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Mission of Propertymart’s partnership with Federal Government is to bridge housing gap, deliver affordable homes – Fasuwon

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Mission of Propertymart’s partnership with Federal Government is to bridge housing gap, deliver affordable homes – Fasuwon

Recently, Lagos-based developer, Propertymart Real Estate Investment Limited, sealed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with the Federal Ministry of Housing to construct middle and low income homes in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the needy.

The occasion featured the Federal Ministry of Housing team led by Deputy Director, Private Public Partnership (PPP), Arc. Tonye Igbanibo, who was accompanied by Assistant Director (PPP), Akande Adetunji, and Chief Technical Officer (PPP),Batuk Lukman, as well as the Propertymart delegation led by Deputy Managing Director, Mr Deji Fasuwon.

In this interview with Mr Fasuwon, he says that, by collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Housing, Propertymart aims to deliver affordable houses in decent neighbourhoods to Nigerians

Deji Fasuwon
Deputy Managing Director of Propertymart Real Estate Investment Limited, Mr Deji Fasuwon

Can you shed some light on what is happening here today…

This project is a direct partnership with the Federal Ministry of Housing in their plan to offer affordable housing for the masses. 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 are available to masses 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.

Under a federal government initiative, the Federal Ministry of Housing has started building condomiums right here for the citizens at affordable rate. We also have development going on right here.

Now, Propertymart is coming in by collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Housing by ensuring that we deliver good houses in good neighbourhood and yet at affordable prices to Nigerians who are desirous of having houses of their own.

 

How many hectares of land are we looking at here for this project?

We were able to secure about 10 hectares from the Federal Ministry of Housing for this project. We are planning to have different types of housing units, starting with bungalows which will be very affordable to the people so that people will have something they will call their own. The joy of Propertymart is giving people what they can call theirs. We are starting the project with two-bedroom bungalows.

 

How many housing units are we looking at here?

We are yet to conclude on the total number of housing units because it has to go through the process of approval with the Federal Ministry of Housing, it is at that point that we will determine the total number of units that we have. However, this is a project that we are doing in many places across the country. We started it in Lagos, Ogun State and in Ikorodu, which also in Lagos State. This is the one that we have in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). We are looking at going to other places in no distant time.

We are looking at having 10,000 units of these kinds of housing units across different parts of the country. As God gives us the capacity, we even intend to expand more.

I can say categorically that the project is acceptable in the society because the pilot project, which is the New Makun City project which we launched in February this year, is totally sold out. We are already going to Scheme 2 and we are expanding further and this one will be sold out in no time. That is, we are encouraging people to participate in it now that we are just launching it.

Deji Fasuwon
Mr Deji Fasuwon

How can one have access to participating in the project?

We have different payment arrangements for people. With as low as N75,000 or even N50,000 one can participate. All you need to do is to be making the payment monthly for three months and, in the fourth month, you make a lump sum payment and then you continue with the N50,000 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 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. They will start contributions and, after a while, the mortgage institutions will take over and settle us while the off-takers pay the mortgage bank over time.

 

How do you intend to ensure that it is your target group (the low class) income earners are the ones that will benefit from this project?

Well, you know, the power that people have when it comes to matters like this is the cash and we do understand the fact that the few people who are privileged have the capacity of mopping up everything. We are trying as much as possible to go to the grassroots and intimate them about this so that they done lose out of this and having the so-called big shots take over the entire project because it is not in their own interest.

In fact, one of the reasons why we came to this area is because the eyes of the so-called big shots are not really here and the environment is serene, beautiful, and clean with little or no security challenges. So, before the eyes of these privileged people get to this place, these other people have taken over the entire place.

You know the gap between the rich and the poor is so wide, but with these we can start bridging that gap little by little so that when the rich man is saying I have a house of my own, the so-called not-so-rich people can also said they are also landlords.

 

How much does a unit of house cost and, what is your motivation in undertaking such project, considering that your major interest is in assisting the low income earner get a house of his own?

For someone who is paying at once, you will be paying as little as N4.9 million, but if you want to spread your payment for a period of 36 months, you will pay a little over N5.9 million.

