The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) may ban gillnet fishing in the bid to save the vaquita from extinction. Similarly, restrictions may be placed on trading pangolins.
Pangolins
A species of porpoise only found in the Gulf of California in Mexico, the vaquita, according to scientists, may become extinct by 2022 if harmful fishing practices such as the gillnetting continue.
The vaquita, the smallest of the seven species of porpoise, is considered the most endangered marine mammal in the world. Porpoises are small toothed whales that are very closely related to oceanic dolphins.
Gillnetting is a common fishing method used by commercial and artisanal fishermen of all the oceans and in some freshwater and estuary areas. The gill net is composed of mesh large enough for a fish to poke its head through but small enough to catch the fish behind its gill covers.
The vaquita porpoise
Pangolins are mammals that inhabit tropical forests, dry woodlands and the savannah. Conservationists have over time battled to save the critically endangered, scales-covered creature, which is believed to be the most illegally traded animal in the world.
But a ray of hope has emerged for these animals, thanks to the first global conservation priorities set on Tuesday by conservationists at the IUCN World Conservation Congress taking place in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, USA. Essentially, these priorities set out to limiting illegal trade in threatened species, promoting nature-based solutions to climate change and accounting for biodiversity conservation in the development of renewables are among
Some 85 motions were adopted by IUCN’s 1,300 government and civil society Members – following the first-ever electronic vote cast in August 2016. Another 14 global conservation issues will be debated and voted on over the next few days at the IUCN Congress, including advancing the conservation of the high seas, mitigating the impacts of oil palm expansion on biodiversity, protecting primary forests and closure of domestic markets to all ivory sales.
“The new electronic voting system has made the already democratic institution even more democratic,” says Enrique Lahmann, IUCN Congress Director. “By giving IUCN’s government and NGO Members time to reflect and arrive at convergence on critical issues such as illegal wildlife trade, we have used technology to boost the governance of nature.”
Members have urged for restrictions on trade in threatened pangolin species to exceptional cases only, as defined by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Despite current protection measures at the global and local levels, the species’ survival is at risk due to overexploitation, illegal trade and degradation of its habitat.
Unsustainable fisheries were the focus of another decision drawing attention to the imminent extinction threat facing the Critically Endangered vaquita in Mexico. IUCN’s government and NGO Members have urged for a permanent ban to gillnet fishing throughout the entire vaquita range in the Pacific Ocean. The vaquita is the bycatch of fishing of totoaba.
Members of IUCN have also defined nature-based solutions as actions that protect and manage ecosystems, while effectively addressing societal challenges, such as food and water security, climate change, disaster risk reduction, human health and economic well-being. The concept of nature-based solutions is particularly relevant to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Renewable energy has been the focus of two decisions adopted by IUCN Members, who have encouraged governments to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy plans, taking into account biodiversity conservation. IUCN Members also called for enhanced efforts to minimise the impacts of offshore renewable energy technologies on marine life.
IUCN Members have also called for attention to the increasing use of ‘synthetic biology’, whose implications on biodiversity and human well-being remain unclear. According to the decision, the international conservation community needs to assess this emerging field and its impacts.
Motions are proposed by IUCN Members every four years to set priorities for the work of IUCN – a unique membership union gathering 217 state and government agencies, 1, 066 NGOs, and networks of over 16,000 experts worldwide.
The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has described Lagos State Government’s establishment of special courts to prosecute illegal water service providers as a cover for promoting water privatisation.
Dr Babatunde Adejare, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment. Government has reportedly established special courts to prosecute illegal water service providers. Photo credit: theeconomyng.com
The ERA/FoEN position is coming on the heels of media reports which indicated that Dr. Babatunde Adejare, the state Commissioner for Environment, announced the introduction of the courts at a two-day retreat organised for officials of the water sector, which had as theme: “Towards achieving a safe and sustainable water sector in Lagos State”.
Adejare, who was represented by Babatunde Hunpe, Special Adviser to the Governor on The Environment, dismissed reports that the state planned to privatise water but added that a “public-private partnership” was necessary. He also said government was not pleased with giving bail-outs to the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC) because of non-payment of water bills by water consumers.
However, in a statement issued on Tuesday in Lagos, ERA/FoEN said the establishment of the water courts is an “unacceptable” violation of the rights of Lagos citizens to water and has no legal backing anywhere in the country.
