Winners of this year’s Global Sustainability Film Awards, run by the media charity tve, seem to drive home the message of sustainability. They have been described as creative, deeply moving and inspirational.
Global Sustainability Film Awards trophies
At a black-tie awards ceremony at BAFTA on Monday November 28, 2016, the judges announced the winners in a worldwide competition showcasing the best of corporate sustainability. Winners included: FREITAG lab. Ag, HSBC/WWF-UK, Electrolux, and Essilor International.
“The creativity is more than incredible. It’s inspirational,” said Neil Armstrong, chief executive of Fastflow Group, main sponsor of the Awards.
Keynote speaker, Nick Nuttall, who is director of communications and spokesperson for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said that the companies’ achievements in sustainability were especially important because they show the way forward in a world on the environmental brink. “We must move with urgency from promises to practicality,” he added.
In vying for the top prizes, companies from the banking, eyecare, electrical goods, fashion, coffee, jewellery, cosmetics and hotel industries won awards in these categories:
In the Transforming Society category, sponsored by the China International Culture Stock Exchange, the winner was Essilor International for its film “Eye Mitra: Friends of the Eyes.” The Youth Career Initiative for ‘Giving Hope to Survivors of Human Trafficking’ was highly commended.
In the Reshaping the Economy category, FREITAG lab. Ag won top prize for “The Road to F-ABRIC.” Jacobs Douwe Egberts was highly commended for “Kenco’s Coffee vs Gangs.”
Winner of the Protecting the Environment category was the HSBC Water programme/WWF-UK for its film “How Improving Farms Helps Protect the Mara River: Nancy’s Story.” L’Oreal was highly commended for “The L’Oreal Approach to Ensure the Full Traceability of Palm Oil and its Derivatives.”
The Net Positive leadership award in partnership with Eco-Age was presented to Electrolux for its film “For the Better.”
April Doubleday received the Free@Last TV special mention for the film “Fairtrade Gold Mining in Colombia.”
Hosted by broadcasters Jeni Barnett and Nik Wood, the ceremony will reach television audiences throughout 2017, thanks to tve’s media partner, Free@Last TV.
Mei Sim Lai OBE DL, president of the 2016 Awards and tve trustee, told the audience at BAFTA’s Princess Anne Theatre: “The tve awards are now playing a proactive part in encouraging businesses around the world to think about how to best communicate what they are doing to meet their own sustainability targets.”
Armstrong said: “The creativity on show here is more than incredible. It’s inspirational. There were no less than 44 entries this year with an output so varied, so colourful and so deeply moving that we should really be handing out 44 prizes.”
In awarding these films, said Nuttall, it was important to recognise not only the achievements shown in the films, but the companies’ wider ambitious plans for sustainability. “If the world is to seize the opportunities in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, we must move with speed and urgency from promises to practicality and from pledges to implementation,” he said.
Barry Ryan, managing director of Free@Last TV, said: “Free@Last is delighted to partner tve in these amazing awards. We have a passionate belief in the power of visual media to ensure that the vital message of sustainability is brought home around the globe.”
Dr. David Nabarro said at COP22 that it is encouraging and inspiring to see how South-South Cooperation is gaining traction
South-South Cooperation, with its focus on mutual learning, capacity building and technical cooperation, is rapidly becoming an integral component of international cooperation to address climate change and contribute to the achievement of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is encouraging that this is likely to expand, which will be hugely helpful in supporting the implementation of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
“It is encouraging and inspiring to see how South-South Cooperation is gaining traction,” said the Special Advisor of the UN Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Dr. David Nabarro, who attended the event. Dr. Nabarro highlighted the Climate Partnerships for the Global South, also known as Southern Climate Partnership Incubator (SCPI), initiated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last April, which he said “is about making connections.”
UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, reminded the Forum’s participants, saying: “While it is clear that developed countries need to provide support to developing countries to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, the agreement also encourages complementary support, such as South-South Cooperation.”
The President of COP22, Salaheddine Mezouar, who is Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco, told participants that, through South-South cooperation, “we want to assure that countries of the South are taking charge, that they have much to share and much to bring to each other.”
Many developing countries are already taking the lead on South-South climate cooperation, with initiative such as:
Further examples are the agreements that His Majesty King Mohammed VI recently signed with the Government of Rwanda to fast-track sustainable development and green growth.
