In the aftermath of the forced eviction of over 30,000 persons from Otodo Gbame community in Lagos on 9-10 November 2016, evictees have suffered a series of violent attacks by hoodlums reportedly working for those who are intent on grabbing their land.

The first such attack reportedly took place on 22-23 November 2016 shortly after a visit to the community by a member of an influential royal family, police, and hoodlums who allegedly set the three remaining houses ablaze.

The Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which made the disclosure in a statement issued on Monday, 05 December 2016, stressed that it documented over a dozen evictees from Otodo Gbame with machete, knife and gunshot wounds from the first attack on the morning of Wednesday, 23 November 2016.

According to JEI, the second violence took place on the morning of Wednesday, 30 November 2016 when hoodlums attacking the community were accompanied by men in Mobile Police uniforms and a chief from the neighboring Itedo community who is reportedly loyal to the royal family. Several persons were wounded, according to JEI documentation, and the community was left in terror.

“On Thursday, 24 November 2016, following the first violent attack, evictees from Otodo Gbame joined the Nigerian Slum / Informal Settlement Federation in petitioning the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) at the Zone II Command, Onikan, requesting police protection for the community to prevent further attacks. Although the AIG issued written directives to the Lagos State Police Command to protect the community, sufficient police protection is yet to be seen on ground,” the group disclosed.

During a visit to Otodo Gbame on Saturday, 3 December 2016, the NGO stated that it confirmed reports that dozens of hoodlums still loiter around what was once the main entrance to Otodo Gbame, taunting and menacing evictees who pass on their way to school, to work, or to the nearby market.

“We remain deeply concerned about the continued harassment and violent attacks against Otodo Gbame evictees, who are struggling to rebuild their lives left in disarray after the mass forced eviction,” JEI declared, pointing out that it is nevertheless heartened by the ongoing investigation into the violence against Otodo Gbame community by a Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Federal SARS) unit from Abuja.

It added: “The arrests on Thursday, 1 December of two members of the influential royal family in connection with the attacks on Otodo Gbame have brought some peace of mind to the beseiged community.

“JEI therefore urges the Inspector-General of Police, Deputy Inspector-General for Investigation & Intelligence, and the CP Federal SARS to ensure this investigation continues – without regard to powerful forces that have scuttled investigations into other Lagos land grabs – so that those responsible for attacks on Otodo Gbame are finally brought to book.”

Ministers from around the world have committed to working together to save biodiversity and take urgent action to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and backed this with a host of specific commitments.

In the “Cancun Declaration,” agreed on Saturday, 3 December 2016 as part of the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD/COP13) ongoing in Mexico, ministers dealing with environment, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism, declared that they would make the additional efforts needed to ensure the effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols, including the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said: “The Cancun Declaration, and the powerful commitments made here at the High Level Segment send a strong signal that countries are ready to increase efforts to achieve the Aichi Targets.  I look forward to this momentum carrying through the next two weeks, and then the coming years of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.”

Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico, said: “I thank all the participating countries for showing political will and achieving this Ministerial Declaration that ensures your commitment to the mainstreaming of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for well-being.”

“I’m optimistic because in the Ministerial Declaration we are all committing to raise the level of our ambition to ensure mainstreaming. The best investment that we can make for the well-being of our people is stopping the loss of biodiversity.”

UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, Erik Solheim, said: “UN Environment welcomes the Cancun Declaration as a timely and absolutely critical commitment to meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. For the first time, through the efforts of all parties, we are really speaking meaningfully to one another about the real value of biodiversity to tourism, to agriculture, to forestry, to fisheries – to the very lifeblood of our economies.

“We call on countries to use the momentum of this declaration to lay out in practical steps over these next two weeks how they will meet the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Biodiversity makes business sense. Biodiversity makes common sense. It’s the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Let’s follow this declaration with action.”

Naoko Ishi, CEO of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), said: “The continued loss of biodiversity is part of a broader pattern of unsustainable pressure on our global commons such as the climate, forests, water, land and oceans. We have reached a dangerous point, and we now need a fundamental transformation in our key economic systems if we are to avoid devastating consequences in the future.”

“We need to continue our efforts to strengthen biodiversity mainstreaming, and the Cancun Declaration on Mainstreaming Biodiversity can serve as an important guidepost in that regard,” she added.

Agriculture

Participants recognised the importance of mainstreaming and enhanced policy coherence for environmental protection as well as for the vitality and profitability of agricultural sectors. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through its integrated nature, was seen to be a major driver of the transformation needed to make agriculture more sustainable and to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Tourism

Delegates discussed the importance of reducing adverse impacts of tourism development on ecosystems and local communities while also leveraging the capacity of tourism to be a unique tool for financing conservation, and for raising awareness and educating travellers on the value of nature and culture.

