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Worry as River Blindness breaks out afresh in Kaduna communities

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Worry as River Blindness breaks out afresh in Kaduna communities

Anxiety pervades some local communities in Kaduna State, Northwest part of Nigeria, following the reported outbreak of River Blindness, an eye and skin infection that results in blindness.

A victim of River Blindness. Photo credit: cdn.dailypost.ng
A victim of River Blindness. Photo credit: cdn.dailypost.ng

River Blindness is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second most common cause of blindness due to infection, after trachoma.

Facts gathered at the Department of Health, Kajuru Local Government Area (LGA) secretariat, indicates that 14 districts are affected by the disease in the LGA alone.

Reports from the areas showed that many people within the affected communities have already gone blind while hundreds are suffering from eye infections that may lead to blindness.

The affected districts are Maro ward 1 district Maro District, Idon ward – 2 districts Idon and Iri districts, Tantatu ward – 1 district Tantatu. Afogoh ward – 1 Afogoh district, Kufana ward – 2 Kufana and Angwan Aku districts.

Others are Rimau ward – 1 Rimau district, Kalla ward – 1 Kalla district, Kajuru ward – 4 districts, Kyamara, Dawaki, Buda and districts, Kasuwan Magani ward – 1 Dustsen Gaiya district, Others include Ungwan Makama village in Robo and Angwan Fada and Angwan Aku in Fadama kuroro districts.

All these districts are within Iri Districts axis which is one of the areas with high prevalent cases of River Blindness in the local government.

This discovery followed a month of investigation carried out by a team of five investigative journalists including our correspondent in the villages affected.

The team discovered that River Iri, which served as a source of water to the communities within Iri Station and Makoro districts, was said to be the breeding place for tsetse flies which caused River Blindness within Iri village.

According to findings, the villagers got bitten by tsetse flies whenever they go to the river to fetch water and the flies carried a warm that caused blindness to those bitten.

Lack of access to clean water has always been the problem of the communities around Iri with population of over 100.

Findings further showed that villagers using water from River Iri are from Hayin Sarki, Sabon Gida, Inkirmi, Karmai, Makoro and Gadan Malam Mamman, among others.

People of Hayin Sarki, a village across River Iri Bridge built by the World Bank, still fetch water from the river known for spreading the tsetse flies despite the risk involved.

The villagers claimed they have no access to clean water so they still go to the river to fetch water while leaders within the community expressed fear because the flies still breed around the riverside.

An elderly woman and mother of two children, Yawo Yuguda, explained how she got blind several years ago.

“I got blind years back and till date nobody has told me the reason for my blindness. I even went to Kafanchan Hospital for treatment but they couldn’t explain to me the main reason for the blindness. So I have taken it as my destiny,” she said.

Alisabaltu Zankwa is another blind woman within Iri village who said she got blind 30 years ago. “Well, when people started going blind in the village nobody came to explain the reason behind it, we were only left to go looking for help. Mine started like a joke with itching before I later lost my sight completely,” she said.

Sixty-year-old Abdulmumini Ali said his eye problem started three years ago. “I started having this eye problem three years ago. It started with itching, sometimes I feel as if I’m being bitten inside.

“My elder brother has already lost his sight and the problem is the same. It all started last three years ago. We know something was wrong in the village but we don’t know what it is,” he said.

Village Head of Hausa Community in the village, 65-year-old Malam Garba, has lost complete sight of his left eye.

“I can’t see with my left eye as I talk to you now and this problem just started last year. I don’t know the cause but it began with itching. Now, the right eye too is having problem which is making me worried because it seems soon I will lose my sight completely.

“The last time I could remember some people came and fumigated River Iri was in the 1970s. Because they said the problem was the river. We were told that there were tsetse flies in the riverside,” he said.

Paul Sanda, a retired soldier, said he returned to the village with his family three years ago and soon started losing his sight.

“When I was in the city my eyes were fine but since I returned home after my retirement my eyes started having problems. That was in 2003. I visited the National Eye Centre where I was operated upon but I’m still not seeing clearly,” he said.

