By 2050, two out of every three people are likely to be living in cities or other urban centres, according to a new United Nations report, highlighting the need for more sustainable urban planning and public services.
Cities in developing countries like Nairobi in Kenya continue to grow rapidly. Photo credit: UN-Habitat/Julius Mwelu
Owing to both demographic shifts and overall population growth, that means that around 2.5 billion people could be added to urban areas by the middle of the century, predicts the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
Most of the increase is expected to be highly-concentrated in just a handful of countries.
“Together, India, China and Nigeria will account for 35 per cent of the projected growth of the world’s urban population between 2018 and 2050…It is projected that India will have added 416 million urban dwellers, China 255 million and Nigeria 189 million,” said DESA, announcing the findings on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.
The report also estimates that, by 2030, the world could have 43 so-called megacities (up from 31 today, according to reports) – those with more than 10 million inhabitants – most of them in developing countries.
By 2028, the Indian capital, New Delhi, is projected to become the most populous city on the planet.
Currently, Tokyo is the world’s largest, with an agglomeration of 37 million inhabitants, followed by New Delhi (29 million), and Shanghai (26 million). Mexico City and São Paulo, come next; each with around 22 million inhabitants.
These swelling populations will place extra demands on both resources and services in urban areas, notes the report.
“Many countries will face challenges in meeting the needs of their growing urban populations, including for housing, transportation, energy systems and other infrastructure; as well as for employment and basic services such as education and health care,” said DESA, urging governments adopt better integrated policies to improve the lives of both urban and rural dwellers.
At the same time, linkages between urban and rural areas will need to be strengthened, building on their existing economic, social and environmental ties, the report concludes.
The first 4,000 doses of experimental vaccine provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to combat against the Ebola outbreak arrived on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Orly Ilunga, the Congolese Minister of Health
Orly Ilunga, the Congolese Minister of Health, who received the vaccine in Kinshasa, indicated that the batch received from WHO would be stored first in the laboratory of the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, before being transported to the health zone of Bikoro, in the province of Equateur in the north-west of the country.
According to the Ministry of Health, a vaccination campaign is planned for this week to raise awareness about this vaccination, which will be tested for the first time in the DRC.
During his visit to Kinshasa last Saturday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO, met with the President of the DRC, Jospeh Kabila, who officially authorised the use of this vaccine against the Ebola virus in his country.
According to the latest WHO statistic, 32 cases (two confirmed cases, 18 probable and 12 suspects), including 18 deaths, confirmed Ebola death, were recorded between April 4 and May 9 in Bikoro.
NAN reports that the WHO on Monday gave the go-ahead to officials in the DRC to import and use an experimental Ebola vaccine in the country.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “We have agreement, registration, plus import permit, everything formally agreed already.
“All is ready now to really use it.”
The vaccine, developed by Merck in 2016, has proven safe and effective in human trials, but it is still experimental as it does not yet have a licence.
It must be kept at -60 to -80 degrees Celsius (-76°F to -112°F), creating huge logistical challenges.
The shot, which was tested in Guinea in 2015 at the end of a vast Ebola outbreak in West Africa, is designed for use in a so-called “ring vaccination” approach.
This would mean that when a new Ebola case is diagnosed, all people who might have been in recent contact with them are traced and vaccinated to try and prevent the disease’s spread.
The WHO said 393 people who identified as contacts of Ebola patients were being followed up.
Tedros travelled to Congo over the weekend and flew to the remote area, still only accessible by motorbike or helicopter, where the deadly haemorrhagic disease has broken out.
“Being there is very, very important. If a general cannot be with its troops in the front line it’s not a general,” he said.
“And the second thing is, associated with Ebola there is stigma. We have to go and show that that should really stop. And if there is risk, my life is not better than anyone.”
He praised the Congolese government, including President Joseph Kabila whom he met during his trip.
Information about the outbreak in Bikoro, Iboko and Wangata in Equateur province was still limited, the WHO said, but at present the outbreak does not meet the criteria for declaring a “public health event of international concern”, which would trigger the formation of an emergency WHO committee.
The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) has called for political commitment and increased funding from all tiers of government to improve water and sanitation hygiene in the country.
Executive Director of WSSCC, Mr Rolf Luyendijk
The Executive Director of WSSCC, Mr Rolf Luyendijk, made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.
