Dr. Rufus Ebegba, Director General/CEO, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), has urged Nigerians to always research information from credible sources in order to be adequately informed and prevent misinformation.
Dr. Henry Sawyerr, Dean, Environmental Health Sciences Department, Kwara State University (left), with Dr. Rufus Ebegba, DG/CEO, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA)
Dr. Ebegba made the submission while enlightening some staff and students of the Environmental Health Sciences Department of Kwara State University, who paid an educational visit to the Agency. Discussions bordered on the mandate of the Agency, the meticulous processes involved in the Agency’s establishment and progress so far.
“The young ones here need to be informed accurately on the intricacies of biosafety regulation in the country and the role this Agency plays,” he declared.
Dr. Henry Sawyerr, Dean, Environmental Health Sciences Department, in a remark, thanked the Agency for the opportunity given to the Department to understand the functions of the Agency in terms of protection of the environment.
“We thank you for your time and for these regulatory instruments given to enlighten us on the biosafety regulatory process in the country,” Dr Sawyerr stated.
He said this at the close of the visit after the DG/CEO NBMA presented the Department with several regulatory instruments utilised by the Agency in its daily duties.
The Department, which visited the Agency to learn its contribution to the development of environmental policies on health and safety in Nigeria, also paid a visit to the state-of-the-art GMO Detection and Analysis Laboratory and members of the delegation were given a tour of the facilities.
The League Management Company (LMC) has ordered the National Professional Football League (NPFL) champions, Enugu Rangers International Football Club, to pay Coach Imama Amakapabo a total of N16.7 million for wrongful dismissal. The LMC also imposed a hefty fine on a top Enugu Rangers Official for breach of mediation.
Rangers International FC of Enugu
The LMC directed Rangers to pay the sacked coach various sums including N14.56 million, representing a salary accumulation to October 2016, and compensation for wrongful termination worth N1.6 million, representing the salaries for November and December 2016. In addition is another N600,000, which represents arrears and bonuses of last season, and $725, which is international traveling allowances owed Amakapabo.
Rangers and the club secretary, Joseph Onwukwe, have been charged with infractions of the NPFL rules and framework in the course of mediation proceedings in the dispute between the club and former coach.
The LMC has consequently levied sanctions on the club and the official, with Rangers fined N5 million and Onwukwe banned from all NPFL activities for a period of one year.
Meanwhile, Enugu State Commissioner for Sports, Charles Ndukwe, has called for calm in the recent arrest of Rangers coach, Imama Amakapabo.
Imama was picked up by the Police in Abuja on Thursday, July 20, 2017 and later taken to Enugu, following the alleged refusal to return the club’s possessions after his dismissal.
Mr Ndukwe, while admitting to owing and not paying wages to the coach, said the dispute would be sorted out in no time.
“We are looking into the matter and we are still discussing to see if there is a way we can ameliorate that. I don’t think it would escalate beyond that.
“I don’t know that up till now Imama is still with the vehicle and has not opened his apartment.
“This is government vehicle, and I expected it to have been returned even if he had been owed, so as to allow us look into the issue, as it is yet to be substantiated,” Ndukwe explained.
Imama was sacked by Rangers in April last year after leading the club to their first title in 32 years, last season.
He is making claims of wrongful dismissal, and seeking compensation worth up to N38 million.
UPS has announced aggressive new sustainability goals to add more alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles to its fleet while increasing its reliance on renewable energy sources. The goals, available in the company’s 2016 Corporate Sustainability Report, support UPS’s commitment to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from global ground operations 12 percent by 2025, a goal developed using a methodology approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.
Alternative fuel: UPS Propane Powered Package Car
“Because of our size and scale, we know our commitments can shape markets, advance technologies and be a catalyst for infrastructure investments,” said David Abney, UPS Chairman and CEO. “We rely on the ingenuity of our employees, suppliers and technology partners to help us reach goals that will transform the shipping industry and spur innovation.”
