Experts have attributed poor family planning habits to the escalation of Nigeria’s population over the last decade.
Nigeria’s population is said to be equivalent to 2.55% of the total world population
According to data from worldometers, a global real time statistics and data platform, Nigeria added 52.22 million people to its population in the last 12 years, making it the country with the 7th highest number of people in the world.
At a population of 191.89 million (182.2 million in 2015), Nigeria presently makes up 2.55 per cent of the global population.
“I specially implore all partners working with us in Nigeria to eliminate all barriers to access in family planning and improving quality of life of our people,” said Isaac Adewole, Nigeria’s minister of health on his twitter message to commemorate the World Population Day, observed globally on Tuesday, July 11, 2017. “As the federal ministry of health we’re committed to execution of quality family service at all levels of healthcare.”
This year’s World Population Day, themed: “Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations”, focused on the urgency and importance of population issues.
According to observers, the surge in Nigeria’s population is coming amidst decay in health sector infrastructure and social services, posing grave imminent demographic menace to a country that is already grappling with numerous socioeconomic challenges.
The nation’s National Population Commission (NPC) has reiterated the need for family planning.
Chairman of the commission, Chief Eze Duruiheoma, said family planning issues are personal decisions, which are not just about saving life but empowering people and developing nations.
He spoke on Tuesday in Awka through the Anambra State Director of the NPC, Mr Joachin Ulasi, who urged indigenes to deploy the use of family planning to manage the number of children they bear, in line with their income.
According to him, the theme of this year’s World Population Day is targeted at using family planning to ensure quality population in the country.
In 1989, the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme recommended that 11 July be observed by the international community as World Population Day, a day to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues.
It went further: “Yet around the world, some 214 million women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and effective family planning methods, for reasons ranging from lack of access to information or services to lack of support from their partners or communities. Many of those with an unmet demand for contraceptives live in the poorest countries on earth. Investments in making family planning available also yield economic and other gains that can propel development forward.”
This year’s World Population Day, 11 July, coincides with the Family Planning Summit, the second meeting of the FP2020–Family Planning 2020–initiative, which aims to expand access to voluntary family planning to 120 million additional women by 2020.
France plans to end the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040 in a bid to become a carbon-neutral nation, Energy Minister, Nicolas Hulot said. They will be replaced with electric cars.
Energy Minister of France, Nicolas Hulot
Presenting the country’s “Climate Plan” in Paris on Thursday, July 6, 2017, Hulot said France would offer tax incentives to replace diesel autos that are more than 20 years old and gasoline vehicles made before 2001. The government, he added, would likewise end oil and gas exploration on French territory, eliminate coal-fired power plants by 2022 and encourage home owners to produce their own energy.
“The target is a tough one,” Hulot, a former journalist and environmental activist, said. “But France wants to become the No. 1 green economy.”
President Emmanuel Macron’s government unveiled plans to eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050 as leaders from the Group of 20 nations, including all the world’s biggest polluters, gathered in Hamburg. U.S. President Donald Trump met Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who criticised his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord last month.
On Wednesday, Volvo Car Group became the first major manufacturer to say it will start phasing out vehicles powered solely by fossil fuels, joining a parade of manufacturers shifting toward electric cars. The Swedish auto brand says it plans to offer only hybrid or full-electric motors on every new model launched in 2019 or later, and it expects to have five fully electric vehicles in its lineup by 2021. That means Volvo will make its last full-gasoline or diesel car in about 2025.
Though electric cars have been around since the 1800s and have gotten a lot of attention in the past half-decade or so, they’re still just a fraction of the overall market as drivers balk at high prices and limited driving ranges. Battery-powered autos made up about 1 percent of sales in the U.S., Europe and China last year. They will outsell fossil-fuel powered vehicles within two decades as the cost of batteries plunge, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast.
Shares of French automaker PSA Group rose as much as 2.4 percent after Hulot’s speech, while Renault SA gained 1.9 percent, making them the day’s best performers on the Bloomberg 500 Autos Index.
Sales of Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars made by PSA should benefit from tax incentives to scrap older autos, a company spokeswoman said by phone, adding that “switching to another energy source isn’t painless.” PSA plans to offer an electric version of 80 percent of its models by 2023 but isn’t going fully electric anytime soon.
“Nicolas Hulot only speaks for France, but we are a global company and most of the world still runs on combustion engines,” she said.
In the G20 Leaders Declaration, “Shaping an interconnected world”, released on Saturday, July 8, 2017 after meeting in Hamburg, Germany, G20 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to address illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products, particularly through combating corruption.
CITES Secretary-General, John Scanlon
The leaders stated: “We will intensify our fight against corruption related to illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products. Wildlife trafficking is a threat to the planet’s biodiversity, economic development, and, among others, health and security, and is facilitated by high levels of corruption, which the G20 cannot tolerate.”
The High Level Principles on Combating Corruption Related to Illegal Trade in Wildlife and Wildlife Products, adopted as an annex of the G20 Leaders’ Declaration, sets out concrete steps to combat this corruption, including through strengthening legislation, law enforcement and capacity building frameworks, establishing preventive measures such as demand reduction and risk mitigation, and implementing concrete actions on investigation, prosecution and sanctioning.