ERA/FoEN Deputy Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, was quoted in the statement as saying: “We find this development totally absurd. Criminalising the right of people to source for water when government has consistently failed to live up to its responsibility is simply scape-goating and passing the buck. There is no edict existing or in the works that allows any state government to set up a court for punishing anyone who has decided to provide water to his neighbour free.
“In the layman’s understanding, what this means is that anybody in our communities that carries a jerry-can of water from one house to the other is going to be accused of violating the law and sent to jail. This is absolutely disturbing.”
Oluwafemi frowned at references to already budgeted and appropriated funds to the LSWC as bail-out, insisting that Adejare’s description of appropriated funds as rescue connotes that the state government has converted the Corporation into a private enterprise whose statutory due in the state budget is now called bail-out.
The ERA/FoEN boss described as offensive the act of Lagos State Government using its resources to establish a “special court” to apprehend people attempting to provide other people with an essential human need, and to prosecute them. He added that Lagosians are not the problem that needs to be solved.
“The proper move for the state government would be to invest financial resources in strengthening the public water system so more people can have access to water. After all, of what use is government if it is not protecting basic human rights, like water? What Adejare calls an undesirable ‘bail-out’ is in fact the proper role and responsibility of government.”
He stressed that the “Our Water, Our Right” campaigners who have staged various protests across the state to reject water privatisation reject the water courts and still remain resolute in rejecting all forms of water privatisation, semi-water privatisation or so called Public-Private Partnerships.
“What Lagos residents have consistently asked for and will not negotiate is informed and active participation in developing plans to achieve universal access to clean water. The solution remains within the realm of public control. We are unequivocal that the so-called water courts are a gross violation of our right to life,” he insisted.
IFAD president is honoured for mobilising institutional reforms, innovative policies and programmes, and increased resources to improve the lives of millions. His courageous leadership in fostering solidarity with the continent’s smallholder farmers is also acknowledged
Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of IFAD
Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will be awarded the inaugural Africa Food Prize on Wednesday (September 7) at the African Green Revolution Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Africa Food Prize Committee, chaired by Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, selected Dr. Nwanze, himself a Nigerian, for his outstanding leadership and passionate advocacy in putting Africa´s smallholder farmers at the centre of the global agricultural agenda.
“Dr Nwanze is a model for how a great leader can make a difference in the lives of people on the ground,” said Obasanjo. “Whether that leader is the head of a global institution, a head of state or a head of small organisation, Dr Nwanze’s accomplishments on behalf of African farmers are a reminder of what’s possible when you combine passion, good ideas, commitment, focus, hard work and dedication.”
Alongside his tireless advocacy, Dr. Nwanze is credited with reorienting IFAD´s work to focus more on making small-scale farming a viable business, as well as expanding IFAD’s presence in developing countries to increase the organisation’s effectiveness. The Prize also acknowledges Nwanze´s courage in reminding African leaders to go beyond promising development and change to delivering it.
“I would like to dedicate this award to the millions of African women who silently toil to feed their families,” said Dr. Nwanze. “No nation has been able to transform itself without giving women the same rights and opportunities as men. Our hope for future generations rests with African women who bear and raise our young people who will shape the African continent in the years to come.”
Congratulating the laureate, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), said that Dr. Nwanze’s achievements reflect extremely well the ideals the award represents, putting a bright spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to create a new era of food security and economic opportunity for all Africans.
“By calling attention to the exemplary leadership of Kanayo Nwanze and to the compelling ideas that have guided him,” said Kalibata, “we wish to encourage many others to follow in his footsteps and boldly use the opportunities available to them to change the reality of African farming – from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives.”
“In honouring Kanayo Nwanze, the Africa Food Prize Committee could not have made a better choice as the former Yara Prize takes on its new and authentic African identity,” said Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara International ASA (Yara). “Since its inception in 2005, the Yara Prize has honoured special people who have contributed in different ways to transform African agriculture. The first Africa Food Prize recognises an outstanding African leader who has dedicated his work to improve the lives for smallholder farmers. With 80 percent of farms run by smallholders, the key to transforming African agriculture lies in empowering the smallholder farmer, enabling rural value creation and providing jobs for rural youth.”
