Nigerian conservationist, Odey Oyama, recently discovered freshly cut logs on the edge of a pineapple plantation, and nearby sits a saw mill.
Odey Oyama standing beside a pineapple plantation
The Dangote Group, an industrial conglomerate, seems to be clearing the forest in the Cross River National Park to plant pineapple.
And Oyama has no doubt that the company will continue destroying forest to expand its plantations.
“Farming is outlawed within the National Park,” he says angrily. “Plantations have no business in a national park!”
According to him, the Cross River National Park is a place of outstanding biodiversity.
“It has been a refuge for colobus monkeys, mandrills, forest elephants and countless other species since 1989 – one of the last rainforest areas in a country that has otherwise been almost completely stripped of its forest cover,” he adds.
But the park, he fears, is now in danger: Dansa, a juice manufacturer, is clearing land for plantations there. Dansa is part of the business empire of Alhaji Aliko Dangote. He is the richest man in Africa, having amassed a fortune of $25 billion in the cement business.
Dangote’s pineapple plantations are big business: Nigeria has more land dedicated to growing pineapples than any other country – no less than 182,000 hectares. According to a newspaper report, Dangote has secured concessions for over 75,000 hectares – an area roughly half the size of London. The problem: one concession is located partly, and another entirely, within the boundaries of Cross River National Park.
In a written statement, the company rejects allegations that it has been clearing forest in the national park and has threatened to sue Oyama.
Dangote is currently seeking financing for the construction of an oil refinery – a project worth $11 billion. According to an insider, he has applied for a loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank.
“The World Bank must withhold the loan until Dangote has withdrawn the pineapple plantations from the National Park,” says Oyama.
The need for public consultation and participation in the approval processes of applications that directly affect the people’s health and wellbeing cannot be overstressed. Many issues surround the matter of our food and agricultural modern biotechnology that require clarifications and in-depth interrogations.
Participants at the Roundtable with Lawyers in Abuja
It is to this end that the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) on April 25, 2017 had a roundtable with lawyers in Abuja to look critically at the Nigerian Biosafety Act and decide if it is capable of regulating and preserving human and environmental health in Nigeria or if it should be urgently reviewed or repealed.
The director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, in his welcome words, said that access to safe and nutritious food is a universal right and modern agricultural biotechnology challenges that right with its creation of novel organisms dependent on toxic chemicals and abridgement of the rights of farmers to preserve and share seeds. He regretted the fact in some countries citizens are conned into eating unwholesome foods, some of which are actually classified as pesticides due to non-labelling of genetically engineered crops
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, a Public Policy Expert and the Convener of Nigerians against GMO, said the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is not the solution to food and agricultural problems in Nigeria. He explained that crops which are produced by the manipulation of their genes at the micro level pose severe risks to the health of man and the environment, adding that the promoters of this technology are driven by profit and not public interest.
Science has been of great benefit to mankind throughout life but it must be carefully harnessed to ensure safety and wellness. This was the position taken by another speaker at this event, Dr Ify Aniebo, who is a molecular geneticist. She underscored the fact that science itself has limitations. She explained that the process of transferring genes from the DNA of one organism to that of another organism could result in the creation of novel proteins which have never been in the food supply and could create toxins and allergens in food.
She stressed that there have not been enough studies to prove that GMOs are safe for consumption and called on the Nigerian government to invest in strict and independent scientific research to check the health, ecological, socio-economic impact of GM crops to ensure the safety of our food systems.
According to Jackie Ikotuonye-Offiah, a botanist and a Country Representative of Bio-integrity and Natural Food Awareness Initiative, the idea behind modern agricultural biotechnology is that of seed colonisation as none of the arguments about GM crops hold true. These crops are neither more nutritious nor are they more productive than organic and conventional crops. They do not reduce pesticide use but instead lead to use of more toxic pesticides that contaminate both soil and water systems. Cost of Seed in the US for example, where GM firms dominate the seed market increased dramatically compared with prices for non-GM and organic seeds.
