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.

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.

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.”

The world confab on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development better known as Habitat III was held in Quito, Ecuador from October 17-20, 2016. The city of Quito hosted the conference while the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) anchored the conference and provided the secretarial backup. At the last count, over 36, 000 delegates from 167 countries and 10,000 global participants were in attendance. The attendance at the conference, according to the organisers, was the largest participation ever recorded by local authourities, civil societies and other stakeholders at a United Nations conference.

The corollary of the Conference was a document titled New Urban Agenda(NUA) which  over 100 member countries of UN-Habitat endorsed as the guidelines on how issues and challenges posed by urbanisation would be addressed in the next two decades. It was projected that by 2050, 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities worldwide. This is a frightening figure. It, therefore, calls for a concerted effort by governments to develop a sustainable plan for a rapidly urbanising world. The NUA “seeks to create a mutually reinforcing relationship between urbanisation and development.” On the basis of this concept, the NUA has come up with “an aspirational framework (not legally binding) that will seek to guide U.N member states how best to ensure that urbanisation is sustainable, inclusive and operationalised for the benefit of people.”

The Nigerian delegation to the Habitat III Confab was led by the Federal Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), who addressed the assembly of member nations during the opening session of the conference. The snippets from Fashola’s address accessed online are recapitulated as follows: “that more than half of the global population already living in cities; that the urbanisation rate has been rising fastest in Africa; that about half of Nigeria population now lives in urban centres; that rapid urbanisation poses some problems and challenges; that cities play a crucial role in our lives, and are crucial engines of growth for the economy; that urbanisation can help to jump-start industrialisation and manufacturing; and that the incipient urbanization must, therefore, be exploited to unlock its economic potentials, and provide a solution for rapid transformation of our urban centres.”

Is Nigeria ready for urbanisation?This writer is quoting copiously part of the text of the Hon. Minister’s address for the purpose of this article. Having addressed  a world assembly about Nigeria’s view on rapid urbanisation, its challenges, and the oppourtunities derivable from the process, one is tempted to ask: Is Nigeria really ready to deal with or confront the present problems and future challenges of the country’s rapid urbanisation?

Judging from the manifestations in Nigerian cities from the intermediate towns, the large cities, the metropolises and the pioneer megacity of Lagos, it cannot be truly confirmed that the preparedness and capability to deal with the country’s rapid urbanisation is real and firmly on the ground. Since the spin-off of Nigeria’s rapid urbanisation in the 1970s and post-oil boom era till date, the capability to plan and manage the cities effectively has been overwhelming. The rate of rural-urban migration, which is the main cause of the increase in urban population was never controlled either deliberately through policy fiat or program interventions.

While the influx goes on, there was little or no proactive approach to planning the urban centres in the true sense of urban planning. Where a semblance of urban planning was made, it was feeble and did not respond adequately and quickly to the ambulatory speed of  urban expansion, thereby leading to a situation where planning was running after development instead of vice versa. Consequently, Nigerian cities were bombarded with the proliferation of slum settlements where migrants live under very deplorable and health-threatening conditions.

Till date, the situation remains pathetic while the speed of urbanisation is still gaining momentum. For example, “the population of Lagos in 2000 was six million and, in the year 2011, the population was 12.5 million and, by 2014, it has morphed from a metropolis to a megacity of over 21 million people and still growing.” Other cities within the country are also having a net increase in their populations.

“By 2020, the country’s population is projected to reach 203.7 million with an urbanization rate of 56.8 per cent. By 2025 and 2050 the latter is further projected to rise to 60.3 percent and 75.4 percent respectively,” says Nigeria’s Report for Habitat III, 2016. What all the statistics reveal is that rapid urbanisation will continue to be on the upward swing, which is typical of a developing country such as Nigeria.

