Development Communications (DevComs) Network writes in commemoration of the World Population Day 2016 that the occasion draws attention to the numerous challenges faced by teenage girls around the world who are forced by their families and communities into marriage
Outcome of child marriage: Mahafaly girl carrying her sibling, Madagascar. Photo credit: Frans Lanting
The population of the world continues to grow in spite of the socio-economic turns of poverty, unemployment, and pollution. There are concerns that this population explosion needs to be checked as it poses even more danger to mankind. The World Population Day is an annual day observed around the world to bring awareness about population growth, and focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. It also focuses on challenges presented by the world of 7.02 billion people. With the continuous rapid growth in the last 200 years, it has become very important for people on earth to realise and act on healthier lives and importance of small families.
This year’s theme “Investing in Teenage Girls” draws attention to the numerous challenges faced by teenage girls around the world who are forced by their families and communities into marriage, with resultant early pregnancy and debilitating condition from childbirth. Many are forced to leave school, damaging their future prospects and denying them of their human rights. These challenges are worse among marginalised girls such as those from ethnic minorities or those from poor households.
Studies have found that, around the world, 10 percent of girls have initiated sex before the age of 15, about 3.2 million girls have gone through unsafe abortion, and the second leading cause of death among girls between the ages of 15 and 19 is complication from pregnancy and child birth. Despite prohibitions, child marriage remains widespread around the world. About 37,000 child marriages take place each day.
When teenage girls are empowered, know their rights and are given the tools to succeed, they are more likely to realise their full potential and become positive force for change in their families, communities and nation. Policies and investments in education and health that empower teenage girls and create economic conditions that lead to jobs are particularly important in countries with large, emerging youth populations. Such countries stand to realise a demographic dividend, which has the potential to strengthen and speed up economic growth.
UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, says, “Leaders and communities must focus on and stand up for the human rights of the most marginalised teenage girls, particularly those who are poor, out of school, exploited, or subjected to harmful traditional practices, including child marriage. Marginalised girls are vulnerable to poor reproductive health and more likely to become mothers while still children themselves. They have a right to understand and control their own bodies and shape their own lives.”
Policymakers play an important role in ensuring that human rights are universal and thus enjoyed by all, including teenage girls, who worldwide face obstacles to their rights to education, health and freedom from violence. Communities, non-governmental organisations, youth-led groups, activists, faith-based institutions and girls themselves also have a vital role to play in shaping policies that affect their lives and in making sure that these policies are translated into real, positive transformation.
The Federal Government has been called upon to initiate a coordinated multi-sectoral approach for an effective phasedown of dental amalgam use in the country.
The authorities were also asked to raise awareness about dental mercury and promotion of alternatives as well as a transition to alternatives.
These formed the fulcrum of agreements arrived at by participants at a day-long stakeholders’ forum on “Phasing Down of Amalgam – The Alternatives in Nigeria” that held last week at the University of Lagos, where a deadline of December 2017 was set for public and private establishments to discourage and stop amalgam use in children’s primary teeth.
Similarly, mid 2017 was set as target following an immediate review and updating of dental schools’ training curriculum to emphasise mercury-free dentistry.
Apart from the creation of special fund for dental schools, it was also recommended that demonstration projects (pilot hospitals) should be initiated, as well as the application of best available technology and environmental practice in the management of dental amalgam.
Participants likewise underscored the need for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to include phasedown programme in her awareness campaign which, they added, should include engaging the media in awareness creation on the health impacts of mercury in dental amalgam.
The forum brought together over 140 participants drawn from government, medical/dental, dental associations, practitioners (doctors, nurses, technicians and therapists), academia, finance, pharmaceutical industry, media and civil society groups, who deliberated on phasing down of dental amalgam use in Nigeria.
In his opening words, Dean, Faculty of Dental Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof. Godwin Arotiba, said that the phasing down of dental amalgam is an issue of global importance that requires an urgent national action.
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, represented by Mrs. Stella Olagunju, stated the willingness of the ministry to accept the decision on dental curriculum change in Nigeria with emphasis on phasedown from dental amalgam use to mercury-free alternatives into the national education curriculum.
On the other hand, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Salman Bello, represented by Prof. B.O. Sylva, noted that the Faculty of Dental Sciences, as a centre of excellence in dental practice, is more strategic to the promotion of dental amalgam phasedown initiatives for dental practice in the country. He further stated that the University of Lagos currently has facilities for scientific research and analysis to support the phase down programme.
The Federal Ministry of Environment representative (Mr Olubunmi Olusanya) who stood in for Dr Idris Goji, Deputy Director, Department of Pollution and Environmental Health in the ministry, noted that mercury emission and releases pose health and environmental concerns, even though satisfactory alternatives to dental amalgam are available in Nigeria. He further called for a national road map in line with the national phase down plan which would help to save lives.
The representative of NAFDAC Dr. Anthony Hotton, noted that NAFDAC regulates the importation, sale, use, manufacture and distribution of chemicals which are grouped as general, controlled or restricted chemicals. He stated that mercury and its compounds are placed under restriction due to their health impact.