She posited that the solution to food challenge is in agroecology and organic agriculture and suggested increased and focused support for small-scale human centric agriculture. She urged the government to provide local farmers with extension services, food processing facilities and infrastructure to be able to convey farm products to the markets in good time.
The last session for the day focused on the Nigerian Biosafety Management Act. Mariann Orovwuje, who is a lawyer and an environmental, human and food rights advocate, spoke at on the concerns, risk assessment and permits of this Act. According to her, the law which was established in 2015 leaves gaps that can be easily manipulated to allow influx of GMOs without strict regulatory measures.
She explained that the Act does not ensure the implementation of the precautionary principle that places a demand on our government to decide against approval of GMOs especially in cases of incomplete or controversial knowledge. She also mentioned that the Act does not specify clearly how large-scale field trials would be contained to avoid contamination of areas beyond the experimental fields. The lack of clear provisions for redress and strict liability was also flagged as well as the need for mandatory labeling of GMOs and derived products.
She queried the speed with which the Nigerian Biosafety Management Agency signed permits for field trials of Monsanto’s maize and cotton applications, saying that the process was not transparent and did not take public concerns into consideration. The fact that the board of the governing board of the agency is populated with pro-GMO personnel was said to be a hotbed for conflict of interest in the application and approval processes.
Participants agreed that the Nigerian Biosafety Act in its present state is defective and cannot protect the interest of Nigerians in matters relating to food and thus must be reviewed. It was also concluded that the permits given to Monsanto should be revoked.
The legal practitioners agreed to form a technical committee to carry out research on the subject of GMOs from the legal perspective and to take necessary action towards ensuring that a suitable framework is in place to defend our agriculture and food systems and the ensure an unfettered enjoyment of safe and nutritious foods by all Nigerians.
By Joyce Ebebeinwe, Project Officer, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)
Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, lawyer and coordinator of the Food Sovereignty Programme of Friends the Earth Nigeria and Africa, as well as Chair of AFSA, in a reaction to a publication, says that the authorities should take a second look at the sector
Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje (right) at the CBD/COP13 in Cancun, Mexico
I read with amusement the off-the-wall allegations against the anti- gmo activists in a write up posted on News Express, amongst other allegations that we “supported the cancellation of permits granted to Monsanto…”
For the GMO promoters’ benefit, we restate our stand that the so-called permit issued to Monsanto by the Nigerian Biosafety Management Act (NBMA) on a public holiday to introduce GMOs into Nigeria should be overturned and the Biosafety law itself should be repealed.
It might interest Nigerians to know that recently Monsanto Tribunal constituting of Five International judges presented in The Hague their legal opinion after six months of analysing the testimonies of more than 30 witnesses, lawyers and experts. They stated, “Monsanto’s practices undermine basic human rights and the right to a healthy environment, the right to food, the right to health, it calls for better protective regulations for victims of multinational corporations and concludes that International law should clearly assert the protection of the environment and ‘ecocide’ as a crime.”
The Monsanto Tribunal found that Monsanto’s activities undermine basic human rights and Monsanto’s conduct has seriously undermined the right to freedom indispensable for scientific research.
This ground-breaking advisory opinion reinforces and reaffirms our position and that of other movements, farmers and people all over the world: Monsanto “is poisoning the Earth and millions of people, pushing small farmers off the land, allowing corporations to establish monopolies and take control of our seed and food – while producing only a small fraction of the planet’s food… The Tribunal’s findings are a decisive blow to corporate power and underscores the importance of the work of thousands of activists, farmers, consumers and citizens around the world in the fight for a future of food free from toxics, GMOs, patents and corporate control.”
In 2010, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine warned that evidence is strong enough that GMOs directly cause health harm to warrant warning people to avoid eating them. The academy noted that numerous studies and incidents have suggested that GMOs can cause problems including immune dysfunction, insulin disorders and damage to organs and the reproductive system, but according to Monsanto, and their cohorts in Nigeria, some masquerading as scientists and civil society actors, we have nothing to worry about, GMOs are very safe.