These High Level Principles make specific reference to the historic CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) CoP17 resolution on combating corruption, making the CITES permit system more resilient against corruption, including through the CITES electronic permitting system and enhanced traceability, as well as to the critical role of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) in combating corruption, in which CITES is a partner, together with INTERPOL, UNODC, the World Bank and the World Customs Organisation.
“CITES is known for its pragmatic and well-targeted approach to regulating legal and sustainable trade in wildlife and in combating illegal wildlife trade. Historic resolutions addressing corruption, law enforcement and demand reduction were adopted at CITES CoP17 last year in Johannesburg, as was recognised by the G20 Leaders’ Declaration,” said CITES Secretary-General, John Scanlon. “We are extremely pleased and encouraged by the strong political commitment and specific steps mapped out by the G20 leaders to tackle the corruption that fuels illegal wildlife trade.”
The Declaration also reaffirms the fundamental legal framework that CITES provides for the regulation of international trade in more than 36,000 listed species of wild animals and plants. It also recognises the threats posed to a number of high-value CITES-listed species that are targeted by organised crime groups.
“The recent record breaking seizures of elephant ivory in Asia, with nearly 10 tonnes of ivory confiscated last week alone by Customs and police officers, reminds us that while good progress has been made in the flight against illegal trade in wildlife, we must continue to further strengthen our collective efforts. With high level commitments and concerted national efforts, including major decisions in source and destination countries, we are clearly on the right track to address illegal trade in wildlife and if we persist we will win this fight,” added Scanlon.
With 183 Parties (182 countries + the European Union), CITES is regarded as one of the world’s most powerful tools for wildlife conservation through the regulation of trade. It was signed in Washington D.C. on March 3, 1973 and entered into force on July 1, 1975.
Ongoing measles outbreaks in the World Health Organisation (WHO) European Region have caused 35 deaths in the past 12 months. The most recent fatality was a six-year-old boy in Italy, where over 3300 measles cases and two deaths have occurred since June 2016.
Zsuzsanna Jakab, Regional Director, World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe
Several other countries have also reported outbreaks which, according to national public health authorities, have caused 31 deaths in Romania, one death in Germany and another in Portugal.
“Every death or disability caused by this vaccine-preventable disease is an unacceptable tragedy,” says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “We are very concerned that although a safe, effective and affordable vaccine is available, measles remains a leading cause of death among children worldwide, and unfortunately Europe is not spared. Working closely with health authorities in all European affected countries is our priority to control the outbreaks and maintain high vaccination coverage for all sections of the population.”
The Region has been progressing towards measles elimination. A total of 37 countries have interrupted endemic transmission, according to the assessment of the Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination based on 2015 reporting. However, remaining pockets of low immunisation coverage allow the highly contagious virus to spread among those who choose not to vaccinate, do not have equitable access to vaccines or cannot be protected through vaccination due to underlying health conditions.
In response, several countries are adopting measures, such as school-entry checks, to increase coverage rates for routine vaccinations against measles and other diseases. WHO recommends that every eligible child receive two doses of measles-containing vaccine. It also encourages adults who are not fully immunised, or who are not sure of their immunity status, to get vaccinated.
In line with the Regional Director’s call for intensified efforts, Romania conducted a nationwide campaign of enhanced routine immunisation activities. Italy implemented outbreak control measures including notifying suspected cases, tracing contacts and offering post-exposure prophylaxis and vaccination.
On June 21, 2017 in Rome, Italy, experts from the WHO Regional Office for Europe contributed to a consultation with regional public health officials, representatives of the Italian Institute of Health (ISS), and measles and rubella laboratory officials. Together they decided on further strategies to improve vaccination coverage among adolescents, adults, vulnerable population groups and health-care workers. The range of identified activities includes strengthening disease surveillance and communication practices.
Helen Clarkson, Chief Executive Officer, The Climate Group
RE100 is delivered with CDP to engage, support and showcase large, influential businesses transitioning to 100% renewable electricity across their global operations.
RE100 members, including 30 Global Fortune 500 companies, have total revenue of $2.5 trillion and operate in a diverse range of sectors – from Information Technology to automobile manufacturing.
AkzoNobel becomes the second biggest electricity user to join RE100 after Walmart, consuming around 16 TWh annually. The Dutch paints and coatings company aims to be carbon neutral and use 100% renewable energy – heat as well as electricity – by 2050.
French insurance company AXA is targeting 100% renewable electricity by 2025. Operating in more than 60 countries with diverse energy markets, AXA intends to achieve this target by using a mix of approaches, notably buying electricity directly from providers and compensating for non-renewable electricity.
Global luxury fashion brand Burberry is aiming to procure 100% of electricity from renewable resources to power its whole business by 2022.
Reflecting on the growth of RE100 since it launched in 2014, Helen Clarkson, Chief Executive Officer, The Climate Group, said: “We are really pleased at the success of our campaign; by championing the compelling case for business action, we have reached 100 members three years earlier than expected. Changes in the market such as the falling cost of renewables have also worked in our favor.