The keynote speaker, Prof. Adeyemi Oluniyi Olusile, a past President of National Dental Association (NDA) and presently the President of African Regional Organisation of World Dental Federation (FDI), outlined the effect of mercury on the environment and health especially occupational exposures. He called for the inclusion of dental amalgam alternatives filling materials in the National Health Insurance Scheme in Nigeria.
He added that curriculum changes into dental amalgam alternatives is already in place in some institutions like LUTH, University College Hospital, Ibadan; Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH); Obafemi Awolowo University and other schools.
“The reality is that, whether we like it or not, soon and very soon, amalgam will no longer be available for use. We do not manufacture amalgam in Nigeria, we import it and if the countries from where we import no longer export, we have to use the alternatives,” submitted Prof. Olusile.
During the meeting participants observed the following:
Mercury is recognised as a chemical of global concern due to its ability transport in the atmosphere, bio-accumulate in ecosystems and significant negative effect on human health and the environment.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury signed by Nigeria in October 2013 stipulates measures to be taken by parties to phase down the use of dental amalgam and oral health.
Low level of awareness among Nigerians on the dangers of mercury.
Dental amalgam is still widely used in Nigeria.
Limited number and distribution of dental clinics and centres to provide services for the Nigeria’s teeming population.
Inadequate number of dentists and other auxiliary personnel to provide dental services to patients.
Alternative direct restorative materials such as composite, compomer and ceramics can be used for restoration of carious and posterior teeth based on specific selection criteria and indications.
That most government pediatric dentistry units have long stopped the usage of dental amalgam also due to other associated reasons.
Courtesy of the Film4Climate Global Video Competition, young filmmakers have been invited to showcase their talents and create inspirational videos about climate action.
Italian film director and screenwriter, Bernardo Bertolucci, will chair the jury. Photo credit: sensesofcinema.com
The event has been described as the centerpiece of the Connect4Climate initiative to promote sustainability in the creative industries through active engagement with young people in finding solutions to climate change.
The competition will be open for submissions through September 15, with the winners to be announced at a high-profile awards ceremony at the United Nations COP22 Climate Summit in Marrakesh, Morocco in November.
The winning entries will receive cash prizes of $8,000, $5,000, and $2,000 for first, second and third place in each of two categories: an under one-minute Public Service Advertisement (PSA) or a Short Film up to five minutes.
The competition offers filmmakers a chance to have their work reviewed by a jury chaired by Bernardo Bertolucci, and including other preeminent directors, producers, writers and political leaders.
At the competition’s announcement in Cannes, producer and jury member Lawrence Bender said, “In every country, every city, people have different stories on climate change…there are many stories that can be told. If this worldwide film competition creates a critical mass of ideas and energy, it could help tip the balance in terms of focusing people’s attention.”
As the next five years will be critical to advancing and scaling up climate action around the world as part of the SDGs, the COP22 climate summit aims to encourage countries to implement ambitious climate actions, with youth playing a vital role in the agenda.
“It is not our role to inspire youth, it is they who inspire us every single day. Our mission is to provide them with a platform, and COP22 will be the opportunity to show the world the creativity of young filmmakers and how they are taking action on climate change,” stated Dr. Hakima El Haite, Delegate Minister in Charge of Environment, Morocco, Special Envoy for Mobilisation of COP22, and High-Level Champion of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Nick Nuttall, Spokesperson/Head of Communications at UNFCCC, adds, “In order to unleash the full potential of the Paris Climate Change Agreement towards a better, more climate-safe world, all sectors of society and all walks of life need to be on board, including the creative industries. We are therefore delighted to be working with Connect4Climate to raise awareness on how the film industry can fast forward its contribution, and to showcase these achievements in Morocco in November at the next UN climate change conference.”
Sheila Redzepi, Vice President of External and Corporate Relations, World Bank Group, says: “Climate change is a real and global threat affecting people’s wellbeing, livelihoods, the environment and economies. Communication is a powerful tool in furthering understanding of its impact and inspiring action to tackle it. That’s why I welcome this initiative and the support it has received from partners who, in their own fields, are leading the way in finding solutions.”
In addition to the main cash prizes a number of special prizes will be awarded to outstanding entries. These include a People’s Choice award, a MENA-Award for the best entry from the Middle East and North Africa region, and a “Price on Carbon Pollution” award. Other prizes, including worldwide distribution by Vulcan Productions, will be awarded as determined by presenting partners. Vulcanpreviously partnered with the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate programme to produce the spectacular large-scale architectural projection and public art display of images of climate change on St. Peter’s Basilica in December 2015, as a gift to Pope Francis, which was seen by an audience of several billion people.
Carole Tomko, General Manager and Creative Director of Vulcan Productions, states, “We know the immense power of storytelling to change the way people view an issue, to raise awareness and inspire progress. We are looking for submissions that energize and communicate in a fresh manner, and demonstrate innovative storytelling of key issues of our time.”
“This competition is a chance for young people to tell a story that may change the world,” said Lucia Grenna, Programme Manager of Connect4Climate, the global partnership programme behind the competition. “The science of climate change is beyond debate. Politicians are moving in the direction of a solution. What we need now is the creative push that the passion and imagination of young people can provide. We need their images and words to tell a story that inspires individual responsibility and collective action on a global scale.”
