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Study seeks to build climate resilience in Calabar, Makurdi

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Study seeks to build climate resilience in Calabar, Makurdi

How can resilience indicators inform climate adaptation policy and practice in Nigeria?

How far do the resilience indicators and key markers reflect relevant factors in the Nigerian context?

How should resilience indicators and key markers be weighted to reflect climate resilience in Nigeria?

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Participants at the validation workshop

These were the queries that participants at a recent forum in Lagos sought to unravel. They (the questions) appear to be the fulcrum of an ongoing study that is weighing the nexus between urbanisation and changing weather patterns in the country.

At the stakeholder validation workshop on a research themed: “Adaptation of Urban Infrastructure to enhance Climate Resilience in Nigeria” and held on Tuesday, April 25 2017, participants attempted to evaluate the present outcome and progress of the study.

The research is being conducted as a contribution to Theme “D” of the Urbanisation Research Nigeria (URN) programme, a four-year programme supported by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and conducted by the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol.

The project, which focuses on urban land, planning and governance, seeks to contribute to an enhanced system of urban planning, management and governance in Nigeria. The research is utilising published documents, online data and information and data collected through workshops and surveys in Calabar and Makurdi.

The intention, according to project promoters, is to contribute to the evidence base for better urbanisation strategy, urban policy, and urban programming and management in the West African country.

Apart from Theme “D”, the other three themes of the programme are: Theme “A” – Urban change processes; Theme “B” – Urban economic growth and infrastructure; and Theme “C” – Well-being of urban citizens.

“This research will contribute to the development of guidelines and tools to assist decision making regarding sustainable urban infrastructural development in Nigeria. Specifically, the research will contribute towards reducing and managing the various effects of climate change on urban settlements and the people as well as   build capacities of planning authorities to guide the safer growth of cities within the context of Nigerian culture,” says Dr Jessica Lamond of the UWE, who is the Research Team Leader.

Dr. Olalekan Adekola, another researcher involved in the programme, stresses that the purpose of the study is to explore the potential to adopt integrated approach to minimise the impacts of climate change on humans and the ecosystems that support habitation.

His words: “Nigeria faces various climate related threats which are likely to have enormous impacts on the urban areas and make it harder for Nigeria to achieve her developmental goals. These impacts will be especially significant for cities due to combination of factors including vulnerability of infrastructures to flooding; poor drainage facilitates and water stress and scarcity. Integrating climate change adaptation into urban management plans and policies will be critical in the years ahead.”

Besides the UWE, the team also comprises researchers from the University of Ibadan, University of Calabar, and the Kaduna-based Urban Base Consulting.

Climate change: Nigeria lists merits of preparing Third National Communication

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Climate change: Nigeria lists merits of preparing Third National Communication

Preparing the Third National Communication (TNC) report presents enormous opportunity for the collection of relevant climate data that will help Nigeria to better plan its economy and also respond to global challenges of climate change and commitments.

Third National Communication
Participants engaged in group work activity at the break-out session during the inception workshop for the preparation of Nigeria’s Third National Communication (TNC)

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr. Shehu Ahmed, made the submission on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 in Keffi, Nasarawa State in an opening remark at the inception workshop for the preparation of the country’s TNC to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

According to him, the TNC should present an opportunity to transform the process from merely reporting to development of a strategic and policy support tool.

A National Communication is a report that each Party to the UNFCCC submits every four years to its secretariat. It provides information on emissions and removals of greenhouse gases (GHGs), information about the status of climate change in the country, and details of the activities a Party (country) has undertaken to implement the Convention.

Nigeria prepared and submitted its First (FNC) and Second National Communications (SNC) to the UNFCCC Secretariat in November 2003 and June 2014 respectively.

Director, Department of Climate Change in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr. Peter Tarfa, said in a welcome address at the two-day event that the purpose of preparing National Communications is to ascertain the level of GHG composition in the atmosphere, as well as the Vulnerability, Adaptation and Abatement analysis of impacts of climate change.

It also serves as a basis for reference on future auditing of GHG inventory in the country, he added, saying:

“As we are gearing up now for the preparation of the Third National Communication, we need data, more especially primary and spatial data to understand the processes at play and build projections we can trust. These are essential for sustainable development planning and strengthening resilience in our communities. Also, we need to fill the knowledge gap observed in the Biennial Update Reports (BUR) and the previous National Communications.”

Country Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mandisa Mashologu, submitted that the TNC takes on a whole new significant meaning.

She said: “It is coming on the heels of the country’s active participation in the negotiations, ongoing development of a Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and ratification of Paris Agreement by the President, with which Nigeria has clearly demonstrated political will and commitment to tackling climate change.