Eighty-year-old Doma Obandoma said he lost his sight completely in 2012. “The problem is some of us don’t go to hospital because we are poor and we don’t know the real cause of the blindness in the community but people said it’s has to do with the river. We just need help,” he said.

Sixty-five-year-old Alex Danladi said hers began as a pain and it started five years ago. “It began with itching before I went to the hospital once and they gave me drugs, but still the pains and itching continued. My daughter too who is 18 years old started complaining about same eye itching last year.

“The truth is before we moved from city to village we never had this symptom. So, we are all worried because we don’t know the cause,” she said.

District Head of Iri, Peter Magaji, expressed worry over the re-emergence of the flies in the area.

“Well, your visit made us to realise the gravity of the issue. My people came out in their numbers to explain that they are going blind and we suspect River Iri.

“The river was fumigated years back which helped kill the flies but now I heard that the flies are resurfacing which means something urgent needs to be done.

“We are appealing to government to help provide us with boreholes in Iri Station District because River Iri is the only source of water for this village and those around us. The river sometimes gets dried up but people still go there to dig in search of water.

“I’m afraid that people from Hayin Sarki and neighbouring villages still fetch water from the dried river despite the risk involved. I think if the local government can provide us with a borehole and it will go a long way in addressing the water problem,” he said.

The district head also appealed to government for a frequent fumigation of the river to control the flies.

The team also discovered that government needs to wake up to its responsibility in terms of provision of health care service delivery in the state because it appears that it is only Sight Saver, an NGO, that is providing medical attention to victims of River Blindness in the state.

According to budget document of Kaduna State, Sight Savers spends over N11 million annually for provision of the drug Mectizan and other services in the state.

According to observers, if the NGO decides to withdraw it intervention the situation will be disastrous for the villagers and the state.

Programme Officer of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) at the Health Department of Kajuru LGA, Francis Habakuk, said they received a delegation last November of some visitors from the United States in collaboration with the NPHCDA in Abuja.

He listed communities visited by the team to include Rafin Kunu and Angwan Fada all under Kajuru but Iri was excluded. The delegation was led by the NTD coordinator in Kaduna State.

“We ask thecCommunity members to report cases of River Blindness to us, but they don’t report to us. They just sit at home.

“Since I assume office in the last five years, it’s only old cases of River Blindness that we have on record, except for the one new case M&E reported in Agwala in Afogoh District, Afogoh,” he said.

It’s now obvious that hundreds are going blind in the area. Why? Because the communities seem to be neglected, and there is a gap that needs to be filled urgent by the government on one hand (by taking action to remedy the situation), and the local people on the other (by reporting cases of River Blindness and promptly seeking medical attention).

By Mohammad Ibrahim

Agency describes act as safety valve for modern biotech

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Agency describes act as safety valve for modern biotech

The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has described the 2015 Act that established it as a safety valve for the adoption of modern biotechnology in Nigeria.

Rufus Ebegba, Director-General and CEO of the the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). Photo credit: climatereporters.com
Rufus Ebegba, Director-General and CEO of the the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). Photo credit: climatereporters.com

A statement issued on Friday in Abuja by the Director-General of the Agency, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, countered that the recent call by a group for the repeal of the Act was not only frivolous but also unpatriotic.

“The request is a call for the opening of the floodgate thus subjecting Nigeria to unrestricted importation and production of unregulated modern biotechnology products. It is also intended to render the more than twenty indigenous research institutes, universities, agencies and private concerns that have competence in this sector stagnated and redundant, in a global sphere that is fast moving towards safe modern biotechnological advancement,” Ebegba retorted.

Maintaining that the processes that led to the actualisation of the Act predated 2002, and spanned over 14 years to get to its final state of enactment in 2015, the DG further explained that the then Draft Biosafety Bill was subjected to various stakeholders’ review of the six geographical zones of Nigeria, and passed by the Sixth and Seventh National Assemblies, respectively.