South-South cooperation also calls for extensive and coordinated multi-stakeholder participation, including actors of the UN, other international organisations, multilateral financial institutions, the private sector, academics and civil society groups.
At the Forum, the Special Representative of China on Climate Change Affairs, Mr. Zhenhua Xie, stressed the need to promote more South-South cooperation, and called on international organisations to act as “bridges.”
Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, is not a man given to flatteries. It’s far easier for him to find faults than to give credit. And there are good reasons for that. His pessimism about politicians has a lot to do with his experience about the affairs of this country. He knows what politicians are capable of doing, and what they mean and not mean whenever they speak.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State
But when such a man commends you, then someone had better start watching you because you may be on your way to the sky. That was exactly how it must have felt for the Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu when Obasanjo came to commission some of his road projects recently.
After inspecting some of Ikpeazu’s signature projects, especially the road construction under his urban renewal programme, Obasanjo was lavish in praise. He called Ikpeazu the “visionary performer” and said his people were lucky to have such a committed chief executive.
For those familiar with Abia since Ikpeazu came on board, Obasanjo’s remarks were not flatteries. The man simply spoke the minds of the people. And Obasanjo spoke after seeing and commissioning some of the early projects of the Ikpeazu administration.
Not only was Obasanjo impressed by the service delivery ethos of the governor, but the former president saw quality jobs done at the lowest affordable cost to the state. Within a few months of coming into office, he delivered seven quality metropolitan roads, a feat that has never been recorded in the history of the state. While some governors work very hard in their first year in office and go to sleep for the remainder of their tenure, Governor Ikpeazu’s legs have remained on the pedal since his first day in office.
He has constructed 47 major roads across the state, but with particular emphasis on Aba, the commercial nerve-centre of the state. Ikpeazu’s economic transformation plan for the state is centred on Aba being an industrial and commercial hub of not just the state but the entire region. And for a governor with a deep intellectual bent, this is quite understandable. Ikpeazu has repeatedly said every state should know where it has comparative advantage over others and leverage on that.
For years, Aba town has fed traders from huge commercial centres like Lagos, Onitsha, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna and several others, giving the town and the state a commercial pedigree that is unrivalled in the region. Building on this advantage and supporting the town with incentives such as infrastructure, security and a pool of trained low and middle technical personnel as Ikpeazu is doing is the fastest way of turning around the economy of the state.
The governor introduced a novelty in road construction by insisting on the use of cement technology, otherwise known as rigid pavement technology in road construction. The technology entails casting the road with concrete over a mass of iron before asphalting it. It is an innovative engineering technique aimed at extending the durability of the roads. It is also cost-effective. To fully realise his economic agenda for the state, governor Ikpeazu has also put machinery in motion for the launch of the Abia Industrial Clusters project, which will be kick-started from Aba. Efforts are on to procure the appropriate equipment that can match the standard of technological development needed for the clusters.
The aim, as the governor has stated, is to mechanise and automate the process of leather-making and other artisan works since Abia is a leading state for technological innovation in Nigeria. The Aba Industrial Cluster would involve 40,000 shoemakers, who are capable of producing more than 1,000 shoes daily.
This will be complemented with the establishment of trade centres for the revival of old professions such as craft works, carpentry, masonry and so on. Supervisors for the programmes have been brought in from Mexico and the Philippines. The goal is to teach young Abians the rudiments of the old craft works so that the state can produce its household items, instead of the recourse to importation.
“To teach such handiwork as carpentry, plumbing, electrical, tiling etc is to help the artisans add some professionalism and education to their trade and we expect that the trade centres will create jobs and empower people with skills,” Governor Ikpeazu said at the launch of the scheme.
Unlike most of his colleagues, he believes in the role of the governor as a leader, and not a ruler. His vision for the state is demonstrated through the diverse physical projects of his administration, and more importantly, through the force of personal example-something that cannot be said of many state chief executives. Ikpeazu has been leading the state by showing the way, not by some empty, populist rhetoric. Not only does he patronise Aba-made goods and urges his cabinet to do same.
Ikpeazu’s intervention in the education sector is also novel. He chose the occasion of his 51st birthday to launch a scheme to salvage primary education in the state. He launched “Friends of Abia Schools Adoption Initiative (FASAI)” with a focus on mobilising funds from well-meaning Abians to renovate dilapidated primary schools in the 17 local government areas of the state.