The Prize recognises Nwanze for his individual leadership, but also for the results of successful efforts at IFAD in the years he has been at the helm. IFAD, a specialised United Nations agency and International Financial Institution dedicated to eradicating rural poverty, is not the same organisation today that it was in 2009, when Nwanze took office as President, according to the organisation.
“Despite a major global economic downturn, he succeeded in growing the Fund´s overall resources, with significant increases in commitments from member states. As a result of this overall increase in IFAD´s portfolio of loans and grants, its ongoing investments in Africa more than doubled – from $1.3 billion at the start of Nwanze´s tenure to $2.7 billion in 2015 – benefiting more than 75 million rural people,” officials disclosed.
Nwanze, it was gathered, has also presided over far-reaching changes in the way IFAD approaches its work, with a focus on shifting activities from headquarters in Rome to offices in dozens of developing countries. “With only six country offices in Africa a decade ago, these now number 20 in Africa with a total of 40 globally. The local offices have been key in reshaping IFAD’s business model, increasing farmers’ access to resources and improving the deployment of funds to projects,” they added.
“I know the difference it makes to see first-hand the value that one’s work is adding to someone’s life,” said Nwanze. “The idea behind opening more country offices is to bring IFAD closer to the people it serves, not only to motivate our own staff, but to more effectively work with rural communities, learning from them and adapting our investments to transform the environment in which they live and work.”
Recent studies by IFAD’s Independent Office of Evaluation show that, where country offices are present, the IFAD-funded programmes and projects are generally more efficient and effective, with stronger partnerships and policy advocacy.
A project in Senegal started in 2008, for example, is helping wean consumers away from expensive, imported staples by supporting the production, processing, and preparation of local foods. Participating farmers now regularly supply their products to stores across the country and, to this end, have formed partnerships with private companies. IFAD’s on-the-ground presence has allowed for regular follow-ups and the project has now benefitted more than 250,000 people, mainly by creating jobs and boosting incomes.
Through other projects, IFAD has pioneered methods aimed at reversing gender inequity in more than 100,000 rural households in eight African countries. Development experts cite gender inequality as one of the greatest barriers to achieving agricultural innovation and food security in Africa and other regions of the developing world. The new methods help husbands and wives find ways to overcome poverty together, declaring a truce in the tug-of-war that usually prevails over ownership and control of productive resources.
Under Dr. Nwanze´s leadership, IFAD is also said to have taken up a more active role in the global policy dialogues. Together with its partners, it advocated for an emphasis on smallholder farmers in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted last year by world leaders, arguing successfully that these farmers have a central role to play in achieving a world free of hunger.
As an advocate for rural communities, Dr. Nwanze has consistently called on leaders to keep food security and agriculture at the centre of development and budgetary priorities. For example, through an open letter to the African Union Heads of State ahead of the 23rd African Union (AU) Summit in 2014, he reminded leaders of the importance of investing in smallholder family farms and challenged them to think about the legacy they want to leave for future generations.
He wrote, “Don’t just promise development, deliver it, make it happen now. Make real, concrete progress toward investment that reaches all Africans. Investments that prioritize rural people.”
By positioning IFAD as a major knowledge institution, Dr. Nwanze has also helped provide the development community with fresh ideas, evidence, and tools in support of policy dialogue aimed at identifying the best ways to transform rural livelihoods. On 14 September, IFAD will release its flagship publication, The Rural Development Report 2016, which offers guidance for policymakers in making policy choices and investments aimed at eradicating rural poverty.
In addition, IFAD has renewed and diversified sources of finance for agricultural development, gaining international recognition for its role in mobilising investment. The new global framework for development finance, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, explicitly highlights IFAD’s pivotal role in channeling investment for smallholder development.
The professional journey that led Dr. Nwanze to become a distinguished development leader started 40 years ago in agricultural research. He worked as an entomologist in two Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centres, eventually becoming the director general of a third one – the Africa Rice Centre. His research background has shaped his leadership of IFAD, where he sharpened its focus on a more rigorous evidence-based approach to project design, implementation and impact evaluation.
“It is now quite clear what must be done to transform Africa´s agriculture and feed this continent sustainably,” said Obasanjo. “But all of our carefully crafted strategies, plans, and programs will accomplish little without able and visionary leaders. Kanayo Nwanze is one such leader, whose shining example, I hope, will give rise to many others.”
Key leaders of climate vulnerable countries met from 11 to 15 August in the Philippine capital Manila for a series of events held by the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).