UPS has a goal that 25 percent of the electricity it consumes will come from renewable energy sources by 2025, a dramatic increase from the 0.2 percent in 2016. In addition, by 2020 UPS plans that one in four new vehicles purchased annually will be an alternative fuel or advanced technology vehicle, up from 16 percent in 2016. The company also set a new goal that, by 2025, 40 percent of all ground fuel will be from sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel, an increase from 19.6 percent in 2016.
UPS operates more than 8,300 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles worldwide. The company’s fleet includes electric, hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), propane and lightweight fuel-saving composite body vehicles. In addition to its use of alternative vehicles, UPS uses millions of gallons of lower-carbon footprint renewable diesel and renewable natural gas (RNG) in its fleet each year.
These initiatives reinforce the company’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact despite growth in e-commerce deliveries, which are driving up energy used to operate facilities and power its vehicle fleet.
The UPS vision entails a future smart logistics network of advanced technology vehicles and facilities powered by more diverse and sustainable energy sources, including on-site solar, off-site wind, renewable natural gas, renewable hydrogen, and renewable diesel delivered via advanced energy system infrastructure. UPS already deploys many of these technologies in its ground fleet and facilities, and plans to significantly increase their use in its worldwide fleet.
Since 2009, UPS has invested more than $750 million in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and fueling stations globally. The company used more than 97 million gallons of alternative and lower-carbon fuels in its ground fleet in 2016 and recently made an $18 million investment in on-site solar energy systems across eight facilities. UPS uses its Rolling Laboratory approach to determine which alternative fuels and technologies work best in each situation. From old-fashioned pedal power and electrically-assisted bicycles, to electric, hybrid electric, natural gas, renewable natural gas, propane and renewable diesel, UPS puts sustainability innovation into action, all over the world.
In addition to its environmental efforts, UPS outlined in its Sustainability Report workforce and community goals, including its commitment to achieve 20 million volunteer hours by the end of 2020 and its pledge to donate $127 million in total charitable contributions in 2020, including humanitarian relief and community safety programmes, through The UPS Foundation. The programmes provide support to communities around the world, including UPS’s work with partners to deliver life-saving blood, medicines and vaccines to remote communities and its support of relief organisations.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday, July 20, 2017 alerted countries to the increasing trend of resistance to HIV drugs detailed in a report based on national surveys conducted in several countries. The Organisation warns that this growing threat could undermine global progress in treating and preventing HIV infection if early and effective action is not taken.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO. Photo credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
The WHO “HIV drug resistance report 2017” shows that in six of the 11 countries surveyed in Africa, Asia and Latin America, over 10% of people starting antiretroviral therapy had a strain of HIV that was resistant to some of the most widely used HIV medicines. Once the threshold of 10% has been reached, WHO recommends those countries urgently review their HIV treatment programmes.
“Antimicrobial drug resistance is a growing challenge to global health and sustainable development,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We need to proactively address the rising levels of resistance to HIV drugs if we are to achieve the global target of ending AIDS by 2030.”
HIV drug resistance develops when people do not adhere to a prescribed treatment plan, often because they do not have consistent access to quality HIV treatment and care. Individuals with HIV drug resistance will start to fail therapy and may also transmit drug-resistant viruses to others. The level of HIV in their blood will increase, unless they change to a different treatment regimen, which could be more expensive – and, in many countries, still harder to obtain.
Of the 36.7 million people living with HIV worldwide, 19.5 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2016. The majority of these people are doing well, with treatment proving highly effective in suppressing the HIV virus. But a growing number are experiencing the consequences of drug resistance.
WHO is therefore issuing new guidelines to help countries address HIV drug resistance. These recommend that countries monitor the quality of their treatment programmes and take action as soon as treatment failure is detected.
“We need to ensure that people who start treatment can stay on effective treatment, to prevent the emergence of HIV drug resistance,” said Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of WHO’s HIV Department and Global Hepatitis Programme. “When levels of HIV drug resistance become high we recommend that countries shift to an alternative first-line therapy for those who are starting treatment.”