Ikpeazu urged his friends to give a facelift to dilapidated primary schools to turn around their fortunes and give the pupils a conducive learning environment and a sense of belonging. It was a brilliant initiative at a time of national economic recession for one of the poorest states in the country.
When people talk about the Ikpeazu phenomenon, it is this uncommon, patriotic zeal for service delivery and a knack for thinking outside of the box. Any perceptive observer of governance in this country, especially at the state levels, will agree that these are qualities in short supply.
Politicians in the state, used to self-serving criticism of political leaders, have found a way to deny Ikpeazu the credit he truly deserves. They attributed his success to a desire to win the support of the people in view of the challenge to his victory by the opposition All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA. Since the victory of Ikpeazu is still a subject of litigation in the court, professional critics say he is eager to get the people on his side, and that once the case is over and he gets a final victory, he will go to sleep.
These are just speculations, perhaps borne out of experience with previous administrations in the state. But the argument is actually in his favour. No matter how much you ingratiate yourself with the people, they cannot save you if the court overturns your election victory. Secondly, when an election victory is being challenged in court, it is a major distraction whether the person is a governor or legislator of local government chairman.
Thus, for a governor battling such distraction to be so focussed on delivering dividends of good governance is not only an inspiring story of leadership, but a phenomenal asset for his people. Ikpeazu has found a connection with his people through his vision and the people-centred policies and programmes of his administration.
This will explain the outrage felt by people of the state when the Appeal Court overturned his election. His people have keyed in to his vision of growth and their joy will be boundless whenever the Supreme Court affirms him as the duly elected governor of the state. The desperation of the opposition to rubbish his victory and derail the transformation going on in the state is what many hope will fail woefully. If not for anything else, for the sake of the state and its long suffering people.
Governments, non-governmental organisations and local communities have taken up the Honolulu Challenge and agreed to take bold actions to counter invasive alien species that harm biodiversity.
During the 2016 World Conservation Congress that held recently in Honolulu in Hawai’i, a call was made by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the host community in in the U.S. state for greater action in addressing invasive alien species in order to protect biodiversity and human wellbeing from their impacts.
Invasive alien species:. An invasive North American mink predating a gannet chick in the Firth of Forth, Scotland. Photo credit: BirdLife International
Invasive alien species are species that have been moved by humans, either by accident or intentionally, into areas outside of their natural habitats, and pose negative impacts upon native biodiversity, ecosystem services or human well-being. They are also regarded as plants, animals, pathogens and other organisms that are non-native to an ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human health.
“Invasive alien species are among the most serious threats to biodiversity, and have a potentially devastating impact on our food security, health and economies,” says Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. “The launch of the Honolulu Challenge couldn’t be more timely: concrete action is urgently needed if we want to curb species loss and meet the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Governments, non-governmental organisations and communities are making progress by taking steps to put preventive measures in place, and to eradicate or control already established invasive alien species.
“We need more bold actions,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), at the launch of the Honolulu Challenge.
“Several global targets, including Aichi Biodiversity Targets 9 and 12, are far from being met. Invasive species still wreak havoc on numerous threatened species and ecosystems and have a serious economic impact in all countries. This is particularly relevant to oceanic islands, where urgent action is needed to prevent and eradicate invasive alien species which pose high risk on endemic and endangered species. More collaboration and fast actions are needed,” he added.
“New Zealand is lending its support to the Honolulu Challenge as a leader in combating invasive species and protecting biodiversity,” says Conservation Minister for New Zealand, Maggie Barry. “Our predator-free vision is by far the largest such project ever attempted and has drawn significant international interest. Through Predator Free 2050 the Government has set a target of completely eradicating possums, rats and stoats from New Zealand and making the country safe again for the native species these introduced predators threaten to wipe out. As a Government we’re backing New Zealanders to be at the forefront of a global solution.”
Invasive alien species are a major driver of species extinction and also threaten agricultural, forestry and aquaculture production. Their negative impact costs 20 billion Euros in the European Union each year, according to the Institute of European Environmental Policy, and $120 billion in the United States. The problem is said to be growing globally due to the influences of globalisation and climate change.
Between 1970 and 2007, the number of invasive alien species in Europe grew by 76 per cent.