“This is why a national institutional framework approach, which will ensure full participation of relevant MDAS in the identification of potential for options for GHG emissions reduction across all sectors, sourcing of the necessary data is being promoted to improve the quality and consistency of the data and ensure reliability.”

According to her, the UNDP, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment has over the years invested in the preparation, collection and validation of data on GHG emissions which resulted in the successful preparation and submission of Nigeria’s First and Second National Communications to UNFCCC.

“The Third National Communications (TNC) will therefore be building on the strong national capacities developed with the support of UNDP and lessons learnt over the years,” she emphasised.

Dr. Ahmed reiterated the nation’s commitment to implementing the overall mandate of the climate change convention and its protocol.

“We will continue to work towards the provision of adequate budgetary allocation for climate change activities. This present administration acknowledges that inaction is even far more expensive as it will hinder the actualisation of Mr. President’s Change Mantra and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Nigeria signed the Paris Agreement in September 2016, committing the country to pursue efforts towards its implementation.  Also, it submitted a somewhat ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), now NDC, of a conditional commitment of 45%, and an unconditional commitment to further reduce GHG emissions by 20% by 2030.

Dr Ahmed stated: “Presently, activities towards the development of the sectoral plan for implementation of NDC are ongoing. Besides putting great efforts to access global climate finance through the development of a Nigeria National Readiness Plan for assessing the Green Climate Fund (GCF), we are developing pipeline of projects to be submitted to the GCF for funding.

“Moreover, we are interfacing with the National Assembly to develop a robust Legislative Framework to strengthen policy and actions on climate change and to provide measures that are developmental, evidence based, balanced and fully integrated in line with national aspirations.”

By Michael Simire

UNICEF welcomes release of abducted Chibok girls

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UNICEF welcomes release of abducted Chibok girls

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Sunday, May 7, 2017 welcomed Saturday’s release of more than 80 of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents over three years ago.

Pernille Ironside
UNICEF Nigeria Acting Representative, Pernille Ironside

“It is heartening to know that the girls will be returning to their families who have been waiting for this day. They will face a long and difficult process to rebuild their lives after the indescribable horror and trauma they have suffered at the hands of Boko Haram,” said UNICEF Nigeria Acting Representative, Pernille Ironside, in a statement.

She said UNICEF is on standby to support the Nigerian authorities to provide the comprehensive psychosocial support, help reunite the girls with their families and make sure they can continue their education in a safe environment.

“UNICEF calls on Boko Haram to end all grave violations against children, especially the abduction of children and the sexual abuse and forced marriage of girls,” she said.

Supplementary biosafety protocol closer to entering into force

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Supplementary biosafety protocol closer to entering into force

Following Cuba’s deposition of its instrument of accession to the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on Wednesday, April 26 2017, only three more ratifications are now required for the Supplementary Protocol to enter into force.

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Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). She has urged all Parties to the Biosafety Protocol that have yet to do so, to ratify the Supplementary Protocol as soon as possible

Adopted as a supplementary agreement to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Supplementary Protocol aims to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity by providing international rules and procedures for response measures in the event of damage resulting from living modified organisms.

Dr. Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), said: “I very much welcome the accession of Cuba to the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol. I urge all Parties to the Biosafety Protocol that have yet to do so, to ratify the Supplementary Protocol as soon as possible.

“I also urge Parties to the Biodiversity Convention that have not yet done so, to ratify the Biosafety Protocol so that they can also become Parties to the Supplementary Protocol.”

The Supplementary Protocol will enter into force on the 19th day after the deposit of the 40th instrument of ratification, accession, acceptance or approval.

To expedite the entry into force and implementation of the Supplementary Protocol, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity is developing capacity building materials and undertaking a range of awareness-raising activities.

UN-Habitat set to implement New Urban Agenda

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UN-Habitat set to implement New Urban Agenda

Delegates from around the world will converge at the United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi for the 26th Session of United Nations Human Settlements Programme’s (UN-Habitat) Governing Council from Monday 8 to Friday May 12, 2017. President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, will formally open the biennial gathering that is aimed at examining the UN body’s work plan.

Joan Clos
Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN-Habitat. The New Urban Agenda was adopted at the the Habitat III Conference last October in Quito, Ecuador

The Governing Council meeting is a high-level forum of governments at the ministerial level during which policy guidelines and the organisation’s budget are established for the next two-year period.