“We are increasingly seeing large multinationals such as Google, IKEA and Dalmia Cement demonstrating real leadership on renewables because it makes business sense – as well as helping to lower emissions, providing stable energy costs and increasing competitiveness.
“We are now calling on companies to go one step further, and inspire their suppliers and peers to follow their lead so that together, we can speed the transition from fossil fuels to renewables to keep warming well under two degrees Celsius.”
Paul Simpson, Chief Executive Officer, CDP, said: “Transitioning to 100% renewable electricity through RE100 shows true leadership in our new sustainable economy. It’s hugely encouraging that so many members are reporting clear progress, and fast. Following the vital steps of disclosure and insight on climate change activities, action is key to ensuring we move the global energy system to a tipping point by 2020.”
Cees’t Hart, Chief Executive Officer, Carlsberg Group, which recently announced it would target zero carbon emissions at its breweries by 2030, said: “Business leadership is key to addressing climate change, so we must all step up and take bold collective action. Through RE100, we are joining forces with other like-minded companies, which are also leading the change towards a low carbon future. Switching to 100% renewable electricity offers a holistic business case with financial, social and environmental benefits. Hopefully together, we can inspire others to step up and do the same.”
Leanne Wood, Chief People, Strategy & Corporate Affairs Officer, Burberry, said: “Procuring 100% of our energy from renewable resources by 2022 is a principal goal of Burberry’s five-year Responsibility agenda. We are proud that over half of our offices, stores, warehouses and internal manufacturing sites globally are powered by either on site renewable resources or through renewable tariffs. However, access to renewable resources is still limited in some places. By joining RE100 we aim to drive wider demand for low carbon power and encourage all providers to introduce renewable energy options.”
André Veneman, Corporate Director of Sustainability, AkzoNobel, a company which firmly believes that sustainability is business and business is sustainability, said: “We have put considerable effort into learning how to source renewable energy in a cost competitive way and the opportunities for our business are huge. We’re convinced that embracing renewable energy is an excellent way to create both short- and long-term value that will enable a true business transition. We’re delighted to be joining RE100 because it’s all about working with our suppliers, our customers and other leading companies to help make this change happen all over the world.”
Alice Steenland, Group Head of Corporate Responsibility, AXA, said: “In 2015, the portion of renewable electricity consumed by AXA was 36%, and this increased to 53% in 2016. Our target is to have 100% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025. When large corporations like AXA switch to renewables, we are collectively creating significant new demand but also more broadly helping to accelerate the global transition to green energy. RE100 represents another opportunity to combine efforts to better tackle this important global issue.”
Pia Heidenmark Cook, Acting Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Group, added: “IKEA Group was a founding member of RE100. We wanted to lead by example, and support a movement towards a low carbon economy. We are excited that so many companies have joined – it simply shows renewables are the right thing to do for the business.”
Patricia Espinosa, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said: “Congratulations to all the companies, and all the individuals within those companies, who have joined the journey to a low carbon, resilient and dynamic future.
“This would not be happening without leadership – and not just at the level of the CEO or a company board. It has been a huge collective effort of people at all levels from those responsible for the business energy needs or the running of manufacturing facilities to those managing retail outlets or working in finance and purchasing,” she said.
“Moreover this ‘100 moment’ is part of an alliance of inspiring actions flourishing across the globe by corporations but also cities, regions, states, territories, investors and citizens – actions supporting and empowering governments to go further and faster with the Paris Climate Change Agreement,” added Ms Espinosa.
Dominic Waughray, Head of Public-Private Partnership, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum, said: “Reaching the milestone of 100 companies that have committed to 100% renewables and joined RE100 shows the potential for business to lead, and collectively shift markets to a more sustainable future. This is hugely important in the race to implement the Paris Agreement in the most efficient and prosperous way possible.”
Gold Standard on Monday, July 10, 2017 launched Gold Standard for the Global Goals, a new standard to quantify, certify and maximise the contributions of climate and development interventions toward the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Marion Verles, Chief Executive Officer of Gold Standard
The standard is set to help those who fund life-changing climate and development projects around the world – including businesses, governments and investors – to measure, report and track the full range of benefits they have contributed to. Supported by WWF and other international NGOs, it is also anticipated that the best practice standard will protect against accusations of ‘green-washing’ as well as open up new avenues of funding for large-scale programmes, like green infrastructure and sustainable supply chain interventions around the world.
Marion Verles, Chief Executive Officer of Gold Standard, said: “If we are to keep global warming well below 2oC and meet the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action must be holistic and high-impact, helping the world develop on a sustainable pathway. SDGs are becoming a huge priority for a range of public and private sector organisations, but accurately measuring and reporting progress has presented a major challenge. Our new standard quantifies and certifies the many additional benefits Gold Standard projects deliver beyond carbon mitigation – for example by providing access to clean energy and water, creating jobs, improving health or protecting natural habitats – providing those who run or fund projects with new opportunities to measure and report their impact.”
