Victims of the recent flood that occurred in Bachaka town of Gudu local government area (LGA) of Sokoto State on Monday received a donation of relief materials worth N5 million from the member that represents Gudu/Tangaza Federal Constituency, Isa Kalanjeni.
Relief materials
The relief materials donated to alleviate the suffering of the victims include 300 bags of cement, 30 bundles of roofing sheets, rubber mats, plastic buckets and kettles.
“I visited to personally commiserate with you in your most trying times. My donation is not in any way a compensation for your huge losses because only God is capable of compensating you,” he said.
Calling on the victims to regard the disaster as an act of God, Kalanjeni disclosed that he had reported the incident to the House Committee on Disasters.
“I have also written to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for its action,” he added.
District Head of Bachaka, Alhaji Aminu Abdullahi, commended the lawmaker and promised that the items would be distributed judiciously.
On behalf of all other beneficiaries, Ibrahim Gatari and Sambo Abdullahi also commended Kalanjeni and promised to make proper use of the materials.
Alcoholic beverage maker, Guinness Nigeria Plc, is partnering with international charity organisation, WaterAid Nigeria, to construct two solar-powered water facilities at Gwam in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The venture aims at improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the community.
L-R: Country Director, Water Aid Nigeria, Dr. Michael Ojo; Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Sesan Sobowale; International Chief Executive, WaterAid, Ms. Barbara Frost; and Commissioner for Water Resources, Bauchi State, Alhaji Mohammed Ghali Abdulhameed, at the commissioning of water and sanitation facilities constructed by Guinness Nigeria Plc in Gwam, Bauchi State
The Guinness Nigeria/WaterAid Gwam water facility, which was recently unveiled at a colourful ceremony, is one of two major water schemes which the brewing bigwig has delivered this year in collaboration with international not-for-profit partners, and the 34th site for the Guinness Nigeria, Water of Life initiative in Nigeria.
Some 20,000 people will benefit from the water scheme, which comprises two solar-powered boreholes and two blocks of toilets.
Guinness Nigeria’s Corporate Relations Director, Mr. Sesan Sobowale, at the occasion reiterated the company’s commitment to initiatives that improve access to safe water. In his remarks, he noted that Guinness Nigeria would continue to play a leading role in promoting water stewardship in Nigeria. He thanked Water Aid for its transformational work in promoting health and hygiene in the country.
Sobowale said: “Diageo’s water blueprint articulates the role we will play as a business to tackle a wide range of water-related issues both in Nigeria and globally. In furtherance of this blueprint, Guinness Nigeria has prioritised interventions that improve access to safe water especially in communities that face acute water scarcity.
“We have also invested in technologies that help us manage our water use. The construction of the Gwam water scheme is in furtherance of our efforts to help more Nigerians access clean drinking water. Our hope is that by improving access to clean water, we can help people in Gwam community improve their hygiene and overall wellbeing.”
Also speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Bauch State Commissioner for Water Resources, Alhaji Mohammed Ghali Abdulhameed, expressed the state government’s gratitude over the newly-constructed facility. He submitted that the water facility would support the state government’s drive to improve health and hygiene for its citizens.
“This intervention is indeed timely and commendable. Water is an absolutely essential resource that is vital for the health and wellbeing of our citizens. We, the people of Bauchi State, are therefore delighted that Guinness Nigeria and WaterAid have joined forces to improve access to safe water in our state. We are immensely grateful for this intervention” he said.
Chief Executive, WaterAid International, Ms. Barbara Frost, underscored WaterAid’s vision to help create a world where everyone, everywhere has access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. She said: “It is great to see that the Bauchi State Government, Guinness Nigeria and WaterAid are working collaboratively to tackle the challenge of water scarcity in Bauchi State. I would like to thank the government of Bauchi State for creating a conducive environment that has enabled WaterAid to implement its programmes in the state. WaterAid will continue to partner various stakeholders in Nigeria to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation.”
Last year, Guinness had executed similar water projects in the Adigbe area of Ogun State and in 10 communities across three local government areas of Cross River State.
In February this year, Guinness Nigeria announced that, in furtherance its flagship “Water of Life” scheme, it would be partnering with WaterAid Nigeria and Oxfam, two leading international NGOs, to improve access to safe water in Nigerian communities that face severe water scarcity.
Two separate validation workshops held recently Abuja, the federal capital city, and Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State, displayed an increasing stakeholder ownership of the National Framework Strategy and Cross River State REDD+ Strategy development process.
The forums likewise set the stage for a somewhat vital next-phase for the UN-REDD Programme in the country.