Jessie Granadillos from Climate Analytics presenting Low Carbon Monitor Report during the CVF events
The seminar “Climate Diplomacy, Leadership and Negotiations,” held from 11 to 14 August and attended by ministers and officials, focused on enhancing the capacity of the CVF to collaborate and advance the collective agenda of countries highly vulnerable to climate change at international and domestic levels.
Dr James Fletcher, former Environment Minister of Saint Lucia, who played a key role in the inclusion of the 1.5°C temperature limit in the Paris Agreement, spoke of the crucial role that Small Island Developing States and other vulnerable countries played in securing this outcome.
Senior Legal Expert MJ Mace outlined recent research which shows stark differences in climate change impacts between 1.5°C and 2°C of warming and stressed the feasibility of the 1.5°C limit, while climate finance expert Mahlet Eyassu Melkie addressed financing ambitious climate action in vulnerable countries.
During the following high level event on 15 August, Climate Analytics Science Director Dr Michiel Schaeffer and researcher Jessie Granadillos presented the findings of a new report, the Low Carbon Monitor, which highlights the benefits of achieving the 1.5°C temperature limit of the Paris agreement.
The report emphasises that a difference of 0.5°C in global average temperature has enormous repercussions for the world’s physical environment and for the frequency and severity of climate change impacts.
Limiting the temperature increase to 1.5°C, compared with 2°C, would reduce expected heat wave spells for tropical developing countries worldwide by about one third. It would also lower the risks of reduced yields of key crops, and substantially reduce the forecasted increase in extreme rainfall downpours and associated flooding.
The research also indicates that limiting the rise to 1.5°C can help avoid a substantial loss to the global economy by 2050.
The Low Carbon Monitor report will be launched in September 2016.
The CVF is an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet. The Forum serves as a South-South cooperation platform for 43 governments to act together to deal with climate change. The CVF, previously chaired by the Philippines, is now led by Ethiopia.
The 11th summit of the Group of 20 major economies (G20) that took place in Hangzhou, China, on 4 and 5 September, reached a consensus on pursuing an “innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy”.
Participants at the 2016 11th summit of the Group of 20 major economies (G20) that took place in Hangzhou, China
To that end, the communique that concluded the meeting on Monday reaffirms the G20 Leaders’ determination to take into account the two major international and interlinked universal treaties clinched in 2015, namely the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.
The G20 reiterated their commitment to both sustainable development and fighting climate change. In order to do so, they committed to join the Paris Agreement as soon as possible and recognised the need for means of implementation for other countries, including financial resources, and the importance to assist them, namely through the Green Climate Fund.
“We reiterate our commitment to sustainable development and strong and effective support and actions to address climate change.
“We commit to complete our respective domestic procedures in order to join the Paris Agreement as soon as our national procedures allow.
“We welcome those G20 members who joined the Agreement and efforts to enable the Paris Agreement to enter into force by the end of 2016 and look forward to its timely implementation with all its aspects.
“We affirm the importance of fulfilling the UNFCCC commitment by developed countries in providing means of implementation including financial resources to assist developing countries with respect to both mitigation and adaptation actions in line with Paris outcomes.
“We reaffirm the importance of the support provided by the Green Climate Fund.
“We welcome the G20 Climate Finance Study Group report on ‘Promoting Efficient and Transparent Provision and Mobilisation of Climate Finance to Enhance Ambition of Mitigation and Adaptation Actions’.
“We look forward to successful outcomes in related multilateral fora, including the Montreal Protocol and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.”
Participants at the recently concluded Seoul Mayors Forum on Climate Change, which held recently in Seoul City Hall in Korea, presented an open letter to leaders at the G20 Summit that ended on Monday in Hangzhou, China. The mayors from the G20 country cities are calling on the leaders to build a low-carbon and non-violent world. Excerpts:
Makati Mayor Abby Binay presents the city’s initiatives on climate change mitigation and adaptation during the Seoul Mayors Forum on Climate Change. Photo credit: makati.gov.ph
We, mayors of the major cities within the G20, call on our national leaders to work with us to build a low carbon, climate safe world.
In December 2015, you showed vital leadership by adopting the ground-breaking Paris Agreement. This was an unprecedented display of global solidarity and commitment to action, and we commend your efforts in taking steps to ratify it as soon as possible, allowing its entry into force in the upcoming months.
