.
The 2018 class includes experts in infectious diseases, community-led development, human rights, health and vaccinations, and environmental conservation
New Voices Fellowship Director, Andrew Quinn
The Aspen Institute on Tuesday, January 23 announced the 2018 class of the New Voices Fellowship, a programme designed to ensure experts from the developing world have a voice in the global development discussion.
The 20 new Fellows are leading public health specialists, doctors, scientists, activists, social entrepreneurs, policy experts, researchers, and economists, and come from 12 countries across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
“Across the world, local experts and local communities are taking charge of their own futures,” said New Voices Fellowship Director, Andrew Quinn. “These are the voices we should be listening for when we listen to the story of global development – because these are the voices that show the way forward on humanity’s greatest challenges, including infectious disease, food security, good governance and climate change.”
The 2018 New Voices Fellows come from Nepal, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Liberia, Mexico, Maldives, and South Africa. They will undertake a program of intensive media training and mentorship to reach a broader global audience through both traditional and new media, as well as speaking engagements.
This year’s fellows include:
a human rights expert from Uganda who built a center for human-trafficking survivors in Uganda;
a real-life “Slumdog Millionaire” from Pakistan focused on health and education in the slums, where he taught himself how to read using newspaper scraps;
a microbiologist from Nepal who has worked extensively in the growing global problem of antimicrobial resistance;
a physician from Mexico committed to social justice and service to marginalized populations;
a Nigerian social entrepreneur who founded of a food processing company and a consulting firm focused on improving nutrition in West Africa;
a Kenyan scientist who has extensively studied immune response in mother-to-child transmission of HIV; and
a Ugandan activist who fought against the 2009 Anti-Homosexuality bill.
During the programme’s first five years, New Voices Fellows were featured over 2,000 times in media outlets and delivered numerous TED and TEDx talks. Under a training partnership with The Moth, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling, New Voices Fellows have told their stories to live US audiences and through radio and podcast syndication.
Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Open Societies Foundation, the New Voices Fellowship was established in 2013 to bring the essential perspectives of development experts from Africa and other parts of the developing world into the global development conversation. Application to the fellowship is by nomination only, and nominations will open in August 2018 for the next class.
One year ago, on January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated 45th president of the United States. The year has however been seen by environmentalists and sustainable development campaigners as a challenging one, in the light of the number of controversial moves made by the White House within 365 days. Washington, DC-based non-profit organisation involved in education and advocacy related to climate change, Climate Reality, lists the decisions, saying however that it remains as hopeful as ever
With coal miners gathered around him, President Donald Trump of the US signed an Executive Order rolling back a temporary ban on mining coal and a stream protection rule imposed by the Obama administration
Choosing Profits Over People The White House has revoked or repealed dozens of environmental rules, including ones that prevent coal companies from dumping mining debris into local streams and ban offshore oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
A rule preventing coal companies from dumping mining debris into local streams – Revoked. A ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans – Repealed. A proposed rule asking mines to prove they can pay for potential future cleanup efforts – Reversed. Guidance for federal agencies to include greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews – Withdrawn. Review of strong fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks – Reopened. An Obama-era rule regulating royalties on oil, gas, and coal extracted from federal or tribal land – Rescinded.
So who loses? Pretty much everyone else.
To start, burning fossil fuels pollutes our air directly and immediately with irritants like particulate matter and soot, and as these greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere and average temperatures rise, they also contribute to higher levels of ground-level ozone that can cause acute and long-term respiratory problems.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), “Climate change is among the greatest health risks of the twenty-first century. Rising temperatures and more extreme weather events cost lives directly, increase transmission and spread of infectious diseases, and undermine the environmental determinants of health, including clean air and water, and sufficient food.”
But instead of listening to the scientists at WHO and elsewhere, the administration seemed to be listening to, well, fossil fuel executives. The White House went even further and directed federal agencies to stop using the “social cost of carbon,” a tool for estimating the real monetary damage that comes with spreading disease, rising asthma rates, and other impacts of carbon pollution and climate change.
Climate Change and National Security In December 2017, the White House dropped climate change from the list of global threats to the nation included in the official National Security Strategy (NSS). This action stands in stark contrast to the NSS under the Obama Administration, which recognised climate change as a key threat to national security.
What’s shocking about these moves is that they directly contradict the public stance of the current (and well-respected) secretary of defense, James Mattis.
Secretary Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are said to have also arguedagainst President Trump’s decision to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement.