Future challenges of urbanisation in Nigeria are very apparent. As pointed out earlier in this piece, over 70 percent of Nigeria population will live in cities across the country by the year 2050. Currently, Nigerian cities are debilitated by the problems associated with urbanisation to such an extent that the cities are left unfunctional in the provision of basic services and infrastructures, mobility and unsightly due to environmental unwholesomeness. The shortage of housing is steadily on the increase and finance is in short supply to cope with the essentials of planning and city management. It is therefore safe to imply that with a higher percentage of urban population, the challenges which the cities in Nigeria would contend with in the future will be mega and multi-dimensional. It is in these urban settlements that the battle for sustainable urban development will be won or lost. As a nation, therefore, we should begin to chart a course for the country’s urban future.

It is important to understand the inter-relatedness of the various problems posed by rapid urbanisation. The inherent problems often associated with rapid urbanisation are of consequence and inter-related. Meaning one problem is a causative factor of another problem. In terms of a solution, all the problems arising from incipient urbanisation in Nigeria cannot be treated in isolation from each. Both must be addressed in a holistic  cause-and-effect approach. Furthermore, the pervasive and destructive nature of urbanisation problems in Nigerian cities cannot be overemphasised. Uncontrolled and not well-managed urbanisation has wrecked havoc in the urban centres.

For example, rural-urban migration triggers urban population increase and human congestion in cities. It increases the demand for housing and in a situation of the housing shortage and prohibitive house rent, people usually resort to self-help and improvise for their shelter. They prefer to live in overcrowded shanty towns despite the high health risk and their vulnerability to epidemics. The problem of vehicular congestion in cities is also connected to the sudden increase in the number people driving on the city roads causing air pollution through fumes from vehicle exhausts.

From this illustrated scenario, the connectivity of each of the problem is apparent. Therefore, addressing the root cause of urbanisation is pivotal while managing the problems is also of necessity since the process is unstoppable. This calls for the quick-fix and long-term interventions by the government and private sector initiatives in order for Nigeria’s teeming urban population most especially the marginalised migrants, to benefit from living in the cities.

New urban age calls for New Urban Agenda (NUA). That the world is in the fast lane of urbanisation is an incontrovertible reality. Echoes from the Habitat III Conference have further confirmed that the entire global community must realise that homo sapiens have woken up to a new dawn of rapid urbanisation and urbanism where the destination of most people is to migrate and live in the cities.

And that the choice of where people decide to reside is a personal decision, not governmental. Rather than misconstrue urbanisation as a burden, member nations must also consider the positive aspects of the human settlement transformation and get ready to deal effectively with the future challenges that urbanisation could pose.

The beginning of the journey to properly manage urbanisation is the well-articulated and far-reaching guidelines contained in the New Urban Agenda, which all member countries of the United Nations have endorsed and pledged to implement its provisions. The NUA is replete with a gamut of suggestions on how to successfully manage urbanisation by ensuring sustainable urban development, good urban governance, participatory urban planning, urban design, urban economy, urban ecology and environment, inclusive urban prosperity and equal oppourtunities for all and the coordination of urban and rural development strategies. The application of innovative technology forms part of the very detailed provisions of the NUA.

The domestication of the New Urban Agenda in Nigeria and the framework for its implementation must begin in earnest. The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing should go the extra mile to reproduce the 24-page NUA document and ensure its distribution to all the states of the federation and to the 774 local governments by way of wider dissemination of the provisions and sundry information contained in the NUA. The NUA must not be to the exclusive knowledge of the technocrats at the Federal level.

The document must also be circulated to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government to enable these institutions to have a clear knowledge of the exact role(s) they are expected to play in the implementation of the NUA document. For example, I foresee the Ministry of Environment, Transportation, Finance, Tourism and Culture, Health, Power, Works, Science and Technology, National Bureau of Statistics and National Planning Commission among others whose expected/essential roles are implicit in the document. Unless these institutions are brought into the picture of what their roles are supposed to be, they might be oblivious and remain complacent. This is the more reason why the anchor ministry responsible for Housing and Urban Development at the federal level which also doubles as the country’s secretariat for Habitat III should do the necessary follow-up so that all stakeholders are adequately informed and mobilised to be part of the implementation process.

By extension, all institutions of higher learning must not be left out of the distribution chain, most especially those offering a degree course in urban and regional planning. The NUA will serve as a guide for their curriculum review and updating. In line with what the NUA suggested, these institutions could develop a new programme of studies in urbanisation tailored toward the needs of urban managers, technocrats and other municipal officials who work for the state or local governments in the country.

