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Propertymart partners government to build affordable homes in Gwagwalada

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Propertymart partners government to build affordable homes in Gwagwalada

The deliberate efforts of the Federal Government to reduce the widening housing deficit in the country have received another boost. The acting president of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, recently called for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) to bridge the infrastructural deficit in Nigeria and other African countries.

Propertymart
Deputy Managing Director of Propertymart, Mr. Deji Fasuwon (left), with Federal Ministry of Housing officials: Deputy Director, Private Public Partnership (PPP), Arc. Tonye Igbanibo; Assistant Director (PPP), Akande Adetunji; and Chief Technical Officer (PPP), Batuk Lukman

Propertymart Real Estate Investment Limited has taken the bull by the horn by entering into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the Federal Ministry of Housing to construct houses for middle and low income earners in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Deputy Director (PPP), at the Federal Ministry of Housing, Arc Tonye Igbanibo, who recently led a team to inspect the 10-hectare stretch of land designated to the project, charged Propertymart to commence work immediately, towards catering to the teeming populace in need of shelter.

He noted that the Housing Ministry is eager to see the project commence and completed for the benefit of Nigerians who are desirous of having their own houses.

While saying that the land is good for all forms of housing units, the Deputy Director stated that the Housing Ministry would support Propertymart in any way possible, ensuring the success of the project in order to reduce the sufferings of Nigerians resident in the FCT.

“We are waiting for you. You have seen the place and we are there to support you so that work can commence here immediately,” Arc. Igbanibo stressed.

Deputy Managing Director of Propertymart and head of the PropertyMart delegation, Mr. Deji Fasuwon, disclosed that his organisation entered into the partnership in order to enable middle and low level income earners have houses of their own at affordable prices and that the company went further by putting in place a suitable payment plan which will invariably help reduce the housing deficit in the nation.

He said: “This project is a direct partnership with the Federal Ministry of Housing in their plan to offer affordable mass housing.

“We realise that there is so much housing deficit in the country and the Federal Ministry of Housing is trying as much as possible to ensure that these houses are available to Nigerians out there.

“The government cannot do this alone by themselves, and that is why they have called on private developers to join them in ensuring the vision of the government is achieved.”

On the type of housing units to be constructed on the piece of land, Mr Fasuwon said: “We are planning to have different types of housing units, starting with bungalows, which will be very affordable to the people so that they will have something they can call their own. We are starting the project with two-bedroom bungalows.”

He disclosed that Propertymart has decided to make the payment arrangement simple and flexible so that many Nigerians can participate.

Mr Fasuwon added: “We have different payment arrangements for prospective beneficiaries. With as low as N75,000 or even N50,000, one can participate. The requirement is to make the monthly payment for three months and, in the fourth month, you make a lump sum payment and then you continue with the N50,000 payment for a period of three years. At the end of the three years, you must have finished payment and then you own your house.

“However, if you have the bulk money, you are able to buy at a lower rate. If you pay outright now, within six months of obtaining the final approvals, we would have delivered your housing unit for you.

“We are also talking to primary mortgage institutions to help finance off-takers who are desirous of taking mortgage facilities so that the period that they will have their houses delivered will be shortened.”

The cost of each housing unit for those who will pay at once, according to him, will be N4.9 million.

He, however, noted: “But if you want to spread your payment for a period of 36 months, you will pay a little over N5.9 million.”

“However, the development has been segmented into various schemes, such that purchasers will be allocated into the different scheme based on the period of purchase and payment. The delivery of the first scheme which is based on outright payment will not exceed six months.

“At Propertymart, we build to standard, and this project will not be an exception. And in line with our objective, the design, layout and quality of delivery will be befitting to the environment and also add value to our clients’ investments” he said.

He assured that, within six months, the first set of bungalows would be delivered to those who paid outright and the project will keep progressing until completion.

Global Tiger Day: Protecting tigers’ natural habitats

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Global Tiger Day: Protecting tigers’ natural habitats

The 2017 International Tiger Day was observed on Saturday, July 29. Also called Global Tiger Day, the day is held annually to give worldwide attention to the conservation of tigers.

Bengal tigers
The Chitwan National Park in Nepal is famous for its extraordinary wildlife – including its Bengal tigers

The 2017 Global Tiger Day was celebrated with the theme: “Fresh Ecology for Tigers.”