In terms of motivation, we have heard over time about the housing deficit in Nigeria. Of course the statistics are not correct. Over the past 10 years we have been hearing that we have over 17 million housing deficit, it is beginning to sound as if people have not died, as if people have not been born and people are not building houses. So, it is either that the housing deficit has increase based on increase in the number of population or it has decreased due to the activities of developers.

By and large, there is no doubt that there is still housing deficit in Nigeria and the earning power of people too differs. A lot of people are now looking at the fact that the economy is not paying them off, there is recession, but then we want people to still be able to achieve their desire of having a decent accommodation, yet at affordable prices.

Basically is to help reduce the housing deficit in Nigeria, as much volume as we can. That is why we want to extend this project beyond the FCT like we started in Lagos and Ogun states. It is the need for people to have houses of their own at affordable prices and also the need to reduce the housing deficit in Nigeria. Those are the things that inspired us in this kind of project.

 

How long are we going to start and how long do we expect to finish?

Because people are going to pay in phases for about three years, it will take about four years to get the entire project completed. However, we are going to put the development into phases. Those who finish their payment will be put in the first phase. We will develop it fully and that can take about six months, starting from the date we get the final approval from the approving authorities.

We are waiting for approval from the approving authorities because we are a law abiding organisation. We want to ensure that we build as par standard in terms of quality, as par design, layout and as par the need of this environment.

Within six months of final approval, we would deliver to the first sets of bungalows to those who pay out-rightly. The project will keep going like that until the final period that people have paid, which will be about four or five years, and the entire estate will be completely built-up and occupied.

US formally indicates intention to quit Paris climate deal

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US formally indicates intention to quit Paris climate deal

The US on Friday, August 4, 2017 issued its first written notification that the country intends to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement climate change.

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Donald Trump, US president

But in the notice to the United Nations, the US Department of State said Washington would remain in the talks process.

Friday’s announcement is seen as largely symbolic as no nation seeking to leave the pact can officially announce an intention to withdraw until November 4, 2019.

“Today, the United States submitted a communication to the United Nations in its capacity as depositary for the Paris Agreement regarding the US intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as soon as it is eligible to do so,” the US statement read.

“The United States will continue to participate in international climate change negotiations and meetings… to protect US interests and ensure all future policy options remain open to the administration.”

President Donald Trump drew international condemnation in June when he first announced the US intention to withdraw.

According to him, the deal “punished” the US and would cost millions of American jobs.

The process of leaving then takes another year, meaning it would not be complete until just weeks after the US presidential election in 2020.

Any new US president could then decide to rejoin the agreement.

In June, Mr Trump indicated he was open to another climate deal “on terms that are fair to the United States”.

However, key signatories to the accord quickly ruled that out. The Paris Agreement took decades to finalise.

The US stance on climate change also caused divisions at the G20 summit in Germany last month.

A joint summit statement said it “took note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris Agreement”.

However, leaders of the other G20 members agreed the accord was “irreversible”.

Climate change, or global warming, refers to the damaging effect of gases, or emissions, released from industry, transportation, agriculture and other areas into the atmosphere.

The Paris accord aims to limit the global rise in temperature attributed to emissions. Only Syria and Nicaragua did not sign up.

Hydraulic infrastructure development guideline adopted

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Hydraulic infrastructure development guideline adopted

The guideline on hydraulic infrastructure development in West Africa was adopted recently during the 78th ordinary session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers held in Monrovia, Liberia. The guideline enters into force across all ECOWAS member countries.

Monrovia
Monrovia, Liberia hosted the 78th ordinary session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers

The States are expected to domesticate it into their legislation, albeit within three years in principle.

The adoption is the outcome of a regional dialogue on large hydraulic infrastructure initiated by ECOWAS in 2009, with a strong mobilisation of the civil society. The objective of the regional guideline is to make sure that ecological, economic and social issues are further considered in the implementation of transboundary hydraulic infrastructure in West Africa, so as to ensure their viability and allow sustainable development of the region.

The adoption of this guideline results from a long and participatory process supported by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) right from the onset.

According to experts, while it is preferable to invest in natural infrastructure and related ecosystem services, it is also necessary to improve large infrastructure standards in order to minimise their adverse social and environmental impacts.