Increasing HIV drug resistance trends could lead to more infections and deaths. Mathematical modelling shows an additional 135,000 deaths and 105,000 new infections could follow in the next five years if no action is taken, and HIV treatment costs could increase by an additional $650 million during this time.
Tackling HIV drug resistance will require the active involvement of a broad range of partners. A new five-year Global Action Plan calls on all countries and partners to join efforts to prevent, monitor and respond to HIV drug resistance and to protect the ongoing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. In addition, WHO has developed new tools to help countries monitor HIV drug resistance, improve the quality of treatment programmes and transition to new HIV treatments, if needed.
The WHO “HIV drug resistance report 2017” was co-authored by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA.
“This new report shows a worrying picture of increasing levels of HIV drug resistance and, if unchecked, it will be a major risk to program impact,” said Dr Marijke Wijnroks, Interim Executive Director of the Global Fund. “We strongly recommend implementing WHO recommendations for early warning indicators and HIV drug resistance surveys in every national plan for antiretroviral therapy, and to consider funding them through Global Fund grants or reprogramming.”
Dr Shannon Hader, Director of CDC’s Division of Global HIV and Tuberculosis, US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, added: “The new report pulls together key HIV drug resistance survey findings from across the globe that, taken together with other national-level data, confirm we must be forward-thinking in our efforts to combat resistance: scaling up viral load testing, improving the quality of treatment programmes, and transitioning to new drugs like dolutegravir.”
Dr. Hader continued, stating: “Overall high rates of viral suppression across three recent national Population-based HIV Impact Assessments showed that present first-line regimens remain largely effective. However, special attention to populations at risk for higher resistance, such as pediatrics, adolescents, pregnant women and key populations, will be critical to target more urgent interventions. We call on the global community for continued vigilance and responsiveness.”
Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Wednesday, July 19, 2017 ordered seven commercial banks in the country to temporarily remit a total of $793,200,000 to the Federal Government (FG).
Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
The funds were allegedly hidden with the banks in contravention of the Federal Government’s policy on lodgment of funds into the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The judge ordered the seven banks to remit the various amounts being allegedly kept illegally in their custody to the designated Federal Government’s Asset Recovery dollars account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The concerned banks are United Bank for Africa, Diamond Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, First Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Limited and Sterling Bank Plc.
According to court papers filed by counsel to the Attorney General of the Federation, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), a total of $367.4 million was illegally hidden by three government agencies in UBA, while a sum of $41 million was illegally kept in a NAPIMS fixed deposit account with Skye Bank.
The court papers stated that $277.9 million was hidden in Diamond Bank, $18.9 million in First Bank, $24.5 million in Fidelity Bank, $17 million in Keystone Bank and $46.5 million in Sterling Bank.
A lawyer from Akinseye-George’s law firm, Vincent Adodo, who deposed to a 15-paragraph affidavit in support of an ex parte application filed by the AGF, stated that seven banks colluded with Federal Government officials to hide the funds in breach of the government’s TSA policy.
The funds, he said, were revenues, donations, transfers, refunds, grants, taxes, fees, dues, tariffs etc, accruable to the Federal Government from different ministries, departments, parastatals and agencies.
Adodo said the banks had failed to remit the funds TSA domiciled in CBN in violation of the guidelines issued by the Accountant General of the Federation, which fixed September 15, 2015 as the deadline for such funds to be moved.
He said: “The 1st to 7th respondents (banks), in collaboration with and/or collusion with unknown officials of the Federal Government, conspired to disobey the relevant constitutional provisions, thereby depriving the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of funds belonging to it, which are needed urgently to fund pressing national projects under the 2017 budget.”
Among the allegedly culpable government agencies is National Petroleum Developing Company (NPDC).
Akinseye-George while moving the ex parte application, said it would best serve the interest of justice for Justice Obiozor to order the banks to remit the funds to the Federal Government, to prevent the funds from being moved or dissipated.
His words: “The withheld funds are urgently required for the implementation of the 2017 budget. The budget has a lifespan of 12 months and we are already in the middle of the year. By hiding these hidden funds, the Federal Government is being forced to borrow money from these commercial banks at exorbitant interest rate.”