The same case is also made for the organised private sector, the civil society, professional bodies and other desirable stakeholders. This all “inclusive approach” will go a long way in educating what to expect and how to respond to the challenges of future urbanisation. One of the cardinal principles of the NUA is: inclusiveness.

Finally, the entire document must be put on the Ministry’s website for ease of access by the reading public. The citizenry must have a shared mission and vision of the country’s urbanisation challenge and promise.

By Yacoob Abiodun (Urban Planner and Planning Advocate; wrote from Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos)

Multiple water protectors and their allies who stand in support of the efforts to halt the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in the U.S. were arrested on Friday at the Kirkwood Mall in Bismarck.  These water protectors had gathered to hold a prayer circle, raise awareness with shoppers and disseminate information on the human and environmental impacts of the pipeline.  Heavily weaponised and undercover police were said to have physically assaulted and arrested close to 50 protectors within minutes of gathering peacefully.

Kandi Mossett of the Indigenous Environmental Network commented, “As a person born and raised in North Dakota, I’m ashamed at the violence against water protectors who wanted only to circle up and pray for the water that sustains life for all of us. This violence and racism isn’t new to me as a Native person, but it still angers me that this kind of attack, by locals and police, would happen because people don’t want an interruption to their shopping day. The climate crisis will interrupt life and destroy all of us unless we wake up to what is happening.”

“The actions by the police today further expose the interests of the state in protecting corporate interests over human life,” said Angela Adrar, Executive Director of the Climate Justice Alliance, who is in North Dakota this week as part of a delegation of 100+ community leaders who are acting in solidarity with the indigenous leaders at Standing Rock. “What we witnessed today was the violent and unwarranted response that law enforcement has consistently had toward those who are acting within the law to raise awareness of the devastating impacts that the Dakota Access Pipeline could have on indigenous communities and this entire region.”

If completed, the Dakota Access Pipeline would transport oil across 1,134 miles of Native prairie land, valuable farm land and critical waterways, including the Missouri River. The pipeline most acutely endangers the drinking water for the Oceti Sakowin and Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Nation, however a spill from the oil pipeline poses an economic and environmental threat to communities across the region.

“Our delegation represents people from across the country who have suffered the impacts of environmental degradation in our own communities. We came to the mall today to show the residents of Bismarck that, while we are particularly concerned about issues of sovereignty and survival for indigenous people, we’re also here out of concern for the safety of the entire area and our future generations who will have to pay the price of the pipeline,” said Cindy Wiesner, National Coordinator of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance.

In a news release, North Dakota’s Bismarck Police said 33 people had been arrested for “criminal trespass,” stating that Kirkwood Mall is “private property.” Police arrived at the scene at 12:48 p.m. and reported 100 protesters were gathered. According to police, protesters formed a prayer circle. Those who didn’t leave the premises after being told to do by police were arrested.

“Kirkwood Mall management advised BPD they would not allow any protest activities, nor any open prayer services in or on their property,” said police. “Kirkwood Mall informed police that if any of these activities occur on or in their property that any individual(s) involved need to be told to leave Kirkwood Mall property.”

Videos of the protests and subsequent arrests show at least one protester on the ground shouting “Water is life” while being arrested. Amnesty International tweeted a video of the arrests saying: “Following arrests at a North Dakota mall today, we reiterate our demand for police to respect the right to peaceful protest.”

Shortly after the conclusion of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakech, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa, visited Norway, where she met with government and local leaders and gave a speech at the 2016 Zero Emission Conference in Oslo. Hosted by the Norwegian NGO ZERO, the conference was designed to show that it is possible to create a thriving, modern society without the use of fossil fuels or fossil-based materials, and with zero greenhouse gas emissions. In her speech, Espinosa summed up the central outcomes of COP22, along with outlining the next steps for international, national and local climate action, and addressed the issue of what specifically Norway can do to help implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Let me start by thanking the Zero Emission Resource Organisation for the invitation to join the 2016 Zero Emission Conference. I’d also like to thank you all for coming and discussing what is expected from Norway, and indeed from every country around the world, now that the Paris Agreement has entered into force.