In a related development, ECOWAS and IUCN have determined a strategy for self-reliant and sustainable financing.

A couple of weeks ago, six West African basin organisations held a meeting in Conakry, Guinea under the leadership of ECOWAS and IUCN to reflect on self-reliant and sustainable financing mechanisms of their organisations.

Organised within the framework of the implementation of Partnership for Environmental Governance in West Africa (PAGE) activities, the meeting was chaired by the Guinean Minister for Energy and Hydraulics. Through presentations, experience sharing, group work and plenary sessions, the organisations made a rapid assessment without complacency of the state of their financing: permanent cash flow issues, reluctance of the state to meet its commitments, and weak knowledge of issues relating to transboundary basin organisations.

In the face of such structural and short term constraints, the participants urged ECOWAS to address the issue by introducing new guidelines that can better support basin organisations. They also called for the holding of such consultations on a regular basis so as to take up the challenges facing basin organisations.

PAGE is a regional initiative implemented by the Central and West Africa Programme of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN-PACO) in collaboration with its partners. It provides support to environmental policies in West Africa. It is funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) over a period of five years (2014-2018).

Stronger policy needed to unleash renewables investment

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Stronger policy needed to unleash renewables investment

The trillion-dollar question is how to have the right incentives and conditions to attract investors, writes Geraldine Ang in the LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science) Business Review

solar
Renewable energy: Solar panels

Renewable-energy technologies are critically important, both in addressing the risks of climate change and achieving Sustainable Development Goal number 7 (SDG7,) relative to affordable and clean energy. They have also become increasingly cost-competitive: the capital cost of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) energy has fallen by more than 60 per cent since 2010, and that of onshore wind energy by 20 per cent.

There is no shortage of capital available globally to finance renewable-energy projects. The financial sector encompasses more than €100 trillion of assets. So how is it that investment in renewable energy is not flowing faster?

The trillion-dollar question is how we can shift incentives and strengthen the right conditions to make solar, wind and other renewable power more attractive to investors. To respect the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting temperature rise to well below 2°C, annual investment in renewable energy needs to increase by 150 per cent between now and 2050.

New OECD research shows that incoherent policies, misalignments in electricity markets and cumbersome and risky investment conditions are among the main factors holding back investment and innovation in renewable energy in advanced and emerging countries.

In order to meet renewable energy deployment goals, policy makers need to strengthen investment conditions, from investment policy to competition, trade and financial market policy. And most importantly, specific policy incentives and climate policies should not be considered in isolation from the broader environment for investment and innovation in renewable energy.

 

Creating a supportive framework for renewables

At the policy level, scaling up investment in deployed renewables requires designing targeted incentives such as: feed-in tariffs (i.e. a guaranteed minimum price per unit of renewable power generated); renewable energy certificates (a certificate proving that one unit of electricity was generated from a renewables source, which can be sold separately from the underlying physical electricity associated with a renewable-based generation source); and public tenders (which include public competitive bidding or auctions for a set capacity of renewable power).

Feed-in tariffs and certificates in particular have driven investment in advanced countries, leading, for example, to an 11 per cent increase in renewables investment for each additional unit of feed-in tariff, in USD/KWh. Auctions and tenders have supported renewables investment in emerging markets (OECD analysis shows that, historically, increasing the capacity of a tender by 1 MW leads to a 0.1 per cent increase in renewables investment flows).

Explicit carbon prices (using carbon taxes or emissions trading schemes) have driven investment in renewables in the European Union and in emerging economies, and across OECD and G20 countries in solar energy. But at the same time, pressure from fossil-fuel subsidies in the electricity sector has also deterred renewables investment in emerging economies.

Incompatible incentives are worrying on a number of fronts, not only for investment in deployed renewables but also innovation in earlier-stage renewables technologies. An example: feed-in tariffs stimulate renewable-energy patents, yet policy across OECD countries and emerging economies has been shifting away from FiTs toward public tenders, to adjust to changing market conditions, control the deployment of large-scale renewables, and reduce costs for consumers.