After listening to the government’s counsel, Justice Obiozor granted the interim orders.
He directed that the order should be published in a national daily newspaper.
He, subsequently, adjourned till August 8, 2017 for anyone interested in the funds to appear before him to show cause why the interim orders should not be made permanent.
The Government of Jamaica on Wednesday, July 19, 2017 deposited its instrument of ratification, thereby becoming the 71st future Party to the Minamata Convention.
Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica
Hitherto, the Governments of Rwanda, Palau, Thailand, Slovenia and Viet Nam deposited their instruments of ratification, thereby becoming the 66th to 70th future Parties to the mercury treaty.
The depositions were made on Wednesday, June 21; Thursday, June 22; Friday, June 23; and Thursday, June 29, 2017. While Palau deposited on Wednesday and Thailand on Thursday, both Slovenia and Viet Nam did likewise on Friday. Rwanda followed up a week later on Thursday.
Previously, Iran and Estonia had ratified the Convention, which has already entered into force, thanks to the landmark rash of ratifications on Thursday, May 18, 2017 that triggered the entry into force of the mercury accord, 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.
As a result, on August 16 2017, the Convention, which aims at protecting human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds, will become legally binding for all its Parties.
To commemorate the historic development, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Kumamoto Prefecture and Minamata City on Saturday, July 1, 2017 held “Celebrating Event for the Minamata Convention on Mercury – Voice from Minamata towards the Entry into Force” in Minamata City, Kumamoto, Japan.
The 1st Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP1) will gather governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations from around the world in Geneva from September 24 to 29, 2017.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury (“Minamata Convention”) is a new international environmental convention for global community to work collaboratively against mercury pollution. The Minamata Convention aims at achieving environmentally sound mercury management throughout its life cycle. The Convention was adopted at the diplomatic conferences held in Minamata City and Kumamoto City in October 2013.
Efforts by a judge of the Federal High Court in Bayelsa Division, Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, who is currently facing trial over alleged unlawful financial enrichment before a Lagos State High Court in Igbosere to secure leave to travel abroad for training, failed on Wednesday, July 19, 2017.
Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa
This was as a result of the inability of the prosecution to receive service of the application.
The court could not hear the application. The applicant alleged that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) refused service.
The motion filed before a vacation judge, K. O. Dawudu and slated for hearing on Wednesday, could not go on, as the counsel to the defendant, I. B. Mohammed, informed the court that the EFCC refused service.
Nganjiwa was earlier arraigned on June 23, by the EFCC, on a 14-count charge bordering on unlawful financial enrichment to the tune of $260,000 and $8.7 million (approximately N81.7 million).
He pleaded not guilty to all the 14 counts preferred against him by the commission.
His counsel, Mohammed, also told the court that the Court Sheriff went to the office of the EFCC on July 19, as ordered by the court to serve them with the hearing notice, but the officer at the agency’s legal department refused service and said: “Except he is given an instruction by the prosecutor handling the case, he can not accept service.”
The counsel stated further: “From what the Sheriff of the court, Ahmed Olakunle, told me, he said the officer he met at the legal department had a phone conversation with the prosecutor and after which, he told him that he can not accept the service except he is instructed by the prosecutor.
“The Sheriff went with our earlier original proof of service dated July 12 on the EFCC.”
The defendant (Nganjiwa) according to the ruling by Justice Adedayo Akintoye on June 23 was to deposit his passport with the court registrar within seven days and he was granted bail on self-recognisance as a serving judicial officer.
But, in his response, Justice Dawudu said: “I will give them the opportunity to come, for the hearing of the motion dated 12 July. I hereby order that hearing notice be served on the respondent.”
In an effort to protect Nigerians from suffering unnecessarily from the effects of climate change, the Trade Union, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the academia have reviewed and mad an input into the draft Climate Change Framework Bill.
Programme Manager of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Henry Okotie (right), submitting a copy of the input and observations of the Trade Unions and Civil Society to the proposed bill to the Clerk of the House Committee on Climate Change, House of Representative, Dennis Iko (left), prior to the public hearing in Abuja
The draft bill was initiated by the House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change.