Ambassador Franz Xaver Perrez, Head of the International Affairs Division for Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment, said: “When Switzerland looks at its options for meeting parts of its Paris target, we want to ensure that international carbon markets increase global mitigation ambition and encourage activities that go as far as possible toward the greater good. Climate mitigation projects that include strong sustainable development provisions, like those to be certified under Gold Standard for the Global Goals, make achieving the 2030 Agenda closer within reach.”
As well as incentivising more ambitious climate action from public and private sector bodies, the new standard is expected to unlock billions of dollars of funding needed to scale-up clean technology and sustainable development in cities around the globe. Cities emit around 75% of global CO2 emissions, yet less than 15% of global climate finance has reached cities as, according to the World Bank, only 4% of the largest 500 cities in the developing world are credit worthy in international markets. The Standard’s Urban Development module will help developers design and implement best practice projects, and quantify and communicate climate and development impacts such as cleaner air and improved health, to attract investment and gain public support.
Denise Welch, Director of Research and Technical Initiatives at The R20 – Regions of Climate Action, said: “As the investment community is increasingly concerned about “green washing” or “SDG washing” through false or exaggerated claims, knowing that both the greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable development outcomes of urban climate change programs have been quantified and scrutinised by third-party auditors makes a jurisdiction more attractive to investors – ultimately helping cities transform from ‘business as usual’ to sustainable and more prosperous urban environments.”
Established by WWF in 2003, Gold Standard sets the best practice benchmark for climate projects, ensuring the highest levels of environmental integrity and sustainable development in carbon markets. To accelerate progress toward the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, Gold Standard will now certify a range of independently-verified SDG Impacts in addition to its flagship carbon credits.
New safeguards with Gold Standard for the Global Goals mean that, for the first time, gender equality will be at the heart of every project. Strict criteria, rigorous safeguards and independent third-party verification offer assurance that projects deliver real emission reductions and contribute to at least three SDGs, while ongoing engagement with local stakeholders ensures projects benefit local nature and communities as much as possible.
Gold Standard is partnering with the UNFCCC Secretariat – the body responsible for delivering the Paris Agreement – to develop a range of methodologies, tools and guidance to assist companies and sub-national governments in setting voluntary sustainability targets and assessing the SDG impacts of their initiatives.
James Grabert, Director, Sustainable Development Mechanisms, UNFCCC Secretariat, said: “Governments are central to delivering the SDGs. But the speed and scale of the transformation needed can only happen if supported by all sectors of society. Solutions that the UNFCCC will co-develop with Gold Standard will help key actors like business and cities to act concretely towards our common goals as enshrined in the SDGs.”
The WWF, EcoAct and ClimateCare are strategic partners in the delivery of Gold Standard for the Global Goals.
Together with the UN Environment Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), 11 of the world’s leading banks announced on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 a commitment to develop analytical tools and indicators to strengthen their assessment and disclosure of climate-related risks and opportunities. Following the publication last month of the final recommendations by the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the banks not only welcome the recommendations but are the first from their industry to work towards adopting key elements of the ground-breaking framework.
Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Photo credit: OECD/Michael Dean
“The message from financial heavyweights is clear – climate change poses a real and serious threat to our economy,” said Head of UN Environment (UNEP), Erik Solheim. “At the same time, there are enormous business opportunities in taking climate action. Transparency on how financial institutions mitigate the risks and seize the opportunities of a two degrees pathway is crucial to move international markets towards actively supporting a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.”
The Financial Stability Board, chaired by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, mandated the Task Force to develop voluntary, consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies, investors, lenders and insurers. Increasing the amount of reliable information on financial institutions’ exposure to climate-related risks and opportunities will strengthen the stability of the financial system and help boost climate‑friendly investments. Chaired by the former Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, the Task Force’s final recommendations were published at the end of June and submitted to the G20 last week.
The recommendations are welcomed by financial institutions and civil society alike, as the role of the finance sector in meeting the Paris Climate Agreement’s goals becomes increasingly clear. This first mover project to implement the recommendations puts the eleven UNEP FI members in the vanguard of this effort. Its results will be made public to encourage banks worldwide to adopt the scenarios, models and approaches developed.
“Sustainable finance is about two imperatives: improving the contribution of finance to sustainable, low-carbon and inclusive growth, and ensuring financial stability in light of environmental risks such as climate change,” said Christian Thimann, Group Head of Strategy, Sustainability and Public Affairs at the AXA Group, Co-Chair of UNEP FI and TCFD Vice-Chair. “The TCFD framework emphasises how achieving these two goals requires that financial and non-financial corporations provide more transparency on how they plan to address the risks and opportunities related to climate change.”
“After the G20, the issue now is about implementation: how can the finance industry put the framework into practice and deliver disclosure that is meaningful? Through this and other industry-led working groups UNEP FI is helping the finance sector to do just that: move from awareness to action.”
Shayne Elliott, CEO of ANZ, said: “Companies must improve reporting on their management of carbon risks and opportunities for their shareholders and banks to make more informed decisions. We are doing our part by being an earlier adopter of the FSB Taskforce recommendations, joining this initiative and thus signalling we will be seeking greater disclosure from our customers about their climate related risks and opportunities.”