Also, government spending in research, development and demonstration (RD&D) for low-carbon technologies is at historic lows. This has negative implications for innovation; OECD research shows that public RD&D expenditures have thus far played an important role in stimulating patenting in renewables technologies.

In addition to aligning our incentives, we need to take advantage of the fact that some climate mitigation policies enhance the positive effects of other policies when they are combined. For example, setting carbon prices while providing public RD&D spending in renewables technologies has worked well for mobilising renewables investment in emerging markets. In OECD countries, Denmark has become a leader in renewables technologies, including by providing integrated, sector-wide policy support to RD&D and deployment of renewables.

Next, we have to make the investment environment in renewable energy – especially solar and wind energy – far more attractive, and also make it easier to do business, with improvements in the following areas:

  • Investment policy and investment facilitation (property registration, corruption perception, regulatory quality, licensing and permitting systems),
  • Competition and trade policy (direct control of the state over enterprises, ease of trading across borders)
  • Financial access (access to domestic credit for the private sector)

Finally, we need to work at making sure that the broader investment environment isn’t at odds with low-carbon investment. For example, the implementation of Basel III banking regulations – though they are important – also may have had the unintended consequence of constraining access to debt financing for capital-intensive renewable projects. Investment in renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies needs to take place on a far greater scale if we are to achieve the ambition of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Evidence-based research and stakeholder co-operation are needed to help policy makers design effective public policies that facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. The OECD stands ready to support these critical goals, as part of the OECD Centre on Green Finance and Investment.

Lagos unveils plans to fix roads, tackle flooding

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Lagos unveils plans to fix roads, tackle flooding

The Lagos State Government on Sunday, August 6, 2017 unveiled a roadmap targeted at maintaining and rehabilitating roads across the state, as well as maintaining drainage channels and controlling flood. The initiative is billed to span between August and December this year.

Akinwunmi-Ambode
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State

Special Adviser to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Public Works and Drainages, Temidayo Erinle, who unfolded the plan at a media briefing held in Alausa, said that, in the coming days, the government, through the Public Works Corporation, would carry out rehabilitation works on 43 major link roads across the state, while other major highways and arterial roads found to be in bad state would be fixed.

Erinle said government was well aware of the challenges being experienced by commuters on Lagos roads, and that Governor Ambode had already repositioned the Corporation to comprehensively address the issues relating to potholes and drainages in the state.

He said: “As you are all aware, we are presently in the rainy season, as such much cannot be done during this period. However, we are currently carrying out palliative works on our major roads through the application of boulders, crushed stones and other construction materials to address the potholes problems in order not to paralyse the economic activities of the state.

“Similarly, we also take advantage of some dry days to carry out repair works in an effort to reduce traffic gridlock on Lekki-Epe Expressway between Adetokunbo Ademola to Samuel, section of Ikorodu Road between the new and old pedestrian bridges inward Maryland, Ikorodu Road, Ketu Bus Stop and Ikuomola Street, Idimu Alimosho Local Government Area.

“Asides that, I want to assure the people that immediately the rain subsides, the Lagos State Public Works Corporation will embark on massive road maintenance and repairs of all major highways and arterial roads found to be in bad state.”

Erinle said aside the 43 major link roads to be repaired in coming days, engineers of the Corporation have also been sent out to identify other failed spots across the State, assuring that government was determined to fix all potholes to bring about seamless driving experience to motorists.

He listed some of the 43 roads to include: Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi which work has already commenced; Ojota Interchange transiting the ramps on both directions, Sina Ogunbanwo Street, Agric Road Oko-Oba, Ifako Ijaiye; Club Road off Osborne Road, Ikoyi; Oroke Drive, Ikoyi, Eti-Osa LGA; Central Avenue, Apapa; North Avenue, Apapa; Maybin Road, Apapa; Lateef Jakande Road, Ikeja; Gberibe Road, Ikorodu; TOS Benson Road, Ikorodu; Oke Sabo along Imota; Itamaga, Itoikin; Oba Sekumaderd, Ogolonto, Ikorodu; Adeniran Ogunsanya Road, Ikorodu; Admiralty Way, Lekki Eti-Osa; Topo inward Ajido, Badagry; Hospital Road, Badagry; and Ijesha road network, Surulere.