Fisheries

Fisheries discussions looked at ways that legislation and policies could resolve issues of overfishing in small-scale and large scale fisheries, and emphasised the important role of regional fisheries organisations in coordinating responses. Ensuring sustainable fisheries and aquaculture is possible through commitment to work together, and with various stakeholders, including industry, consumers, retailers and trade, academia, and various other civil society groups.

Forestry

Effective mainstreaming of biodiversity into the forestry sector will need continued strengthening of technical capacities, and enhanced partnerships among stakeholders. The need for new and additional resources for sustainable forest financing was also noted, as well as the role of international cooperation. Several participants expressed support for the collaborative work between CBD and other organisations and agencies. Some noted the role of organisations in raising awareness of mainstreaming approaches and drew attention to reports on forest genetic diversity.

The declaration will be forwarded to the United Nations General Assembly, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2017 and the Third United Nations Environmental Assembly.

The Cancun Declaration was supported by strong commitments from countries representing all United Nations regions, and a variety of Aichi Biodiversity Targets, including:

• Presented by Guatemala, a commitment by the Like Minded Mega-Diverse Countries, which harbour over one third of all terrestrial biodiversity, to carry out over 200 priority actions to support actions that will enhance implementation of Aichi Target 11.
• France and other participants in the International Coral Reef Initiative agreed to a variety of targets and actions to in support of Aichi Target 10 to protect coral reefs and their ecosystems, including actions to reduce pollution from plastic microbeads and sunscreen, actions to harmonise monitoring and other long-term management activities and actions which encourage financing for projects and initiatives which help protect and restore coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses.
• Netherlands and 11 other European Countries, inspired by the IPBES report on pollinators, announced the creation of a “coalition of the willing” to protect pollinators, contributing to Aichi Targets 7 and 14.
• For Target 9, Brazil committed that at least three invasive alien species will be brought under control and an early warning system will be designed by 2020. Brazil also committed that 100% of threatened species will be under conservation tools by 2020, and 10% of them shall have their conservation status improved by the same date, contributing to Aichi Target 12.
• Germany announced support for Aichi Target 20 with the continuation of funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects through its International Climate Initiative (IKI) for 500 million euros per year.
• Japan will continue its support to capacity-building activities in developing countries through to the end of the Decade with a multi-million-dollar commitment through to 2020 and will mobilise individuals to take action to support achievement of all the Aichi Targets.
• New Zealand committed to bring together a broad coalition of actors from all levels to develop new initiatives, methodologies and techniques to increase the effectiveness control of invasive alien species in support of Aichi Target 9.
• In support of Aichi Target 16 on the Nagoya Protocol for Access and Benefit Sharing, South Africa will develop and implement species management plans for high value plant species through its BioPANZA programme and will set milestones for the cultivation of indigenous biological resources and community participation in product development.
• Peru, Mexico, Ecuador and Guatemala, together with FAO, the Darwin Initiative and Bioversity, in support of implementation of Aichi Biodiversity Target 13. The initiative is entitled “Towards the Implementation of Aichi Target 13 in centers of origin Coalition For food and agriculture countries”. It encourages countries to take action to preserve genetic diversity and safeguard both native varieties of crops and their wild relatives. The commitment proposes a roadmap of collaborative engagement and action to be implemented before 2020.

With the High Level Segment closing on Saturday, the UN Biodiversity conference continued on Sunday, 4 December 2016, with the opening of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Meetings of the Parties to the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols.  The conference continues until Saturday, 17 December 2016.

In line with the two-track approach in executing its REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Programme, state and national Framework Strategies for REDD+ in Nigeria were last week endorsed, even as the nation rounded up the Readiness Phase of the climate change mitigation initiative.

At a three-day meeting in Calabar (Cross River State) and Abuja (Federal Capital Territory), participants took stock of years of operation of the REDD+ programme in the country, while exploring potential next-steps.

While the two-day Calabar event (that held from Tuesday, 29 November to Wednesday, 30 November, 2016) entailed a Cross River State Stakeholder Forum that addressed progress made in areas such as MRV (Measurement, Reporting and Verification), Safeguards (actions that prevent the destruction or degradation of REDD+-protected forests), Multiple Benefits and CBR+ (community-based REDD+ programme), as well as the Cross Rivers State (CRS) REDD+ Strategy, the Abuja gathering (on Friday, 2 December, 2016) was a National Technical Committee meeting that set out to validate the National Framework Strategy for REDD+. The Readiness Phase is being sponsored by the UN-REDD Programme (United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), a collaboration involving the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

National Coordinator, Nigeria REDD+ Programme, Dr Moses Ama, said: “The REDD+ Will be finalised next week based on input from this meeting. Also, we are set to conclude the Readiness Phase, which was sponsored by the UN-REDD Programme. Afterwards, we will commence the Implementation Phase. The objective is to build a REDD+ mechanism for Nigeria, using CRS as a demonstration model.”