The competition is the outcome of a partnership between the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate program, the United Nations, Vulcan Productions, and the Italian energy company Enel, which has endorsed the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and targeted carbon neutrality for its operations by 2050. Other presenting partners include the UNFCCC, UN Sustainable Development, UNEP, The Global Brain, and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco. In addition, more than 50 collaborating partners are supporting the competition.
Connect4Climate receives support from the Italian and German governments, as well as from the private and public sectors, and academia.
In 1960 when Nigeria became independent, there were about 40 percent forest landmass that spreads across the length and breadth of the nation’s rain forest. But, over the years, these have continued to deplete due to numerous factors such that, currently, less than two percent forest land mass remains. Succour is however emerging, thanks to some individuals and private bodies, who have taken up an afforestation campaign to boost the nation’s forest cover, green the environment and mitigate the impact of climate change. Kayode Aboyeji, who recently visited some of the initiatives, stresses in this report that, in the near future, some of these emerging forests may qualify as project sites under the United Nations (UN) Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) programme
The Evergreen Tree Plantation in Ijari, Ijebu North East Local Government Area of Ogun State
Trees are essential to life; they produce oxygen without which man cannot exist. Trees control noise pollution, slow storm water runoff and serve as carbon sinks. Besides, trees clean the air, serve as wind breaker and curb soil erosion among other relevant purposes it serves to mankind.
Unfortunately, due to infrastructural development, population explosion, illegal and indiscriminate timber and non-timber product harvesting, agricultural expansion into the forest reserves and lack of compliance with and enforcement of forest laws, forest reserves have been depleted while the remaining surviving trees have become endangered species in Nigeria.
Over the years, government has supplied seedlings for tree planting, but there are no forests to show for the intervention.
Despite the involvement of the World Bank, African Development Bank Afforestation projects in the 1960s and the 1970s and the Western Nigeria Forest of 1968 headed by the Emeritus Professor Akin Mabogunje, the nation still seems worst off and struggling to find viable project sites for REDD or earn carbon credit.
But it appears all hope is not lost, thanks to initiatives spearheaded by individuals and private bodies, who are investing in massive tree planting and creating new forest zones.
The Evergreen Tree Plantation
The Evergreen Tree Plantation – a teak (Tectona grandis) plantation – is located in Ijari, Ijebu North East Local Government Area of Ogun State. The Evergreen Tree Planters, a non-governmental organisation, was established in 1984 and is focused on planting trees for industrial prosperity and environmental sustainability is one of Nigeria foremost tree planters.
It has been able, through its aggressive tree planting programmes, to acquire and plant well over two million trees. It has been able to established plantations of 27 exotic and indigenous trees species that spreads across the state. These are Tectona grandis (teak), Khaya spp. (mahogany), Nauclea diderrichi (Opepe), Milicia excels (Iroko), Afzelia spp (Apa), Cedrella odorata (Cedrella), Mansonia altissima (Mansonia) and Cordia milleni (Omo) trees.
Bisi Rodipe, founder of Evergreen Tree Planters, is a lover of nature. At 75, he is still planting trees.
He said, “I have visited and attended several forest and forest products trade fair, conferences and workshops, hence my strong belief of the popular and ancient saying ‘Agbe L’Oba’, meaning farmers are kings. This I have practiced and proved in my 30 years’ experience in tree planting.”
Rodipe disclosed that the group is now exploring indigenous tree timber species that are near extinction which are priced in the timber market both locally and internationally.
He called on investors to join in the vanguard of tree planters towards a sustainable and economic development.
Rodipe, while charging other investors said, “Had I known 30 years ago when I planted my first mahogany trees (Khaya senegalensis) to establish a plantation of at least 500 hectares, at my present age of 75 years, I would have been spending most of my time relaxing at the Miami Beach in Florida, the United States of America.
“This is a wake-up call once again to all well meaning individual and groups to see this plantation as a means to invest in the future for you and generations yet unborn,” he said.
Labo Plantation
The Labo Plantation was established in 2011 by a Professor of Forest Economics and Sustainable Development at the University of Ibadan, Labo Popoola.
The plantation, part of a farmland that operate at Olowosoke village, Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria has a total size of 13 acres – approximately 5.2 hectares – of Tectona grandis (Teak). It forms part of the original 50-acre integrated farm enterprise comprising arable crops, oil palm and livestock.
Prof. Popoola, when asked on what informed the decision to establish the plantation said, “I enjoy farming, and I am a trained forester. I have helped individuals and corporate organisations to raise plantations, and I just felt that I should also lead by practical example, hence my decision to establish the plantation as part of my farming enterprise. It is a self-financed enterprise. No external financing yet.”
On future plans for the plantation, he added, “Together with some friends, we now have a total holding of about 150 acres. We desire to extend the plantation, particularly using trees to secure the boundary of our land.
On forest management in Nigeria, he maintained, “The forest sector is beset with quite a number of challenges in Nigeria. Key among these is paucity of data for proper management, obsolete policies and laws, poor financing and corruption. The characteristics of the resource as a long gestation enterprise may also pose some challenge.