The Honolulu Challenge proposes 11 measures to address this threat, including to:
Multiply efforts to develop and enact effective biosecurity policies and programmes for countries and islands;
Greatly increase the number and scale of invasive alien species eradications, especially on islands and in other priority sites;
Integrate prevention and control of invasive alien species into planning and management for Protected Areas and Key Biodiversity Areas;
Invest in the development, application and sharing of innovative technologies, and other solutions to prevent further invasions, and eradicate or control invasive alien species;
Engage with relevant sectors and civil society to raise awareness of invasive alien species,
including the compounded impacts under climate change, and increase public support for potential solutions.
Four governments and expert organisations declared commitments to achieve their challenges at the launch in Honolulu. New Zealand has committed to making the country free from invasive alien predators by 2050, and to eradicate all invasive alien species from island nature reserves by 2025. The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has committed to doubling its long-term co-investment in invasive alien species management. BirdLife International aims to remove invasive alien threats from at least a further 35 oceanic islands worldwide by 2020. Island Conservation has committed to protect more than 100 threatened species at risk from invasive species on 40 oceanic islands by 2020.
In Mexico, the Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C. (GECI) with the support of federal government and local communities, has committed to removing invasive mammals from all islands of Mexico by 2030.
The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity is a supporter of this initiative. At its UN Biodiversity Conference1, to be held in Cancun, Mexico, from 4 to 17 December 2016, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will consider further measures to be taken under the Convention to achieve Aichi Biodiversity Target 9.
Enforcement and legislation on urban development, land- use and protection of natural habitats have been identified as a major bane in the fight against erosion in Anambra State.
A gully erosion site in Anambra State
Rising from the First Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) Stakeholders Engagement Workshop that held recently, to which MDAs were invited, the Project observed that unregulated activities that adversely impact the environment and accelerates land degradation, gully formation and flood events are of the increase in the state.
So also are gaps in the enforcement of various provisions for Environment, Land-Use, Urban Development and Waste Management and, in most cases, existing laws are not enforced while legislation is seen to be weak or non-existing in other instances.
It is against this background that the stakeholders’ conference called for urgent action, to protect the state’s depleting land area and promote environmental safeguards in communities. Actions required range from appropriate legislation to strict enforcement in the following areas, among others. The actions were listed to include:
Recovery/Creation of vegetative buffer zones and forest reserves around the state. Encroachment into these “Protected Areas” must be discouraged. Communities should be advised against activities that degrade the environment like unregulated development, deforestation, bush-burning, improper farming practices and so forth.
Restraining residents from returning to reclaimed land areas for which they been compensated before erosion control work. The idea is that reclaimed lands become public property that should be reserved for the development of nature-themed recreational parks, groves and economic tree sheds for the benefit of the communities. Specific laws should be considered to check encroachment with strict penalties.
Creation of Riparian Vegetation on both flanks of our rivers and streams to protect these natural resources, encourage agrarian culture and sustain livelihoods at the grassroots.
Regulation of “Watershed” at all gully sites – whether under intervention or not. This requires appropriate water conservation practices to manage stormwater run-offs utilising low-cost and fit-for-purpose methods to harvest water for domestic and agricultural purposes – potable water tanks, irrigation ponds etc.
There is urgent need to stem development on flood-plains and natural waterways. When natural water channels are disturbed, there is increased flooding in residential neighbourhood
MDAs involved in town planning, urban development and construction must ensure that stormwater management is adequately provided for in their designs. Drains must terminate into safe-points at low velocity to reduce/eliminate the erosive damage of bulk water discharge.
The conference appealed for executive and legislative actions to support this collective mandate stressing, “This urgent call-to-action will be incomplete without a holistic solution for managing solid wastes in our communities”.
It disclosed that the Anambra NEWMAP would provide information and implementation support through the “Integrated Watershed Management Plan”, which was flagged-off by the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, in August. In addition, the Federal NEWMAP office is installing HydroMet and “Early-warning” systems in Omor to aid agriculture and flood disaster management in the Anambra basin.
A total of 239,834 Nigerians who were displaced by the activities of insurgents in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states are still living as refugees in neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Republic of Chad and Niger Republic.
Nigerian refugees in Chad
According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), over 100,000 displaced Nigerians reside in Niger, while the second largest number of refugees was in Cameroon.