While chiding the group’s call and describing it as a call for lawlessness in the administration of modern biotechnology, for which the consequences could be deleterious, Ebegba called for constructive criticism instead of malicious propaganda with a view to improving Nigeria.

“It is important to understand Biosafety as regulation of modern biotechnology and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and not to mix up unrelated issues,” he added.

Hinting that the Biosafety Act was adjudged by international safety communities as one of the best in Africa after having passed through rigorous processes that lasted more than 14 years, the DG emphasised that “it is indeed ridiculous to assert that the Act is not in accordance with the precautionary principles when it is a major legal precautionary instrument in the National Biosafety regulatory system. Therefore, the group’s call for the repeal of an Act that passed through the stringent legislative processes is a discredit to the Nigerian legislature and legal systems.”

He advised that if any individual or group strongly feels that a gap exists in the Act, which is a living and dynamic document, such a person or group should be more patriotic to point out the parts or sections for amendment rather than suggesting a legal lacuna that would call for anarchy in the modern biotechnology sector.

Further stressing that the Federal Government had meticulously put a holistic biosafety system that was in the best interest of everyone in place, the DG noted: “The NBMA is poised to ensure that only healthy and environmental friendly modern biotechnology products are imported or produced in Nigeria.”

He therefore advised that “Nigerians should trust and cooperate with the Agency in its efforts to effectively regulate a technology that would assist the Federal Government in her diversification policy.”

By Abdallah el-Kurebe

Assessing role of post-Paris Agreement NAMAs

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Assessing role of post-Paris Agreement NAMAs

The 2016 mid-year update of the NAMA Status Report, published by Ecofys and ECN under the Mitigation Momentum project, shows that NAMA development continues after Paris, while implementation still lags behind. NAMAs are important means to deliver on Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets that countries have formulated as contributions to the Paris Agreement, but increased support is needed for capacity building and implementation, writes Michelle Bosquet and Charlotte Cuntz of Ecofys

A NAMA solar power project. Photo credit: DFID
A NAMA solar power project. Photo credit: DFID

The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, marks a historic breakthrough in international climate diplomacy: it is the first legally binding climate agreement in which all UNFCCC Parties – both developed and developing countries – committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through their NDCs. With this new dynamic in international climate politics, emission mitigation actions in developing countries are more than ever a focus of attention.

Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) are mitigation actions that these countries have already developed under UNFCCC and for which a lot of political capital has been invested. The current NAMA Status Report therefore seeks to shine a light on what the Paris Agreement means for NAMAs by analysing the Agreement text and offering practical insights from the perspective of national government representatives.

 

What do the numbers say?

Developing countries continue to develop NAMA proposals, with an additional 10 registered in the NAMA database between October 2015 and April 2016. This increases the overall number of NAMAs to 178. Distribution of NAMAs across Africa, Asia and Latin America is becoming more even, whereas the energy sector continues to see the largest share of NAMA development. Implementation, however, remains limited: as of April 2016, only 16 NAMAs have secured financing for implementation.

 

What is the role of NAMAs in light of the Paris Agreement?

While the Paris Agreement does not explicitly mention NAMAs, it clearly requires that countries implement mitigation actions. It further emphasises the need for international climate finance, sustainable development and measurement, reporting and verification (MRV).

These are all important elements of NAMAs. As specific mitigation actions, they can play a role in three complementary ways: as one of the implementation vehicles for NDCs; as a means to channel international climate finance for mitigation; and to ensure transparency of mitigation actions. This is also reflected by the fact that out of 60 countries active in NAMA development, 40 have included explicit references to NAMAs as part of their NDCs. The high-level political commitments expressed within NDCs give greater purpose and a sense of urgency to NAMAs, which has in some cases been lacking in the NAMA development process.

 

What is the view of country representatives?

Country representatives from Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Thailand contributed to this Report with opinion pieces on how they view the role of NAMAs after the Paris Agreement.