Goal of the day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support from tiger preservation issues.

The Global Tiger Day was formed at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in the year 2010 in Russia to protect tigers from going extinct. Back then, it was also declared that the aim will be to double global Tiger population by 2022.

The seventh annual Global Tiger Day was celebrated in various ways around the world. Local events were organised in Bangladesh, Nepal, and India as well as non-tiger-range countries such as England and the United States.

Some celebrities also participated by removing their social media profile photos. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) continued its promotion of the “Double Tigers” campaign through investing in rangers. Several companies partnered with WWF to help raise awareness.

Tiger is the national animal for India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and South Korea. The population of Tigers are once widely spread across eastern Eurasia, from the Black Sea in the West, to the Indian Ocean in the south. 93% of tiger’s historic range has lost over the past 100 years. Only few species are believed to be left on the Earth.

According to conservationists, humans are the most significant predator of tigers.

A sourced said: “People kill tigers for fun and place the skin of tiger in their houses as a decoration. Bengal tiger is the most common subspecies of tiger. Approximately, 80% of the tiger population is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal and India, and tigers have been haunted in those countries. The hunting of tiger is considered as a courageous act and trophies being collected as a symbol of valor and prestige.

“In China, person who managed to kill tigers is considered as hero and hailed to the general public. Due to these activities by public the percentage of tigers are decreasing day by day, still some people are killing those species in the name of hunting.”

GCF, India sign finance pact, broaden climate action scope

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GCF, India sign finance pact, broaden climate action scope

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has strengthened momentum to tackle climate change in the second most populace nation by signing a key agreement with GCF’s first accredited Indian bank.

GCF India
The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan (third from left), at the signing ceremony of Accreditation Master Agreement between NABARD and GCF, in New Delhi on July 27, 2017. GCF Executive Director Howard Bamsey is on extreme right

The signing by India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) of an Accreditation Master Agreement (AMA) has reportedly enhanced the bank’s role in channeling GCF finance across India.

Welcoming the AMA signing, Indian Environment Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, reiterated India’s commitment to address climate change and said his country can do more, with finance and other support.

In emphasising that GCF support should consider India’s development priorities, the Minister said: “We need to take cognisance of our population size and income inequality, and cannot ignore the basic requirement of electricity, housing, and food for the poor.”

AMAs are central to GCF’s partnerships with Accredited Entities, which propose and implement GCF-approved projects, as they set out the basic terms and conditions for financial disbursement. GCF approved NABARD as India’s first direct access Accredited Entity in 2015. These type of Accredited Entities are nominated by developing country governments to engage directly with GCF.

NABARD Chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala said the strengthening of GCF-NABARD ties by the AMA signing on Thursday, July 27, 2017 in New Dehli would “result in climate action at scale in India with a global demonstration value.”

“India’s commitments to the Paris Agreement – such as the clean energy target and our adaptation needs around water security, agriculture and ecosystems – offer significant opportunities for NABARD to partner with GCF,” he added.

GCF Executive Director Howard Bamsey said India has been acknowledged as a strong proponent of climate change action, and that GCF looks forward to greater engagement with the country as a crucial piece of the global climate challenge.

NABARD, currently managing $54 billion in assets, has given increasing prominence to climate change since it was formed in 1982 to promote sustainable and equitable agriculture by extending credit to India’s farmers.

GCF has already approved one project proposed by the bank to enhance the resilience of communities in the east Indian state of Odisha, by enhancing ground water reserves and using solar pumps to irrigate crops.

Radio Report: Torrential rain ‘anoints’ Lagos LG election

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Radio Report: Torrential rain ‘anoints’ Lagos LG election

The torrential rainfall which started around 5am in most parts of Lagos State did not only take a roll on the local government election in the state, but also has raised panic among residents over looming devastating floods.

Correspondent Innocent Onoh reports.

 

Who is responsible for climate financing in Nigeria?

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Who is responsible for climate financing in Nigeria?

Nigeria is faced with the onerous task of stable economic development in pace with its growing population and with the huge infrastructural gap and inadequate finance.