“Also critical are ownership of resources, including policies and legislation that define ownership, the social and economic conditions of the owners and more importantly their entrepreneurial ability (including the ability to understand the changing opportunities and to move up the value chain); and the nature of markets served. These interact with each other, altering the opportunities and constraints in capturing the different values from the forests. Also, there are virtually no incentive structures for private forestry. Regardless, individuals and corporate organisations are increasingly embarking on private forestry,” he said.
The Professor of Forest Economics and Sustainable Development, who highlighted the relevance of forestry to biodiversity, stated that within six years of establishment, the plantation is already closing canopy. “We now have a number of wild animals inhabiting the area. We are also considering embarking on apiary in the plantation,” he disclosed.
On the importance of forestry, he noted, “There are so many advantages in forest plantation establishment. Broadly, the benefits are socio-economic, cultural, environmental and even spiritual. With the dwindling resources in the public sector, private forestry becomes an imperative. It is therefore important that governments at all tiers should create incentive structures that will encourage the involvement of the private sector to enhance sustainable forest management.”
The LUFASI Park
The Lekki Urban Forest Animal Sanctuary Initiative (LUFASI) is another private afforestation programme in Nigeria. The green expanse hosts 20 hectares of play and relaxation parks, animal sanctuary, fern gardens, forest and some of the last remaining populations of the highly endangered Ekki ‘iron wood’ tree, the threatened hooded vulture and lesser hornbill.
According to the Director of LUFASI and renowned environmentalist – Desmond Majekodunmi, “Humans have gone too far down the path of environmental destruction and this goes against our essence as stewards of the Earth.” This essence is reflected in LUFASI Nature Park’s direct response to the pertinent issue of climate change. Most importantly, the park serves as a living laboratory for agricultural, ecological, environmental and veterinary education in Nigeria.
Obasanjo Farms
Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who is a renowned farmer. is also engaging in tree plantation. Presently, he has large expanse of teak tree plantations in Iseyin Road, Oke area of Oyo State.
The Iseyin farms consists of over a million teak trees planted in well arranged order and provides job opportunity to villagers in the community.
Besides the Iseyin farm, the former president also has about 250 hectares at Ajoda, in Ogun State where teak trees are planted. He is also said to have large expanse of teak farm in Bayelsa State, South-South Nigeria.
Stakeholders’ response
Commenting on these initiatives, National Coordinator of Climate Change Network-Nigeria (CCN-Nigeria), Surveyor Efik, said such efforts are worth commending, adding that that is what the global campaign is all about. That the business sector should participate in afforestation programmes.
Said he, “I will also want them to work with the Federal Ministry of Environment and register it under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project so that they can earn carbon credit.
“It is actually good that private individuals are into afforestation in Nigeria. This will boost afforestation programme in the country and the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted during the Paris Agreement.
“I want more Nigerian investors to go into afforestation programme,” he added.
Climate change scientist, Prof. Olukayode Oladipo, said it is a good thing that private individuals are going into afforestation.
He noted that government alone cannot reverse the years of massive deforestation that the country has experience, therefore the private sector has to come in to support the government in afforestation programme.
Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari, declared that his administration is poised to unroll greater-than-expected measures to keep the country green.
Buhari made this statement during the launching of the ‘Keep Kaduna Green Project in Kaduna.
The president represented by Amina Muhammed, Minister of Environment, revealed that Nigeria had the highest rate of deforestation in the world.
“Environment is one of the six core pillars of this economy, thus underscoring the importance to the Change Agenda. The initiative in Kaduna State today is a clear example of state government contributing to the environment component of our economy.
“It is on record that the rate of deforestation is about 3.5 per cent per annum. The implication of this is that about 350,000 to 400,000 hectares of forest, equivalent to 576 million trees are lost annually.
“The environmental challenges that come with this include desertification, erosion, flooding and reduction in perspiration and contribution to drought, all this bringing untold hardship on communities and the environment.”
The president said the initiative further underscores the importance of taking climate action and creating jobs for the teeming youths.
From border disputes in the South China Sea to the ongoing conflicts and refugee crisis in Syria the world is an increasingly unstable place. Global crises like terrorism and pandemics will be amplified by climate change, undermining the UN’s ability to preserve peace and security.
Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Former UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) chief Christiana Figueres on Wednesday joined the race to become the new UN Secretary General (UNSG). Whoever becomes the new UNSG, they must radically reform the UN to make it fit for purpose in a climate changed world or see its core mission undermined, according to a report, United We Stand, released on Wednesday by climate change think tank, E3G.
CEO Nick Mabey says: “We need the UN more than ever – it is an important constant that transcends social and political unrest – but we need it to be fit for purpose. The new Secretary General must follow through on the major international agreements struck last year and climate proof the UN system.”
The future UNSG is under increasing pressure from countries to reform the UN systems, most recently during the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May which sought to improve systems around humanitarian aid and crisis response.