Other roads include Liverpool Apapa; 1st Avenue Festac Amuwo-Odofin; Kirikiri Road, Ajeromi Ifelodun; Ojo Road, Ojo; College Road, Agric, Ojo; Baale Road, Ojo LGA; Okun-Owa street, Ajegunle, Ajeromi Ifelodun; Crowther Crescent, Apapa LG; Oba Akran Avenue, Ikeja; Shasha Road, Akowonjo; Bonny Camp Victoria Island; Musa Yar Adua Street, off Ozumba Mbadiwe; Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja; Old Abeokuta Motor Road; Pen Cinema to Abule Egba; Iju Road, Ifako Ijaiye LGA; Akowonjo Road, Alimosho; Itire Road, Babalola bus stop axis, Mushin LGA; Diya Street, Gbagada Kosofe; Chivita Road, Ajao Estate; Asa Afariogun Street, Ajao Estate; Herbert Macaulay Road, Yaba; Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island; Lekki Epe Expressway to Ibeju Lekki Axis.

While reeling out the plans of government to control flooding, Erinle said works have already commenced in earnest to deflood the state, adding that, in a bid to forestall flooding as witnessed few weeks back due to torrential rainfall which led to high intensity of about 465mm of water within five days, the state has been divided into five zones namely Alimosho, Ikeja, Mushin, Kosofe, Agege, Ifako-Ijaiye, Oshodi-Isolo and Somolu (Zone 1); Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Amuwo Odofin, Ojo and Badagry (Zone 2); Ikorodu (Zone 3); Apapa, Surulere, Lagos Island, Mainland and Eti-Osa (Zone 4); and Ibeju Lekki and Epe (Zone 5).

Already, Erinle said, in all the five zones, dredging of primary channels and outfalls as well as clearing/cleaning of collector and tertiary (street) drains have been carried out and still ongoing, while a drainage master plan which covered the whole of the State has been developed to improve on the earlier four master plans.

Under the new comprehensive master plan, Erinle said 169 primary channels/outfalls have been identified, while all the recommendations in the plan were being implemented in phases.

“I wish to reassure Lagosians that the Corporation will not rest on its oars to ensure that the people continue to enjoy pot-hole free roads and drastic reduction in the incidences of flooding in Lagos State,” Erinle said.

WHO, others battle malaria in north-eastern Nigeria

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WHO, others battle malaria in north-eastern Nigeria

WHO estimates up to 10,000 lives could be saved by November through malaria prevention and control, if more funds are secured

Pedro Alonso
Dr Pedro Alonso, Director, Global Malaria Programme of the WHO

Following more than eight years of conflict in Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria, some 3.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and all are at risk for malaria, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The global health body estimates that, every week, around 8,500 people are infected with the disease in Borno State. With the high transmission season for malaria lasting through October, WHO expects these numbers will increase.

In Borno State, WHO estimates more than half of deaths recorded are currently due to malaria, more than all other causes of death combined, including cholera, measles and hepatitis E. A highly vulnerable population, consisting largely of children (58.8%), is at risk of disease outbreaks.

With more than 60% of health facilities only partially functioning, many people have not had access to regular health services, including routine vaccinations and basic medicines, for years.In addition to security concerns, acute malnutrition caused by food insecurity is rising in parts of the state. Between malnutrition and death is virtually always disease, and malaria often turns cases of malnourishment deadly.

 

Health emergencies and malaria

“Malaria, malnutrition, fragile states and civil strife often feed each other,” says Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of WHO’s Global Malaria Programme. “Wherever we have a humanitarian crisis in a malaria endemic country, we can almost always be sure that malaria is the number one killer.”

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2015, there were more than 200 million cases of malaria and 437,000 deaths. More than 90% of malaria deaths occur in Africa.

However, malaria is preventable and curable. Increased efforts over the last 15 years have drastically reduced malaria deaths and cases- – malaria mortality rates dropped by more than 60%, averting six million deaths.

“The most effective way to reduce deaths in emergencies in fragile states, especially those facing malnutrition, is by boosting malaria prevention and control, however, this is often not viewed as the top priority during an emergency response,” says Dr Alonso. “We are working with our WHO colleagues and many partners to change this.”