Jes Staley, CEO, Barclays PLC: “As a contributing member to the work of the FSB Task Force over the past 18 months, Barclays is pleased to be able to continue our involvement by joining this UNEP FI Working Group. Putting the theory into practice – or exploring how best the Recommendations can be implemented – and creating greater transparency for all participants, is an endeavour we look forward to working on with our fellow Working Group participants.”
David Gall, Chief Group Risk Officer, National Australia Bank: “We recognise the growing demand for disclosure of information to assist investors, customers and shareholders make more informed decisions on carbon opportunities and risks. We are committed to making sure we have reliable and standardised information to guide our reporting – we made a commitment to carbon risk disclosure in 2015 and our work with the UN Environment is another example of this commitment.”
Luiz Carlos Angelotti, Executive Director, Bradesco: “Bradesco supports the Task Force initiative and believes that if companies and investors adopt its recommendations and include such [an] important issue in their strategic discussions… it will certainly facilitate the transition towards a lower-carbon economy, reducing asset price impacts and creating new business line opportunities for companies.”
Vasuki Shastry, Global Head, Public Affairs and Sustainability, Standard Chartered: “Climate change is a problem which requires global ambition and action; the work of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures is an important step in delivering this. We look forward to working collaboratively through the UN Environment Programme to explore how these disclosures can be practically implemented by the banking sector.”
Ed Skyler, Executive Vice President for Global Public Affairs, Citi: “The scale and sophistication of climate risk and opportunity continue to grow, and the finance sector has an important role in shaping the path forward. Working together to refine our approaches to enhanced disclosure will help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.”
Liselotte Arni, Head Environmental and Social Risk, UBS: “We welcome and support the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. They represent a major step forward to help businesses and investors assess the risks associated with climate change. We look forward to working with other banks on implementing the TFCD’s recommendations.”
Denise Hills, Sustainability Superintendent, Itaú, and Co-chair of the UNEP FI Steering Committee: “Our participation in this UNEP FI initiative strengthens our commitment to a global economy in transition. At the same time, it reinforces our purpose to be a transformation agent to add value for our clients, shareholders and society in an ethical, consistent and responsible way.”
The UN Environment Finance Initiative is a partnership between UNEP and the global financial sector created in the wake of the 1992 Earth Summit with a mission to promote sustainable finance. Over 200 financial institutions, including banks, insurers and investors, work with UN Environment to understand today’s environmental challenges, why they matter to finance, and how to actively participate in addressing them.
What a calamity! That was the lamentation of a Lagos flood victim whose living room turned into a makeshift swimming pool penultimate weekend. Lagosians generally, and most especially the residents of Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki, Badore, and Ajah were at the mercy of a devastating flood, which wrecked havoc on their properties and made all arterial roads in the affected areas an extension of the Lagos lagoon and virtually impassable due to a four-day non-stop heavy downpour the week that just ended. There was flood, flood everywhere, causing untold agony and discomfort, albeit no casualty was reported so far.
A street overrun by flood on Victoria Island, Lagos
When you add this nature-induced (?) problem to the twin problems of the “Igbonla boys” the six students of an Epe Model school who are spending their 40 days in captivity of kidnappers and the ravaging/deadly cult group a.k.a Badoo terrorising Ikorodu environs, Governor Ambode would deserve the sympathy of the residents of the state of excellence suddenly turned the state of DT (Daily Tragedy). And like they say: Uneasy lies the head that wears the (thorny) crown.
Flood is not new to Lagos especially during the rainy season, but it is the voluminous water coupled with the magnitude of destruction of property brought in its wake by the current flood that was the cause of anxiety among Lagos residents and also giving the Lagos State Government sleepless night. And we ask the probing question: Are there no professionals in the employ of the Lagos State Government?
Geographically, one cannot be mistaken if Lagos is called an “archipelago” considering its collections of many scattered islands. Despite its partially planned mainland and its unplanned sprawling hinterland, an online newspaper was right when it noted that “the key to understanding Lagos, Africa’s most populous city, is in the water” (Quartz Africa). This being so, the major part of Lagos State is below sea level, which makes it always vulnerable to flooding. And added with the phenomenon of climate change, the agent of rising sea level, the fear of constant flood in the mega city is founded, not hyperbolic. This in effect calls for a better/uncorrupted urban planning system and flood control contingency plan aimed at achieving to primary objectives viz: better urban form and deflooding mechanism.
It is the way that future Lagos mega city is planned that would make it less vulnerable to flooding. The present approach of urban planning in Lagos State is very defective in all ramifications. Everything activity of planning is left uncoordinated. A piece-meal-like plan making is a norm even though little is achieved in that direction, while very feeble and highly compromised urban development system encouraged by a government always in violation of its own development regulations usually clogged the wheel of better environmental management of the mega city. And with a “near-nil attitude” towards enforcement of city planning regulations in addition to recalcitrant citizenry who take town planning rules for granted believing that pecuniary inducement can let them have their ways, this writer by virtue of my training as an urban planner and a stakeholder in Lagos mega city affairs based on my residency of over three decades, make bold to state that Governor Ambode needs a work team of “ honest interdisciplinary advisers and city monitors ” comprising the best scientists, geologists, oceanographers, marine biologists, remote sensing experts, metrologists, GIS guru, geographers, urban planners, computer scientists and other relevant professionals outside the bureaucracy of government whose judgement about urban development and environmental management of the entire city-state is not based on sentiment, falsehood, and obsequious flattery.