The new UNSG will need to make sure the UN can implement the three major agreements struck last year – the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals which seek to eradicate poverty, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
“The agreements struck last year recognise that climate change impacts all of the key objectives of the UN. By learning lessons from regimes like nuclear proliferation and terrorism, the UN can find practical ways to manage the impacts of climate change on its core missions and avoid being stuck in permanent crisis response,” says the report author Camilla Born, Policy Advisor at E3G.
The report draws lessons from the histories of other risk regimes to recommend practical reforms which could be delivered by 2020. A thorough approach to climate risk will help improve the quality of life for the most vulnerable, and reduce the risk of globally fragility. These reforms will need strong prioritization from the new UN Secretary General.
Ahead of the 2016 farming season and in order to give farmers enough time for proper land preparation and planting, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners have so far distributed seeds and agricultural tools to about 200,000 vulnerable farming households, which benefitted about 1.1 million people in South Sudan.
Harvesting cassava tubers in South Sudan
A statement issued by the UN body revealed that many families had exhausted their seed reserves because they were unable to plant last year, had low harvest or were unable to replenish their reserves by buying seeds in local markets.
“In some cases, families have been forced to consume or sell their seeds for food and seed distributions have come at a critical moment. Without this support, many families would be unable to plant this year, meaning another year of relying on external assistance to meet their basic food needs,” said Serge Tissot, FAO Representative in South Sudan.
As a reason for the predicament, FAO stated that the 2015 violence forced many farmers in the country from their lands, “leaving them unable to plant their crops. In areas where security has improved, such as Western Equatoria, Unity and Jonglei, farmers are returning and FAO’s support has been crucial in enabling them to plant and resume food production. With the tensed food security situation, this is a critical time to ensure a decent harvest for South Sudan – last year, local production met about 70 percent of the nation’s cereal needs.”
In order to achieve the feat and because of the challenge of getting the seeds to the farmers on time, FAO worked with 40 local and international partners to effectively reach out to those families in dire need.
The early seed supply, according to FAO, was necessary because the season extends from as early as mid-March in the Equatoria regions up to June in Greater Upper Nile and Greater Bahr El Ghazal. “The support of the WFP-led Logistics Cluster was critical in ensuring that the seeds and tools were transported to hard-to-reach areas of the former Jonglei and Upper Nile States,” the statement further stressed.
FAO and the partners provided the seeds and tools directly to beneficiaries in Greater Upper Nile and in other areas, scaled up the distribution of seeds through seed fairs. In this case, over 80,000 vulnerable families have been issued with vouchers that have pre-set values with which to ‘buy’ seeds at local fairs in 2016. Over 110,000 other vulnerable families received their seeds through direct distribution.
“With the seed fairs, we are increasing access to local, but high quality seeds in a sustainable way. The fairs also boost the local economy by working with local traders, which directly injects money into the market. FAO strives to implement all distributions through seed fairs as far as security and market functioning allows,” Abdoul Karim Bah, Deputy FAO Representative explained.
FAO added that, in Greater Equatoria, more than 40,000 households received crop seeds and tools; over 60,000 households in Greater Bahr El Ghazal and a further 90,000 in Greater Upper Nile.
The beneficiaries of the assistance through a joint operation by FAO and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, included refugee households, who received the inputs. “In addition to the crop seeds and tools, FAO and its partners have also distributed more than 170,000 vegetable seeds and tools and over 140 000 fishing kits in South Sudan,” the statement further disclosed.
It stressed that the organisation’s emergency response activities were made possible through the financial support of the Common Humanitarian Fund, and the Governments of Denmark and Norway, the Swiss Confederation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America.
A group of environmentalists has called on government to create an incentive for intensive engagement on climate resilience measures in the economy.
Participants at the Dialogue
Participants at the 6th session of the Development Dialogue on Climate Change and Renewable Energy that held recently at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) in Ondo State, who made this submission, emphasised that the dialogue provided considerable insight and knowledge on climate change issues and climate action projects they could initiate.
Apart from providing the opportunity of earning higher incomes through low-carbon projects and carbon rebates, the day-long session, the participants agreed, also provided an avenue whereby networks in climate change were created and opportunities opened.
Themed: “Climate Change: Cross-Sector Scaling of Mitigation and Adaptation Initiatives in Nigeria” and organised by the Carbon Exchange Trade in Collaboration with FUTA, SMEFUNDS, New Nigeria Foundation and Noaz International, the forum, it was gathered, created a platform whereby professional partnerships were brokered and output from Nigeria’s Climate Action Forum communicated to the global audience.
Apart from creating a platform for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the forum was described as a local action in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Climate Action in global intensification of knowledge and capacity through advocacy on climate change.
In view of the need to create awareness on the debilitating effect of climate change on national economies and how to mitigate its effect especially in the country, the Africa Roundtable on Climate Change under its Climate Action Forum in Nigeria, a coalition of local action groups, hosts regular Development Dialogues on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Carbon Emission Reduction.
The FUTA session, according to the organisers, was designed to enable academic institutions to endow research and projects on climate mitigation and adaptation including climate smart agriculture, renewable energy as well as carbon emission and landscape resilience.