Lead Consultant and Team Leader, Prof. Patrick Matakala, disclosed that the Vision is to ensure sustainable management of forests and ecosystems of CRS as natural resource assets towards a green economy, while maximising the prosperity of the people of the state through reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation by at least 20% by year 2030. He poited out that, besides enhancing the functioning of forest management institutions, this will be achieved by improving laws and regulations and strengthening law enforcement, and improving the capacity of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to manage forest and ecosystem resources.

He listed the project goals to include:

• Short-term Goal (2017-2019): The strategic improvement of institutions and governance systems, as well as of spatial plans and the investment environment, in order to fulfill Cross River State’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining economic growth.
• Medium-term Goal (2017-2025): The implementation of governance systems in line with policies, measures and procedures developed by forest and environment management institutions of CRS, and their application to the spatial and financial mechanisms developed and established in the previous phase, to achieve the targeted 20 percent reduction in emissions by 2025.
• Long-term Goal (2017-2030): CRS’s forests and land areas become a net carbon sink by 2030 as a result of the implementation of appropriate policies and measures for sustaining economic and ecosystem service functions of forests and contribution to Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Apart from presentations of progress made so far by the MRV, Safeguards and Multiple Benefits sub-committes, non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations (CBOs) involved in CBR+ implementation also shared their experiences in Calabar.

For instance, the Research Association Managing Development in Nigeria (ARADIN) is implementing a project titled “Enhancing Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods In REDD+ Pilot Communities” in Bokalum & Bamba in Boki Local Government Area. The goal of the scheme, it was gathered, is to enhance the community’s capacity to support the REDD+ initiative through the provision of sustainable alternative livelihoods and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) have officially launched the new edition of the IEA-UIC Railway Handbook on Energy Consumption & CO2 Emissions. The 2016 publication marks the fifth year of cooperation between the two organisations and provides a wealth of practical information on the rail sector. This year, it takes a special look at the landmark Paris Agreement, signed at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP21) in December 2015, where more than 190 countries pledged to take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The 2016 edition highlights the rail sector’s decisive role in meeting global climate and economic challenges, and shows that the rail sector is on track to meet the UIC’s low-carbon targets. This year’s special focus on sustainability targets underscores that rail transportation offers a more sustainable alternative to most other transport modes, both in terms of energy use and carbon emissions per passenger-kilometre or tonne-kilometre, and should continue to do so over the coming decades.

The Handbook also contains more detailed and accurate energy data from railways around the world. In addition to information from European railways, it provides improved data from Russia, Japan, the United States, China, India and South Korea, among others.

As in previous editions, the Handbook’s Part I presents the most significant data and trends on energy consumption and CO2 emissions from the rail sector, focusing on the most relevant regions for rail activity – the European Union, the United States, Japan, Russia, India and China. These accounted for 89% of passenger-kilometres and 84% of tonne-kilometres travelled globally in 2013. The section also provides regional and global statistics on rail-related CO2emissions, passenger activities, freight activities, and electrification.

The section pays particular attention to the growing role of high-speed rail, including its global coverage (in operation, in construction, or being planning). High-speed rail infrastructure in 2013 was dominated by China, with 60% of global high-speed infrastructure, followed by Europe with a 24% share.

Part II of the Handbook offers an analysis of national and regional CO2 emissions targets and compares the rail sector to other modes of transportation. The IEA-UIC analysis shows that the rail sector is on track to achieve the UIC Low Carbon Rail Transport Challenge targets with regard to energy efficiency for 2030 and 2050, which will put the rail sector in line with the 2 Degree Scenario (2DS) outlined in the IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives publication.

The Handbook also presents global targets that were set by the UIC in 2014, which were signed by UIC Members in 2015 through the UIC’s ‘Train To Paris’ campaign.

Part II also looks at national commitments to achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. It provides an analysis of the Nationally Determined Contributions, which represent national pledges, and seeks to understand how countries include the transport sector and the rail sector in their pledges.