Quoting from a recently released humanitarian intervention report by NEMA, the agency’s Head for Media and Public Relations, Mr. Sani Datti, in a statement issued on Monday, said, “There are presently 20,804 displaced Nigerians living in the Republic of Chad; 80,709 in the Republic of Cameroon; and 138,321 in the Republic of Niger.”
He noted that about 29,581 displaced Nigerians who fled their communities in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states to Republic of Niger and Cameroon voluntarily returned last year. Datti stated that 13,046 Nigerian returnees came from Niger Republic in May 2015 and were received in Geidam, Yobe State.
According to him, between April and December 2015, NEMA received about 16,595 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Cameroon through the Sahuda border crossing area near Mubi, Adamawa State.
Datti said, “Some of the Nigerians that fled to neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon were provided with humanitarian relief support by the Federal Government of Nigeria through NEMA, to alleviate their suffering.
“The displaced Nigerians have also received humanitarian support from the host governments, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the host communities and Nigerian citizens living in the three host countries.”
Datti noted that the agency adopted a monthly Humanitarian Coordination Meeting, a forum which consists of relevant Federal Government agencies, UN systems and international non-governmental organisations.
The forum, he said, undertakes analysis on causes of humanitarian situations, conducts need assessments, identifies and provides humanitarian interventions based on its respective mandates. “The report added that due to the successes recorded by the Nigerian military with the support of Multi-National Joint Military Task Force in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents, the humanitarian dashboard is fast changing,” Datti said in the statement.
He noted that focus was gradually shifting towards reconstruction, rehabilitation, resettlement, recovery and dignified return of IDPs back home, while the process for the return of Nigerian refugees from neighbouring countries were equally on-going.
The comprehensive guide on how to formulate effective Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) in developing countries, produced in 2013 by the United Nations development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Framework Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat and the UNEP DTU Partnership (formerly the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Risø Centre), has now been updated. The adoption of the Paris Agreement and related national climate action plans, more known as NDCs, called for an update of the NAMA guidance document to bring clarity to the relevance of NAMAs in the Paris Agreement.
The original group of institutions collaborated with the NAMA Facility to produce the updated document entitled “Guidance for NAMA Design in the context of NDC implementation,” which was launched at a side event held on the margins of COP 22 in Marrakech, Morocco
The original group of institutions collaborated with the NAMA Facility to produce the updated document entitled “Guidance for NAMA Design in the context of NDC implementation,” which was launched at a side event held on the margins of COP 22 in Marrakech. Two countries who have re-envisioned their NAMAs in the new Post-Paris landscape, Costa Rica and Lebanon, shared their experiences at the event, which also featured presentations by UNDP, New Climate Institute and the UNFCCC on the importance of NAMAs to support NDC implementation.
NAMAs represent a valuable opportunity for developing countries to address greenhouse gas emissions while remaining true to their sustainable development priorities and needs. Indeed, many countries have already developed NAMAs as instruments for participating in the global mitigation agenda, and as a means of leveraging national and international support for more effective and transformational climate actions. In light of the Paris Agreement, these NAMAs have gained recognition as a formidable vehicle to achieve NDC targets.
The updated document as well as further information on NAMAs can be found here.
The UNEP DTU Partnership, a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark, UNEP and the Technical University of Denmark, is a UNEP Collaborating Centre as well as a research and advisory institution on energy, climate and sustainable development.
The UNEP DTU Partnership is comprised of two centers: the Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development; and the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency (the Energy Efficiency hub, under SE4ALL).
The Partnership assists developing countries transition towards more low carbon development paths, and supports the integration of climate-resilience into national development. The Partnership’s is located in the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has a team of more than 60 scientists and economists from 20 countries.
The first-ever United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference ended on Sunday in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, with more than 50 countries endorsing the “Ashgabat Statement on Commitments and Policy Recommendations,”’ with a view to supporting cleaner, greener transportation – from local transit systems to worldwide multimodal networks.
Group photo with the participants of the Ashgabat United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference in Turkmenistan. Photo credit: UN/Amanda Voisard
“The Conference has reinforced the importance of sustainable transport and has shown it is a shared global task,” said Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, at the closing ceremony.