Dr-Peter-Tarfa-DCC
Dr Peter Tarfa, Director, Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the Federal Ministry of Environment

It is widely recognised that climate change presents one of the greatest challenges of the world today. Its deleterious effect spreads tentacles over developing and developed countries, in particular, making their population and means of livelihood vulnerable. Nigeria’s huge infrastructural deficit in power, housing, roads, healthcare, port services among others, have contributed to a large extent in retarding the growth and development of the economy.

According to Adams Smith International, Nigeria climate finance refers to the funding of activities and projects which aim to achieve progress against climate objectives.

Climate finance has been recognised as crucial to achieving significant progress towards climate objectives, as this often requires large-scale infrastructure and the engagement of large portions of populations, both of which can require high levels of investment.

According to what Nigeria committed to in the Paris Agreement, Nigeria has embraced the issuance of green bonds as an innovative means and alternative way of raising climate finance. The country also planned to reduce emissions by 20 per cent by the year 2030, with the intention of raising the target to 45 per cent, with the support of the international community.

Our challenges and who is responsible for climate finance is a big question we all need to answer as we move towards the implementation of green bond. Climate finance comes from a wide range of both private and public sources and can flow domestically or internationally. Many developed countries have made concrete agreements to provide financial resources to assist developing countries in meeting climate objectives, recognising both that some countries have contributed to the causes of climate change more than others and that countries have different capacities to financially contribute towards climate objectives which is the mitigation and adaptation.

Adams Smith International recorded that Nigeria has leveraged $63 million of multilateral funds for climate change projects (Overseas Development Institute, 2015). This is broadly equal to that of Rwanda, whose population is roughly 7 per cent of Nigeria’s, and is just over a tenth of the funding approved for South Africa. Considering Nigeria’s level of GHG emissions, its vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and the amount of funding provided to developing countries as a whole, this is less than one might expect Nigeria to receive.

In the midst of the current uncertainties in the Nigerian economy and the country’s journey towards vision 2020 is noble, the issuance of green bonds by various levels of the Nigerian government or corporate entities will serve as a boost of the country’s economic deficit for infrastructural development and enhance its reputation for commitment to the environment, thereby making it attractive for both local and international financiers.

Meanwhile, the government needs to focus strongly on institutional policy changes and sector reforms. This is essential towards improving the investment climate capable of attracting private investors at the level that can meaningfully aim at financing the nation’s infrastructure deficit and meeting its strategic programme over a more attainable time line. Green bonds are veritable sources of funding needed to bridge Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit, such bonds will only be attractive to investors if the underlying projects are viable, properly developed and satisfy the bankability test.

That onus lies on government, professional advisers and other stakeholders to make a success of Africa’s maiden sovereign green bond and financing for the future.

By Olumide Idowu (Co-Founder, Climate Wednesday; @OlumideIDOWU)

$7.7m UPS grant promotes initiatives to empower women, girls

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$7.7m UPS grant promotes initiatives to empower women, girls

The UPS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of UPS, has announced that it will award more than $7.7 million in global diversity and inclusion grants to 39 organisations. The grants will support economic empowerment, initiatives to empower women and girls, and, workplace inclusion.

Eduardo Martinez
Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation

“We are proud to partner with organisations that are innovating and making measurable impacts on the lives of people all over the world,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer at UPS. “The diversity and inclusion initiatives we are supporting will help advance the United Nation’s Sustainable Development goals and drive positive change to make the world a better place for this generation and generations to come.”

Among the organisations receiving grants are three non-profits that stand out in terms of their innovation and impact:

  • Graca Machel Trust, a pan-African advocacy organisation focused on women’s economic and financial empowerment, child health and nutrition and education, among other areas. Graca Machel is the former First Lady of Mozambique and the widow of Nelson Mandela. The UPS Foundation grants will support two key Graca Machel programmes: the Raising Voices for Women Cross Border Trading initiative to help women in West Africa, who comprise nearly 80 percent of the Cross Border Traders, formalise their business, and, the Women Advancing Africa Forum, which will be held in August 2017 and will focus on addressing economic imbalances in Africa.
  • Strive for College, an organisation that encourages students in public schools to apply for college and helps them find the money to fund their education. In 2016, 99 percent of Strive students went to college (most of them first generation college students in their families) and 89 percent required no debt for tuition. The UPS Foundation grants will help the organisation scale its programme to reach 100,000 low-income students this year.
  • The Peace Corps to support the implementation of the Let Girls Learn Project, a five-year project launched by former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama in 2015 that aims to eliminate barriers to education for 62 million girls in 60 countries. In 2016, the programme reached 1 million people and resulted in 296 Let Girls Learn Projects in 39 countries and 628 volunteer-led projects in 56 countries. The new Administration will continue the programme under a re-branded name.