Following the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in Quito in October last year, the theme of this Governing Council reflects opportunities for the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

The New Urban Agenda, which was signed by member states at Habitat III, is an action-oriented document which sets global standards of achievement in sustainable urban development, rethinking the way mankind builds, manages, and lives in cities. Through drawing together cooperation with committed partners, relevant stakeholders, and urban actors, including at all levels of government as well as the private sector, UN-Habitat is applying its technical expertise, normative work and capacity development to implement the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 11 – to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

The Governing Council will be attended by government ministers, senior officials and other representatives of governments making up the Council as well as UN-Habitat partners who will deliberate on these issues as well as climate change and its impact on cities.

An intergovernmental decision-making body for the UN-Habitat, the Governing Council meets biennially and reports to the General Assembly of the United Nations through the Economic and Social Council, particularly on programmatic issues.

According to the UN-Habitat, “Rapidly growing cities need to be strategically guided for longer-term sustainability. Thirty percent of people globally live in slums and informal settlements due to inappropriate or inadequate land policy, administration and management. This percentage is even higher in post-conflict countries.

“Land policies need to be developed to facilitate land governance that enhances gender equality, a flexible land recording system, recognition of the range of land rights, decentralised land management and grassroots participation, urban equity, efficiency and sustainability.”

Bonn climate talks: LDC group to push for ambitious action

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Bonn climate talks: LDC group to push for ambitious action

Another round of the United Nations climate change negotiations commences on Monday, May 8, 2017 in Bonn, Germany. Observers have underlined the need for the 10-day international conference to advance substantive progress on the rules and processes that will fully operationalise the Paris Agreement. The session marks the half-way point to the finalisation of this process by 2018.

Gebru Jember Endalew
Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, Gebru Jember Endalew

Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, Gebru Jember Endalew, in statement, said: “Climate change is costing lives and livelihoods, particularly in poor and vulnerable countries so there is a need for urgent action by all countries. The LDC Group will continue to push for fair and ambitious action by all.”

The LDC Group had convened in Bonn for preparatory meetings from May 1 to 2, to consolidate its positions and strategies ahead of the upcoming negotiations.

The group believes that significant pollution cuts and the transfer of finance and technology are needed in order to limit global warming to well below 1.5C, the limit identified by many scientists and social movements across the world.

Endalew added: “For many of our countries, keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius is a matter of survival. Therefore, we all have to work towards a cleaner, greener, low-carbon global society as soon as possible.

“Protecting people, livelihoods and economies also requires adapting to the impacts of climate change that are already devastating communities, erasing hard-won development gains and forcing mass migration. In this regard, I am deeply concerned about the lack of available support for adaptation, leaving the poorest and most vulnerable in society to weather the worst impacts of climate change with the least means to cope. Meanwhile the Least Developed Countries Fund, a key source of support for adaptation planning and implementation, sits empty.

“Many LDCs have made ambitious commitments under the Paris Agreement. However, these commitments cannot be implemented without substantial support, including technological and financial support. Many estimates suggest that more than $100 trillion is needed to transition to a global low-carbon society. The financial support committed by developing countries to date falls far short of this figure and is therefore woefully inadequate.

“The little that has nominally been made available through various funds and institutions continues to be inaccessible for our countries that the lack individual and institutional capacity to readily access those funds. In short, climate finance must begin to actually flow to the countries that need it and be scaled up drastically if we are to limit global warming to safe levels and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change across the globe.

“Despite the challenges LDCs face, we are leading through action, for example by building on the successful launch of the LDC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative at COP22. Through this initiative, LDCs are taking charge of their energy future and security and empowering our poorest communities to pursue sustainable development through equitable access to clean, sustainable and low-carbon energy.”

GCF scopes forest funding path

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GCF scopes forest funding path

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is currently exploring ways to help countries keep their forests intact while also dealing with climate change following a “ground-breaking” workshop held in Bali, Indonesia at the end of last month.

Yolando-Velasco
Yolando Velasco, climate finance and capacity building manager, UNFCCC

Sixty participants from developing and developed countries shared their experiences in REDD+ implementation during the workshop on 21 to 24 April. They advised the Fund how to capitalise on international progress in paying developing countries to address climate change by protecting their forests.

Advice by REDD+ experts at the workshop is feeding into GCF’s current preparation of Request for Proposals (RFP) on REDD+ results-based payments. The Fund issues RFPs on an ad hoc basis to seek project ideas for niche areas seen to require climate financing.

Many participants shared the view that workshop discussions not only helped open new GCF funding possibilities, but helped to progress the realisation of the REDD+ idea itself.