Luyendijk said that it was saddening that no fewer than 43 per cent of Nigerians still practised open defecation, while more than 43 million people lacked access to toilet facilities.
He said that the country should do more to see that its present commitment to improving the water and sanitation sector translated to increased investment.
The executive director, however, expressed the hope that the proposed Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund would go a long way in addressing the perceptible deficiencies in the water and sanitation sector.
He also appealed to all stakeholders to close the gap between the rich and the poor by ensuring equal distribution of water and sanitation facilities.
While commending the Federal Government for its Partnership for Expanded Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme, Luyendijk said that it was an avenue to meet the Goal Six of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which focussed on increasing access to water and sanitation.
He noted that population growth was fuelling the continuous practice of open defecation in rural and urban areas.
According to him, the number of people practising open defecation at present was higher than the figure of those who practised it 15 years ago.
Luyendijk underscored the need for more investment in the sector, saying that Nigeria needed thrice its current investment level of $700 million annually, which was inadequate.
“More than 43 million people are practising open defecation and not using the toilets; it’s a big issue.
“Do you know how much shit (faeces) that is every day, even around the communities, and what that does to the people’s health, particularly the children’s health,’’ he said.
According to him, expanding the people’s access to sanitation and hygiene remains crucial in breaking the poverty cycle.
Luyendijk said that poor health and loss of income were kindled by the dearth of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in countries.
“It is absolutely critical; think of how critical it is in an emergency situation when there are displaced persons.
“The very first response that people do is to provide water and sanitation; this is because it will prevent an already bad situation from deteriorating.
“Water supply and sanitation are so key to people’s health and well-being; if we don’t have that in place, it breeds sickness, causing huge health expenditure and poverty for families,’’ he said.
Luyendijk called for more commitment from all tiers of government in formulating policies and programmes that were aimed at improving the lives of the populace.
WSSCC is a United Nations (UN) membership organisation that advocates improved sanitation and hygiene for the most vulnerable and marginalised people around the world.
WSSCC facilitates multi-stakeholder collaboration around sanitation and contributes to the goals of the international community on poverty eradication, health and environmental improvement, gender equality and long-term socio-economic development.
Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) Limited has increased its domestic gas distribution capacity by 150% over the last six months. The increase in capacity will enable the company to distribute more than 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMscf/d) to businesses in its western operations.
R- L: Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG), Mr. Ed Ubong; Managing Director, The Shell Petroleum Development Companies of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN), Osagie Okunbor and Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Engineer Bayo Ojulari during the Launching of the 2018 Shell Nigeria Briefing Notes
The new capacity is equivalent to some 400 Megawatts (MW) of gas to power, and has been enabled by the construction of a second train at the Agbara/Ota Pressure Reduction and Metering Station (PRMS) in Ogun State, from where SNG supplied its first customers with gas.
“The expansion project shows the commitment of Shell to Nigeria’s industrialisation through the monetisation of Nigeria’s abundant gas resources,” said SNG Managing Director, Ed Ubong, while speaking in Lagos on the operations of the company.
The modules for the second train were fabricated by a Nigerian company which collaborated with its foreign partners to safely execute the project without any Lost Time injuries (LTIs).
Mr. Ubong said: “We’re continuing the campaign for gas by discussing with various stakeholders to deepen and expand domestic gas supply to existing industrial and new manufacturing clusters in various locations in Nigeria.”
SNG’s existing gas distribution system in the three states it operates – Ogun, Abia and Rivers – have boosted manufacturing output and helped these states to grow their internally generated revenues and provide local employment opportunities. In 2017, SNG executed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Rivers State Government for the distribution of gas to industries in the Greater Port Harcourt area and its environs. The agreement provides further opportunities for SNG to promote gas as a more reliable, cleaner and cost-effective alternative to liquid fuels in Nigeria.
SNG is said to have built a reputation for safety and credibility and reportedly the only gas distribution company in Nigeria whose facility is ISO 14001 certified. In the course of its business, the company has reportedly implemented various development projects in the areas of its operations, donating or renovating schools, providing information communications technology (ICT) centre, equipping science laboratories and launching numerous Road Safety Education and Awareness campaigns in 2016 and 2017.
The SNG was established in 1998 and marks its 20th anniversary in 2018.
The 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in Nigeria was short-lived as the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared the country free of the dreaded disease in the same year.
Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole
EVD, which was imported into Nigeria on July 20, 2014, claimed eight lives including the index case, a Liberian, Patrick Sawyer.
Eleven of those infected survived as concerted efforts were devoted to fighting the deadly viral infection.
Nigeria was declared Ebola free in October 2014, after the country did not record any new case in the preceding 42 days.
With the declaration, Nigeria became the second country to be confirmed free of the EVD by the global health agency since the fresh outbreak of the disease in Guinea in early 2014.
Senegal, which recorded one confirmed case and no death, was the first to attain the Ebola-free status for successfully containing the disease.
Spain, Mali, U.S, UK, Italy, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone also battled and conquered the virus and were eventually declared Ebola-free.
The early declaration of a state of emergency in Nigeria and other measures taken against EVD shows the high level of dedication of the country’s health sector and the overall government commitment to ensuring public safety.
The measures include rapid dissemination of information that built awareness and knowledge around EVD, establishment of the National Centre for Disease Control, and postponement of resumption of schools.
Hand washing before having access to public places was given prominence. Ban on return of corpses from abroad and even on inter-state transportation of such bodies within Nigeria also helped.
Analysts, however, cautioned that Nigeria’s Ebola-free status does not give room for complacency as long as the deadly and highly contagious disease is not totally eradicated, particularly from Africa.
The WHO recently alerted that it is preparing for ‘the worst case scenario’ in a fresh outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
”We are very concerned, and we are planning for all scenarios, including the worst case scenario,” WHO’s Head of Emergency Response, Peter Salama, told reporters in Geneva.
The outbreak, declared by the DRC health ministry on May 8, is the DRC’s ninth known outbreak of Ebola since 1976, when the disease was first identified in then Zaire by a Belgian-led team.
Salama noted that the affected region of the vast strife-torn central African country was very remote and hard to reach, with a dire lack of functioning infrastructure.
Analysts are worried that measures put in place to prevent trans-border transmission of the disease in Nigeria seem to have been relaxed in spite of the itinerant nature of many citizens.
According to Prof. Akin Osibogun, a former Chief Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Nigeria is unprepared for any resurface of EVD.
”In 2014, the Federal Government promised to establish six functional laboratories but nothing of such is yet to be set up.
”Yes, the government has done well with the establishment of the National Centre for Disease Control but there is yet to be a law in place to back up that centre and strengthen its operations.
”Also, we do not have a national plan of action to enable us to be well prepared for any form of disease outbreak,” he says.
Osibogun believes that it is cheaper to be prepared for and prevent a disease outbreak than combat it.
“A strong health system is able to prevent disease epidemics and respond faster to save lives.
”Political commitment is highly required to make adequate funds available to provide the needed infrastructure such as laboratories for prompt diagnosis, researches, treatment centres and medical equipment,’’ the medical expert says.
He is convinced that training and re-training of medical personnel for emergency responses as well as strong collaboration between the Federal Government, state governments and health agencies are vital for containing outbreak of epidemics.
”As a nation, we need to anticipate epidemics and be well prepared via surveillance system, investigation control measures, implementation of prevention measures as well as continuous monitoring,” Osibogun adds.
Prof. Oyewale Tomori, a virologist and former President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, advises on sustenance of the preventive measures.
Tomori argues that Nigeria will continue to be at risk of the disease as long as the virus lingers in neighbouring countries.
According to him, Nigeria will become free of the virus only after the disease has been wiped out of Africa.
He urges Nigeria to help its neighbours to fight the disease.
“We are not free of Ebola until Ebola stops in Africa because there is always a chance that another Patrick Sawyer can come into Nigeria,” he argues.
Also, Dr Dan Onwujekwe, a public health expert with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, calls on Nigerians to see regular hand cleaning routine as a way of life.
Onwujekwe says that hand cleaning routine is not merely for the prevention of EVD, but for all infectious diseases.
“We lay emphasis on hand washing hygiene because the hand is the most active part of the human body. It goes round and can carry viral organisms around and into the body.
“Governments should also intensify awareness and promotion of regular hand washing as the number one strategy,” he urges.
Dr Bamidele Iwalokun, a molecular biologist with NIMR, also believes that there is still the risk of cross-border transmission of Ebola into Nigeria from high-risk countries.
“We still need to maintain strict surveillance at our borders because there are still cases of Ebola virus in some neighbouring countries.