“Sustainable transport solutions are key to leaving no one behind, securing prosperity, enabling access to services and protecting the environment,” concluded Mr. Wu, adding that “without sustainable transport, there will be no lasting progress on climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Noting the many encouraging success stories delegates had shared at the two-day conference, Mr. Wu said more needed to be done, including mobilising trillions of dollars in investments and implementing legal, regulatory and governance frameworks. He also underlined the need to continue and strengthen capacity-building to developing countries.
“We have identified areas for regional and international cooperation and shared far-reaching policy recommendations,” he said. “We have, collectively and individually, identified concrete actions to move the world towards the new and essential paradigm of sustainable transport. Looking ahead, we must use our shared understanding to advance sustainable transport for all, by delivering on our commitments, forging new alliances and transforming our policies.”
He added that policy decisions needed to meet the needs of all in a low-carbon manner, requiring integrating transport modes and tapping into technological opportunities to bring the fundamental, transformative changes.
Stakeholders endorse “Ashgabat Statement”
Concluding the two-day conference with the so-called “Ashgabat Statement,” participants stressed the need to promote the integration of science, technology and innovation into sustainable transport systems by tapping into technological opportunities in the decades to come, in order to bring about fundamental, transformative changes to transport systems.
This, they said, can be achieved through the use of energy-efficient technology, as well as information and communications technology, as they called for strengthening capacity-building support to developing countries.
They also welcomed stakeholders who had developed and launched sustainable transport initiatives, and called on all stakeholders to continue to seek collaborative partnerships for new, innovative, sustainable transport paradigms.
Also during the closing ceremony, Igor Runov, UN Under-Secretary-General and Head of the International Road Transport Union, presented the summary of the Transport Business Forum, which had been held earlier in the day.
Three other events held on Sundy focused on transport safety, the needs of countries in special situations – mostly least developed countries – and avenues for financing sustainable transport.
“Sustainable transport is a challenge for all countries, but countries in special situations, including least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states, face particular obstacles,” said Gyan Chandra Acharya, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative dealing with the needs of those countries (UN-OHRLLS), in his opening remarks to an event focused on sustainable transport and transit solutions in countries in special situations.
Developing countries face challenges in financing sustainable transport systems
Among the challenges highlighted by the panelists, and which, they acknowledged, must be addressed in order to achieve sustainable development in these countries, include high transport cost, restricted access to the sea, limited air service for passengers and cargo, and difficulties securing investments and partnerships.
“There are, altogether, about 1.1 billion people in these countries, so when we look at the global programmes, global solutions, as well as global development frameworks, we have to look at those countries if we want to leave no one behind, and make it inclusive of all,” noted Mr. Acharya, referring to the rallying call of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The conference brought together key stakeholders from Governments, the UN system and other international organisations, the private sector, and civil society to engage in a dialogue that emphasises the integrated and cross-cutting nature of sustainable transport and its multiple roles in supporting the achievement of the SDGs. All modes of transport – road, rail, aviation, ferry and maritime – were addressed.
The Northeast region of Nigeria has suffered severe humanitarian crisis as a result of Boko Haram insurgency. This resulted in drastic decline in socio-economic activities including farming, pastoralism, commerce and social interactions among the populace especially in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
Women and children in a IDPs camp. The displacement was informed by the Boko Haram insurgency. Photo credit: channelstv.com
Similarly, there has been unprecedented displacement of persons from the region to safer areas in Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, and others including the Federal Capital Territory.
According to a Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) developed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with NEMA https://nigeria.iom.int/dtm as a means of collecting and disseminating data on IDPs, about 389,281 persons were displaced in 2013; 868,335 in 2014; 1,846,999 in 2015 and 1,822,541 as at October 2016.
The Humanitarian Coordination Forum (HCF), consisting of relevant Federal Government agencies, UN agencies and International Non-Government Organisations (INGOs), was adopted both at the national and state levels. The forum meets monthly under the coordination of NEMA to analyse and proffer solutions to humanitarian situations. A platform for coordinating efforts of all humanitarian actors and daily administration at the camps (Camp Coordination and Camp Management) was also created.
There are currently 18 formal internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps in Borno State; seven in Yobe State and four in Adamawa State, while there are 16 satellite camps in the liberated areas of Borno State.