Following a recent visit to Borno state, WHO malaria experts completed a modelling exercise to estimate malaria cases as well as how many deaths could be prevented if a basic set of initiatives were undertaken. The report concluded that with the right joint actions, up to 10 000 deaths could be prevented in Borno state alone.

 

Turning scientific evidence into life-saving action

WHO and health sector partners are taking steps in four areas recommended in the report:

  • strengthening surveillance systems to monitor cases and outbreaks of malaria;
  • increasing people’s access to care in clinics and to health facilities;
  • spraying insecticides and distributing bed nets as part of vector control; and
  • administering malaria drugs to children under five years every month (July to October).

“Like never before, WHO is on the frontlines in camps of displaced people delivering real health programmes helping people in a complex emergency,” says Dr Alonso. “Seeing the translation of our work into action is phenomenally rewarding.”

In early July, the first of four-monthly rounds of mass drug administration reached more than 880,000 of the 1.1 million children under-five who were targeted. WHO and partners are planning monthly rounds through to October. WHO hopes that the $2.5 million needed for this emergency intervention can be mobilised in time to have a significant impact. WHO is relying on the existing infrastructure of thousands of polio vaccinators to carry out this complex, logistically challenging operation in areas still facing security threats from Boko Haram.

“We will give one curative dose of antimalarial drugs to a defined population, in this case children under-five,” says Dr Alonso. “In Borno State, we are giving an antimalarial drug to a child, whether they have malaria infection or not, to ensure they are cleared of parasites at that point and to protect them for four weeks. It’s a necessary temporary fix to reduce malaria deaths for the next six months.”

WHO has trained community health workers to provide a basic package of health services to communities where many people have not had consistent health access for several years. The health workers are always on the lookout for signs of malaria. They offer rapid diagnostic tests to determine if people have malaria, provide treatment, and advise on prevention. In addition, with more funding, WHO plans to reach more areas in Borno State with antimalarial drugs and support overall malaria control interventions.

“We will not know the full impact of our efforts until November, but we are confident that taking these steps will go a long way in reducing deaths and suffering of people from malaria so they can get on with their lives,” says Dr Wondi Alemu, WHO Representative in Nigeria.

Following the success of the assessment and the start of broader efforts to more effectively control malaria in dire emergency settings, WHO is looking to apply a similar approach in South Sudan where 10 million people are at risk of dying due to a combination of malaria, malnutrition and conflict.

Radio Report: Lagos takles wastewater epidemic

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Radio Report: Lagos takles wastewater epidemic
The Lagos State Government is seeking the partnership of relevant international organisations and other bodies to control the spread of cholera, diarrhoea and other diseases, through the provision of modern facilities for treating large volumes of waste water generated in the state.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who made this known at a recent summit, blamed frequent disease epidemics in the state on indiscriminate disposal of sewage and other domestic and industrial liquid wastes, which he said must be controlled to safeguard the health of the citizenry.
Correspondent Innocent Onoh was there.

How subsidies accelerate forest degradation, by Solheim

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How subsidies accelerate forest degradation, by Solheim

Highlighting how subsidies can lead to degradation, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Erik Solheim, says that besides lowering the cost of consumption of certain products and leading to overconsumption, subsidies draw more investment to industries than the market would otherwise support

Erik Solheim
Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The first COP to the Minamata Convention on Mercury will take place in September 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo credit: OECD/Michael Dean

Something is destroying our forests. In tropical regions alone, we lose an area of forest the size of Austria every year.

It is not demand from the forestry sector that is doing this. It is demand for commodities like beef, soy and palm oil. Most of our forests are being felled because of what’s in our refrigerators.

Outdated, perverse subsidies that are still on the books for these agricultural commodities are encouraging this devastation. They are singlehandedly undermining all of the good laws and incentives that aim to keep our forests intact.

A quick reminder: forests are not only the lungs of our planet. They also regulate the water systems that let us exploit hydroelectricity and prevent disasters like floods. They ensure soil quality is high for growing food hundreds of miles away. And with their massive carbon storage capacity, they are the best buffers we have against climate change.