“The workshop was ground breaking as it has provided clarity on issues in REDD+ finance that have not been explored before,” said Yolando Velasco, a climate finance and capacity building manager with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Mr Velasco pointed to the key role REDD+ is now playing globally in the new landscape of climate cooperation under the Paris Agreement.

“What is interesting about REDD+ is not just in terms of financing, but in the way REDD+ plays a big part in how many developing countries will achieve their low greenhouse gas emissions development in the context of NDCs,” he said.

The Paris Agreement marks the first time that both developed and developing countries have agreed to reduce their emissions, according to their individual National Determined Contributions (NDCs). REDD+ results-based finance was also included as a key element of the Paris Agreement (article 5).

REDD+ refers to a UN-moderated process which provides developing countries with payments for “achieving emissions reductions from deforestation and forest degradation and to conserve and enhance carbon sinks.”

The workshop explored how GCF can provide REDD+ support to countries that is results-based. It also sought guidance from participants on how to support efforts by National Designated Authorities and focal points in developing countries to engage with GCF in these countries’ early phases of REDD+ implementation.

“I am now convinced that REDD+ is primed to assist the GCF in achieving a paradigm shift,” said Caroline Leclerc, Director General for Food Security and Environment at Global Affairs Canada, who is also a GCF Board member and a GCF REDD+ Champion. She explained that she entered the discussions with concern about the complexities of REDD+ that may have made progress difficult, but that she was impressed with the constructive attitude of participants.

Ms Leclerc and other workshop leaders will summarise results of the discussions to feed into GCF’s current consideration of how it will use a results-based approach to REDD+ to support countries.

“We need to recognise that partners are operating across a spectrum of preparation for REDD+, and GCF is looking to assist all countries to progress along this spectrum,” Ms Leclerc said.

Several workshop participants pointed to the key role of REDD+ in their countries’ climate plans.

“It is hard to take climate action in my country and other neighbouring countries if we don’t deal with forests,” said Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, who works in the Prime Minister’s office of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and who is also a GCF Board member and GCF REDD+ Champion.

“But a lack of funding certainty is a killer when it comes to REDD+,” Mr Mpanu-Mpanu stated. “If we don’t have certainty, how can we embark on a long-term endeavour such as REDD+, when there are other development areas demanding attention such as health, infrastructure and security?”

NFF calls for resignation of integrity officers

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NFF calls for resignation of integrity officers

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has directed all its affiliate bodies to send to the National Integrity office, six copies of resignation letters of officials who are playing multiple roles in the administration of football in the country.

Amanju Pinnick
NFF President, Amanju Pinnick

NFF Integrity Officer, Dr Chris Emeruo, said that, for football to be more credible in the country, the concerned officers must resign before the 12th of this month, May 2017.

“For those who have not taken it as a responsibility to transmit to us officially their decision to either leave or other positions they are holding by now, we are now officially requesting that they should all transmit to us this decision that we have reached, so that we can identify those that have complied and then subsequently also identify those that are yet to comply.

“We are hoping that others who have not turned theirs in would also do that before the expiration of the seven working days that have been given.”

Emeruo further stated that the directive was part of efforts of the NFF to meet the international best practices.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foe enroute the African Cup of Nations, South Africa, have signed former national coach, Stuart Baxter, for the second time.

According to a release by the country’s football association, SAFA, reached an agreement with Baxter’s present club, Super Sport United, for the 63-year-old to continue with them until July.

Baxter replaces Shakes Mashaba, who was sacked in December, last year. Baxter who has previously coached South Africa giant Kaiser Chief, would also be given time away from club duties to prepare Bafana Bafana for their opening 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifier in Nigeria at the weekend of June 9th – 11th.

South Africa’s all-time leading goal scorer, Benni Marcathy, who was consulted during the selection process for the coach, said the appointment boosts the country’s chances of qualifying for big tournaments.

Baxter’s first string in charge of South Africa began in 2004, but he quit a year later after failing to lead the Bafana Bafana to the 2004 World Cup finals.

By Felix Simire

Spill: Ikebiri community sues ENI, NAOC, demands compensation

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Spill: Ikebiri community sues ENI, NAOC, demands compensation

The Ikebiri community from Bayelsa State in Nigeria on Friday, May 5, 2017 launched a legal case against the Italian oil giant ENI, seeking clean up and compensation for damages from an oil spill which has affected their community in the Niger Delta.

OIL SPILL AT IBUU CREEK OKWUZI
An oil spill impacted site in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria. Photo credit: Dandy Mgbenwa

Supported by Friends of the Earth Europe and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, members of the Ikebiri community are calling for adequate compensation and clean-up of an oil spill dating back to 2010, which has yet to be addressed.The Italian oil giant ENI, which operates in Nigeria through its subsidiary Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), is responsible for the spill, which was caused by equipment failure.