There are countless ways the climate crisis impacts the internal stability of nations around the world. But don’t take our word for it. Just listen to some of our nation’s greatest military minds.
Not even a week before releasing the new NSS, the president signed the National Defense Authorisation Act, which includes a section titled “Report on Effects of Climate Change on Department of Defense,” where Secretary Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, among others, elaborate on the various and numerous threats climate change poses to the safety and security of America’s military.
The conclusion: “It is the sense of Congress that climate change is a direct threat to the national security of the United States and is impacting stability in areas of the world both where the United States Armed Forces are operating today, and where strategic implications for future conflict exist.”
EPA Leadership: Not That into Protecting the Environment In October, the Trump Administration proposed repealing America’s Clean Power Plan, a centerpiece of President Obama’s commitment to tackle climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of US power plants.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has set his sights on undoing America’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), in particular. In October, the Trump Administration proposed repealing the CPP, a centerpiece of President Obama’s commitment to tackle climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of US power plants.
Repealing the CPP moves the United States in exactly the opposite direction as the rest of the world is heading in increasingly shifting from fossil fuels to renewables. It’s also yet another example of the US abdicating its traditional role as a global leader (and the White House sacrificing real business opportunities for American companies and workers in the growing clean energy revolution).
Sadly, the writing was always on the wall once Pruitt was nominated to lead EPA. Prior to becoming administrator, Pruitt was an outspoken denier of climate science who led the coalition of state attorneys general suing the agency over the CPP during his tenure as attorney general of Oklahoma. He also received nearly $300,000 in campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry, and took industry messages straight from lobbyists for official state correspondence to President Obama and EPA.
Perhaps, or at least among, the most public assaults on environmental regulation, climate science, public opinion, and common sense undertaken by the Trump Administration came in an announcement made last summer. In a speech from the White House Rose Garden, President Trump declared, “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” and announced the US would begin the lengthy formal process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement.
The historic agreement, which was signed in 2015 and entered into force in late-2016, united the world around a major goal – to cut greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and together limit global warming. The accord rallied the world around the existentially important cause of limiting global average temperature increases to less than 2 degrees Celsius.
Adding insult to injury, during his Paris announcement, the president also declared his intent to stop payments to the Green Climate Fund, a United Nations programme “which helps fund climate finance investment in low-emission, climate-resilient development through mitigation and adaptation projects and programs in developing countries.”
Unsurprisingly, the president’s announcement was met with widespread condemnation from other world leaders, who promptly strengthened their commitments to fighting climate change – and then some.
We could say an awful lot more here, but we’ll leave it at this: The United States is now the only country in the world opposed to the Paris Agreement. That pretty much tells us all that we need to know.
So Where Do Things Stand?
All of this is pretty bad for the planet, of course, but it’s also antithetical to the administration’s “America First” policy. In any scenario where the US attempts to expand fossil fuel production as the rest of the world moves on quickly to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, everyday Americans citizens lose. Beyond even the obvious dangers the climate crisis poses to our short- and long-term well-being, we also lose out on being part of the future of energy and jobs – all so the Big Polluters of today can line their pockets before the jig is truly up.
“The irony is that we may well meet our obligations under the Paris treaty, even with the current administration playing an adversarial role,” Dr. Michael Mann told Climate Reality late last year. “That’s simply because of all of the progress that we are seeing now at the state level, at the municipal level thanks to efforts by folks like Al Gore to really mobilize the American people on this issue.”
He continued, “Ironically, (leaving the Paris Agreement) puts the US in a less competitive position. The rest of the world recognises that the future of our global economy will be in renewable energy. That’s the great economic revolution of this century. And what Trump and those whose agenda he’s advancing are doing is holding us back as the rest of the world moves on, and guaranteeing that we lose out in this economic race.”
In the face of these attacks on the health of our shared planet and the US’ role as a global leader, are you ready to be a voice of reality? Are you ready to take action?
Here’s the deal: As discussed above, the Trump Administration is working to repeal (and possibly replace) America’s Clean Power Plan. Backed by powerful oil, coal, and gas companies, EPA Administrator Pruitt claims the original CPP overstepped EPA authority. But we know this is really about protecting Big Polluters’ bottom lines – no matter the consequences.
Americans agree our families should have clean air to breathe, a safe climate to live in, and a thriving, job-rich future powered by renewable energy.