While the pilot site, Cross River State, is rounding off the Readiness phase, two new states – Nasarawa and Ondo – will soon be welcome into the UN-REDD+ fold.
Participants at the Abuja validationPhilip Bankole, Director of Forestry in the Federal Ministry of Environment (standing); Cross River State Commissioner for Climate Change and Forestry, Dr Alice Olok Ekwu (left); Mandisa Mashologu, Deputy Country Director (Programmes), UNDP Nigeria (second right); and Senior Regional Technical Advisor – United Nations Development Programme/UN-REDD+, Elsie Attafuah… in AbujaCross River State Commissioner for Climate Change and Forestry, Dr Alice Olok Ekwu (standing); Philip Bankole, Director of Forestry in the Federal Ministry of Environment (centre); and Mandisa Mashologu, Deputy Country Director (Programmes), UNDP NigeriaParticipants in AbujaParticipants in CalabarSenior Regional Technical Advisor – United Nations Development Programme/UN-REDD+, Elsie Attafuah, at the opening ceremony in CalabarGov. Ben Ayade with other dignitaries on the high table, in calabar
Two separate validation workshops held recently within two weeks in Abuja, the federal capital city, and Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State, have set the stage for a somewhat vital next-phase for the UN-REDD Programme in Nigeria.
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, dressed as a Green Police, delivering a speech at the Calabar validation exercise
While the Abuja forum entailed a national authentication of the draft REDD+ document, the Calabar workshop focused essentially on state-related issues, endorsing the Integrated Analyses for the pilot REDD+ programme for Cross River, which is the first state to host the UN initiative in the country.
Following the corrobration of the study analyses (national framework as well as state), Cross River State will embark on the development of a REDD+ strategy that will both inform the national strategy and serve as model for other states, particularly Ondo and Nassarawa states, which have been named as new programme sites.
According to participants, the strategy comprises policy reforms, investment priorities, and a related REDD+ implementation framework, with due monitoring and safeguard systems, as called for under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The strategy also intends to enhance the value of standing forests and to incentivise sustainable forest management through a multi-stakeholder approach and a green development perspective.
State officials are excited about the development, even as Cross River is gradually coming to the end of the REDD+ readiness phase, preparatory to embracing the implementation stage.
REDD+, which stands for Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, is a global initiative designed to pay groups or countries for protecting their forests and reducing emissions of greenhouse gas pollutants, especially carbondioxide (CO₂).
Governor Ben Ayade, while commending the UN-REDD+ for the pilot programme in his state, added that “Cross River is REDD+ ready, we have started the Green Police, and the garment factory is ready to produce 3,000 uniforms.”
According to him, the state has been working for the past four years to drive the process, adding that there is political will and commitment to address environmental issues in the state.
Ayade noted that people have been denied access to the forests in the past eight years, saying the time to reap the result of their patience has come.
“People have been kept off from the forest for eight years, UN-REDD, please I’m in hurry to get these people off,” the governor said.
Describing the state as a forest, he disclosed that there is a Green Bill in the works that seeks to prosecute any house that does not have four trees standing. He urged the UN to focus on aggressive tree planting.
He added that he has attested to a Bill to put an end to use of charcoal in the state and implement the use of rice husks to provide briquette to replace charcoal.
On the controversial Super Highway, he said that, being “an enlightened governor”, he had it well thought, and that the controversy generated was needless. He added that all the corridors of the Super Highway would be protected.
Commissioner, Ministry of Climate Change and Forestry, Dr. Alice Ekwu, said the state habours about half of what is left of Nigeria’s rainforest and so was qualified for the REDD+ programme.
Ekwu explained that the programme has been on ground for the past four years and that much as happened in preparing the state for REDD+ readiness stage, which the meeting was set to conclude and move to the investment phase.
She commended the UN-REDD+ Programme for using the state as pilot scheme in the country, saying: “Cross River State is the firstborn of UN-REDD+ in Nigeria.”
Senior Regional Technical Advisor- United Nations Development Programme/UN-REDD+, Elsie Attafuah, who represented the UNDP, in her remarks, commended the federal and Cross River governments on the pilot programme, saying the UN system is committed to the REDD+ programme.
Attafuah noted that climate change presents one of the most compelling challenge and that “together we can do something about it”.
In Abuja the validation workshop on “Integrated Analyses for REDD+ Strategy for Nigeria” provided a unique opportunity to discuss key drivers of deforestation, and policy measures to address them through the REDD+ strategy.
“In Nigeria, Cross River holds the highest amount of the remaining forests and is a major national asset and biodiversity hotspot,” stated Dr Ekwu.