Godwin Ojo, head of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, said: “The spill which could have been managed spread to a huge expanse of the Ikebiri swampland due to the nonchalant attitude of the ENI/NAOC over oil spill clean-up and remediation. This case, which is the first of its kind against ENI and in Italy, could have been avoided were ENI/NAOC to have behaved responsibly. This act of impunity and recklessness of the oil companies against the environment and people of the Niger Delta of Nigeria must come to an end.”

The leak was closed in 2010, and NAOC claims to have cleaned up the site. However, according to the community, the leaked oil in the surrounding area was simply burned, without their consent. To date, no adequate compensation has been offered, or clean-up completed.

Chief Francis Temi Ododo, the King of the Ikebiri community, said: “Our community cannot wait any longer. We have had the ENI’s pollution for too long, damaging our fishing, our farming and our lives. We are now looking to the Italian courts for justice for our people.”

The communities of the Niger Delta have had to live for decades with the effects of continuous oil spills on their health, the welfare and their livelihoods. Thousands of oil spills have blighted the communities across the Niger Delta to feed the profits of ENI, Shell and other oil and gas companies, according to the organisations.

Colin Roche, extractive industries campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe, said: “For far too long the communities of the Niger Delta have had to live with the pollution of their land, their water, and their air by oil companies who’ve put profit before their lives. ENI should now live up to its responsibility and clean up the mess it has made and compensate the community for having to live with their destruction?”

Ojo says: “To date, eleven million barrels of oil have been spilled in the Delta, twice the amount spilled during the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and new spills still occur weekly. Environmental Rights Action (Friends of the Earth Nigeria) and Friends of the Earth Europe continue to campaign for the clean-up of the region.”

Bonn meeting to advance guidelines for Paris Agreement’s full implementation

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Bonn meeting to advance guidelines for Paris Agreement’s full implementation

In a next round of UN climate change negotiations, nations are meeting in Bonn, Germany from Monday, May 8 to Thursday, May 18, 2017 to further develop the guidelines needed to fully implement the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement now and over the decades to come.

WCCB
A view of the atrium in the World Conference Centre Bonn (WCCB) in Germany, venue of COP23

Issues under discussion range from ensuring transparency on the reporting of climate action by nations to the provision of climate finance.

Next to the negotiations on the operational rules of the Agreement, which are scheduled to be completed in 2018, governments will also prepare the budget of the Bonn-based secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The budget is designed to support governments implement the Paris Agreement and provide a range of assistance to developing countries to help them meet their climate action plans or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

“The May meeting provides governments with the opportunity to clearly advance on the implementation guidelines for making the Paris Agreement fully operational while advancing preparations for the assessment, to take place next year, on progress since Paris,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.

“The May meeting will also prepare the next budget for the secretariat that governments will need to take forward the implementation of their Paris Agreement,” she added.

The May meeting is a staging-post for the annual climate change conference – COP23 – which will be held in November 2017 and the preparation of its key outcomes. The final budget is also set to be agreed at COP23.

Given that immediate and accelerated climate action is required for governments to reach their climate goals, another key focus in Bonn will be on activities which have a high potential to curb and reduce emissions.

At a “Climate Action Fair” http://newsroom.unfccc.int/climate-action/climate-action-fair-at-sb46-in-bonn/, governments will discuss cross-cutting issues in the urban environment and on land use.

Specifically, they will focus on efforts to mobilise diverse groups of stakeholders, including the private sector, for urban services and agriculture, forestry and other land use activities with high emission reduction potential and sustainable development benefits.

The Climate Action Fair is taking place against the backdrop of continuing global momentum including a growing wealth of policy-making that promises to embed the transition to a low carbon, resilient and sustainable world.

At the May meeting, the Grantham Institute, which is part of the London School of Economics, will unveil findings spotlighting the world-wide growth in climate or climate-related laws pre-and post-Paris 2015.

“I look forward to these findings,” said Ms. Espinosa. “In many ways, they are the proverbial ‘proof in the pudding’ as the implementation of both the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals hinges on solid national policies that set a clear direction for action,” she added.

Ms. Espinosa said the secretariat was also looking forward to welcoming members of the Fijian Government including the Prime Minister at the May sessions. Fiji will be the COP23 president at the November conference.

The May meeting will also see the first meeting of the newly established Paris Committee on Capacity Building (PCCB). Established by the Paris Agreement, this new and critically important institution will boost capacity building for climate action in developing countries.

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