Prof Adebiyi Daramola, Vice Chancellor of FUTA, said the overall advantage of the Dialogue would be seen in climate change mitigation, adaptation and finance which are critical to building both economic, social and environmental resilience, scaling clean projects in sustainable landscapes and cities, biodiversity preservation as well as renewable energy, energy efficiency, environmental screening and monitoring and value-chain development.
Prof. Olufemi Ajibola, chairman of the session and Managing Director of New Nigeria Foundation, said issues on climate change are relatively new therefore there is need to create increased public awareness. He said an alternative to oil is imminent giving the drop in oil prices globally, adding that it is unacceptable for the country to overlook the opportunities of the new energy solutions, and so it is imperative to harness alternative resources in solving the problems of the country.
Director of CERAD, Professor Ayorinde Olufayo, was optimistic that the dialogue would provide linkage to global climate change and renewable energy and create technologies for ecosystem that will aid livelihood resilience for rural communities.
In a presentation titled: “Mitigation and Adaptation Initiatives for Sustainable Economic Development”, Innocent Azih, Director, Carbon Exchange Trade, said mitigation of climate change would be achieved through policy measures that emphasise scaling of climate friendly products and technologies, climate regulations, low-emission transportation and building construction as well as adaptation practices such as Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and stable long term financing for new greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation technologies.
While highlighting mitigation measures and policies, Azih posited that climate change recognition now identifies climate-friendly products and technologies as well as slow and long term financing from GHG technologies. He also identified carbon pricing as an effective mitigation measure as well as private sector response in the form of clean energy projects such as solar energy and clean cooking technologies.
In a presentation that explored research readiness for local action on climate change, Director, Centre for Renewable Technologies (CRET) at FUTA, Professor Olurinde Lafe, stressed the need for concerted efforts to globally address climate change. He said local actions which include legislation, advocacy and adoption of a clean development mechanism would have great impact in mitigating the effects of climate change.
Professor Lafe said Nigeria has abundant renewable energy sources in the form of solar, wind, biomass, gas thermal, ocean waves and tides, adding that there are research opportunities for project development in renewable energy sources through the use of available energy conversion technologies and waste to energy opportunities. He said opportunities abound in local action which according to him will solve employment problems and at the same time resolve the energy challenges facing the nation.
Professor Lafe outlined top research and development topics for local action which include: harnessing multiple renewable energy sources, distributed energy generation, micro grids high capacity energy storage, fuel cells and smart building architecture and engineering.
A US study has listed farmers and foresters among the people most likely to take their own life.
Farming
The research carried out by America’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that those who work in farming, fishing, and forestry are the top most likely to commit suicide, compared to those in other jobs.
Published last week, the data was gathered from 17 US states in 2012. Occupational codes were applied to 12,312 suicide cases from the National Violent Death Reporting System.
Rates for each profession were calculated by the number of suicides per 100,000 population. For farming, fishing and forestry, the rating stands at 84.5.
Other job sectors ranked below farming, fishing and forestry were construction and extraction; installation, maintenance and repair; production; and architecture (with a rate of 32.2).
The group that encompassed arts, design, entertainment, sports and media was seventh, with a rate of 24.3.
The lowest rate of suicide, 7.5, was found in the education, training and library occupational group.
Approximately 40,000 suicides were reported in the United States during 2012 – the 10th leading cause of death among people aged 16 and over.
“Understanding suicides by occupational group provides an opportunity for prevention, but such data have not been reported recently for a broad population or examined by sex and occupation classification,” said the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report acknowledges that the findings are subject to limitations, such as human and computer errors in categorisation.
However, the researchers hope that forthcoming data, gathered in 2014 from across 32 states, might provide more representative findings and allow them to examine occupational trends over time.
One of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to “End hunger, achieve food security and adequate nutrition for all, and promote sustainable agriculture.”
Chairperson of the Committee for World Food Security (WFS), Amira Gornass
Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa number around 33 million, representing 80% of all farms in the region, thereby contributing up to 90% of food production in some sub-Saharan African countries.
These facts state the importance of this group of farmers in ensuring food security in Africa, especially if the regional governments could provide incentives, education, farm inputs as well as favourable policies that would strengthen their efforts towards mass food production.
As major producers of food, African governments must pay more attention to the smallholder farmers. They must be made to, in the first place, be food sufficient so that they could become non or less dependent on governments for subsistence. All farmers’ needs towards food production should also be made affordable in order to incite the zeal in them to support food security programmes of governments.
More so, African governments should partner with organisations like the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to enhance food security as well as boost nations’ agricultural productivities.
It is commendable to note that, through its Committee for World Food Security (WFS), the FAO is strengthening the African smallholder farmer in order to enable him contribute his quota in addressing global food insecurity.
The Chairperson of the Committee for World Food Security (WFS), Amira Gornass, disclosed in an exclusive interview during the organisation’s recent Regional Conference for Africa, which held in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast, that smallholder farmers make up the world’s largest producers of food. She added that they supply 70 percent of overall food production.
“Smallholders are at the heart of the agricultural sector by supplying 70% of the overall food production. They are at the centre of agro-food systems, mainly as producers, but also as consumers and labourers and increasingly as processors and traders. At the same time, 70% of the 1.4 billion poor people in the world live in rural areas with smallholders representing three quarters of these rural poor,” she said.