Additional grant recipients include the following organisations.

 

Economic empowerment grants

  • Expansion of Aspira of America, Inc.’s financial education program to 240 Latino youth and families by training and reaching 500,000 Latino households
  • Funding to expand the Council for Economic Education’s Centre for Economic and Financial Education, teaching financial literacy to more than 250,000 students in New York City
  • Support of the Cuban American National Council and its Financial Literacy and First Time Homebuyer Education Workshops
  • Development of Native Edge, an online business development and training ecosystem through the National Centre for American Indian Enterprise Development
  • Support for the National Urban Fellows placement of a Class of 2017 National Urban Fellow
  • Providing entrepreneurial skills development through the National Urban League, Inc.
  • Delivering career development and professional networking resources to disabled individuals, awarded to the National Organisation on Disability and The Viscardi Centre
  • Support for World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) to increase participation of young women and to expand the leadership potential and capacity of WAGGGS’s member organisations
  • Accion International to support the organisation’s work in Nigeria to bring high-quality, affordable financial services to nearly 750,000 individuals by 2020
  • Funding to assist Opportunity International, Inc. in expanding its financial and training services to reach more than 40,000 low-income Colombian women
  • Support of Catalyst for Women’s learning website, which provides leadership training and business skills to women around the world

 

Education empowerment grants

  • Improving literacy, school engagement, college readiness and youth development, awarded to CHOICES Education Group, the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, and the National Black Child Development Institute
  • Offering scholarships for continuing education through the African Leadership Foundation, American Indian College Fund, Brigham Young University, Clark Atlanta University, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Inc., Morehouse College, Spelman College, the United Negro College Fund, Inc., and 100 Black Men of America, Inc.
  • Strengthening leadership and empowerment of students, awarded to the National Council of La Raza, Council of Independent Colleges, Girls Incorporated, Strive for College, and the Organisation of Chinese Americans

 

Inclusion grants

  • Contributions to the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing’s Knowledge Centre website, supporting 250,000 children
  • American Corporate Partners toward support for the mentoring programme for transitioning military veterans as they enter the civilian workforce
  • Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility for key events support
  • Support of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s website as a source of information on LGBTQ issues
  • Growing the volunteer network for the Special Olympics of Georgia, Inc.
  • Funding to support Braille literacy programming for the National Federation of the Blind
  • Executive Leadership Foundation supporting leadership development for high potential African American candidates
  • Paralysed Veterans of America (PVA) to support Operation PAVE, the PVA’s vocational rehabilitation programme; toward support for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games; and additional support
  • National Organisation on Disability (NOD) to increase employment opportunities for college graduates with disabilities through the Campus to Careers programme

 

Human trafficking prevention grants

  • Leadership Conference Education Fund toward its human trafficking programme and the creation of a toolkit to give individuals and organisations the power to confront trafficking in the U.S., and address the nature of trafficking as it affects people of colour and minors, particularly LGBTQ youth
  • United Way Worldwide Centre for Human Trafficking and Slavery toward a community training curriculum

Palm oil to diesel: Activists decry Total’s proposed biorefinery

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Palm oil to diesel: Activists decry Total’s proposed biorefinery

French oil multinational, Total, is stepping up its reliance on palm oil and wants to build a biorefinery in Marseilles to meet supposedly growing demand for diesel fuel. The proposal is said to be contradictory to the European Parliament’s call for biofuels from palm oil to be phased out.

Total refinery
A refinery built by Total

Total intends to invest €275 million to convert a fossil oil refinery in the port of La Mède near Marseilles to a “biorefinery”. The oil multinational hopes to give its business a boost by producing half a million tons of hydrotreated vegetable oil from palm oil and waste materials annually.