Some of the key facts of the 2016 Edition:

• The transport sector emitted 7.5 billion tonne CO2 in 2013. The share of CO2 emissions from transport has continuously increased since 2010 from 22.7% to 23.4% in 2013. In 2013, 3.5% of transport CO2 emissions were due to the rail sector, while railways transported 8% of the world’s passengers and goods.
• Global railway passenger activity grew by 133% between 1975 and 2013. China and India were the major contributors to this growth, with an eight-fold increase in railway activity, while EU28 activity grew by 10% in the same period. Freight activity has increased by 78% since 1975. USA, Russia and China are the top countries for freight transport on rail in terms of tonne-kilometers carried.
• The total length of high-speed lines in operation was more than 10 times higher in 2015 compared to 1990. China has taken the lead in high speed rail deployment and was hosting 60% of all high speed lines globally in 2015. Globally, high-speed passenger activity has almost doubled between 2000 and 2013.
• The rail sector accounted for 2% of the total energy used in the transport sector, in 2013. The rail sector was 57% fuelled by oil products and 36.4% by electricity.
• The share of electrified railway tracks has increased by 163% between 1975 and 2013 at world level. China and Korea increased their share of respectively 325% and 343% from 1990 to 2013.
• Coal consumption in rail has dramatically fallen between 1990 and 2013, and is nearly phased out. In the same period electricity use in rail has increased from 17.2% to 36.4%, including a significant rise in renewable electricity sources (from 3.4% to 8.7%).
• In 2013, the specific energy consumption of rail passenger transport was 138 kJ/pkm, while the specific energy consumption of rail freight transport was 129 kJ/tkm. The specific energy consumption of the railways decreased by 63% and 48% in passenger and freight services respectively, between 1975 and 2013. Specific CO2 emissions in the rail sector have been following a similar improvement rate: they dropped by 60% in passenger services and by 38% in freight services between 1975 and 2013.
• The rates of improvement of rail energy and CO2 intensity were in line with UIC’s 2030 and 2050 targets in 2013 (latest collected data): specific energy consumption has reduced by 37% between 1990 and 2013, and specific CO2emissions have reduced by 30% in the same period, according to the IEA Mobility Model, integrating energy consumption data of UIC members covering over 90% of total rail activity.
• The monitoring of CO2 emissions carried out by the UIC ESRS (Environmental Strategy Reporting System) highlights the performance of European railways in line with the UIC-CER targets for 2020, 2030 and 2050 at European level. From the perspective of the market-based approach, railways have already achieved the 2020 target for specific CO2 emissions reduction. The target for total CO2 emissions reduction was already achieved in 2006 considering both the location-based and market-based approaches.
• European railways have already achieved the EU Climate Package target of using 20% renewable energy in 2011 by 2020. Electrification and green procurement played a key role in achieving this target.
• Railways are more energy and CO2 efficient per traffic unit than competitor transport modes. According to IPCC analysis and projections, railways will likely remain among the most sustainable transport modes until at least 2030.
• The Energy Technology Perspectives 2016 publication (IEA, 2016) suggests that an increase in the share of high-speed rail in total transport activity is required to achieve the “2 Degree Scenario” (2DS), as this would reduce the average carbon intensity of long distance passenger transport.
• In the context of the COP21 event held in Paris in 2015, 75% of the world’s countries have established strategies and targets to improve the environmental performance of their transport sector within their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). One-fifth of the transport-related (I)NDCs include measures in the railway sector.

Production of the Railway Handbook 2016 has strengthened the ongoing collaboration between the IEA and the UIC. This relationship has served to enrich and improve the knowledge of activity, energy and emissions data associated with the railway sector. The information presented this year was made possible thanks to the direct data collection from railways covering over 90% of the global rail transport activity, which was incorporated in the IEA Mobility Model.

The IEA-UIC Railway Handbook on Energy Consumption & CO2 Emissions 2016 Edition is available here.

The leaders of four major global cities say they will stop the use of all diesel-powered cars and trucks by the middle of the next decade.

The mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens say they are implementing the ban to improve air quality.

They say they will give incentives for alternative vehicle use and promote walking and cycling.

The commitments were made in Mexico at the biennial C40 meeting of urban leaders in Mexico.

The use of diesel in transport has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, as concerns about its impact on air quality have grown. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that around three million deaths every year are linked to exposure to outdoor air pollution.

Diesel engines contribute to the problem in two key ways – through the production of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Very fine soot PM can penetrate the lungs and can contribute to cardiovascular illness and death.

Nitrogen oxides can help form ground level ozone and this can exacerbate breathing difficulties, even for people without a history of respiratory problems.

As the evidence has mounted, environmental groups have used the courts to try and enforce clear air standards and regulations. In the UK, campaigners have recently had success in forcing the government to act more quickly.

Now, mayors from a number of major cities with well known air quality problems have decided to use their authority to clamp down on the use of diesel.

In the UK, campaigners are calling for London’s mayor to commit to phase out diesel vehicles from London by 2025.

Sadiq Khan has proposed an expansion to the planned Ultra-Low Emission Zone in central London.

ClientEarth lawyer Alan Andrews said: “In the UK, London’s mayor is considering bolder action than his predecessor, proposing an expansion to the planned Ultra-Low Emission Zone. This is welcome but we want him to go further and faster.

“And it’s not just London that has this problem; we need a national network of clean air zones so that the problem is not simply pushed elsewhere.”

By Matt McGrath (BBC)