However, this is only the first step along the road towards our low carbon, climate safe future. To limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, global greenhouse gas emissions need to peak by 2020. Achieving such a rapid shift is probably one of the greatest political, economic and practical challenges faced by every national leader, but you do have great allies in this task: we, the mayors of the megacities of the world.
As mayors, we are already dealing with the consequences of climate change on our cities, from floods to heat waves, and from water shortages to air pollution. Yet, we know that cities are a key part of the climate solution. From the rollout of fleets of electric buses in Chinese cities; the moves by European, South American and Indian cities to ban the most polluting cars from city centres; the retrofitting of tens of thousands of buildings across North American cities to deliver greater energy efficiency and dedicated low-carbon districts in cities worldwide, we are taking bold actions to cut emissions and prepare for the worst effects of a warming planet. In Paris, we collectively committed to deliver up to 3.7 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions reductions annually by 2030.
We have also seen first-hand that our climate action brings significant co-benefits to our communities, from improved public health, cleaner air, faster economic growth and more equity. There is no trade-off between climate action and development: delivering on the Paris Agreement will help us all implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and vice-versa.
Many of us are also committed to the Compact of Mayors and the newly formed Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy which captures the commitments of more than 7,100 cities in 119 countries representing more than 600 million residents. By aligning our efforts, the Global Covenant allows us to collaborate on a greater scale, bridging gaps and building connections. Quantifying the collective scale and potential for cities to cut emissions and deliver low carbon societies serves to increase our collective impact in the fight against climate change.
For the major cities of the world it is already clear that the faster we move to a low carbon economy, the greater will be the improvement in urban citizens’ standards of living, and the stronger and more sustained will be the economic development that makes that possible. That is why we are all making a commitment, as part of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), to set out concrete plans for how we will deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement in our cities. We want our citizens, markets and other political leaders to know that we are serious about making the Paris Agreement a reality. We call on the heads of states from our respective nation states to do the same.
As members of the C40 we understand the value of co-operation to drive ambition. Just as the G20 is the world’s premier forum for international economic cooperation, C40 has proven the power of the world’s megacities, both the Global North and Global South, working together to tackle the global threat of climate change.
Similarly, we must improve collaboration between national, regional and local governments, as we all work towards the shared objectives, of delivering a low carbon, sustainable world for the next generations. The ambition of the Paris Agreement, will require unprecedented collaboration and innovation. We stand ready for the challenge ahead.
Signatories:
Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro and Chair of C40
Steve Adler, Mayor of Austin
Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City
Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington D.C.
Robert Doyle, Mayor of Melbourne
Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago
Gustavo Fruet, Mayor of Curitiba
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
Fumiko Hayashi, Mayor of Yokohama
Charlie Hales, Mayor of Portland
Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo
Mitch Landrieu, Mayor of New Orleans
Ed Lee, Mayor of San Francisco
Patricia de Lille, Mayor of the City of Cape Town
Miguel Ángel Mancera, Mayor of Mexico City
Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney
Michael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin
Ed Murray, Mayor of Seattle
Antônio Neto, Mayor of Salvador
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Governor of Jakarta
Virginia Raggi, Mayor of Rome
Gregor Robertson, Mayor of Vancouver
Horacio Rodríguez-Larreta, Mayor of Buenos Aires
Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan
Wong Kam Sing, Secretary for the Environment of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government
The upgrade of Ikorodu township, a rapidly expanding settlement in Lagos State, to a contemporary eco-city development is in top gear as the government’s consultant has unveiled a new and ambitious programme to review the city’s spatial dynamics.
Ikorodu, Lagos
The coming master plan hopes to cover a period of 20 years from 2016 to 2036. So far, the State’s Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development has completed and published six model city plans of Alimosho, Apapa, Agege/Ifako, Mainland, Ikoyi-Victoria Island, Badagry and Lekki for the use of professionals in the built environment and the public.
A week ago, consultant to the project, Messrs City Scape Planning Services, met with major stakeholders representing various interest groups from the town’s roughly two million population. They included several sole administrators of the affected Local Council Development Authorities (LCDAs) comprising Agboyi – Ketu, Isheri North, Ikosi, Gberigbe, Agbowa, Imota, Ibeshe, Ijede, amongst others, Lagos State House of Assembly members including the majority leader, Mr. Sanai Agunbiade, representatives of the Ministry of Physical Planning, Lands Bureau, former state commissioners, academia, state agencies such as LAMATA, Lagos State Water Ways, as well as professional planning practitioners.