The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Co-Laureate, Ouided Bouchamaoui, has warned that Africa’s growing youth population could be a plus for Africa or a political time bomb. This, according to her, depends on how leaders anticipate the future.
Ouided Bouchamaoui
In remarks she made at the African Development Bank’s Eminent Speaker Series seminar on Monday, January 22, 2018 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on the theme “African Cooperation: Dream or Reality?”, Bouchamaoui argued for a new vision for Africa that is hinged on modernity and progress that goes beyond economic development.
“My message is clear: let’s give priority to the youth, university cooperation, the development of initiatives, networking and institutional capacity-building,” she said, highlighting the need for African leaders to tap into the creative energy of the youth to pilot the projects of the future.
Bouchamaoui said integration should include partnerships in academia, the arts, entertainment, science, technology, governance and culture.
Bouchamaoui was the first woman elected to head the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA). She was head of the organisation in 2015 when the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, which UTICA had formed with the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Tunisian Human Rights League and the Tunisian Lawyers Association two years earlier, won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Quartet organised negotiations between Tunisia’s political parties to ensure a successful transition following the “Arab Spring” that led to the fall of President Zine Abidine Ben Ali.
In her presentation, Bouchamaoui called for greater economic cooperation among African countries and a greater focus on academic and vocational training, scientific research, technology, government and culture, which she said had remained largely untapped.
“Africa bucks current demographic trends because 70% of its total population is composed of young people below the age of 25 years, representing a market of over one billion consumers. By 2050, this population is expected to soar to 2.5 billion inhabitants, of which half will be less than 25 years old; and by 2025 there will be 500 million more urban dwellers,” she said.
The first step, she said, is to engage in active and massive training of the youth. She also advocated for the establishment of strategic partnerships among African universities as a key to strengthening intra-African bilateral and multilateral relations.
Bouchamaoui observed that leaders must invest in the acceleration of a Digital Africa to help create smart economies, smart cities, smart countries, and subsequently a smart continent.
According to the Nobel Co-Laureate, online learning remains a formidable tool for pooling energies and building bridges of innovative education for the benefit of African students. She reminded the audience that Africans in the diaspora are key to consolidating the linkages between African countries.
Africa should foster economic cooperation by developing new funding sources, growing the labour force, and training and technological innovation.
In her view, African cooperation and integration is possible.
Ouided Bouchamaoui was voted Best Business Woman of the Arab World in 2013 under the auspices of the G8 Deauville Partnerships, and awarded the Business for Peace Award in 2014.
In addition to the Nobel Prize, in January 2015, the Tunisian President, Beji Caid Essebsi, decorated Bouchamaoui with the Grand Officer of the Order of the Republic – First Class. In the same year, His Majesty, the King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, decorated her with the Royal Order of the Polar Star. A month later, former French President François Hollande conferred her with France’s Legion d’honneur.
Bouchamaoui’s vision for Africa includes investing in the creative energies of Africa’s youth through skills development and dynamic partnerships between African universities – including an Erasmus programme to produce the next generation of Africa’s best brains.
The African Development Bank’s Eminent Speakers Lecture Series was launched in 2006. Its goal is to provide a platform for a robust exchange of ideas to meet the challenges of African development.
Zambia is close to containing a cholera outbreak that has killed 78 of the more than 3,600 people who have fallen sick since October, the government said on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.
Zambian Health Minister, Chitalu Chilufya
Health Minister, Chitalu Chilufya, told reporters the number of cholera cases being recorded daily had dropped to less than a quarter of what was being reported two weeks ago.
“We continue to record a drop from an average 164 cases daily to an average 25 to 30 cases per day.
“In the last 24 hours, we have had a total of 32 cases,” Chilufya said.
Zambia on January 14 relaxed rules, including the closure of markets and schools, imposed to curb the spread of cholera as the number of new cases being reported halved.
Cholera is a bacterial disease transmitted through food and water that causes severe diarrhea that can lead to sometimes deadly dehydration.
Chilufya said the measures put in place to contain the outbreak were clearly working.
President Edgar Lungu last month directed the military to clean markets and unblock drains to help to fight the spread of the disease.
“The civil-military operation that has been going on has paid dividends,” Chilufya said, referring to the presidential order for the military to join the clean up exercise.
Chilufya said by January 20, the government had vaccinated 1.3 million people, including inmates in congested prisons, against cholera.
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) says that the Federal Government’s proposed establishment of cattle colonies across the country will not bring lasting solution to herdsmen/farmers clashes.