It is also instructive to remember that NBMA approved Monsanto’s Bt cotton despite the fact that our Neighbors Burkina-Faso, on April 14, 2016, decided to discontinue planting the pesticide. Burkina Faso producers were unhappy with the short length of the fibre.
According to Mana Denis, a cotton farmer in the western city of Dedougou, “We’ve lost years because of this cotton… They imposed it on us, but it didn’t produce the desired effects.”
This is the same BT cotton that is been recycled here thanks to NBMA granting permits to Monsanto to bring this failed and risky product to our country Nigeria.
Least we forget, NBMA also approved the glysophate herbicide resistant maize despite the report by a World Health Organisation agency, IARC, which linked the active ingredient glyphosate to cancer. The IARC report was subject to many peer-reviewed studies; it was free from conflict of interests.
We note that nations like Sri Lanka saw the risky nature of the toxic chemicals and took action by banning Monsanto’s round up herbicide because of its link to kidney disease.
Just weeks ago, an investigation carried out by EU observer and Dutch magazine, One World, revealed that the EU’s conclusion that a potentially dangerous weed-killer was safe to sell was partially based on scientific evidence which was written or influenced by Monsanto, the manufacturer of the product.
Earlier this year, a US court released a cache of hundreds of Monsanto’s internal emails that showed the firm’s involvement in at least two academic reports on glyphosate, sold under the trade name Roundup.
It worthy to note that the permits for the confined field trial of two maize varieties were issued jointly to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited and the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA). Note that NBDA is a BOARD MEMBER of NBMA. That is, we have a member of the board of NBMA working together with a company to get permits to bring in GMOs into Nigeria. The relationship between National Biosafety Agency (NBMA), National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and Monsanto is rife with conflict of interest against the Nigerian people.
How is it that the regulated is so influential on the regulator? How can we have NABDA sit on the Board of NABMA, be a co-applicant with Monsanto and then sit to approve the application? This should fit into the definition of corruption and indeed should “attract government sanction” as proposed by the GM Food Promoters.
Let’s go down memory lane. NABDA an ostensibly promoter of GMOs with their allies were one of the sponsors of the Public Hearing on the Biosafety Bill Organised by the Joint Committee on Science and Technology and Agriculture, Abuja, 9th December 2009. The Key promoters of GMOs are the key pushers of GM crops and are at the same time urging the Nigerian government and people to accept their designer crops by “assisting” to pass a watered-down Biosafety Act –that is clearly very, very, defective. Does this not qualify as ‘anti people’, and “anti government acts” to say the least?
If GMOs are as safe as NBMA, NABDA and their scientists’ claim, why do we need a regulatory agency to protect people and environment from the very “safe” GMOs? Do we need NBMA then?
The Promoters have acknowledged that “Nigeria signed and ratified the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety (CPB), in 2000 and 2003 respectively. The objective of the protocol is to contribute to ensuring an adequate level of protection of human health and biodiversity from potential risks of modern biotechnological practices. Parties to the protocol are required to domesticate the protocol through administrative and legal frame work. In this regard, Nigeria came up with the National Bio-safety Management Agency Act 2015, which heralds the National Bio-safety Management Agency.”
Bravo! They knew this, yet together with NABDA and other GMO promoting Agencies and Foundations, they facilitated a very weak, watered-down and undermined Biosafety Regime which is more or less a “permitting” system instead of a BioSafety Regulation.
Nigeria clearly did not follow the tenets of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in the setting up of NMBA Act 2015. At the heart of that protocol is the Precautionary Principle – the right of countries to ban or restrict the import and use of GE organisms when there is a lack of scientific knowledge or consensus regarding their safety. It explicitly recognises a much needed Precautionary approach to the environmental release of GE organisms. This is clearly missing form NBMA Act 2015. For instance, Article 23 (2) of the Cartagena Protocol lays down affirmative obligations on Parties to: Consult the public in the decision-making process regarding LMOs; and make the results of such decisions available to the public. The language of the protocol is “Shall” not “May” The language of NBMA Act 2015 is “May”, we all know what is legally binding. What “language” NBMA Act based on?