“We also need to strengthen preparedness planning so that any other outbreak in Nigeria will be stopped with the same rapid response of 2014,” he says.
Dr Philip Oshun, Head, Ebola Response Team, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, warns that Nigeria remains at risk and its residents must not let down their guards.
According to Oshun, the three tiers of governments, health workers and all Nigerians cannot afford to relax until Ebola is laid to rest in other African countries.
He regrets that EVD has taken a heavy toll on health workers, and implores them to adhere strictly to universally acceptable practices when attending to patients to avoid contracting the virus.
Maurice Iwu, a Professor of Pharmacology and a former INEC Chairman, is also of the opinion that Nigeria is still vulnerable to the Ebola virus.
Iwu wants the Federal Government to adequately fund research groups and institutes to find vaccines and drugs that can be produced locally to manage EVD and other similar infectious diseases.
According to him, this will consolidate on the nation’s current achievements.
“The Nigerian Government must begin the process of facilitating the study of experimental drugs and vaccines used in the prevention and treatment of the EVD by Nigerian scientists through research institutes,” Iwu urges.
Medical experts say Ebola virus disease, also Ebola haemorrhagic fever or simply Ebola, is a disease of humans and other primates caused by Ebola viruses.
Symptoms – fever, sore throat, muscular pain, and headaches – start between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus.
Vomiting, diarrhoea and rash usually follow along with decreased function of the liver and kidneys. At this time, some people begin to bleed both internally and externally.
The disease has a high risk of death, killing between 25 and 90 per cent of those infected.
According to the experts, the death is often due to low blood pressure from fluid loss, and typically follows six to 16 days after symptoms appear.
No specific treatment or vaccine for the virus is available, although a number of potential treatments are being studied. Supportive efforts, however, improve outcomes.
The disease was first identified in 1976 in Zaire in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, and the other in Yambuku, a village near the Ebola River – from which the disease takes its name.
EVD outbreaks occur intermittently in tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa.
Between 1976 and 2013, WHO reported a total of 24 outbreaks involving 1,716 cases.
The largest outbreak was the epidemic in Africa, which affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It had 28,616 reported cases resulting in 11,310 deaths as at May 8, 2016.
A team of experts from the Lake Chad Commission charged with proffering stabilisation and revitalisation strategies for the Lake Chad Basin on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 visited the headquarters of the Theatre Command in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Scientists say the Lake Chad, that borders Nigeria and some other countries, has shrunken by 95 percent over the past 50 years. They have also linked the Boko Haram insurgency to the lake’s situation. Photo credit: AP/Christophe Ena
According to a statement by Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the spokesman of the command, the team was led by Dr Eleanor Nwadinobi, a gender adviser.
Nwachukwu said that it was constituted by the African Union (AU) in collaboration with the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
Nwadinobi was quoted as saying that the team was mandated to research and work out strategies in the areas of “Humanitarian, Socio-economic, Educational, Governance, Gender as well as Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism to revitalise and stabilise the Lake Chad Basin.’’
She said that, in carrying out its mandate, it was expedient for the team to visit the Lake Chad Basin Commission member states.
Nwadinobi lauded the troops of the Operation Lafiya Dole for the successes so far recorded in the counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations against the Boko Haram terrorists.
Responding, the theatre commander, Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, informed the team that the security situation in the North East theatre had remain calm as the terrorists had been degraded.
Nicholas, however, noted that the terrorists had resorted to suicide bombing and attacks on vulnerable and soft targets.
He called on all stakeholders to play their roles in the multifaceted war to ensure total defeat of the terrorists.
The theatre command urged the team to be judicious in the execution of its mandate to facilitate the restoration of socio-economic development in the region.
New “plastic-free” logo launched in Britain on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 will allow shoppers to identify products with plastic packaging, as companies come under growing pressure to use green alternatives.
A turtle eating plastic: Dumped plastic wastes kill marine life and enter the human food chain
Eight million tonnes of plastic – bottles, packaging and other waste – are dumped into the ocean every year.
The dumped wastes kill marine life and enter the human food chain, according to the United Nations.
Growing concern from the public and lawmakers about the damage to the environment means food and drink manufacturers and retailers are under pressure to act on plastic waste.
“We all know the damage our addiction to plastic has caused.
“We want to do the right thing and buy plastic-free,” said Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, the British-based campaign group behind the new label.