All four representatives state that NAMA development will continue in their countries. While some don’t see their NAMA plans affected by the Paris Agreement, others perceive an increased need to enhance their NAMA activities to meet more ambitious national climate targets as formulated in their NDCs. However, some country representatives believe the Paris Agreement will create new challenges for NAMAs, with some specifically troubled that there is no clear signal as to how, or even whether NAMAs will be continued after 2020.

They agree that there are continuing needs to further support NAMAs, above all facilitated access to climate finance through guidance on funding criteria and more detailed feedback on dismissed funding proposals, as well as capacity building for MRV.

Poland to evaluate impacts of felling in Bialowieza Forest

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Poland to evaluate impacts of felling in Bialowieza Forest

The World Heritage Committee has requested Poland to submit, by February 2017, an evaluation of impacts of forest management within Bialowieza Forest, known for its undisturbed ecological processes. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) noted on Thursday at UNESCO’s annual meeting of the Committee that a new conservation plan is urgently needed, following an advisory mission to the site in late June.

Wolves In the Białowieża Forest, Poland. Photo credit: wildpoland.com
Wolves In the Białowieża Forest, Poland. Photo credit: wildpoland.com

“IUCN’s recent mission is a crucial step towards defining future action to support Bialowieza’s conservation,” says Cyril Kormos, Vice Chair for World Heritage at IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas. “Its findings, which include the urgent need for a management plan in consultation with local communities, will support Poland in protecting and maintaining the continuity and integrity of the old-growth forest within this natural treasure of Europe.”

Bialowieza Forest has been in the spotlight recently, due to concerns expressed by the scientific community and environmental groups over Poland’s plans to respond to an outbreak of the spruce bark beetle through forest management, which would increase logging threefold.

Bialowieza was one of the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979 as one the few remaining European primeval forests. The listed area was extended in 1992 and 2014, and now spans over 141,885 hectares across the borders of Poland and Belarus.

However, no management plan for the conservation of the Polish part of the site was prepared to account for the large area added in 2014, where a number of government institutions are responsible for forest management activities such as felling and planting. An updated conservation plan – requested by IUCN – would help ensure such activities are consistent across the whole site with the protection of Bialowieza’s old-growth forest.

Following a decision by the World Heritage Committee on Thursday, Poland is now expected to take into account the recommendations of IUCN’s mission and provide an evaluation of potential impacts of its plans to increase forest management activities to overcome beetle outbreaks. Following advice by IUCN, the World Heritage Committee has requested that this evaluation should take into account the opinions of local communities, with a view to foster sustainable development in the region.

“It is crucial that any forest management activity within Bialowieza is assessed focussing on protecting the site’s outstanding universal value,” says Peter Shadie, Senior Adviser on World Heritage for IUCN. “Ensuring community engagement within this process should support a more equitable and sustainable approach in the way the site is managed.”

Sustainable and equitable management of World Heritage sites will be a key issue discussed at the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress. The Congress will take place from 1 to 10 September in Hawaiʻi, USA.

IUCN is the advisory body on natural World Heritage and is making recommendations this week to the World Heritage Committee meeting on World Heritage sites facing threats and on new inscriptions. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee meeting will continue until 20 July.

A tiny Nepalese community tracks snow leopards

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A tiny Nepalese community tracks snow leopards

Just beyond the remote mountain village of Yangma in the high Himalayas of eastern Nepal, Nepali conservationists fitted a female snow leopard with a GPS collar. The collar will allow scientists to track this snow leopard’s movement daily for the next year, which will help us learn more about these mysterious and endangered cats. This female becomes the third snow leopard collared near Yangma since 2013, the first two having both been males.

Snow leopards
Snow leopards

Locals named this female cat “Lapchhemba” after a revered deity of the mountains who keeps a snow leopard as a pet. As a young adult female, Lapchhemba will be tracked as she explores the Himalayas, establishes her own territory, hunts for food, mates, and eventually become a mother contributing to the perpetuation of her species. In this manner, scientists will now get to learn the about the secret life of this snow leopard as she navigates adulthood in a fragile high mountain landscape threatened by both development and climate change.