Furthermore, the hullabaloo by pro GMO promoters and their agencies that “The insinuation by anti-GMOs campaigners that the Act was rushed is far from the truth.” No, it was not just rushed; it was done in a mad rush, which clearly reflects the lacunas, typos, references made to incorrect sections and to nonexistent sections. In fact that Act should be scrapped.
The general tone of the Act is clearly set for GMOs and products of GMOs imported for direct use as food, feed and industrial processing which is clearly at variance with the Cartagena Protocol that Nigerians ratified.
Monsanto and its corporate-driven revolution are not interested in our people or environment. These are business enterprises set up solely to make profits. It’s about time our Agencies choose us the people over these merchants.
A new study, supported by the Minamata Convention’s Interim Secretariat hosted by UN Environment (UNEP) reveals that women of childbearing age living in four Pacific Island countries have elevated levels of mercury in their bodies.
Bioaccumulation of Methylmercury. Source: imgarcade.com
The study, titled “Mercury monitoring in women of childbearing age in the Asia and the Pacific Region”, jointly conducted by the interim secretariat of the Minamata Convention, Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), and the global NGO network IPEN, examined hair samples from women aged 18 – 44 from Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Kiribati, and two landlocked Asian countries, Tajikistan and Nepal.
The study found 96 percent of the women sampled from the Pacific Islands contained significantly elevated hair mercury levels.
Researchers hypothesised that the Pacific Island participants may have a higher mercury body burden than other locations due to their relatively high consumption of predatory fish species shown to have elevated mercury concentrations in previous studies.
“Mercury has been recognised as a substance of global concern, with impacts on vulnerable populations,” said Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator of the Minamata Convention’s Interim Secretariat. “Our results show why global action to prevent mercury releases through the Minamata Convention is so important.”
In contrast to the Pacific Islands, samples from Tajikistan, where fish consumption is very low, had the least amount of mercury overall, with an average level of .06 ppm. In Nepal, elevated mercury levels were found in women with a low fish diet, but worked making gold-plated religious idols using mercury.
“This study underscores the importance of biomonitoring mercury pollution,” said Dr David Evers, executive director and chief scientist at BRI and co-author of the study. “Although the subjects in this study represent small selected populations, the information gained contributes to overall global information on mercury concerns. Mercury contamination is ubiquitous in marine and freshwater systems around the world. Biological mercury hotspots are globally common and are related to a variety of human activities. For these reasons, it is critical that we continue biomonitoring efforts to track potential impacts on local communities and on the environment in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention.”
Mercury exposure is particularly concerning for women of childbearing age as it can damage the nervous system, kidneys, and cardiovascular system. Developing organ systems, such as the foetal nervous system, are the most sensitive to the toxic effects of mercury, although nearly all organs are vulnerable.
“A global pollutant like mercury can contaminate people even if they are far from gold mining, coal power plants or incinerators,” said Lee Bell, IPEN. “And that’s why all sources of mercury need to be tackled.
The Government of Norway on Friday, May 12, 2017 deposited its instrument of ratification, thereby becoming the 44th future Party to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
Electric vehicles in Oslo, Norway. Photo credit: REUTERS/Alister Doyle/File
This is coming on the heels of Afghanistan’s deposition of its instrument of accession on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, thereby becoming the 43rd future Party to the Convention.
Prior to that, Burkina Faso and Canada ratified the global treaty on April 10 and April 7, 2017 respectively. Canada’s ratification was preceded by those of Ghana, Honduras, Liechtenstein and Togo, among others.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty aimed at protecting human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury, was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5) in Geneva, Switzerland on Saturday, January 19, 2013.
A minimum of 50 nations are required to ratify the Convention to make it legally binding, a scenario that will ensure that the First Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, scheduled to take place in the last week of September, 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, becomes a reality.
Nigeria is one of the 128 signatories to the global treaty, but she is yet to officially ratify it. The nation’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 approved the ratification of the Convention.
Ratification automatically makes a nation a Party to the Convention with the duty to domesticate its content.