Mandisa Mashologu, Deputy Country Director (Programmes), UNDP Nigeria, described the REDD+ strategy as an opportunity for Nigeria to bring transformational and systemic change to forest management and protection.
Nigeria’s UN-REDD Programme has been urged to make better use of online publications as well as social media platforms in order to effectively communicate and increase awareness on its activities.
Cross River State Commissioner for Climate Change and Forestry, Dr Alice Olok Ekwu (standing), with the FAO Representative on REDD+, Dr Rabe Mani, during the workshop
This call formed part of the outcomes of a three-day “Capacity building workshop of selected and strategic media professionals on REDD+” that held recently in Calabar, Cross River State.
Specifically, the gathering listed web-based publications such as EnviroNews Nigeria, Premium Times and Sahara Reporters as online media that should be prioritised in this regard, adding that the programme’s accounts on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others should also be created so as to improve communication and create awareness.
REDD+, which stands for Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, is a global initiative designed to pay groups or countries for protecting their forests and reducing emissions of greenhouse gas pollutants, especially carbondioxide (CO₂).
After extensive deliberations as well as the presentation of about seven papers in three days, the forum called on the media to research to understand the local context and relate REDD+ communication to local realities and facts.
Similarly, the REDD+ programme was asked to identify and use appropriate traditional modes of communication to enhance REDD+ communication. It was likewise called upon to involve relevant influencers or opinion leaders in the programme to increase awareness and promote behaviour change.
Both parties – REDD+ programme and the media – were however told to keep REDD+ communication simple. This, they were asked to do, by defining acronyms and technical terminologies to enhance understanding and improve communication.
While being called upon to develop innovative approaches to report its activities regularly to create more awareness, it was also recommended that REDD+ should partner with media managers/executives to enhance information dissemination on the programme.
The Programme is also to build and sustain relationship with media personnel (such as reporters, presenters, camera men and producers) to enhance information dissemination on the programme.
It was also agreed that the Programme should build the capacity of media personnel on REDD+ issues to sustain knowledge and improve communication.
Cross River State Commissioner for Climate Change and Forestry, Dr Alice Olok Ekwu, while declaring that the state government is committed to the UN-REDD process, however said: “We need to work harder. I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen during the course of this three-day workshop. We will do all in our capacity to take UN-REDD to the very next level.”
The FAO Representative on REDD+, Dr Rabe Mani, commended the gathering for the enlightening deliberations as well as the state government on efferts made towards realising the REDD+ process. He urged the authorities not to rest on their oars, moreso now that the Programme is about to transit from the readiness to the implementation phase.
The Technical Panel Review of Federal Ministry of Environment headquartered in Abuja, the federal capital city, at the weekend paid a courtesy call on Dr Olusegun Mimiko, the Governor of Ondo State, in Akure, the state capital.
Photos by Sam Olusegun.
Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko (middle); representative of the Minister of Environment, Mr Olayinka Tejuosho (left); and Secretary to Ondo State Government, Dr Rotimi Adelola (right)From right: Chief of Staff to Ondo State Governor, Dr Kola Ademujimi; representative of the Minister of Environment, Mr Olayinka Tejuosho; Governor Olusegun Mimiko; Chairman of Technical Panel Review of Federal Ministry of Environment, Funsho Makanjuola; and Secretary to Ondo State Government, Dr Rotimi Adelola.From right: Representative of the Minister of Environment, Mr Olayinka Tejuosho; Governor Olusegun Mimiko; Chairman of Technical Panel Review of Federal Ministry of Environment, Funsho Makanjuola; and Secretary to Ondo State Government, Dr Rotimi AdelolaFrom right: Representative of the Minister of Environment, Mr Olayinka Tejuosho; Governor Olusegun Mimiko; Chairman of Technical Panel Review of Federal Ministry of Environment, Funsho Makanjuola; and Secretary to Ondo State Government, Dr Rotimi Adelola
Water and climate experts on Sunday in Stockholm, Sweden called for a Green Water Initiative, as part of a Water Revolution in Africa, that would alleviate hunger on the continent and help to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
At the onset of the 2016 World Water Week (WWW) holding in the Swedish capital city, a group of world-renowned hydro-climate experts said that rainwater harvesting and other green water management methods are key to alleviating hunger in sub-Saharan Africa and meeting the SDGs.
Green water is the part of the rain that infiltrates into, and is stored in, the soil.
“Large parts of the world are struggling to adapt to a drier reality, but challenges are especially dire in Africa’s drylands. Africa’s climate is its Achilles Heel,” said Professor Malin Falkenmark, Senior Scientific Advisor to Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), organisers of the WWW.