Gornass underlined the need to strengthen smallholder farmers’ role and their livelihoods because, according to her, policy interventions that address food insecurity and malnutrition should consider that they are engaged in a variety of interrelated markets (such as local and international, output and input, labour and financial) and perform multiple roles in rural areas.
“The CFS,” Gornass emphasised, had “developed a number of recommendations to address the specific challenges faced by smallholders. In 2011 and 2013, respectively, it endorsed policy recommendations on “How to increase food security and smallholder-sensitive investments in agriculture” and on “Investing in smallholder agriculture for food security and nutrition,” adding that, “currently, the committee is discussing a set of recommendations to strengthen smallholders’ access to markets, which are expected to be approved at the Plenary in October.”
The recommendations, she further stressed, resulted from extensive discussions and negotiations among representatives of member states, UN bodies, civil society and private sector organisations, financial and agricultural research institutions and were informed by the independent reports of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE), the scientific arm of CFS.
She pointed out that “drawing on its analysis of the potential contribution of smallholders to the four dimensions of food security and nutrition (availability, access, utilisation and stability), the committee recognises that, with the support of adequate policies and public investments, smallholders can greatly contribute to economic growth, employment, poverty reduction, emancipation of marginalised groups and the reduction of social and economic inequalities.”
Gornass however posits that for smallholders to be able to contribute to food security and nutrition, “we not only need to better understand and recognise the importance of local and domestic food markets for smallholders and the need to strengthen markets’ data collection systems to better inform public policies; the potential role that smallholders can play in international markets, as well as the financial and capacity building opportunities they have, but also the challenges in terms of standards to be met and conditions to be faced; the importance of smallholders in creating stronger linkages between consumers and producers; and the reliance on smallholders’ production to support the development of public procurement programmes for vulnerable consumers.”
On the migration of the African smallholder farmer from traditional to modern methods of farming, Gornass noted that “smallholder farmers’ education, especially in the area of the application of farm inputs, is a worrisome impediment to the achievement of food security.”
She explained that the CFS had identified a set of major areas where increased support was “needed to improve smallholders’ productivity: water and land management, sustainable management of genetic resources, soil conservation practices, better transport systems and infrastructure, including feeder roads and rural electrification, in addition to appropriate pre and post-harvest handling and storage facilities.”
For the smallholder farmer in Africa, as elsewhere, these are necessary if he is considered a critical stakeholder in tackling the challenge of food insecurity and, considering the limited resources available to them, Gornass suggests that “smallholders should also make better and more efficient use of those resources to increase their productivity in a sustainable way.”
According to her, CFS had recommended the strengthening of “participatory research, extension and farming services to increase smallholders’ productivity and diversify their production, ideally by combining their traditional knowledge with the findings of the newest scientific research.”
Measured in terms of value, she views that “productivity strictly depends on prices of inputs, equipment and machines but in several developing countries, their reduced availability and higher costs make this increase in productivity more difficult to achieve. In addition, smallholders, when not acting collectively, are pure price takers. For this reason, we need to enhance smallholders’ access to inputs as well as strengthen their capacity to act and invest collectively in order to reduce individual costs and increase smallholder’s economic influence on prices.”
The CFS boss warned that higher levels of productivity that were associated with higher use of inputs and the development of labour-saving technologies might lead to a reduction in agricultural employment, which needed to be somehow addressed with corrective policies and investments. “In this context, the committee has recommended that rural non-farm economies should be supported in order to provide smallholders with alternative off-farm employment opportunities, to diversify their sources of income and to manage the associated risks. Last, investments should also be made to build local capacities, develop entrepreneurial skills and promote innovation in value chains,” she recommended.
Michael Donoghue writes in this issue that Pacific Islanders are responsible for only a tiny fraction of GHG emissions, yet they are suffering the worst effects of global warming. This unjust situation should be at the heart of the climate debate but was overshadowed in Paris by the much-acclaimed progress made elsewhere. We would question how much progress can truly be made without a commitment to climate justice. Climate justice demands action from those who are contributing most to climate change and benefiting from resource depletion: developed countries and multinational corporations. This is the area that is crying out for philanthropic action predicated not on charity but directed towards systemic change.
Jubilation greeted the adoption of the Paris Agreement last December in Paris, France. Photo credit: unfccc.int
The mindset required for action can be summed up in three words: conviction, compassion and commitment. By conviction we mean full agreement that global warming is happening and that it is primarily the result of human activity. By compassion we mean empathy with and care for the victims, to date mostly in the Global South. That conviction and compassion combine to require commitment to do something about the situation; to put our resources where our hearts are and curtail the toll being taken on the planet.
Is the Paris Agreement a turning point? The Paris Agreement has been hailed as a turning point in global efforts to avoid catastrophic climate change. Nearly all countries, polluters and non-polluters, rich and poor, have for the first time agreed to do something about global warming. So at least there is conviction, but the value of conviction without action is limited. Will mere acknowledgement that climate change is urgent and that temperature increases above pre-industrial levels must be kept to 1.5 °C, or well below 2 °C, be enough to save life as we know it on the planet?