The review of the draft bill, which held in Abuja from Monday, July 17 to Tuesday, July 18, 2017, was supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).
The aim of the review, it was gathered, is to ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies are mainstreamed across all public and private sectors of the country.
Speaking with EnviroNews in an interview, the Programme Manager of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Henry Okotie, noted that the review of the draft bill was to ensure that the trade unions and the CSOs who are the voice of the common people in the society make an input that transpates to the protection of the environment for the good of the people.
Commenting on the relevance of the Climate Change Bill to the common man, Okotie, who was representing the FES Resident Representative at the event, said: “It is about mitigation and adaptation so that people can know how to protect themselves against the adverse effects of climate change. This is because climate change is dynamic in the global system. It is inescapable.”
While reiterating that Nigeria currently needs a climate change law, he said: “You will agree with me that climate change is now of global concerns and it is therefore necessary that countries have a law backing up the activities for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
“So, if we don’t have a law backing it, it will seem as if we are groping in the dark. Apart from the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), countries are supposed to have their own direction – a law guiding how climate change effect is being mitigated in their own country and the issue of adaptation also.”
Reacting to a question on what his organisation stands to benefit by supporting the review of the draft bill, Okotie described the FES as a socio-democratic foundation based on social justice.
His words: “We are a platform for people to achieve what will be beneficial to them. Our core mandate is to work directly with the labour movement.
“That is why when we got hold of this draft bill which is a good thing from the House Committee on Climate Change, we felt Trade Union and the CSOs should have their input because they are the political voice of the people to actually step down this law if it becomes an Act.”
While reacting to the statement credited to the Director General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof Sani Abubakar Mashi, that there is no need for the creation of a Climate Change Agency (CCA) as it will amount to a duplication of functions, Okotie said: “The NiMET is doing its bid and in our contribution that we are taking to the public hearing, we actually recommended that NiMET should be part of the technical advisory committee as stipulated in the Bill.
“We also recommended that it should be a member of the Council if need be. NiMET cannot do it all. Climate change is an umbrella for all the technical agencies to act. This because we are not talking about a sector, rather we are looking at the country and the world at large.”
Also speaking with EnviroNews, a climate change expert, Professor Emmanuel Oladipo, disclosed that the review of the draft bill was to make sure that those communities that are going to be vulnerable or are vulnerable already are properly identified and measures are put in place to address them in line with climate change.
According to him, the other aspect of the climate change that will make it relevant to the common person is that, with the approach, there will be some pool of resources available so that even if the impact of climate change occurs in some areas, there will be money to support the communities through National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relevant agencies which ideally before is not there, hence, they are have to go and seek the approval of the Executive Council.
“Like the type of money the government released for the series of floods that happened last week (N1.6 billion), it is just the executive powers that they used.
“But now with this proposed Bill, if the 2% Ecological Fund is available, the money will just be readily available, there is no need going back to the Federal Executive Council; rather, the Council on Climate Change can just make the money available to the communities or the people that are affected by the impact of the climate change.”
Reacting to the series of the floods that affect many parts of the country recently, Prof. Oladipo called on governments at all levels to go back to the drawing board to see what areas they have contravened in the original plans of their cities, communities and see how they can readjust.
“People are building on flood plains and they don’t want flood to affect them? It is not possible. Water must always find its level and every year there must be adequate water, if not we will all suffer,” he stressed.
The don, however, applauded the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government for recognising the effect of climate change and taking steps to combat it.
“That is why we are moving forward now in getting a lot of these issues being addressed at the national level including putting a law that will help to address the challenges of climate change more appropriately,” he explained.
The “Save Lekki Coastland” could be considered a coast-to-coast conservation intervention to protect the Lagos coastlines beginning from the Lafiaji coastline situated wholly or partially within 100 meters of the high-water mark.