In the water-scarce regions of sub-Saharan Africa (mainly consisting of savannah), direct management of scarce rainfall must form an integral part of the development agenda, said the group, which includes Malin Falkenmark (Stockholm International Water Institute and Stockholm Resilience Centre), Johan Rockström (Stockholm Resilience Centre), Johan Kuylenstierna (Stockholm Environment Institute), Charles J. Vörösmarty (CUNY Advanced Science Research Centre), Torgny Holmgren (SIWI) and Fred Boltz (The Rockefeller Foundation), during Sunday’s Malin Falkenmark Symposium at the WWW.
The vast drylands encircling the Congo Basin are home to some 750 million people, a number that is expected to increase to 1.6 billion in the next 35 years. Meanwhile, agricultural yields in this region are very low, on average around one tonne per hectare, as a result of frequent droughts.
The group said that, to meet the SDG Goal 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture), Africa needs a Triple Green Revolution: green for productive use of green water, green for intensification and enhanced food production, and green for sustainability and building water resilience in watersheds.
Rain, the scientists said, is the ultimate water source in dryland agriculture, as the limited blue water (such as rivers and streams) will be needed for increased urban water supply, industry and energy production.
They suggest rainwater harvesting systems that can offer supplementary irrigation, harvested from slopes and valley bottoms and stored in ponds or dams for use during dry spells and drought periods.
To finance the initiative, the group proposed a Water Harvesting Innovation Fund for Africa, to build water resilience for food security and human well-being.
“Initiatives like the Green Water Initiative in Africa, within the framework of the 2030 Agenda is of great importance if we will have any chance of realising the Sustainable Development Goals. I hope to see some concrete response to this call,” said SIWI’s Executive Director, Torgny Holmgren.
An annual global meeting for water and development issues, WWW welcomes some 3,000 participants from over 120 countries, who gather to discuss global and local water and development challenges.
The Lagos State Government on Sunday read the riot act to all the owners of illegal structures, shanties, street hawkers and those who have converted walkways into trading points and food courts in Ikoyi, Victoria Island (VI) and the Lagoon Front of Lekki, giving them 14 days’ grace to remove such illegal structures.
Tunji Bello, Secretary to the Lagos State Government
In a press statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Tunji Bello, the State Government warned that if such illegal structures are not removed after the 14-day grace, the State Special Task Force on the Clean Up of the areas would move in to enforce the laws.
“The owners of all the illegal structures, shanties, abandoned buildings and all those who have converted road median to commercial uses in Ikoyi, VI and Lekki have between today (Monday) and two weeks’ time to comply or have the State Special Task Force on the Clean Up of the areas to contend with,” the SSG was quoted as saying in the statement.
The statement added that owners of all abandoned buildings in different areas of Ikoyi, Lekki and VI, which are now harbouring prostitutes, illegal miscreants and unwanted elements must clear the structures of such undesirable elements immediately.
Bello specifically warned owners of properties on the Lagoon fronts of Lekki Phase 1, who have littered the whole areas with compactors and several other deadweight equipments, to remove them outrightly.
Bello said the state government notes with concern the conversion of the frontages of properties and abandoned houses to kiosks and trading points by maids and guards as well as the unregulated activities of horticulturists who have turned setbacks to hideouts and selling points.
He reiterated the determination of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration to restore the original master plan of Ikoyi, VI and Lekki by checking the activities of roadside automobile repairers who have converted many dual carriage lanes to single lanes with indiscriminate parkings.
He said government would no longer tolerate unauthorised parking of vehicles, trucks as well unsightly state of drainage infrastructure, adding that owners of such vehicles and properties with unkempt drainages will be prosecuted.
Bello said it is totally unacceptable for people to stockpile and display wares such as bags of charcoal on major roads like Ahmadu Bello Way and Federal Secretariat Road, Ikoyi, stating that, henceforth, such goods would be confiscated and the owners prosecuted.
He said: “We are using this medium to sensitise members of the public and residents of the affected areas who are involved in these illegalities to immediately take right action and do the needful as the State Government will take the necessary steps to enforce its environmental and sanitation laws forthwith.
“All those engaging in roadside display of wares, illegal street trading and all illegal squatters on undeveloped land and all those who have converted road median to commercial uses in Ikoyi, VI and Lekki are being advised in their own interest to put a stop to the illegalities.”