Furthermore, to address the humanitarian challenges in the North East, the Federal Government through NEMA established cells in Maiduguri and sub-cells in Yola, Adamawa State and Damaturu, Yobe State, in collaboration with the military. This was to create access for aid workers to provide the much needed assistance to the IDPs and open a safe corridor for local people that escaped Boko Haram occupations and repentant militants to move into safety.
NEMA set up Operations Office in Gombe and Adamawa states to cater for the influx of IDPs and those taking refuge in Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba states and also deployed its staff to Maiduguri and the Humanitarian sub-cells in Damaturu and Yola to provide support and assistance to IDPs.
To complement the efforts of the affected state governments as well as cushion the effects of humanitarian challenges, especially on food security and nutrition, NEMA has been providing food items to the IDPs in the camps. To also ensure the steady supply of these food and Non-Food items (NFIs), NEMA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Borno and Yobe states.
It has equally entered into a mutual agreement with Adamawa state government on the provision of relief materials to IDPs. The agency also provided drugs to some major hospitals in the zones and deployed medical team and equipment to the Northeast to support the provision of Medicare to the IDPs while providing working tools for IDPs with expertise in selected skills.
NEMA has regularly received returnees from neighboring countries who fled the country due to the insurgency and presented humanitarian relief assistance to them. The agency encourages corporate and individual donors to provide support to the North East region by delivering humanitarian aid directly to affected states.
NEMA is also a part of the Presidential Committee on North East Initiative (PCNI), the Victims Support Fund (VSF), and the Safe School Initiative (SSI), all initiatives of the Federal Government put together to support IDPs in the North East.
In summary, NEMA has provided support to the affected populations living in camps, liberated areas, and host communities and to the refugees across the borders. However, the humanitarian landscape is fast changing due to the successes recorded by the Nigerian Army with the support of Multi-National Joint Military Task Force (MJTF) in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents.
The focus is gradually shifting towards Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Resettlement, Recovery and dignified return of IDPs back home while process for the return of Nigerian refugees from neighboring countries is equally on-going. This is a cross-cutting, multi-stakeholding, multi-disciplinary and cost intensive endeavor requiring support from all stakeholders.
It is interesting to mention that while local and international humanitarian responders including the UN system and public spirited individuals have given valuable support towards overcoming the humanitarian crisis in the Northeast, there is no doubt that the Federal Government has played the greatest role in this endeavor.
NEMA will continue to support and work towards bridging the identified gaps in humanitarian response through enhanced coordination, capacity building and strengthening of collaboration with the affected states and relevant stakeholders including line MDAs, local and international response organisations and the UN system.
By Sani Datti (Head of Information Unit and Public Affairs at NEMA)
Nigeria Country Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr Pa Lamin Beyai, has said that the uniqueness of the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) lies in its decentralised grants awards decision-making which is based on strategic direction by a voluntary National Steering Committee (NSC) in each participating country.
Nigeria Country Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr Pa Lamin Beyai (second from left); Elizabeth Olofin (representing the NSC) (left); Kusimo David of the Department of Planning, Research & Statistics, GEF Desk Office (representing Director and GEF Operational Focal Point (OFP) in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Amos Tanko Ibrahim) (second right); and National Coordinator of the GEF-SGP, Mrs Ibironke Olabamise (right), at the event in Abuja last Wednesday
Dr Beyai made the submission in Abuja on Wednesday, 23 November 2016, at a ceremony to appreciate and inaugurate old and new NSC member of the GEF-SGP.
“The strength of the GEF-SGP depends on the effort of the NSC members,” he said. “I therefore look forward to a very outstanding support of every member of the NSC to take SGP yet to higher levels of achievements.”
He pointed out that even though the grant amount is small compared to the country’s size as well as her environmental challenges, “yet the benefits of Nigeria participating in UNDP GEF-SGP are worthy of note.”
He listed these to include:
Participation of local, poor, marginalised communities in GEF for environmental benefits and livelihood enhancement,
Utilisation of GEF opportunities for maximum impact on the citizens,
To enhance UNDP Country Programme from the grassroots,
Unique, transparent delivery mechanism, and
Opportunities for resource mobilisation from remote donors.
According to him, about 116 projects have so far been supported in Nigeria, adding that close to 10 organisational and individual awards have been recorded as thousands of community dwellers have benefited as well as taken active part in project design and implementation.