“But it is harder than you think, and a clear, no-nonsense label is much needed. Finally, shoppers can be part of the solution not the problem.”
British supermarket giant Iceland, Dutch supermarket Ekoplaza, which launched a plastic-free aisle earlier this year, and British tea company teapigs are among the first companies to adopt the label.
Last month, more than 40 companies including Britain’s biggest supermarkets, Coca Cola, Nestle and Procter & Gamble , signed up to the UK Plastics Pact, pledging to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic packaging by 2025.
In January, privately-owned Iceland became the first British supermarket to promise to eliminate plastic packaging from all of its own-brand products.
“The grocery retail sector is accounting for more than 40 per cent of plastic packaging in the UK.
”It’s high time that Britain’s supermarkets came together to take a lead,” said Iceland’s managing director Richard Walker in a statement.
In 2015 Britain introduced a charge for plastic bags which has led to an 80 per cent reduction in plastic bag use since 2015.
Nearly 200 nations late last year signed a U.N. resolution to eliminate plastic pollution in the sea, a move some hope will pave the way to a legally binding treaty.
An aquaculture expert, Mr Remi Ahmed, on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 warned that fishes caught in plastic-infested waterways are dangerous for consumption.
Plastic pollution
Ahmed, National President, Tilapia Aquaculture Developers Association of Nigeria (TADAN), made the disclosure in Lagos against the backdrop of increasing plastic wastes in the state.
He said that plastic wastes were becoming a huge environmental challenge that needed proper evacuation handling to avoid total destruction of the ecosystem as they were not biodegradable.
According to him, fishermen are already being obstructed by this ocean garbage, prompting their going further into the ocean to fish.
“Seeing what is happening in our waters, it is clearly getting too polluted and aquatic animals coming from this environment definitely will not be good food to eat.
“A lot of our people buy these fish because they come very cheap, irrespective of the fact that they know they are not supposed to consume what comes out of such environment.
“However, because of the low purchasing power, there are no alternate foods for now,’’ he said.
The TADAN boss was recently conferred a fellow of the Fisheries Society of Nigeria.
Ahmed, who was decorated for his contributions to promoting aquaculture, said that the increased presence of locally produced fish like tilapia and catfish of different sizes could service the general public.
Ahmed said: “We are encouraging market presence of locally produced fish of different sizes.
“These will attract different prices for the categories like small sizes for the lower cadre of the public, big sizes for the average and bigger cadre of the public.”
NAN reports that a 2010 research by Rolf Halden, Associate Professor, School of Sustainable Engineering, Arizona State University in the USA, is relied on concerning the hazards of plastics to humans and the ecosystems.
Halden, an Assistant Director, Environmental Biotechnology, Biodesign Institute, said in his findings that patches of oceanic garbage hold a high volume of non-biodegradable plastics.
He said that aquatic birds and fish are increasingly victims because biodegradation processes are inadequate to eliminate this durable refuse.
An environmental consultant, Mr Idowu Salawu, warned on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 that flooding would continue to threaten Nigeria, unless Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies were conducted before executing construction projects.
Flooded highway in Lekki, Lagos
Salawu, Managing Director of Macpresse West Africa Ltd., gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He spoke against the backdrop of the setting in of the rainy season, and the likely flooding of major cities in the country, especially Lagos and other coastal cities.
According to him, adhering strictly with EIA laws are necessary before embarking on projects to reduce the effects of climate change on the environment.
He lamented that most contractors handling projects in Nigeria were never respecting basic environmental laws, a development, he said, was responsible for the severe flooding of cities annually.
“When environmental problems start, nobody knows how and when they will end.
“EIAs should not be left with quacks because there are people trained to handle such assessments.
“Government should take the issue seriously, although you cannot conduct EIA on an existing facility but you can audit it.
“There must also be an assessment from time to time on the impact of the environment on the existing facilities,” he said.
According to Salawu, when an EIA is carried out on a facility, the environmental hazards will be minimal.
On how building of dams can help in averting flooding, Salawu said that the environment was inter-woven with the production of food and, as such, needed adequate attention.
The environmentalist, who called for collaboration between experts and government to solve environmental challenges, advised that adequate infrastructure should be put in place for such partnerships to succeed.
“The issue of agriculture, water and the environment go hand-in-hand.
“Building of dams for agricultural purposes will have an enormous impact on irrigation and farming activities.