I want to table my take on the issue of the flood as follows:
Let the Lagos State government have the political will to punish environmental offenders. The government cannot be blowing hot and cold simultaneously. It must be decisive and tough on environmental regulations. Those who build where they are not supposed to build ought to be quickly reprimanded. A deterrent example must be set as in the case of the Lekki Gardens tragedy in 2016 where a poorly constructed building collapsed and claimed the lives of 36 innocent people because some officials failed to do their work diligently. The LASG must be proactive. Not all land in Lagos must be developed. All wetlands must be signposted as no-go areas for housing development. There must be a containment of land-use. Let the state adopt a semblance of zoning practice to save Lagos from sand diggers and rapacious estate developers who would stop at nothing to damage the environment by their anti-environment activities and greediness to make money at the expense of people’s lives.
The nonsense that goes on daily in Alapere area of Lagos where uncaring citizens are indiscriminately building houses inside the water catchment area MUST be stopped by fiat. It is an aberration and an illegal destruction of the ecosystem. Other similar floodways and floodplains abound in Lagos State where the government must protect from illegal urban development because the wetlands are required to carry off excess water in the case of flooding. It is the elementary knowledge that development in the floodway raises flood levels and increases damages. These special areas are not to be clogged with housing, which can lead to the drastic reduction of the size and carrying capacity of the water body.
Governor Ambode is advised to have monitors for all fragile environments, who would readily ward-off any prospective house developer from intrusion. Any Town Planner who gives approval for any physical development in an area designated as wetland must face the music and charged for unprofessional conduct. No doubt, the unethical conduct of a few unscrupulous District Town Planning Officers in charge of Lekki, Ikoyi, Osborne, Parkview, Victoria Island, Ajah, Dolphin, Badore and beyond, cannot be ruled out as contributors to the present predicament of flooding in Lagos, if the stock is taken to determine causative factors. This writer has his own story to tell. The open indictment or accusation has its genesis. I was formerly a victim of reckless conduct by Lagos State Town Planners where I reside in Parkview Estate and where the incumbent governor is also a prominent resident. When any violation is brought to their attention at the nick of time, they chose to look the other way and fake ignorance of what should be done. Ask why? It is because of “C” word. These violations in different forms are prevalent in Parkview till-date namely: violation of setback, height and bulk standards and unapproved change of use from residential to school, hotels, and offices including an unauthorised mama put bukataria that serve as magnet to all manners of outsiders who come to patronise the place at the risk of the security of the estate’s bona fide residents.
“Let’s Build Right, The lives of Lagosians matter” is now the sing-song of the current campaign by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development. Though a well-crafted and well-intended message, but of what use is such message when in actual fact the officials are aiding and abetting contraventions by the very planning approval they give to developers and allow people to build on road setback, inconsistent issuance of a certificate of fitness for occupation and a gamut of planning regulations they often ignore to enforce? Planning is not about rhetoric. It is about a “can-do spirit” of fair play and honesty to protect the living environment from going to ruins by deleterious human activities which should be deterred by due diligence and strict adherence to proper ethical professional practice.
Paying attention to picayune details about environmental management is very paramount. Little things matter. The existing man-made canals are quite necessary for deflooding Lagos, but they should be re-examined whether their holding capacity is ideal for present day uses. Some would need to be extended in size both length and breadth. Additional ones may need to be constructed without further procrastination to serve areas of need. This is the case in Osborne Phase II Estate where indecision of the Federal Government and LASG is causing the delay (for over a year) of the construction of a canal big enough to deflood the residential estate whenever it is flooded. Prompt action can save lives, property and be cost-effective, while delay costs money.
Reported cases of houses built directly on canal pathway should not be spared. Such structures must be swiftly demolished if proven to be in violation of any planning regulation. The clearing of the canals of debris and sand sedimentation should take place on a regular basis and spike the routine during the rainy season when flooding often occurs.
Lagosians must help Governor Ambode in his quest to minimise the intensity of flooding in the state. First, the government must constantly engage the citizenry through enlightenment about the inherent danger of indiscriminate dumping of refuse into canals or any available water body. The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency and its counterpart, Lagos State Disaster Management Authority should be in the forefront of citizen education about some ideas of what the residents can do when flood waters threaten their communities. The preparation of easy to read brochures with explicit tips would be of immense acquisition of knowledge about how to minimise the loss of life and property in the wake of a flood disaster. Second, encourage whistleblowers by establishing a telephone hotline to make a cinch of the process. Lagosians must play the role of “environmental guards” wherever they reside and collaborate with government to keep the milieu safe for living, working, and pleasure.