Beyai said: “One major outcome of this is project sustainability because the communities took ownership of these projects. In relation to the UNDP Country Office, SGP complements UNDP national policy support programmes with the community initiatives that support advocacy and campaigns to feed into national policy development processes.
“Based on the global practice of GEF-SGP, the operational structure involves the set up of an NSC and the National Coordinator who works with the support and within the framework of each UNDP Country Office.”
While the GEF-SGP started in 1992, Nigeria was admitted into the programme in 2006. Three years later, a National Coordinator was engaged to manage the programme.
The National Coordinator, Mrs Ibironke Olabamise, described the GEF-SGP as the third component of the GEF which provides grants to poor and marginalised communities through national non-govenmental organisations and community-based organisations (NGOs/CBOs) to implement local environmental initiatives that also enhance their livelihood while achieving global environmental benefits.
Members of the new NSC of the UNDP/GEF SGP, with Pa Lamin Beyai, Kushimo David and Ronke Olabamise after the swearing in ceremony
She said: “The NSC, chaired by the UNDP Resident Representative, is the highest national organ of the SGP operational structure. It provides strategic direction as well as professional support to the programme in accordance with the Country Programme Strategy an in line with the global best practices of the GEF-SGP.
“The members of the NSC are composed of institutional representatives of some of the GEF implementing partners and also individuals who have distinguished themselves in their areas of expertise and have been seen to be contributing to national development and who are willing to deploy their expertise and experience for the achievement of national and global goals of the GEF-SGP.”
Director and GEF Operational Focal Point (OFP) in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Amos Tanko Ibrahim, said the office is impressed with NGOs/CBOs relationship with the ministry and GEF-SGP, which he referred to as “GEF’s heart and our ministry’s heart too as environmental benefits are watered down through to our poor and marginalised communities.”
Ibrahim, who was represented by Kusimo David of the Department of Planning, Research & Statistics, GEF Desk Office, added: “Our national priorities and environmental agenda have been aligned with the visions of GEF around its thematic operational areas meant to enhance livelihood.
“We appreciate your efforts and wish to state our commitment to continue to support your programmes and activities in order to achieve the envisioned sustainable environment in tandem with the ideals of sustainable development. Our vision is Small Grants Programme with investment opportunities embedded to ensure job creation and the empowerment of our people at all levels of development in line with the present government’s economic diversification.”
Members of the new NSC include: Betty Abah, Yinka Agidee, Esther Agbarakwe, Amos Abu, Elizabeth Olofin, Huzi Mshelia, Angela Odah, Festus Eguaoje, Prof. Olukayode Oladipo, Michael Simire, Aisha Bello Mustapha and Odigha Odigha.
Established in 1992, the year of the Rio Summit, the GEF-SGP is the third component of GEF, which is the financial mechanism that provides funds for countries to address global environmental issues and also the largest funder of environmental projects. The GEF-SGP is said to embody the very essence of sustainable development by “thinking globally, acting locally”. By providing financial and technical support to projects that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people’s well-being and livelihoods, SGP demonstrates that community action can maintain the balance between human needs and environmental imperatives.
According to Beyai, the SGP recognises that environmental degradation such as the destruction of ecosystems and the species that depend upon them, increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, pollution of international waters, land degradation and the spread of persistent organic pollutants are life-threatening challenges that endanger humanity.
“However, poor and vulnerable communities – SGP’s primary stakeholders – are most at risk because they depend on access to natural resources for their livelihoods and often live in fragile ecosystems,” he stated, adding:
“The programme supports activities of NGOs and CBOs in developing countries by providing grants of up to $50,000 directly to local communities including indigenous people, CBOs and other non-governmental groups for projects in Biodiversity, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Land Degradation and Sustainable Forest Management, International Waters and Chemicals.
“At present, 130 countries participate in SGP having ratified the Conventions on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Climate Change (UNFCCC). There are 84 country offices, two regional offices, and two sub-regional offices with day-to-day management by SGP National Coordinators.
“The current overall SGP project portfolio comprises 60% biodiversity, 20% climate change, 6% international waters, and 14% multi-focus. To date, the GEF-SGP has invested $450 million and leveraged similar levels of co-financing supporting over 14,500 community-based projects in over 125 countries. The maximum grant amount per project is $50,000, but averages around $20,000. Grants are channeled directly to CBOs and NGOs.”