 

A mountain community’s group efforts to protect snow leopards

Yangma is a Sherpa yak herding community that sits at an elevation of about 13,780 feet (4200 m) in Nepal’s Kangchenjunga Conservation Area, about a day’s walk from the border with China. For years, people slowly moved away from Yangma in search of better livelihood opportunities, an understandable choice because life in Yangma is not easy. From Yangma it is a two-day walk to the nearest village growing green vegetables, and another two-day walk beyond to the nearest road head and good schools, hospitals, and markets. But thanks to WWF’s snow leopard conservation efforts, this tiny community is getting a boost.

When snow leopard conservation work in Yangma began in 2014, the village had dwindled to just seven households. Since that time the population has rebounded to 11 families, drawn back in part by opportunities to participate in community snow leopard conservation work in the village. Each of these families has membership in the local Snow Leopard Conservation Committee established by WWF.

WWF researchers have trained committee members on the basics of snow leopard monitoring, and experienced committee members now enthusiastically participate in joint WWF-Government of Nepal collaring expeditions. These members select sites for snares – tools used to capture snow leopards without harming them – based on ongoing camera trap and sign survey findings. They then set up and monitor a network of snares and assist scientists with collaring once a snow leopard is captured. Community involvement in these research expeditions ensures their success and motivates participants to better protect their local snow leopards.

 

What we can learn
As few as 4,000 snow leopards may remain in the wild, and they are so well camouflaged and so rarely seen that they’re known as the “ghosts of the mountains.” Tracking these cats with recently developed GPS collar technology has given us the first detailed insights into their day-to day behaviour and needs. This information will assist us in better protecting snow leopards from an array of threats to mountain environments, ranging from infrastructure development to climate change.

WWF works with mountain communities to educate people about snow leopard behavior and how to reduce loss of livestock to these cats. The goal of these efforts is to reduce the retaliatory killing of snow leopards that attack livestock, which is the single largest direct threat to snow leopard survival today. By working with mountain communities like Yangma, the USAID-funded WWF Asia High Mountains Project seeks to safeguard a future for remote mountain areas in which both people and wildlife can thrive – and so Lapchhemba and her descendants can roam majestic Himalayan peaks for generations to come.

Courtesy: WWF

Eko Atlantic City completes eight-lane Eko Boulevard

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Eko Atlantic City completes eight-lane Eko Boulevard

An eight-lane arterial road stretching over 1,500 metres long has been completed in Eko Atlantic City, an innovative real estate development initiative that is emerging on Victoria Island by the Lagos coastline. Project promoters describe the highway as the first of its kind not only in the bustling city, but likewise in the country.

Eko Atlantic City
Eko Atlantic City

The controversial Eko Atlantic City is said to have reached advanced stages in the first five million square metres of the project.

The estate, which is divided into eight districts, is planned for mixed-use with commercial, residential, entertainment and leisure activities to make the city a 24/7 lively environment. City amenities and services will include an international school, plant nurseries, hospital, and a state-of the art shopping mall.

The promoters disclosed in a statement that the eight-lane boulevard’s road design and construction has been built to world’s best practice with paved sidewalks, tree-lined and streetlights completed with an ocean view.

“One of the considerations when developing the Eko Atlantic city was to guarantee a traffic-free zone. This has now been achieved with the major road network recently completed. The extensive road network is now clearly defined with an area in excess of 200,000 sq. metres. Most significantly Eko Boulevard, the focal point of the Business District, is fully completed from Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island to the Ocean Front Sea Wall.

We are extremely proud to have achieved another major milestone in the development of Eko Atlantic City. This futuristic city is not just for residential and commercial activities but a tourist attraction. We strongly believe the new boulevard will enhance business activities, facilitate intercity transportation as well as attracting tourists from all over Africa,” discloses the statement, adding:

“In addition, the city’s infrastructure network makes it the most technically advanced city in Nigeria and Africa. It comes with a fully integrated autonomous and reliable infrastructure networks with all the following installed under the extensive paved sidewalks – storm-water drains, sewer drains, water supply piping, power cables and IT network.”