Key concepts of justice missing The key concepts of justice, including common but differentiated responsibility, have barely survived on life support provided by the preamble to the Paris Agreement. This is an opportunity for philanthropy to back the countless groups such as Corporate Europe Observatory, Friends of the Earth International and Third World Network advocating that northern nations increase their level of ambition in line with the requirements of common but differentiated responsibility. Apart from the lack of attention to climate justice, there are two big omissions from the agreement. First, as La Via Campesina, the international peasants’ movement, puts it (and as other articles in this issue have pointed out), ‘there is nothing binding for states, national contributions lead us towards a global warming of over 3 °C and multinationals are the main beneficiaries. It was essentially a media circus.’
No mention of fossil fuels Second, the agreement made no mention of fossil fuels, the great culprit in the unfolding climate crisis.
The influence of the fossil fuel lobby was made most apparent at the Warsaw COP in 2013 when there was an official coal conference during the negotiations. It is estimated that the only way to keep temperature rises to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels is to stop burning fossil fuels by 2030. Philanthropy can and should fund the groups and coalitions organising and advocating for alternatives, while at the same time divesting its own endowments from fossil fuels. Some have already set the example, as shown by Ellen Dorsey, Sian Ferguson and Clara Vondrich and a recent Alliance interview with Stephen Heintz of Rockefeller Brothers Fund. But as 350.org leaders May Boeve and Bill McKibben also write, ‘(Big) philanthropy is not sufficiently involved. Many foundations, including some of the largest environmental funders, have not divested from fossil fuels.’
Need for funding for adaptation as well as mitigation Wanjira Mathai and Sean DeWitt point to another area in need of philanthropic attention: grassroots movements fighting to preserve local ecosystems embodied in forests. While the Paris Agreement highlights carbon markets and the embedded carbon offsets, forest communities, especially those of indigenous peoples, see their trees and soils as arenas of life and culture and not as carbon sinks. Tackling global warming at the grassroots level means supporting groups fighting for their way of life and their culture. These fights provide opportunities for compassion which lead resolutely to commitment. Commitment demands action now, not simple intention. It requires philanthropy to fund adaptation on the scale that it has been funding the search for mitigation.
There are areas where justice has a still more obvious application. Nations have considered climate change to be a national security issue and their obstinate dependence on dirty energy has led to a form of climate warfare against protesters. While nations continue to see their interests tied up in big dams and fossil-dependent power generation, these sites have become the focus of protests. In some cases, protesters have become the targets of violence.
Emissions reductions determined by national interests The linchpin of COP21was the so-called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). The INDC platform was set by COP19 in Warsaw. As the name implies, nations were required to submit the level of emissions reduction they would contribute towards limiting temperature increases above pre-industrial levels. The key attraction was that countries would set their own targets, in contrast to the Kyoto Protocol which required that countries reduce emissions in line with a global assessment of contributions, abilities and historical responsibility. In other words, under Kyoto, the emissions reduction plan was based on the reduction in emissions that was actually needed. Under the INDCs, national interests determine what actions should be taken. Analysts at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) indicate that with the INDCs the world is set for a 3-4 °C temperature increase at the minimum, which would mean irreversible loss of lives, species and habitats, territories and citizenship due to climate change.
Catastrophe pending This sort of temperature increase would make Africa, for example, uninhabitable because the continent would suffer temperatures 50 per cent above global averages. Temperatures in the range of 4.5-6 °C would mean incineration of the continent, heatwaves, floods, catastrophic droughts and crop failures, among other calamities. Island communities and coastal regions would disappear under water. Maxine Burkett notes in her article, ‘in earth’s documented history, we have not seen the amount of carbon released combined with the speed at which we are depositing it in the atmosphere.’ As she suggests, climate-induced migration will need to be a funding priority of foundations. More starkly, Pablo Solon, former chief climate negotiator for Bolivia, remarked: ‘The Paris agreement will force us to choose (which) of our children will survive, because in a +3 °C world, not all will be able to live.’
How philanthropy can support climate justice We have considered at length the reasons why the current climate negotiation pattern is leading us into more crises. The good news, however, is that grassroots communities are both innovative and resilient in the face of challenges. Thousands of climate justice groups around the world, including coalitions such as Climate Justice Now and the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, are offering solutions from those most affected, including indigenous peoples, women and youth. They are being supported by funding from foundations including Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Chorus, Kendeda, Oak and Overbrook Foundations, some of whose efforts are profiled in this issue.
We urge philanthropy to become more committed: to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in renewable energy; to fund adaptive strategies developed at local and regional levels; to support people’s movements putting pressure on world leaders; to make grants for the protests that will be erupting around the planet to shut down fossil fuel facilities; to fund alternatives such as wind and solar power; and, perhaps above all, to consider the issue of climate justice which should inform all our efforts to combat the various forms of climate change.
By Nnimmo Bassey (founder/director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation and chair of Global Greengrants Fund) and Terry Odendahl (president and CEO of Global Greengrants Fund)