The CEO, CityScape, Mr. Niyi Odetoye, shedding light on the project, stated that stakeholder input was paramount to the planning process. Hence, the first level of execution will be the data collection drive.
“The job we had was to prepare a master plan for the region. Ikorodu plays a major part in the entire Lagos. The plan envisions a development, which will utilise the sub-region’s undeveloped green fields, waterways and lagoon front potentials to make it a viable investment destination in Lagos State,” he stated.
An analysis of the facts on ground shows that there has been rapid spatial growth in Ikorodu at the rate of 118.3 per cent annual urban growth between 1990 to 2011 increasing to an eye-popping rate of 1171.6 per cent annually by 2015.
He added that recent studies have also shown that Ikorodu interconnects with the Lagos metropolis with over 40 per cent of the residents / home owners working in the metropolitan Lagos according to a functional urban area survey. Thus to prepare a sub-regional plan in accordance with the provisions of the Lagos State regional plan for a sustainable city requires an all inclusive approach.
He said the underpinnings of the project is to ensure that it aligns with global and regional development agenda through a bottom – up approach that will ensure the issue of poverty is dealt with.
Odetoye equally proposes a project that will be situated within the local regional development framework and that would be driven by technology to ensure proper coverage of all the relevant sectors as well as incorporate the local interests of the stakeholders with environmental sustainability placed high on the ladder of priorities.
“Our proposals align with local culture, with capacity development strategies for all the actors such as community leaders, residents, the market men and women and so forth. We don’t want it to end up being an academic exercise. We are placing a lot of emphasis on environmental sustainability by leveraging natural resource potentials and mitigating possible threats and risk prone areas,” he added.
The method is based on global best practices, benchmarking with United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) Protocol for Urban and Territorial Planning.
“Through a go along method of data collection, policy stakeholders’ forum and community consultative forums, it will ensure involvement of the community by the time we move to site. We have put together a comprehensive community participation plan. Lastly there will be a validation exercise to ensure that data collected is authentic and everyone is on the same page.”
Also speaking on the potentials of the project and the policy challenges /gaps in past planning policies and processes, Prof. Leke Oduwaye of the University of Lagos, Akoka identified urbanisation, development being faster than projections of master plans and that generic models did not consider local peculiarities.
He explained: “Urbanisation is the biggest challenge to Ikorodu. How inclusive have previous master plans been? The location of Ikorodu is very strategic – it is highly accessible to other parts of Lagos. Existing plans did not envisage the rate of growth in Ikorodu. The models were not culturally rooted – they come from abroad thus cannot address our local needs. Development plans ordinarily should be able to absorb shocks.”
Stakeholders at the event highlighted aspects of Ikorodu’s potentials and necessary infrastructure to be kept in focus in the planning of the new master plan.
Majority Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. S. O. B. Agunbiade, stressed the tourism potentials and cultural heritage of Ikorodu and revealed that the town celebrates no less than 200 cultural festivals yearly. He cited the various locations of pre-colonial and early independence justice system of Ikorodu as places to be preserved and developed into tourism destinations.
Other infrastructural needs as noted by the participants included a modern e-library, fire station, a sea port to serve as supporting infrastructure for the Apapa port, water transportation for both inter-Lagos and intra-Ikorodu routes, health facilities, as well as the proper distribution and rehabilitation of road networks in the region to connect the communities within the sub-region, among others.
Nigeria has reported its third polio case in the northeastern state of Borno, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday, September 5, warning more cases could appear in a major health setback.
Victims of polio. The WHO reveals that Nigeria reported its third polio case in the northeastern state of Borno
Two other polio cases were reported in August.
Nigeria was on track to be certified free of the virus next year.
“A third child has been paralysed by wild poliovirus type one in Borno state,” WHO said in a statement.
“It’s all linked to the same outbreak,” WHO said, adding: “detection of new cases is not unexpected and can be anticipated, particularly as disease surveillance is being strengthened including by conducting retrospective case searches.”
The three cases appear to come from the same strain of the disease circulating in the northeast for years, said Stephanie Mucznik, spokesperson for Rotary International, which is working with the Nigerian government to eradicate polio.