“If you checkmate flooding, people doing their agricultural activities along the river boundary will be able to use the water to get bountiful harvest.
“So, if you do not solve one problem, you will create another problem.
“My advice is that where such facility is to be put in place, the government should work with experts.
“Also, government should ensure that the facilities are in place for the benefit of everybody. However, when an emergency situation occurs, we have to look at all approaches and solutions to solve the emergency.’’
Salawu recalled that the flooding in Lokoja in 2012 was due to the dam that was opened in neighbouring Cameroon.
He, however, noted that the opening of the dam was imperative because if it reached its maximum capacity and burst, the result would have been the submerging of the whole city.
Salawu also advised government to ensure that people violating the environment were punished to protect everyone from destruction.
The Sudan Sustainable Natural Resources Management Project (SSNRMP), which is currently being implemented in three states, is to be extended to three more states.
L-R: Sudanese Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Physical Development, Dr Hassan Hilal; National Coordinator of the SSNRMP, Ibrahim Doka; and Sub-Secretary Minister, Dr Omer Mustafa, during the opening of the Workshop on Planning and Implementing a Communication Strategy in Khartoum, Sudan, on Monday, May 7, 2018
The disclosure was made by Dr Hassan Hilal, the Sudanese Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Physical Development, in Khartoum on Monday, May 7, 2018 while declaring open the Workshop on Planning and Implementing a Communication Strategy, organised under the Building Resilience through Innovation, Communication and Knowledge Services (BRICKS) Project.
Dr Hilal described the SSNRMP as one of the Great Green Wall Initiatives (GGWI) projects being implemented in 19 villages in Kassal, Gezira, and White Nile states. According to him, the project, which was launched August 13, 2014, “is in the right track to achieve it is development objective by working in an integrated manner to achieve future sustainability”.
While stressing that the focus of the workshop underlined the importance of communication, the minister pointed out that the effective communication of any issue will result in “excellent results”. He added that communication mainly depends on collecting of correct information and the use of best tools or mechanism to convey the message to different audiences.
His words: “Here in Sudan, our project, the SSNRMP, pledged to give priority to communication. They conducted as an intensive communication study in which all stakeholders are included and this appears in the main action plan of the study, wherein 27 journalists were trained in line with an advice from the consultant. We achieved very good results such as the creation of on task force of environmental journalists.”
He disclosed that the best practices gained from SSNRMP were documented and disseminated, adding that one of the main outputs generated is that the project will now be extended to add three new states in the coming period.
On Wednesday, May 9, workshop participants visited the SSNRMP project sites. Initially, they were received at the Albutana University where a short video allowed the delegation to immerse themselves in the different components of the project and the impacts induced in the communities of the areas covered.
Under the leadership of the National Coordinator of the SSNRMP, Ibrahim Doka, and the Gezira State Coordinator, Madam Eiman Adawi, the participants visited the forest rehabilitation zone which covers four villages in the state of Gezira. On the spot, the delegation saw first-hand the degraded state of the forest and as well as the soil.
According to Doka and Adawi, the degradation, which dates back 20 years, is due to climatic variability exacerbated by the uncontrolled logging of forest resources and non-resilient agricultural practices.
“But, today, the awakening of conscience of the communities through the implementation of the project augurs a better tomorrow,” they stated, adding that the participatory rehabilitation process involves planting the Acacia Senegal, a tree species adapted to arid zones.
They added that, if weather conditions allow, the forest would regenerate within five years where rational management will be planned.
The second site visited was the Taybeen Village Community Garden located a few miles from the Wadbugul Forest. On-site activities consist of nursery production (forest rehabilitation plants and fruit trees), and other income generating activities.
According to Areeg Ali Ibrahim, community facilitator, the project’s activities have improved the living conditions of the population, who now have access to drinking water resources and financial empowerment.
Revenues generated by the sale of nurseries and other related activities, he added, enabled the construction of school buildings and the opening of a bank account, which ensures the sustainability of the project after the closing of the financing partners.
Community leaders, however, asked for the extension of the project beyond its five-year (2014-2019) period.
Costing $7.73 million and falling under the Sahel and West Africa Programme in Support of the Great Green Wall Initiative (SAWAP), the SSNRMP is being funded by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Other organisations involved in the SAWAP initiative are the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sahara and Sahel Observatory, and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS).
Sudan is a landlocked nation in northeast Africa comprising 18 states.