The Eko Atlantic City also offers 15 connecting bridges, 14 of which are said to have been completed.  All the bridges, it was gathered, employ a post-tensioning system for their bridge deck reinforcement. The technique uses cable under stress rather than reinforcing rods, which is a common approach worldwide.

The city, which will soon become a home to over 450,000 people and 300,000 commuters, has also made considerable progress in the city-wide canal network with 4,000 metres of canal side sheet piling already installed.

The development project is the brainchild of The Chagoury Group, which is based in Nigeria and was founded in 1971 by Gilbert R. Chagoury and Ronald Chagoury. The portfolio of activities includes construction and property development, flour mills, water bottling and purification, glass manufacturing, healthcare, insurance, hotels, furniture manufacturing, telecommunications, IT, catering and international financing.

In 2006 South Energyx Nigeria Limited, a group subsidiary, was awarded the concession to reclaim land, develop infrastructure and act as the exclusive authority over the development of Eko Atlantic city, next to Victoria Island in Lagos. South Energyx Nigeria Limited was specifically created to oversee the planning and development of Eko Atlantic, the new city of Lagos.

Grassroots leaders, in People’s Caravan, to demand action, justice

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Grassroots leaders, in People’s Caravan, to demand action, justice

Daughter of slain Honduran environmental activist and indigenous leader, Berta Cáceres, to join dozens of community leaders on a caravan from Cleveland to Philadelphia

Honduran prize-winning campaigner Berta Caceres was slain by gunmen on March 3, 2016 weeks after opposing a hydroelectric dam project
Honduran prize-winning campaigner Berta Caceres was slain by gunmen on March 3, 2016 weeks after opposing a hydroelectric dam project

On July 20, more than 45 grassroots Indigenous, Latin, Black, Asian, Muslim, and working class white organisers from across the country will board a bus and launch the It Takes Roots to Change the System People’s Caravan from the RNC to the DNC.

Convened by the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, the caravan brings together leaders on the frontlines of the some of the most cutting edge social movements within the US, including activists fighting on the frontlines of climate justice in coal-impacted Kentucky, organisers with movement for Black lives and environmental justice in Missouri, and immigrant rights leaders from across the country.

The People’s Caravan is a call to action from communities of colour and white folks to confront the growing acceptance and public condoning of racism and xenophobia; from women and trans people to reclaim feminisms for the grassroots; from communities living on the frontlines of polluting industries to build a new economy; from veterans and organised communities around the globe to end U.S. military intervention.

“We are in the middle of a storm. The system isn’t working, and we can’t depend on the two major political parties to change it. We believe it takes roots to weather the storm and change the system. We are drawing on our collective roots, across regions, borders, identities and issues.” – Cindy Wiesner, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance

Two members of Berta Cáceres’ organisation COPINH (Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras) will be joining the caravan: Berta’s daughter, Laura Yolanda Zuñiga Cáceres, and Rosalina Dominguez Madrid. Berta Cáceres was an Indigenous Lenca woman in Honduras who was assassinated at night in her home on March 3, 2016, because of the organizing she did to defend the Lenca Indigenous Peoples’ land, rights and territory.

The assassinations of Berta Cáceres and other grassroots leaders in Honduras has put a spotlight on the critical role of US military aid to the repressive regime in Honduras. The caravan joins COPINH in the demand to end all US military aid to Honduras, supporting Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia’s congressional bill H.R. 5474 to halt all funds to Honduras for their police and military operations.

“Our struggle joins with struggles around the world to defend life in the face of weapons that try to quiet us, in the face of men in uniform who repress us, who assassinate us, in the face of those for whom our lives are disposable, as people with multiple bodies, with indigenous, black and rebel spirits,” said Laura Zuñíga Cáceres, daughter of assassinated Honduran indigenous leader Berta Cáceres and member of COPINH.