Governor Ambode must expand his horizon on the pragmatic solutions to Lagos flood. A holistic scientific study of the many causes of flooding in Lagos and its environs is highly recommended and any previous Committee reports on the subject must be taken off the shelf, peruse and borrow a leaf from the report’s useful recommendations for immediate implementation. Data collection for planning, rainfall, and the cycle of flood occurrence must be resuscitated. Governor Ambode should not engage in re-inventing the wheel where it is not necessary. The web-like drainage problem, especially in Lekki peninsula, calls for the intervention of notable and tested engineering/sewage companies that can provide a workable solution. If international assistance is required, the government should reach out and seek help. There are best practices about flood control in some coastal cities similar to Lagos around the world which the LASG officials can understudy. Copenhagen, Denmark, Venice, Italy, Helsinki, Finland, Perth, Australia and New Orleans in Louisiana State, USA are examples of coastal cities where engineering innovation has helped to conquer the ravaging effects of coastal erosion and ocean tide flooding. The Lekki situation where a whole estate was developed without primary concern for a network of drainage ab inito was a costly mistake that would require brain-tasking solution considering the existing high density and maze of development that has taken place in Lekki peninsula to-date. It is a mega task beyond the capacity of local professionals.
Change of tactics must be experimented by the LASG. Instead of sticking to the structural method of flood control, which gives a false impression of security, the time is ripe to use nonstructural methods of flood protection, especially cost-effective floodplain management techniques in vogue around the world. Such methods are made possible through land use zoning regulation which must be religiously enforced. The simplistic idea of floodplain management is to reduce the effects of flooding by keeping people away from flood water, instead of the herculean task of trying to keep flood water away from the people! Again, I want to stress that this would entail attitudinal change among the citizenry who must comply with the law and upright government officials who must enforce the law. Development in the flood fringe must be guided by floodplain construction standards as stipulated by subsisting regulations. The government should consider the preparation of flood hazard boundary map for the state and also develop Floodplain Management Programme intended to reduce to the barest minimum, the adverse effects of flooding.
Last and sharp word
Flood is inevitable in Lagos because of the coastal location of the mega city. Floods are natural occurrences. It is not a matter of “will it flood?” but “when will it occur?” Similarly, we can minimise the effects of the flood if the residents don’t build in areas prone to flooding.
One spring day just over 60 years ago in southern Japan, a young girl was brought to hospital by her anxious parents. She could barely walk, was slurring her words and was hit by convulsions and seizures. Days later, her sister was also admitted with the same symptoms, and that was followed by a neighbour, and then dozens more people.
Commemorating the entry into force of the Minamata Convention
The town of Minamata was then gripped by an unexplained epidemic of a condition that ravaged the central nervous system. Doctors saw numb limbs twisted in pain, loss of speech, and then, all too frequently, coma and death. Animals were also hit: birds had fallen from the sky and cats were gripped by convulsions – even leading to some calling it “dancing cat disease”.
Upstream, one of Japan’s most advanced factories had been dumping chemical waste into the bay. A sludge containing mercury had been consumed by fish and shellfish, and from there had enetered into the food chain and the staple, protein-rich diet of the coastal communities. It was several years before the precise cause of the epidemic was identified, but not before hundreds of lives were lost.
The Minamata incident will go down in history as one of the worst-ever industrial disasters, with the town giving its name to the crippling, deadly condition – and therefore associated with disease and death.
But 60 years on, it’s suffering and stigma is being transformed into action: the entry into force of the Minamata Convention. This is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment, and something that will help prevent a repeat of Minamata’s suffering. It is the first new global Convention on environment and health adopted for close to a decade, and will tackle the entire life cycle of mercury, considered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the top 10 chemicals of major health concern.
The Minamata Convention entered into force on Thursday, May 18, 2017, thanks to a rash of ratifications that triggered the development, having garnered the required 50 ratifications. On that day, the EU and seven of its member States – Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden – deposited their instruments of ratification at the UN Headquarters in New York, bringing to 51 that day the number of future Parties.
To commemorate the historic step, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Kumamoto Prefecture and Minamata City on Saturday, July 1, 2017 held an event tagged: “Celebrating Event for the Minamata Convention on Mercury – Voice from Minamata towards the Entry into Force” in Minamata City, Kumamoto, Japan.
The event included the first part with the video letters from overseas and the declaration by the Junior High School students in Minamata City calling for the global attention. In the second part, Mr. Fernando Lugris, the Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Mercury, delivered a commemorative speech followed by the “Minamata Talk” lead by Mr. Hiroshi Nishida, Mayor of Minamata City.
In August 16 2017, the convention will officially take effect, and the first Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP1) – aimed at “Making Mercury History” – will follow on 28 and 29 September in Switzerland. It will oblige governments to reduce mercury use, clean up contamination sites, and ensure health care for victims of mercury poisoning.
But why is continued action even necessary? Surely a problem from the middle of the last century has been resolved by now. Regrettably, this is not the case, and hence the need for a coordinated, global approach.
In developing countries across the globe, mercury is being used in small-scale, artisanal gold mining – and incidences of mercury poisoning, including the horrific conditions of the children poisoned in Minamata, are being reported today not too far away in the Philippines.