Coastal erosion in Lagos
Lagos, being the most populous and industrialised city in Nigeria, is a place of waters occasioned by the Atlantic Ocean. Lafiaji, however, is a remote location in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state encompassing diverse ethnic groups including the Yorubas, Ibos, Hausa as well as immigrants from Togo and Benin Republic.
Pidgin English, which is an adulterated form of the English Language, is commonly used for oral communication among the residents. Occupying a total area of about 0.5 km² with a population of about 12,000 people, the inhabitants are low-income earners with women and children making the higher percentage of the population. The richer women are those who engage in petty trading while most of the women are idle, relying on their non-educated husbands. The environment is very peaceful.
The head of the community known as the Oba who is highly respected among the people had made a law that anyone found fighting will be immediately sent out of the community. Many live in wood-constructed houses sparing only a few trees where the sunbirds build their nests. Domestic animals like chicken and goats are found roaming the streets. A community borehole, a mini market, mosques, football viewing centre and churches are the points of meeting.
Environmentalists have reiterated the need to safeguard coastal areas and the people that inhabit them from the effects of climate change. The vanishing coastlines of Lagos have resulted in the disappearance of beaches indicating a longstanding problem of coastal neglect in Nigeria.
Shipwrecks, sand mining activities, indiscriminate fishing activities are some of the characteristics that translate into the devastating effects on inland resources and those from the marine coastal zones. Lafiaji is a victim of this menace. The popularly known Lafiaji Beach, which was a renowned place for tourism, is now a shadow of itself.
Another discrediting issue is abandoned facilities on the shore – ship wrecks. According to the Merchant Act of 2007, every ship owner is responsible for the removal of his vessel. This regulation is apparently not complied to as wrecks sink into the water bed, where they disrupt the marine ecology.
The recent rise in local sea level and extensive coastal erosion in the area calls for urgent action. A well-integrated management approach is therefore required for the protection of critical coastal habitats. The protection of endemic and endangered species and their habitats as a national heritage is crucial, and hence the need for an intervention.
Some environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and LUFASI are grieved by the many human activities leading to Lagos coastal area degradation considering the present and future deleterious consequences.
The current state of the coastlines is precarious and needs urgent action. Beginning with the Lafiaji Beach, this is need to mitigate habitat loss due to sandfilling of the shore for construction, pollution and indiscriminate fishing because coastal areas play an important role in both Nigeria’s socio-economic well-being and that of its wildlife. Pressures on coastal resources have led to the declining population of many species such as shorebirds, sea turtles, and beach mice.
A place like Lafiaji where untreated raw sewage is released conveniently into the sea poses a high enviromental health risk. Litter is swamping the oceans and washing up on beaches. It kills wildlife, looks disgusting, posses hazard to people’s health and costs millions to clean up.
Researchers have explained that turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and the bags block their stomachs, often leading to death from starvation. Seabirds mistake floating plastic litter for food, and over 90% of fulmars found dead around the North Sea have plastic in their stomachs. Plastics never biodegrade. They simply break down into small pieces and do not disappear. Micro-plastic particles are now found inside filter feeding animals and among sand grains on beaches.
Another devastating activity on Lagos coastal areas which is not peculiar to Lafiaji is hand-picking of shells. Environmentalists have found that the removal of shells from beaches could damage ecosystems and endanger organisms that rely on shells for their survival. Seashells are a major source of organic deposits to the seafloor and make up the majority of limestones and chalks. Excess sediment and nutrient runoff from land-based human activities are considered serious threats to coastal and marine ecosystems by most conservation practitioners, resource managers, fishers, and other “downstream” resource users. Deleterious consequences of coastal runoff, including eutrophication and hypoxia, have been observed worldwide.
There should be a project strategically designed to tackle the aforementioned problems. The first line of action will be sensitisation of the members of the community in their own native language. A holistic environmental impact assessment should be carried out to asertain the current state of the coastline, followed by practical work like tree planting along the shores, cleaning and evacuation of abandoned materials, among others.