The Caravan will go from Cleveland to Philadelphia July 20-27, launching with a rally and press conference in Cleveland, and supporting actions and voter turnout in Ohio. The Caravan will then stop in Baltimore along the way to build with the Movement for Black Lives, to honor Freddie Gray and to strategise with the Black community around state violence. In Philadelphia, the Caravan will support actions around immigrant detentions and deportations through the Berks Detention Centre, and around challenging the toxic oil refinery expansion by Philadelphia Energy Solutions in neighborhoods of South Philadelphia.  All along the route with powerful art, a giant puppet and visuals, It Takes Roots organisers will lift up the message that Berta Cáceres did not die when she was assassinated, she multiplied in the thousands of activists demanding justice for all communities’ struggles for land, water, and human rights.

“If 2016 has taught us anything, it’s that when people assert their right to break free from racism, sexism, transphobia, extractive economies, or any other oppression, the pushback will be hard and painful.  We need to build within and among our communities in order to continue declaring that we’re in this together and we won’t be deterred,” Nay’Chelle Harris, Missourians Organising for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) in St. Louis.

Organisations collaborating with the It Takes Roots People’s Caravan: Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), Causa Justa/Just Cause, Chinese Progressive Association, Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), El Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (CATA-The Farmworker Support Committee), Communities for a Better Environment, Grassroots International, Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), Iraq Veterans Against the War, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, LeftRoots, Media Mobilising Project, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Southern Maine Workers Centre, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), SouthWest Organising Project (SWOP), The Ruckus Society, Uprose, Vermont Workers Centre.

Montreal Protocol: Vienna talks pave way for phasing down HFCs

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Montreal Protocol: Vienna talks pave way for phasing down HFCs

The Open-Ended Working Group of Parties will meet in Vienna, Austria, on 15 July 2016. On 22 and 23 July, nearly 40 ministers have committed to participate in the negotiations. Last year, Parties agreed to reach an agreement in 2016 on cutting down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are the fastest growing greenhouse gases in many countries.

Vienna, the Austrian capital, will host the Open-Ended Working Group of Parties meeting
Vienna, the Austrian capital, will host the Open-Ended Working Group of Parties meeting

Used as replacements for ozone-depleting substances, HFCs are used in refrigeration, air conditioning, insulation, aerosols, solvents and fire protection products. Successful talks in Vienna could lead to an agreement when the Parties meet in Kigali, Rwanda, in October 2016. Such an agreement will help establish an early, clear and ambitious schedule to phase down HFCs, improve appliance energy efficiency, and quickly arrest warming.

Nearly 178 countries to date have signed the Paris Agreement and 19 have ratified it. The international community recognises the urgency to take immediate measures to prevent global warming passing the 1.5ºC threshold.

The talks in Vienna will set the stage for an agreement on the amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase-down HFCs and presents the earliest opportunity for the international community to unite once again on another landmark environmental pact to protect the climate.

A rapid phasedown of HFCs could prevent more than 100 billion tonnes of CO2-e from entering the atmosphere over the next several decades and avoid 0.5°C warming by the end of the century. There are four proposals to the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs (from the North American countries, the European Union, India and the Island States.) There is strong political will to take these talks forward demonstrated by the several high-level ministers who will be present in Vienna.

In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was formed to address the depletion of the ozone layer from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting substances. The success of that agreement, which has put the ozone layer on the path to recovery by 2065, calls for a repeat.

Civil society expectations from this meeting:

  • The talks in Vienna should set the tone for an agreement that will ensure an ambitious phase-down schedule for both developed and developing countries.
  • Developed countries need to lead on setting an ambitious phase-down schedule of HFCs so as to commercialise climate-friendly alternatives, make them competitive and build confidence for developing countries to transition.
  • Developed countries need to provide adequate funding and technology transfer under the Montreal Protocol’s Multilateral Fund to enable developing countries to remain on track with their phase-down schedule.
  • Additional fast start funding should be made available to developing countries to achieve energy efficiency gains including by improving the design of equipment using alternatives to HFCs.