Mercury can also be emitted from coal-fired power plants, adding another dangerous element to the already suffocating pollution suffered in many cities of the world. It can be spewed out by the incineration of waste, and be transported over distances far removed from its original emission source. It’s even been used in dentistry – for fillings – and cosmetics, such as the skin lightening soaps and creams popular in Asia and Africa.
There’s no safe level of exposure, and everyone is at risk because the dangerous heavy metal has spread to the remotest parts of the earth and can be found in everyday products. Children, newborn and unborn babies are most vulnerable, along with populations who eat contaminated fish like the original victims of Minamata. Then there are those who use mercury at work, and people who live near of a source of mercury pollution or in colder climates where the dangerous heavy metal tends to accumulate.
The fact is that we don’t want to live in a world where putting on makeup, powering our phones and even buying a wedding ring depends on exposing millions of people to the risk of mercury poisoning. In addition, we have solutions that are as obvious as the problem itself. There are alternatives to every single one of mercury’s current applications, such as newer, safer industrial processes.
The convention shows that big and small countries can all play a role – as can the man and woman in the street, just by changing what they buy and use. And that will be a fitting tribute to the victims of Minamata.
The Convention was adopted at the diplomatic conferences held in Minamata City and Kumamoto City in October 2013.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Monday, July 10, 2017 has said that the flooding caused by torrential rainfalls in the state within the last few days will soon be a thing of the past as government was working towards embarking on holistic solutions to address the situation once and for all.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State speaking at the sensitisation workshop on water management and environmental control
Abode spoke at a sensitisation workshop on water management and environmental control held at Ikeja, the state capital. The forum is a prelude to a Water Technology and Environmental Control exhibition holding in Israel later in the year.
He said that aside the fact that the issue of flooding was not peculiar to the state or Nigeria as it was a global phenomenon; urgent steps are being taken to tackle the challenge in a holistic manner and protect the state from future re-occurrence.
The Governor, who empathised with people who lost properties to the flood, said it was painful to see the state’s most prime estates flooded with water, roads taken over by floods, while many homesteads literally became pools.
Describing the workshop as apt coming at a time the state witnessed flooding in some parts, Ambode said inasmuch as the development was a trying period for him given the fact that so much had been expended in providing infrastructure for the people, but that major strategies would be implemented with the view to bequeathing the state with enduring solution to water management and environmental control.
He said: “However, if we have learnt anything in the on-going flooding of some parts of the state, it is that there is an immediate, even urgent need for us to embark upon a review and reengineering of our canals and drainage systems.
“This must be pursued hand-in-hand with a clear and crystal re-envisioning of our water management system. So, in effect, what we should immediately pursue is a holistic solution to what is certain to be a recurring problem. It must be a sincere collaboration between government and the citizenry.”
Ambode said that despite the fact that the state had been denied ecological funds by the previous federal government for political reasons, several reforms were being implemented in line with the capacity of the state government to protect the shoreline and carry out de-flooding, which according to him, are equally expensive to implement.
“The issue is when you are talking about reforms, it comes with pains but it is only the vision that drives it through and that is what we are doing,” he said.
Speaking on the import of the workshop, Governor Ambode said government was partnering with Israel, which is one of the first countries to successfully overcome its limitations in water resources, to develop water technology and environmental control, adding that the intention would be to explore a wide array of technological advancements and possibilities to ensure best solutions.
He said as a first step, the state government would participate at the WATEC exhibition and take full advantage of state-of-the-art technology in Israel, with the view to applying same solution in the state.
While alluding to the fact that the incidence of flooding was not circumscribed to Nigeria or Third World countries as United Kingdom and even Japan recently witnessed heavy flooding, the governor said no matter how well a society may be prepared, natural occurrences could not be totally ruled out, and such was why Lagos State and indeed the country fully subscribes to the tenets of Climate Change Solutions by the United Nations.
He said: “While all the aforementioned examples enjoin us to put our experience and pains into perspective, they also impress on us as a state and a government that we must learn from all these examples in order to better prepare for the future.
“To that extent, we will reinvigorate our campaign against the dumping of refuse by citizens into canals. We will be stronger in enforcing our physical planning laws especially those building illegally on canals and blocking the free flow of water across the state.”
Speaking on the new waste management strategy being adopted by the state government, encapsulated in the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, Governor Ambode said available statistics show that the state generates 13,000 tonnes of waste per day, which is the highest in the world, and that the new approach was aimed at revolutionising waste management with particular emphasis on reusing waste for other critical purposes and growing the economy, as against the present practice of dumping.
Besides, the governor said as government would be implementing new strategies to find a lasting solution to the problem of water shortages and flooding, it was also important for residents to play their part by bearing new attitudes towards civic obligations at all times, without which the efforts of government would be in futility.
Also, Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Ade Adesanya, said the torrential rainfalls witnessed in the state in the past few days accumulated a total of 477mm of water, which was equivalent to the rainfalls experienced in other climes for six months, and that the successful management of the situation was commendable, while expressing the determination of the government to mitigate the impact of such in the future.
On his part, the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Guy Feldman, said his country was delighted to partner with the Lagos State Government to bring about lasting solutions to water management and environmental control.