Herdsmen
Chairman of CDHR, Mr Emeka Anosike, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki on Tuesday, January 23, 2018. The CDHR is a civil society organisation (CSO) based in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
According to him, the measure will rather heighten tension in the long run.
He said herders that would settle in these colonies would eventually increase in population overtime and would sought for more lands to occupy which would likely result in more brutal clashes.
“The Federal Government’s decision to establish cattle colonies in the 36 states of the federation will not end killings and sporadic attacks on innocent and defenseless citizens of the Nigeria.
“What is required is comprehensive action plan acceptable by every citizen that will permanently solve the crisis and end the mindless slaughter of innocent Nigerians witnessed across the federation.
“We do not support the establishment of cattle colonies because it will breed more crises in the long run and deny owners of the lands the right of ownership.
“Our disagreement is predicated on the fact that the lands which will be donated for the colonies are arable lands belonging to the people which will deny them perpetual access to their lands,’’ Anosike said.
Anosike said that cattle owners should be able to acquire lands for ranching which was the practice in other civilised climes.
“Nigerian communities are agrarian in nature and need lands for their agricultural activities, hence confiscating the scarce agricultural lands will impede farming activities in our rural communities.
“Again, possible encroachment by either the herdsmen into the lands not allocated to them or the farmers into the colonies may lead to bloody clashes between farmers and herdsmen in future,’’ he added.
The rights activist noted that Nigeria landmass covers a total of 923,768 square kilometre, saying that the proposed cattle colony would cede a chunk part of the nation’s land mass to herdsmen.
According to him, under the proposed cattle colonies, the 36 states of the federation, including Abuja are expected to donate 10,000 hectares of land for this purpose.
“What this translates to is that 370,000 hectares of Nigeria’s land mass will have been given away to a particular group in the country for their personal business.’’
Head, Climate Change Unit, Ministry of Water Resources, Mr Mukaila Babarinde, has reiterated the need for stakeholders to strengthen collaboration towards reducing the effects of climate change on the nation’s water resources development.
Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril
Babarinde spoke in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 in Abuja.
He said that there must be deliberate actions on the part of the Ministries of Environment, Water Resources, Agriculture and Power to address the countless problems associated with climate change.
The Head, Climate Change Unit, contended that much would not be achieved when there are duplicated efforts that were not addressing the myriad of problems in the environment.
“Climate change itself is a global phenomenon and the impact itself is crosscutting, it affects human being, it affects the ecosystem, the health, water sector, no sphere is exempted from its impact.
“As a result of this, efforts must be ensured for an effective collaboration between all sectors to manage the effects of climate change, this is the only way to minimise the impact.”
He said that the sector-specific collaboration involved those concerned in the emission of green house gases, saying they need to be proactive towards reducing the emissions.
On the impact of climate change on water, Babarinde stated that the emission of green house gases is minimal in the water sector.
He, however, stressed the need to carry out activities geared towards adaptation mechanisms and also balance the two extremes of drought and flooding, so as not to endanger the livelihoods of humans.
“Once there is a challenge of water in terms of being too much or being too small, when it’s too little its drought, when it’s too much, it’s flooding, so there must be a balance between the two extremes, and understanding them properly.”
The unit head called for implementation of an Integrated Water Resources Management plan to promote equitable distribution to maximise the use of water in each catchment area in the country.
Babarinde disclosed that the ministry’s action plan in 2018 included the publication of climate change information guide to help planners, geologists, civil engineers and other stakeholders in the river basins to incorporate climate change into design and planning in all water facilities.
He added that the ministry was also working out the production of a National Water Climate Resilience Safety Plan, to spell out safety mechanisms for water infrastructure and address the challenges of existing infrastructure, towards a climate-resilient environment.
He identified inadequate research, poor funding, inadequate dissemination of information to all tiers of government and population explosion as part of challenges in mitigating the effects of climate change.
Babarinde explained further that the challenge of population was an issue to climate change, adding that as it increases, its impact was putting pressure on the environment and its components.
“Now, if you look at Abuja now, the challenge was not like this in the 70’s or 60’s, these herdsmen that are grazing, moving around, they are nomadic; it is the pressure.
“The challenge was not as much then because the space was there in the past.
“But now, everything is getting choked up, the emission from Abuja now is destroying the ecosystem, heavy construction work, they use heavy equipment to destroy the soil.
‘‘People do agricultural practices that are not suitable for each catchment area and that is why a lot of sediments are going into the river,” he said.