When we lose them, we suffer financially. The catastrophic forest fires that burned across Indonesia in late 2015 were estimated by the World Bank to have cost $16 billion in lost property, ill health, and reduced economic activity. Those fires were the result of the clearing and draining of Indonesia’s peatland forests for plantations.

If we want to preserve these indispensable organs of life on Earth, we need to rid ourselves of the perverse subsidies that encourage their destruction.

Subsidies may accelerate degradation in various ways. They will draw more investment to industries than the market would otherwise support. They lower the cost of consumption of certain products, leading to overconsumption. And if commodities are sold below market price, governments lose tax income that they might normally funnel into environmental protection.

Between 1990 and 2010 in Ecuador, the government implemented a series of tax and financial incentives aiming to reduce the production cost for palm oil. Producers bulldozed forests to make room. The expanding agricultural frontier led to a 47% increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture and forest sector in those two decades.

Existing subsidies are difficult to remove even after they have outlived their original purpose. Interest groups that benefit from subsidies lobby to keep them in place, and governments often oblige them to garner political support.

Yet agricultural subsidies can benefit forests if they are designed to improve yields on less land area with fewer inputs.

For example, Indonesia’s palm oil industry achieves yields of 3.8 tons per hectare. Neighbouring Malaysia achieves 4.6 tons per hectare.

Subsidies for Indonesian smallholder palm producers helped add two million hectares of plantations between 2000 and 2009. With the right technology and financial support from the government, smallholder farms can increase output without expanding into the forest, and match Malaysia’s production density. These are the types of subsidies we need to see: the kind that remove the incentive to simply plough more land.

Brazil took bold and coordinated steps in the 2000s to rid themselves of perverse incentives. They made deforestation a crime and enforced the law strongly. They banned selling soy grown in the Amazon, and the Bank of Brazil refused to give credit to farmers who wanted to plant soy in newly cleared forest. All of the country’s rural credit is now lent only to those in compliance with legal and environmental rules in the Amazon. The Amazon then saw an incredible decline in deforestation – a success that Brazil must build upon.

Other countries will need to take bold action to achieve similar results.

Developed countries can meanwhile help close the gap to finance these efforts. At the Paris climate summit in 2015, Germany, Norway and the UK pledged $5 billion for the UN’s Programme for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, which pays developing countries for reducing deforestation. Much more is needed.

The private sector is a large source of credit as well, but they too are pitching in. In February, HSBC announced it will require its palm oil industry borrowers to commit to protecting natural forests and peatlands. Other banks and lenders should follow suit.

Forests are immensely valuable, worth more intact and sustainably managed than any of the industries that are destroying them outright. Its past time we rid ourselves of the backward subsidies that are the invisible bulldozers of the forest.

$33m hydropower scheme to end Solomon Islands diesel fuel reliance

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$33m hydropower scheme to end Solomon Islands diesel fuel reliance

The Solomon Islands, in the heart of the Pacific, relies on expensive imported fuel for nearly 100% of its electricity. It has some of the highest energy costs in the world, and one of the lowest rates of connection in the world; just 9% of Solomon Islanders are connected to the electricity grid. Succour has however emerged with the approval of funds towards a major renewable energy project

Manasseh Sogavare
Manasseh Sogavare, Prime Minister of Solomon Islands

Reliable renewable energy is a step closer for Solomon Islands, a country facing some of the world’s highest per capita energy costs, following the World Bank Group’s commitment to the Tina River Hydro renewable energy project.

The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank recently approved $33.6 million in funding for the Tina River Hydropower project in the Solomon Islands, which aims to reduce the cost of electricity and end the country’s near-total reliance on diesel fuel for power.

Electricity costs in the Solomon Islands are among the highest in the world, placing huge strains on all facets of life in Solomon Islands; health, education, business and livelihoods. The Tina River Hydropower Project aims to reduce spending on expensive diesel power while also paving the way for the country to exceed its 2025 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.

“The World Bank support to Tina River Hydro is an important milestone for Solomon Islands as we move towards a green energy future,” said the Manasseh Sogavare, Prime Minister of Solomon Islands. “We are grateful to the World Bank for its strong commitment to reduce electricity costs for Solomon Islands, and for its dedication in supporting the preparation of this complex nation-building project.”