In April 2015, Total announced plans to create “a world-class biorefinery” at its La Mède site in southeastern France.

“Our goal is to adapt the site to meet the growing demand for biofuels and play an active role in developing renewable energies. Once on stream, it will be France’s first biorefinery,” said Total.

The La Mède site will include a biorefinery that produce biodiesel from vegetable oils, wastes and residues. The biorefinery will also produce other molecules, such as bio-naphtha for the petrochemicals industry and bio-jet fuel.

But environmentalists and labour representatives are sounding the alarm over Total’s plans.

Reinhard Behrend of Rainforest Rescue stated: “French oil multinational Total wants to step up the use of palm oil in its diesel fuel and is building a huge ‘biorefinery’ near Marseille.

“Total is bucking the trend: the European Parliament recently moved to phase out palm oil in biofuels as of 2020. Now that lawmakers have finally wrapped their heads around the ‘green’ biofuel scam, we need Total to understand: The palm oil industry is destroying the green lungs of our planet. Please speak out against biofuels!”

According to activists, rainforests are being cleared, people driven from their land and human rights trampled to make way for oil palm plantations.

They disclose that Total’s La Mède refinery will need 650,000 tons of vegetable oil, consisting of 100,000 of used cooking oil, 100,000 tons of palm oil derivatives and 450,000 tons of raw palm oil.

According to Mireille Villion of the French NGO. Amis de la Terre, that is more than twice the total amount of palm oil currently being consumed in France.

Total justifies the construction of the plant with increasing biofuel and diesel consumption, draft legislation in France and the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

The EU, however, is said to have since moved on, as an overwhelming majority across all parties in the European Parliament has called for an end to the use of palm oil and other vegetable oils in biofuels. The motion by the MEPs recommends phasing out the use of vegetable oils for biofuels by 2020.

The European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and Member States are currently negotiating a new version of the Renewable Energy Directive based on a Commission proposal from November 2016 (proposal and annexes).

“Please speak out against Total’s misguided ‘biorefinery’ plans. Hydrotreated vegetable oil is not a ‘green’ biofuel!” the Rainforest Rescue declared in its camapaign.

A letter to concerned parties to that effect reads:

To: Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total; relevant policymakers in France and the EU

Dear Mr. Pouyanné, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We call on you to cancel Total’s plans to build a biofuel refinery for vegetable oils such as palm oil in La Mède near Marseille.

All biofuels based on vegetable oil – and palm oil in particular – have a negative climate impact, as the GLOBIOM study produced on behalf of the European Commission states.

Rainforests are being cleared, people driven from their land and human rights trampled to make way for oil palm plantations.

An overwhelming majority of all parties in the European Parliament has called for an end to biofuels from palm oil and other vegetable oils. A motion by the MEPs recommends phasing out the use of vegetable oils for biofuels by 2020.

Yours faithfully,

By Michael Simire

Bonn Challenge: Chad commits to restore 5m hectares of degraded land

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Bonn Challenge: Chad commits to restore 5m hectares of degraded land

Chad has pledged to restore five million hectares by 2030 as part of the Bonn Challenge. The commitment was made at the recently held Southern Africa (SADC+) Bonn Challenge Ministerial Roundtable, organised by the Malawi Department of Forestry and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Bonn Challenge Chad
Chad commits to restore five million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2030

Chad’s pledge brings the total hectares pledged to the Bonn Challenge to 156.05 million.

A global effort to bring 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested land into restoration by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030, the Bonn Challenge has received unprecedented support from African nations with 80.4 million hectares pledged by 19 countries including Chad.

Since 2016, 16 countries have also endorsed the Kigali Declaration to foster regional collaboration on forest landscape restoration (FLR). The SADC+ Roundtable is one in a series of high-level dialogues initiated by countries with the support of IUCN to exchange solutions and experiences with FLR.

“It is clear that degradation and deforestation in Chad is impacting our most vulnerable communities. The Bonn Challenge presents an opportunity for us to restore 5 million hectares of degraded and deforested land and will support the achievement of our Vision 2030,” said Oumar Mahamat Hassane, National Coordinator, COMIFAC on behalf of Mahamat Brah, the Chadian Minister of Environment and Fisheries.