Three of the world’s most eminent experts on the intersection of nature and human well-being were announced recently in Bonn, Germany as co-chairs of a new global assessment commissioned by the 125 governments comprising the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Sir Robert Watson, Chair of IPBES
Professors Sandra Díaz (Argentina), Eduardo Brondízio (Brazil & USA) and Josef Settele (Germany) will lead more than 100 expert authors from around the world in a three-year multidisciplinary collaboration to produce the IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
Speaking about the significance and scope of the undertaking, Sir Robert Watson, Chair of the IPBES, said: “In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), which I co-chaired, changed the way we look at our world. The consensus of the largest group of social and natural scientists ever assembled to assess knowledge in this area was that humanity was putting such strain on our environment that the Earth’s ecosystems might be unable to sustain future generations.
“The IPBES Global Assessment is the intellectual progeny of and scientific successor to the MA. Its findings will be the basis for national and international decision-making by governments, the private sector and civil society over the next decade and beyond – providing the science to underpin success of the new Sustainable Development Goals.”
Covering a timeframe from the middle of the last century until the middle of this century, the assessment will analyse the state of knowledge about how people and nature interact, direct and indirect drivers of change, values, response options and nature’s benefits to people. It will explore the contributions of biodiversity and ecosystems to long-term quality of life – focusing on the synergies and trade-offs needed to balance the economic, social and environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as progress made on the UN Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
Asked about the differences between the MA and the new assessment, Dr. Anne Larigauderie, IPBES Executive Secretary, explained: “The Global Assessment will offer a much-needed update on the status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services – which were last reviewed more than a decade ago. It also introduces a number of innovations, in addition to its unprecedented intergovernmental mandate – having been specifically requested by our Member States, based on a detailed blueprint. It is guided by the IPBES conceptual framework, which recognises different world views and incorporates a wide range of values and knowledge systems including, for the first time, vital indigenous and local knowledge. The careful balancing of our participating experts is another source of great value – with equitable representation of the natural and social sciences, geographical regions, gender and professional experience.”
The first author meeting that brought together almost 150 participants held a week ago. It included the newly announced co-chairs, coordinating lead authors, lead authors as well as members of the IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel, Bureau and technical support unit. A first order draft of the Global Assessment is expected to be ready for expert review in mid-2017, with two further rounds of author meetings, reviews and revisions, before submission to IPBES governments for final approval in May 2019. The Assessment will also be a key input to the Fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5) of the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be published in 2020.
Sandra Díaz is a Professor of Community and Ecosystem Ecology at the National University of Córdoba and a senior member of the National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET) at Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Founder and director of the international initiative Núcleo DiverSus on Diversity and Sustainability, she has authored more than 150 scientific publications, many of them in prominent academic journals, and served in leading positions for the IPCC, the MA, Future Earth and DIVERSITAS.
Eduardo S. Brondízio is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, co-Editor-In-Chief of Current Opinion on Environmental Sustainability and serves on a range of international scientific bodies including the Science Committee of the Future Earth programme. Committed for three decades to research on human-environment interaction in the Amazon, he is the author of more than 180 scientific publications and has contributed to numerous regional and global assessments including the MA.
Josef Settele is at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, heading the animal ecology and social-ecological research section. He is a Professor of Ecology at Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, and a member of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research – iDiv. He served as a coordinating lead author for both the IPCC and the recent IPBES pollination assessment, and is one of the most prolific scientific authors in the field, with more than 370 scientific publications, including more than 30 books.
The combined effect of heavy rains and windstorm that occurred Friday night killed three-year-old Sharif Bashir and destroyed about 100 houses in Tudun-Yando village in Dange Shuni local government area (LGA) of Sokoto State.
Windstorm leaves a building and a car in ruins
EnviroNews gathered that the disasters, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, affected Tudun Yan-dogo, Kwanar Kinba, Dogon Marke, Shuni town, Rafin Ali, Betta and Kadabale, among other villages.
What is left of a petrol station
The bereaved father, Bashir Aliyu, confirmed to EnviroNews that Sharif died as a result of a wall that fell down on him at around 3.00am on Saturday.
Destroyed roofing
He said: “We regard the death of Sharif as an act of God. We have since buried him.” He added that, apart from farm produce and livestock that were lost to the combined disasters, several houses, schools and filling stations were also affected.
Destruction trails the Tudun-Yando village windstorm
Sympathising with the victims of the disasters, the local government council chairman, Alhaji Mode Dan Tasallah, told EnviroNews that the council would provide temporary shelters to them in schools and other public buildings.
Twisted steel roofing components litter the filling station
He added that the council would “set up a committee comprised 10 members to assess the extent of damage caused by the disasters. It will also recommend the types of assistance to be extended to the victims.”
Director-General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Hassan Maccido, told EnviroNews that the agency would assess the situation and make recommendations to government.