The renewable energy project, one of the largest projects ever planned for the Solomon Islands, will bring expertise in infrastructure development and operations to the country – and pave the way for further investment and new jobs.

“Energy costs for Solomon Islanders have been too high for too long, burdening lives daily:  children cannot study at night, businesses are forced to close early, and basic services continue to suffer,” said Michel Kerf, the World Bank Country Director for Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea & the Pacific Islands. “This project will contribute to reducing energy costs and help to improve the lives of Solomon Islands families and their communities.”

Under the financing arrangement, the World Bank Group is providing a $23.4 million credit and a $10.2 million grant through the International Development Association, the World Bank’s fund for the world’s most in-need countries.

The World Bank joins other partners in supporting the Tina River Hydro Project, including the International Renewable Energy Agency/Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (IRENA/ADFD) facility, the Green Climate Fund, and the Government of Australia. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, has also provided support throughout the development and negotiation process.

Other development partners, including the Asian Development Bank and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of Korea, have indicated their potential support. Total funding support for the project is expected to be concluded in September 2017.

Leaders told to take concrete action to save the snow leopard

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Leaders told to take concrete action to save the snow leopard

As leaders from the 12 snow leopard range countries prepare to meet this month to further deliberate on the future of the endangered cat, conservationists have called on them to take the next step and pledge concrete action to ensure the animal’s survival.

snow leopard
The snow leopard. Photo credit: wikipedia

The snow leopard lives in the Himalayas, the mountains of Central Asia and the Mountains of Southwest China as well as the Tibetan plateau. Their range covers Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

At the close of a meeting in 2013, the leaders pledged to secure at least 20 snow leopard landscapes of Asia by the year 2020. They are however coming together again from Thursday, August 24 to Friday, August 25, 2017 for the International Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Besides the 12 leaders, the International Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Forum brings together other interested nations with leaders from international institutions, donor agencies, conservation organisations, and scientific institutions.

The high-level event aims to further strengthen the range countries’ ongoing effort to protect the snow leopard, and to galvanise international support for their ambitious plan of securing 20 snow leopard landscapes by the year 2020.

“The snow leopard is under threat. If we do not take drastic steps, we might permanently lose this priceless gift of nature – as we have already lost forever thousands of other rare and amazing species.

“Let’s work together and shape the world’s joint response to the threats that this cat – and our mountain ecosystems – are facing,” says Almazbek Atambayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic (or Kyrgyzstan).

In line with Mr Atambayev’s submission, environmentalists fear that the snow leopards, which are iconic to the high mountains of Central Asia, face the threat of extinction. They posit that there may be as few as 4,000 remaining in the wild, and their numbers continue to drop at an alarming rate.

Sara Thomas, Director, Activism and Outreach at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), suspects that the snow leopard population has declined by 20% over the last 16 years. She attributes this development to:

  • Poaching. Snow leopards are killed for their beautiful coats, but they are also hunted for their bones and other body parts – resulting in an increase in the illegal trade for snow leopard parts.
  • Conflict with communities and retaliatory killings. As their natural prey becomes harder to find, snow leopards resort to killing livestock for survival – increasing the risk of retaliatory killings.
  • Habitat loss. Expanding human and livestock populations are fragmenting the historic habitat range of the cats.
  • Climate change. The impact of climate change on the fragile mountain environment puts the future of snow leopards at even greater risk.

“Climate change poses the biggest long-term challenge snow leopards face – the impact of climate change could result in a loss of up to 30% of the snow leopard habitat in the Himalayas alone,” she adds.

Besides allowing leaders of the 12 snow leopard range countries as well as the international community to work together and achieve tangible progress in their effort to protect and conserve the snow leopard and its mountain ecosystems, the International Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Forum will also explore several approaches to improve financing mechanisms including regional and national trust funds, investment funds, and other emerging tools, it was gathered.

“Donor agencies, governments, corporations and international financial institutions will find an excellent forum to explore investment opportunities in sustainable forestry and agriculture, ecotourism, climate adaptation, and clean energy (micro hydro, solar). Successful green investment models can be showcased and best practices on integration public policy will be highlighted,” the organisers stressed.

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