The signing of the Convention would enable such a country to:
Develop a National Implementation Strategy (NIS)/Action Plan to holistically address challenges relating to the reduction and elimination of Mercury;
Undertake a comprehensive inventory as a basis to develop and implement a more robust Mercury preventive programme which will include the identification and location, contaminated sites and extent of contamination, storage, handling and disposal to ensure that mercury related activities do not result in further damage to health and the environment;
Enhance national capacities with respect to human resources development and institutional strengthening, towards addressing concerns about the long-term effects of Mercury on both human health and the environment and also to ensure the effective domestication of the instrument that will be implementable at national level;
Sensitise the populace and policy makers on the hazards of mercury;
Develop and implement Mercury Release Minimisation Projects; and,
Control mercury supply and trade.
Major highlights of the Minamata Convention include a ban on new mercury mines, the phase-out of existing ones, the phase out and phase down of mercury use in a number of products and processes, control measures on emissions to air and on releases to land and water, and the regulation of the informal sector of artisanal and small-scale gold mining. The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues.
In Spain the battle for the Spanish La Liga title continued at the weekend as Barcelona got a comfortable victory on the road to beat Las Palmas 4-1.
Neymar scored a hat-trick against Las Palmas
Neymar got a hat-trick, scoring in the 25th, 67th, and 71st minutes of play, ensuring that reigning champions Barcelona remain top of the league table.
Title rival Real Madrid beat Sevilla with the same scoreline. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace (23rd, 78th) that includes his 400th goals for Real Madrid.
In the Bundesliga, there was a nine-goal thriller between Bayern Munich and Leipzig, with the match ending 5-4 in favour of Bayern Munich.
Ancelotti’s men are already champions, but they were in no mood to lose to the new boys of the league. Borussia Dortmund stumbled on the road to drop a point against Augsburg 1-1. Hertha Berlin defeated Darmstadt 2-0, Werder Bremen lost to Hoffenheim 3-5. Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbac played out to a 1-1 draw.
In the Italian Serie A Delafoe late strike ensured that Milan got a point on the road playing a 1-1 draw with Atlanta. Fiorentina three, Lazio two. Inter Milan lost at home to Sassuolo 2-1, a big blow to the Italian side’s Europa League ambition.
Napoli thrashed Torino 5-0, while Roma ensured that they delayed the Juventus party once again. The match at the Stade Olympico ended 3-1 in favor of the Roman team. But Juventus can win the title when they play Pescara at home next weekend.
Farmers and communities in the Northern Savannah Zone of Ghana are being assisted to adopt sustainable land management practices to help reverse land degradation and desertification.
District Crops Officer, Department of Agriculture in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Dominic Angbangbio (left), with the Head of the the Namong Community, Bawku West District in the Upper East Region, Ghana, during a tour by SAWAP/BRICKS conference participants, on Thursday, May 11, 2017
Land degradation in Ghana – and indeed Africa – is increasingly being recognised as a key development issue because of its impact on the productive capacity of land. In Ghana, rural households are majorly affected because of their dependence on agriculture and other natural resources-dependent activities as sources of livelihoods.
But relief has emerged, thanks to the Sustainable Land and Water Management Project (SLWMP), which is being supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank.
At the 4th Sahel and West Africa Programme in Support of the Great Green Wall Initiative (SAWAP) that held last week in the West African country, officials shed some light on the venture and took participants on a three-day tour of some of the project sites located mostly in the nation’s Upper East Region.
In the Namong Community, Bawku West District in the Upper East Region for example, officials are adopting intergrated water resources and land management practices by:
Compost preparation and utilisation
Earth bonding in order to reduce runoff and maintain soil nutrient
Mixed soya intercropping with maize
District Crops Officer, Department of Agriculture in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Dominic Angbangbio, said that, amid challenges such as water shortage, the project has introduced maize cropping into the community.
“Maize production is now stable venture in the community, now competing with the production of millet and sorghum. Community members were supported with certified seeds and fertiliser to complement the compost production. Since the intervention, the community now has a rich soil,” said Angbangbio.