Mucznik said the latest case concerned a two-year-old boy suffering from the onset of paralysis on August 6 in the Monguno area.
“Genetic sequencing of the isolated viruses suggests they are most closely linked to WPV1 last detected in Borno in 2011, indicating the strain has been circulating without detection since that time,” Mucznik said.
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease which mainly affects young children and can result in permanent paralysis. There is no cure and it can only be prevented through immunisation.
Nigeria’s outbreak response, which includes a large immunisation campaign, is expected to continue until November and includes the neighbouring areas of Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
Nigerian Health Minister Isaac Adewole warned in August that the affected areas “have had their health facilities destroyed by insurgents” and “accessibility was a barrier to service provision.”
Since taking up arms in 2009, Boko Haram Islamist militants have captured swathes of territory in the northeast, cutting off health services to millions of people.
In the past year, the Nigerian military has recorded a series of successes against Boko Haram.
But the northeast has been devastated by the fighting, with the United Nations estimating that this year seven million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Beginning from Monday and all through Tuesday (5-6 September) in Manila, capital of the Philippines, experts are discussing the issue of loss and damage associated with the unavoidable impacts of climate change, and focus on financial instruments that address the risks of loss and damage in helping affected communities.
Manila, capital of the Philippines, hosts the 2016 Forum of the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF)
Loss and Damage relates specifically to developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. It refers to adverse effects of climate variability and climate change that occur despite global mitigation and local adaptation efforts.
Such impacts include extreme events such as hurricanes and heat waves, and slow onset events such as sea level rise and desertification.
During the 2016 Forum of the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) in Manila, experts are discussing and sharing information on financial instruments that address the risks of loss and damage at local, national, regional and international levels.
The meeting is interactive, generating practical insights incorporating both plenary and breakout group sessions and panel discussions facilitated by experts.
Participants are exploring the limits, gaps, benefits and good practices of existing financial instruments used to address the risks of loss and damage and identify further actions that can be taken to scale up, replicate or innovate these initiatives to provide protection to those vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
The theme of this year’s annual SCF forum in Manila is based on the invitation of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage at its eleventh meeting.
The Forum is organised in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and the Government of the Philippines.
More than 100 representatives from governments, financial institutions, the private sector and civil society are attending the two-day event.
Real estate investor and developers of the Eko Atlantic City Project on Victoria Island in Lagos, South Energyx Nigeria Limited (SENL), has restated its commitment to reduce the country’s huge housing deficit over the next few years through the development of a wide range of affordable and luxurious residential buildings.
Ronald Chagoury Jr., Vice Chairman of South Energyx Nigeria Limited, developers of Eko Atlantic City
Making the pledge recently in Lagos was Mr. Ronald Chagoury Jr., Vice Chairman of South Energyx Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group. He described the Eko Atlantic City as a unique and ambitious project developed by the company as part of its efforts at solving the country’s housing problem.
According to statistics, Nigeria’s housing shortage is estimated at 17 million, of which five million exist in Lagos alone. When completed, the new Eko Atlantic City will reduce this by providing homes to about 450,000 residents, with additional office space for another 300,000 people, according to the developers.
“At the moment, we are working hard with our partners to ensure that the project is completed on schedule. In fact, the first residential building should be ready before the end of the year and the second by mid-2017, with the first office block set to be ready by October, 2016,” he stated.
“One common misperception about Eko Atlantic City is that all of its properties are priced above the market. This is hardly the truth, for while the city will naturally feature a range of high-end luxury apartments, it will also provide many opportunities for more competitively priced accommodation,” he said, even as he described the project as a “vital answer to the housing shortage in Lagos.”
According to data released by Residential Auctions Company (RAC), there are already over 1,000 units of apartments of various room sizes ranging from one-bedroom to four-bedroom apartments already under construction at Eko Atlantic City.
Chagoury expressed the belief that ambitious projects such as the Eko Atlantic City will not only help alleviate Nigeria’s housing problems, but also help put Lagos on the global map as one of the emerging smartest cities in the world, thereby boosting its business and tourism potentials and revenue.
He called for concerted efforts by stakeholders, including local and international investors in solving the country’s housing problems. “South Energyx has taken it upon itself to reduce Lagos’ accommodation deficits with the Eko Atlantic City. However, to totally overcome the problem, all hands must be on deck,” he said.