The question of what’s next has certainly been in thoughts of many individuals and institutions.

As I am sure you know, we just wrapped up COP22 in Marrakech. This latest climate change conference gave some good insight into what’s next. Let me share a few insights from Marrakech.

First, I saw unparalleled political will to act on climate change. The momentum that carried us from hundreds of thousands of people in the streets at the People’s Climate March in 2014… to an ambitious agreement in Paris last year has not diminished.

Political will brought the Paris Agreement into force just days before this year’s conference in Marrakech, setting a tone for the meeting and allowing us to hold the historic first Conference of the Parties to the Paris Agreement.

Second, Marrakech featured close cooperation to advance critical issues, which can be seen in the conference outcomes. Governments took a crucial step towards writing the rules of the Paris Agreement. They outlined the finance, technology and capacity building support that enables the developing world to move to low-emission development and build resilience. Marrakech featured long-term de-carbonisation plans from major emitters and medium-income countries.

The Marrakech Action Proclamation unites nations in the determination to implement the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.

This is all very positive and shows that governments are willing to work together. It also sends a strong signal that we have unstoppable global momentum on climate change and sustainable development.

Third and finally, Marrakech shined a light on movement in markets and in the private sector. And it highlighted climate actions by local governments.

In markets, we see a transformation to low-emission. The clean energy market is growing and now it makes more sense to choose renewable energy over all others. Investors are moving to cleaner, greener assets to secure stable returns. Throughout the private sector, we see high efficiency operations, sustainable supply chains and products that reduce consumer’s climate footprint.

Local governments are moving in the same direction. From cleaner air and adequate water to educated workers who can thrive in the green economy, community-level climate action clearly benefits people.

This is why what comes next is so important – our actions over the coming months and years will make a positive difference in the lives of billions of people.

So what is next?

We now need all nations to ratify the agreement and quickly act on their national contributions to the agreement. Norway is a leader in this regard.

Norway was the first industrialised nation to ratify the Paris Agreement and has set an ambitious target. The government here plans to reduce emissions by 40 percent by pointing energy, transportation, agriculture and industry at low-emission models.

The intention is to accomplish this by 2030, which is also the year Norway plans to be carbon-neutral. This is at least 20 years sooner than the long-term goal in the Paris Agreement to be climate neutral in the second half of the century.

This nation has a strong history as a leader and serves as an example for how overachieving can be done by a developed country. This leadership is clearly seen in Norway’s donor support for the intergovernmental climate process, and in your support for climate action in developing countries.

In this new implementation phase, the climate change Secretariat will face many challenges to adapt to our new global realities. We need your continued support, as do many countries around the world.

Achieving an ambitious transformation requires a rapid move towards zero-emission solutions. The Paris Climate Change Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals agreed last year provide the direction we need to go and a framework for solutions.

And friends, many solutions are needed.

This is where you can make a significant difference. You can help Norway capitalize on this leadership opportunity by spreading low-emission – and no-emission – solutions across the world.

The best and brightest minds, the innovators and influencers in public and private sectors, now need to step up and lead.

You have the opportunity to deploy technology that shows that a move to zero-emission personal and public transportation is possible for an entire country. You can accelerate the transformation to your own green economy through financial innovation and cooperation.

You can support other countries as they look to do the same. Procurement that protects forests is a great start, but there is so much more than can be done. For example, you can continue to research and work on solutions like carbon capture and storage that can align the fossil fuel infrastructure we cannot avoid with the zero-emission future we absolutely need.

Norway is truly positioned at the forefront of action. And now is the time to act.

The Paris Agreement and SDGs must promote these solutions and more, here and in every country. Zero-emission solutions should be integrated into all national development plans, all business models and into the everyday lives of all citizens.

This is what’s next – improving the lives and livelihoods of people in local communities, while making significant gains towards our common global goals.

We must build on progress made to date. We must work together to spread these solutions around the world, across societies and sectors of the economy.

Together we can deliver a future that is peaceful and prosperous for all, using low-emission solutions that keep our planet healthy and livable.