On water, he stated: “There is only one surviving borehole in the community. Water shortage has slowed down the intervention, as they go to neighbouring villages to get water, which is required for composting and watering of the trees.”
According to him, the community has scored high because bush burning is now a thing of the past, even as community members have embraced tree planting. He added that villagers are trying to protect and restore a river that has now dried up.
Similarly, the Community Resources Management Areas (CREMA) of Banu and Kunchogu communities highlighted a number of riverine vegetation and livelihood support activities. At Kunchogu, the community operates a shear nut processing plant, where the nuts from the numerous shear trees around are processed. They also operate beehives that produce honey.
The CREMA concept is an innovative natural resource management and landscape-level planning tool for community initiatives. It is developed as an initiative for transferring conservation and management responsibility and authority to rural communities.
At the mountainous Yameriga Community in Talensi District, participants inspected the implementation of subprojects such as stone lining, enrichment planting and natural regeneration.
No fewer than 20 beneficiaries use the “A-frame” device to line the stones along perceived contour lines thereby creating a stone bonding, which prevents the rains from washing away manure and top soil, controls erosion and enriches the vegetation.
A project officer said: “The people are in support of the natural regeneration. We intend putting in place a water system to support their livestock. We have so far planted tree seedlings on up to three hectares of land. This year we aim to plant 1,000 eucalyptus trees.”
Nigeria and 11 other nations of the Sahel and West Africa Programme in Support of the Great Green Wall Initiative (SAWAP) rose from the 4th Conference that held recently in the Ghanaian capital city of Accra with assurances of commitment and collaboration towards ensuring successful delivery of various ongoing development projects, promote food security and work towards the protection of biodiversity in their respective countries.
Three out of the four-member Nigerian delegation to the 4th SAWAP Conference: L-R: Dr Adebayo Thomas, Engr. Ayuba Anda Yalaks, and Mrs Ruth Peters Mshelia
Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian delegation, the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) Communication and Community Mobilisation Specialist, Dr. Adebayo Thomas, acknowledged the SAWAP/BRICKS initiatives. He expressed gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the World Bank, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for supporting the implementation of NEWMAP, a sustainable land and water management initiative that aims to reduce vulnerability in targeted watershed areas through efforts at reversing land degradation in the East and desertification in North.
Describing NEWMAP as a success story, Dr Thomas added: “NEWMAP is providing innovative solutions to the age long problem of erosion and watershed degradation in Nigeria. The project combines state-of- the-art designs supported with flexible structures (such as gabions) and nicely complemented by bio-remediation measures. These innovations are anchored on active community participation and ownership. This has resulted in the rehabilitation of 229 hectares of lands (as at April, 2017) and the restoration of livelihoods to over 3,825 poorest (of which 58% are women) Nigerians in targeted watersheds. Direct beneficiaries today stand at 7,312,635 as against the targeted 681,000 by June, 2020.”
The fourth member of the Nigerian delegation to the conference, Engr. Joseph Idoko (right), Mrs Ruth Mshelia (with handbag), and community members, during a tour of one of the SLWMP intervention sites in the Upper East Region of Ghana
Adebayo added that in its four years of implementation the project has been able to salvage 2,460 houses, three churches, four public secondary schools, and 25 major roads from the shackles of looming gullies. He said civil works and land remediation in 21 major sites across seven first mover states of Abia, Anambra, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu and Imo are at 98% completion with 15 of the sites ready for commissioning, while an additional 39 new degraded sites have been approved for intervention across same first mover states.
According to him, “NEWMAP activity of Component 2 successfully installed 200 hydrometric equipment (consisting River Automatic / manual gauging stations, Automatic Flood Early warning systems) across two major hydrological River basins: The Anambra-Imo and Cross River Basins.
“All the success stories have endeared many states to the project. Based on the progress recorded by the initial seven states, in September 2015 additional seven states (Delta, Gombe, Kogi, Kano, Plateau, Oyo and Sokoto) joined the project having met the necessary selection criteria. Presently, the third phase of states that recently joined the project includes Akwa Ibom, Borno, Katsina, Nasarawa, and Niger states; thus making a total number of 19 states in the project,” he said.