Several countries in the region have made considerable progress on their pledges. At the SADC+ roundtable, Malawi released the results of its national assessment of restoration opportunities and a roadmap for achieving its 4.5 million hectare pledge to the Bonn Challenge and the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100). In 2016 and early 2017, Rwanda and Uganda completed similar assessments and are working towards operationalising their pledges.

“As the Secretariat of the Bonn Challenge, IUCN welcomes Chad’s pledge. As we have seen in Africa and around the world, restoration brings direct benefits to local communities, enhancing their food and water security, generating livelihoods and building their resilience to climate change. We stand ready to provide the policy and technical support that Chad needs to achieve its commitment,” said Stewart Maginnis, Global Director, Nature-based Solutions, IUCN.

Chad’s pledge to the Bonn Challenge and AFR100 brings together several domestic programmes focused on restoration, including the Neutral Land Degradation Project, Great Green Wall Programme, Lake Chad Ecosystem Rehabilitation and Restoration Project and the Provincial Landscape Restoration Initiative.

A defining feature of the Bonn Challenge is that it allows countries to achieve multiple domestic and international priorities of poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and land degradation neutrality.

As emphasised by Bright Msaka SC, Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Malawi, who opened the SADC+ Roundtable, FLR and the Bonn Challenge have the potential to improve the quality of life and economic opportunity for millions across Africa. By pledging to the Bonn Challenge, Chad has joined a global community of governments and institutions committed to ensuring the benefits of restoration are realised on the ground.

World Mangrove Day: Gender equity key to mangrove restoration

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World Mangrove Day: Gender equity key to mangrove restoration

Women and men in coastal communities are often closely connected to their coastal ecosystems and gender roles are often traditionally identified and clearly divided. Women and men differ in how they interact and depend upon mangroves – how they use the ecosystem, which mangrove products they choose, and the benefits they receive, write Juliet Blum and Dorothée Herr, as the world celebrates the World Mangrove Day on Wednesday, July 26

Mangroves gender
Women and men differ in how they interact and depend upon mangroves. Photo credit: Pixabay / IUCN

Mangrove forests are particularly rich in directly harvestable seafood, timber, firewood and other plant products such as tea and roofing materials. They also provide vital protection against floods and storms and buffer against sea level rise. Especially in developing countries, coastal communities are directly dependent on products and services gained from mangrove forest ecosystems.

Unfortunately, many years of unsustainable human use, largely driven by demand for resources and products on the international market, has led to large-scale overexploitation and destruction of mangrove forests. The consequences of disappearing mangroves have been particularly detrimental to the lives and livelihoods of the local people. Global conservation efforts are now engaging local communities in their actions to reverse this dangerous trend.

Acknowledging the different roles women and men have in the ecosystem and community is essential in any conservation initiative. It allows for their differentiated inputs and impacts and promotes specific responses women and men could, and should, undertake. Despite today’s widely applied concept of integrating local communities in conservation efforts, there is a great risk of overlooking the particular interests and potential contributions of marginalised community members such as women. This can happen all too easily because women often have less social, economic and political power. Due to entrenched inequitable structures and barriers, they have a reduced influence in the decision making process within their communities.

Fortunately, integrating a gender-responsive approach into conservation efforts is currently gaining global momentum with significant results toward empowering women and enhancing gender equality. For women some of the potential consequences of a gender-responsive approach are increased food and water security, gained leadership and voice, improved health, security, education and skills development as well as improved livelihoods and income. IUCN’s Global Gender Office highlights and supports this approach to ‘ensure gender equality is central to sustainable global environmental solutions’ in a range of issues. Particularly around the conservation and restoration of mangrove forests, IUCN, its partners and other organisations are active in several projects working to integrate gender considerations and responses.

Mangroves for the Future (MFF), an initiative co-chaired by IUCN and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is running mangrove restoration and sustainable development projects with gender integration as a core strategy in several Asian countries. Participatory, community-based project approaches ensure that women’s and men’s voices are considered equally and aim to improve women’s social and economic empowerment. Some MFF projects have supported women through sustainable livelihoods and financial leadership training which provides them with alternative livelihoods and income opportunities. For example, where women have received training on the advantages of cultivating mangrove plants, the resulting increases in fish stocks have provided an additional income opportunity. Moreover, their newly acquired financial skills have ensured higher business success.