The critical situation demands the following interventions: protection and conservation of the coastal environment; equitable access to coastal public property; communication, education and public awareness; co-operative governance and partnerships; empowerment of women and youths in the community irrespective of educational status by engaging them through the elements of the project; mitigate the negative impacts of climate change and environmental degradation; present a capacity-building component for the holder of the project and networks; skills and capacity development; and knowledge sharing activities.
Key activities to do would be: make the Lafiaji Beach accessible; rehabilitate 100 hectares of dunes’ clean estuaries; create coastal community parks; install waste bins; plant 200 coconut seedlings; regularly clean up coastal area, remove illegal and abandoned structures; improve access to and along the coast; remove invasive alien vegetation; ensure compliance and monitoring, and rehabilitation of degraded areas which include dunes, estuaries; and, create job opportunities for residents.
If there could be an urgent intervention by all the concerned, improved livelihood of the members of the community will be achieved at the end of the work since accessibility to the beach by visitors means increase in sales and services. More importantly, dwellers of Lafiaji (basically women and youths) who will be directly engaged in the project will go home smiling each day not only because of the stipends that will be paid them but also as the work will build their capacity and offer them self-confidence.
Marine species at the brink of extinction are expected to bounce back at the end of the day. Also, a sustainable relationship can then be established between the organisation and stakeholders having a common interest for nature.
By Ojonugwa Ekpah (Conservation Officer, Technical, Nigerian Conservation Foundation)
The tropical forests of the Paraguayan Chaco are said to be disappearing more quickly than any other forests on earth.
Exploitation of the Paraguayan Chaco forest threatens to wipe out the Ayoreo, one of the last indigenous peoples living in isolation from industrial society. Photo credit: New York Times
According to conservationists, the rampant destruction is threatening jaguars, anteaters, armadillo, 500 species of bird, and several endemic species that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. It also threatens to wipe out one of the last indigenous peoples living in isolation from industrial society, the Ayoreo, who rely on the forest to freely pursue their nomadic lives.
Not-for-profit group, Rainforest Rescue, says the devastation is being caused by big agricultural companies, seeking to produce charcoal and rear cattle for beef. The trees are cut down, fed into smoking ovens, turned into charcoal and the charcoal is sold in some of Europe’s biggest supermarkets, adds the organisation.
Indeed, some 30 football fields of natural Paraguayan forest are presumably being destroyed every single day to supply the demand for charcoal. Every two weeks, an area the size of Manhattan disappears into charcoal ovens.
British environmental organisation, Earthsight, has traced charcoal from forest destruction in the Paraguayan Chaco to supermarkets in the EU and US, including major chains Aldi, Carrefour and Lidl.
“Without knowing it, customers across Europe are buying bags filled with felled trees from old-growth forests in South America, and using them to light their barbeques,” says Toby Hill, a researcher at Earthsight.
Earthsight recently published a report exposing the devastating environmental consequences of Paraguay’s charcoal business. Paraguay is the world’s fifth biggest exporter of charcoal.
Earthsight’s report charts the journey of the carbonised trees into European supermarkets like Aldi, Carrefour and Lidl. It states that, by selling the charcoal, the supermarkets are fuelling an environmental crisis that is endangering a region described by David Attenborough, veteran broadcaster and naturalist, as “one of the last great wilderness areas in the world”.
In an open letter to the supermarkets, Rainforest Rescue urges immediate action:
To: Aldi, Carrefour, Lidl
Dear company managers,
The British environmental organization Earthsight has traced charcoal from forest destruction in the Paraguayan Chaco to branches of Aldi, Carrefour and Lidl in Europe.
The production of this charcoal is having a devastating effect on the environment and local people. Charcoal producers are clear-cutting the country’s tropical forests, doing the dirty work for the beef industry who then use the cleared land to rear cattle. This threatens endangered and endemic species as well as indigenous communities who rely on the forest for their livelihoods.
Most of this charcoal is exported to Europe. Every customer who buys and burns this charcoal in their barbeques is unwittingly contributing to the rapid destruction of forests in the Paraguayan Chaco. Please take immediate action to ensure that no charcoal from forest destruction in Paraguay is sold by your company.