All other participating countries presented status reports of their various projects as well as success stories.
The Nigerian team to the conference comprises Joseph Idoko (National Project Engineer), Dr. Adebayo Thomas (Project Communication & Knowledge Management Specialist), Mrs Ruth Peters Mshelia (Livelihood Specialist) and Ayuba Anda Yalaks (Water Resources Specialist).
The 4th Conference of the Sahel and West Africa Programme (SAWAP) in support of the Great Green Wall Initiative as part of the project “Building Resilience through Innovation, Communication and Knowledge Services (BRICKS)” held from May 8 to 13 2017, in Accra, Ghana. It also entailed tour of some project intervention sites in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
The BRICKS is implemented by the Permanent Inter-state Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), which is responsible for coordinating the project; the Observatory of the Sahara and the Sahel (OSS); and the West Africa Bureau of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The BRICKS Project works with the 12 projects of the Sahel and West Africa Programme (SAWAP) in support of the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) in achieving their goals.
The conference brought together representatives of the 12 beneficiary countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Chad, and Togo) and the programme’s sub-regional and international partner institutions.
Thomas said: “The SAWAP is a good illustration of the nexus between land productivity, food security, and poverty eradication. It is a very good time to discuss and show the results of the SAWAP, not only to the participating countries, but to the whole continent, to the donors, and all our partners.”
A recent United Nations (UN) report on energy-efficiency technologies shows that low-carbon technologies apparently aid clean air, save water and cut land use, and could reduce 25 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and 17 million tonnes of particulates a year.
Renewable energy: a thermo-solar power plant. Photo credit: World Bank/Dana Smillie
“We are on the right track. We know that cleaning up the air we breathe gives rise to huge benefits to both human and environmental health, and we know, too, that low-carbon energy efficiency technologies can help us reduce damaging climate change,” said Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in a statement released on Friday, May 12, 2017 on the new report.
At the same time, the UN Environment chief said: “(We are) also clear on the need for greater action on building a circular economy that cuts waste, and on production innovations that could also create new, green jobs.”
Entitled “Green Technology Choices: The Environmental and Resource Implications of Low-Carbon Technologies,” the report, released on Friday at the Vienna Energy Forum, was compiled by a group of eminent experts in natural resource management hosted by UN Environment.
The panel examined eight energy efficiency technologies and 36 sub-technologies across buildings, industry and transportation and provided a global assessment of the benefits, risks and trade-offs encountered when energy efficiency technologies are deployed alongside low-carbon electricity supply technologies.
Among its findings, the report notes that research confirms that demand-side technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as many other environmental impacts. However, the magnitude of those improvements varies widely among technologies and regions.
Indeed, in some cases, say the experts, demand-side technologies may increase resource consumption and even greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it is crucial to understand where, when, and with which technology investment should be placed to maximise benefits.
The report compared two scenarios – one for a global temperature rise of 6 degrees Celsius and the other assuming that the global target of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is achieved.
Key findings of the analysis include:
Under the 2-degree scenario, low-carbon energy production and energy efficiency technologies have the potential to cut about 25 billion tonnes a year of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which is about 34 per cent lower than the emissions under business-as-usual.
Under the 2-degree scenario more than 17 million tonnes per year of particulate matter and over 3 billion tonnes of emissions toxic to humans could be avoided through the use of low-carbon energy technologies.
Low-carbon energy technologies could save more than 200 billion cubic metres of water a year and nearly 150,000 square kilometres of land occupation by 2050.
Transformation to low-carbon energy technologies will require over 600 million tonnes of metal resources by 2050 for additional infrastructure and wiring needs.
Succour may be in the offing for slum dwellers in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, thanks to the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme, in respect of which $11 million has been secured.
Makoko, a waterfront slum community in Lagos
The Programme is an initiative of the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States, funded by the European Commission and implemented by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). UN-Habitat estimates that an alarming one billion people living in slums worldwide, and if no action is taken – the number of people living in inadequate housing is estimated to grow to more than three billion by 2030.