In Vietnam, gender integrated management in Xuan Thuy National Park allowed local impoverished fisherwomen to build sustainable livelihoods while actively contributing to the park’s conservation. Before, these women depended on increasingly scarce harvests of shells, molluscs and crabs, gathered illegally within the park’s mangrove forests. Although now the women continue to collect those products – through sensitisation, awareness raising and training for gender equitable management, women have become actively involved in the management and monitoring of the resources – contributing to sustainable harvests and securing a sustainable future for themselves as well as the park.

The Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project saw women take a central leadership role with their efforts to increase the resilience of Guyana’s coasts against flooding and coastal erosion – a threat which mostly affected women. Women were provided with resources for economic empowerment and capacity building trainings, which allowed them to set up various businesses including honey production, tourism activities and mangrove cultivation. The active participation of women even led to the establishment of a women-led volunteer organisation for mangrove awareness and restoration as well as the ‘Mangrove Cooperative Society’ to support other women with training and resources on beekeeping.

In Kenya, women engaged in “Mikoko Pamoja’”, a mangrove conservation and restoration project co-ordinated by ACES, maintain ‘The Gazi Women Boardwalk’ to promote conservation education within the mangrove forest. Through this initiative the women have proven their effectiveness in contributing to ecotourism while generating income for their community’s schools as well as contributing to better health care and reliable water supply.

These positive examples show that integrating gender equality into conservation initiatives is not only key to the success and sustainability of projects but can contribute additional value to its outcomes in supporting both women and men with various benefits for their homes, communities and nations. A gender integrative approach recognises women not as passive project beneficiaries, but as active drivers of change toward conservation, sustainable development and their own sustainable livelihoods.

Deforestation: Fresh calls for shift to non-timber produce exploitation

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Deforestation: Fresh calls for shift to non-timber produce exploitation

Stakeholders are calling for a gradual shift of focus from timber exploitation to non-timber produce, in the light of widespread deforestation being perpetrated through human activities especially illegal felling of trees in forest reserves across the South-Western part of the country.

Kolawole-Lawal
Ogun State Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal

Ogun State Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal, through his Media Aide, Mr. Damilare Olubayode, made this submission in Abeokuta while speaking at a meeting which comprised representatives of “Omo-Shasha-Oluwa” Conservation Project, National Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Directors of Forestry in the South-West region. Lawal described the gathering was apt in finding lasting solutions to the persistent menace in the forestry sub-sector in the region and the nation at large.

While acknowledging that though the campaign against deforestation required the concerted efforts of all stakeholders, he stressed the need for all member states in the South-West region to gradually disabuse their citizens and timber merchants of the notion of over-reliance on timber exploitation for wealth creation.

“It is also necessary to bring to limelight the challenges facing forest regeneration/plantation establishment in our states particularly at individual, corporate and government levels.

“Furthermore, a re-ignited emphasis on the policy of gradual shift in pressure from exploitation of timber and timber related produce to non-timber forest produce should be supported,” he said.

The Commissioner, who lamented that illegal tree felling, log conversion, hunting and farming in forest reserves owned by the state governments across the South-West had debilitating effects on the revenue generation of the concerned states, pointed out that decisions reached at the forum would impact positively on the overall development of forestry while resolving challenges confronting it.

He added that, to achieve sustainable development, stakeholders in the states should fashion out means of putting an end to the wanton destruction of forest reserved areas and work towards recovering the depleted portions while wild life and eco-tourism potentials should be tapped maximally.

Appreciating the NCF for its untiring efforts at developing forestry reserves, Lawal tasked the body to assist Ministries of Forestry in the South-West states to secure aids-in-grants from government, affirming that the Ogun State Government on its parts would continue to do the needful towards addressing challenges facing the forestry sub-sector.

In his remarks, NCF Executive Chairman, Chief Ede Dafione, commended the Ogun State Government for its efforts so far at combating deforestation and working towards a sustainable reserve, assuring that the body would re-double its support for forest development in Ogun and other South West states.

The meeting, which also attracted participants from Lagos and Osun states, focused on bio-diversity conservation, deliberated on sustainable ways of enhancing eco-tourism, wild life, as well as reducing pressure on exploitation of timber-related produce.

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