Ogun to establish zoological, botanical garden

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Ogun to establish zoological, botanical garden

The Ogun State Ministry of Forestry in collaboration with Tai Solarin University of Education has concluded plans to establish a zoological and botanical garden in the state.

A zoo habouring gorillas
A zoo habouring gorillas

Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal, made this known while signing the memorandum of understanding between the ministry and the university at the Council Chamber of the institution in Ijagun.

Chief Lawal said the ministry and the university decided to collaborate on the project due to its numerous socio-economic benefits that would accrue to the state, especially in boosting the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

While commending Governor Ibikunle Amosun for approving the commencement of the project, the commissioner said the ministry would ensure its success as it would lead to the provision of employment opportunities, particularly for the youths besides serving as a recreational centre for tourists.

In his remarks, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Institution, Professor Abayomi Arigbabu, said that the project would increase learning among students and ease the research work at the institution.

He expressed confidence over the fact that the strategic location of the project would attract travellers from all walks of life and increase the university’s (IGR) and project the university farther, when completed.

GMOs in Nigeria: The silent part

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GMOs in Nigeria: The silent part

“GMOs, finally approved to be grown in Nigeria,” a not so surprising news after all. The country has in recent times been trotting in the darkness of instability and economic uncertainty and it’s just not a big surprise that the oil rich nation would make room for such a decision as to approving the much controversial new wonder of biotechnology that many and more advanced countries in the world have outrightly banned. This rather fast approval which from reports took just a record time of two months from the time of application by Monsanto could make the country the fastest endorser of GMO in the world. This seems just like another timely error with potential future consequences.

Critics fear genetically modified foods can cause environmental harm and damage human health. Photo credit: dailymail.co.uk
Critics fear genetically modified foods can cause environmental harm and damage human health. Photo credit: dailymail.co.uk

The authorisation reads thus: “After a thorough analysis of the application dossier, risk management plan prepared in connection with the assessment of the application for the permit, it is unlikely that the proposed release will cause adverse impact on the environment and on human health . A permit is therefore granted to the Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Ltd as applied for“ authoritatively signed by the Director General/Chief Executive officer of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), signed on the 1st of May 2016.

In the light of the National Biosafety Management Board granting the permit to Monsanto, it only seems normal to assume that every possible risk assessment test had been carried out within the context of confined trials. But upon reflecting on the details of the approval which only has a confidential base on the risk management plans as provided by the applying body (Monsanto) and which means that the risks would only be assessed after undergoing massive commercial field trials across the country, one can only reason out a not too clearly drawn objective of the National Biosafety management in providing the permit in the first instance without a proper and prior testing conducted by the agency itself.

Clearly, the institution is definitely putting the country at risk by subjecting its national responsibility to the mere speculative integrity of a foreign body that has overtime been a subject of worldwide criticism for its controversial history. Monsanto has been noted for introducing to the world some dangerous chemical compounds like DDT, Agent Orange, and Saccharin, all of which have been known to have a commonness of negative impact on human health.

Now that the company has assumed yet another role of spear heading the move for the global acceptance of GMOs, it is expected for any country approached to weigh out any decision to be taken on the scale of precautions.

Unfortunately, recent development has put Nigeria on the spotlight of being unhealthily receptive and desperate.

While there have been quite a lot of reports debunking the not-safe labeling on GMOs, still a larger percentage hold the conviction that they are not safe. Although it doesn’t entirely look like a well pronounced divided world, but the outright banning of GMOs in most countries (Importation and cultivation) and the constant call for labeling of food products of GMO origin say a lot about the acceptance level globally.

Current events in Nigeria place the country in the spotlight of economic instability, which has further exasperated the poverty level among the teeming population. So, the likelihood of desperation for alternatives for survival is not so far-fetched even in the face of consequential dangers. But then, in the view of instances of misguided priority of institutions meant to protect the choices of the populace, one would wonder where the fate of the common man lies.

By Bamidele Oni (CEO, Green Impact International)

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