The announcement was made on Wednesday, May 10, 2017 during the 26th session of the UN-Habitat Governing Council that is discussing opportunities for the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda, a 20-year plan of action on housing and sustainable urban development.
“I am delighted to celebrate and announce the third round of funding for the global Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme,” said Ambassador Léonard-Emile Ognimba, the Assistant Secretary General of the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States.
He further indicated that “10 million Euros will be used for 50 percent of the ACP countries. Going forward, we would like to see the strengthening of community-led processes, and empowerment of local and national governments to build their financial and technical capacity to tackle the slum challenge.”
The funding covers the years 2017-2021 during which UN-Habitat is expected to leverage the $11 million and bring about the necessary change and transformation to end urban poverty in ACP countries in a sustainable way. The funds are also meant to catalyse public resources through slum upgrading .At the international level, the European Commission is exploring the European Union blending a modality where national level banks and private sector are approached to finance slum upgrading initiatives.
“I can ensure you that UN-Habitat and the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme are fit for purpose to implement in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda. UNHabitat will do its level best to leverage the catalytic funds and bring about the necessary change and transformation to end urban poverty in ACP countries in a sustainable way with a long-term vision,” said Mr. Raf Tuts, the Director of Programme Division, UN-Habitat. National and local authorities are also expected to co-finance the process.
“The City of Dakar and my Ministry have signed contribution agreements totaling $300,000,” stated Diène Farba Sarr, Senegal’s Minister of Urban Renewal, Habitat and Living Environment, while showing his government’s engagement.
Cameroon’s contribution to slum upgrading was also highlighted. “My government provided co-financing of $260,000 for the implementation of tangible initiatives at neighbourhood level,” said M. JeanClaude Mbwentchou as he demonstrated his government’s devotion to utilising public resources to address the challenges of the urban poor. The interventions include provision of sanitation facilities and upgrading of public spaces that include the construction of public bridges in order to enhance access. An additional $200,000 was contributed by partners, added the Minister.
Slums and informal settlements are the physical manifestations of inequalities, according to the UN-Habitat, adding that they stand for exclusion, stigmatisation, gentrification and urban poverty. While the percentage of slum dwellers decreased from 39 percent to 30 percent of the urban population in developing countries between 2000 and 2014 – absolute numbers of slum dwellers continue to grow. As a result, the Programme calls for urgent action to ensure that countries are accountable to children, youth, the olderly, men and women living in slums, and are empowered by global development frameworks to lead a sustainable urban transformation.
On the other hand, slum upgrading is important as it reduced inequalities in the urban context by integrating people living in slums in the broader urban fabric, making cities more prosperous and sustainable. The new funds will enable participating countries bridge the inequalities gap.
While welcoming the announcement of the new fund, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Adjei Kwasi Boateng, stated: “We are very pleased to see the programme launching the 3rd round of funding. This is only possible as the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme has demonstrated tangible benefits in addressing the challenge of urban poverty.”
With a focus on ending poverty through slum upgrading, the new funds availed will build on the successes of the first and second round of funding. The celebration of additional funding and achievements realised so far gives countries the impetus to do more, especially in view of the huge investment requirements for slum upgrading. Through the Up For Slum Dwellers- Transforming a Billion Lives campaign as the vehicle for delivering change, state and non-state actors will be mobilised to deliver tangible initiatives that improve the living standards of slum dwellers. Access to improved housing, safety, security of tenure, community space, basic services, will be ensured for slum dwellers, particularly for women and youth.
Participating countries will also take part in knowledge sharing platforms involving the global south and north, further building their capacity to develop slum upgrading solutions. The Programme, through the “Up For Slum Dwellers – Transforming a Billion Lives” campaign, will collaborate with existing networks such as that of Mayors, to advocate the improvement of the living conditions of slum dwellers as well as facilitate networking, dissemination of information and exchange of ideas.
The Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme aims to expand its outreach from the existing 35 ACP countries to cover 79.
