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Break Free train in Ogoni – Silence is treason!

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Break Free train in Ogoni – Silence is treason!

Rallying call by Nnimmo Bassey, Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), at Break Free from Fossil Fuels event at Bori, Ogoni, Rivers State, Nigeria on 12th May 2016

Free1The MOSOP Peace Centre, Bori, Ogoni is a very significant location in the history of the struggle for a safe Niger Delta in which our peoples live in peace and in dignity and struggle for their rights non-violently. It is thus an important place for our second action to demand that Nigeria breaks free from fossil fuels in order to see a clear path to the future. Two days ago we were at Oloibiri, at the very first oil well in Nigeria. That well was drilled in 1956, but commercial export commenced from 1958. By that time, oil exploration and exploitation had been firmly established in Ogoni. Ogoni is a logical next stop.

I salute you, proud Ogoni people. I salute you, leaders of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), I salute you, comrades.

I request that we observe a minute silence in honour of the memories of great Ogoni sons and daughters who have laid down their lives in various circumstances in the course of struggles to halt the dastard pollution of Ogoni land. May the labour of these our heroes never be in vain.

Free2In 1993 Ogoni people, like the Biblical David, pulled down Goliath, when you expelled Shell oil company from your Kingdom. Never have we seen a people more united in the struggle for emancipation from social, economic and ecological slavery. Today your heads are held high and we salute you, proud Ogoni people.

We stand with you today to declare that your action of halting the exploitation of crude oil from your territory has caught the imagination of the whole world. It first inspired Oilwatch International to begin the call to Leave the Oil in the Soil. Today, Keep It in the Ground has inspired a global call. That is why we are here today to declare with you that the whole world must break free from fossil fuels.

A refusal to break away from fossil fuels is a call for the continued bastardisation of our air, land and creeks. A refusal to break away from fossil fuels is an unacceptable call for unchecked climate change. A refusal to break away from fossil fuels sentences Nigeria to a corrupt political arrangement that breeds corruption, violence and conflicts, more than anything else.

In one of the poems that our hero, Ken Saro-Wiwa, wrote, he declared that silence is treason. We agree and demand that we all speak up and join the global call for all nations to break free from fossil fuels. You showed this in practical terms. Others must take up the call.

How can our environment be clean if we continue to depend on a re-source that is polluting from exploration, exploitation and consumption stages? Indeed, fossil fuels remain polluting even in their post consumption stage. How can our environment be clean if as we clean-up we keep adding new pollution? Breaking free from fossil fuels requires a decommissioning and carting away of abandoned oil facilities from Ogoniland. This is what the proposed clean-up of Ogoniland must include.

You have inspired the entire world by keeping it under the ground for 23 years. We applaud you for this heroic achievement and join you today to raise our voices for this to be taken up by the whole world and for the United Nations to draw up an instrument for the compensation of communities, kingdoms, nations and territories that have successfully kept fossil fuels in the ground and thus established verifiable carbon sinks by not allowing the carbon to be excavated in the first instance.

Our lands are fantastically polluted. And now that the price of petrol has been increased fantastically in Nigeria, it is a strong message that fossil fuel will continue to impoverish our peoples and the way out is truly to leave this menace in the ground.

That is real climate action. Breaking free from fossil fuels is the sensible way today and it is the way of the future. A clean Ogoni land, a clean Niger Delta, a clean world – that is the way to fight global warming and to give humans and other species a fighting chance of survival. Break free from fossil fuels is a breaking free form the hypocrisy of climate negotiations that refuse to mention fossil fuels. It is a breaking free from corporate capture. The Ogoni did it. We can all do it! Together we can do it!

Nigeria developing framework to mobilise revenue from non-oil sector

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Nigeria developing framework to mobilise revenue from non-oil sector

The Federal Government has indicated its resolve to ensure the nation’s tax system reflects the commercial activity levels in in the country.

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun
Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun

In order to achieve this, the government expressed its commitment to the process of mobilising revenue from the non-oil sector. In a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 18th annual tax conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Abuja, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, stressed the need for a robust tax system, which she described as a pre-requisite for any economy that is serious in its commitment to growth and development.

The minister said, “I carefully read the communiqué arising from the tax conference held last year and I acknowledge the remarkable insight of the diagnosis that ‘Nigeria is experiencing growth without development’. I think that the CITN set out clearly the fiscal priorities needed to underpin our economic agenda in a concise manner. Tax collection must grow in line with growth in the economy but this has not been the recent case in Nigeria and that is our challenge.”

Stressing the resolve of the current administration to mobilise revenue from the non-oil sector, Mrs. Adeosun stated the prevailing tax system must reflect the nature of the nation’s commercial activity levels.  She noted that oil is just 13 per cent of our GDP but it represents a disproportionate share of our tax revenue, promising that Government will develop a framework that will mobilise revenue from the non-oil sector.

The minister explained that the nation’s tax system must be dynamic in order to respond to an ever-evolving commercial landscape and to increasingly technology-driven business models.

She stated that the Federal Government, as part of the drive to increase non-oil revenue, has set an aggressive target for increasing tax collection. This, according to her, is a reflection of the fact that the current level of compliance is low and, in some cases, the effective tax rate paid by those that are compliant is lower than expected. She added that the commendable administrative efforts of FIRS would be complemented by an overhaul of the tax code and tax laws.

She disclosed that the Federal Government plans to engage with relevant members of the National Assembly to ensure that required revisions, amendments and new laws can be passed expediently to keep pace with the rapid change in business practices. The Minister admitted that “an overhaul of our tax code is long overdue as is the redrafting of our tax laws to reflect current business practices and new trends. We must respond to the growing phenomenon of base shifting and other practices that allow companies to evade their fiscal and legal responsibilities.”

She added: “We will critically examine our GDP to align taxes with economic activity in our bid to block all leakages. For example, the multi-billion-naira losses being identified in our solid minerals sector by illegal and undocumented miners will be addressed with increased formalisation and review of the governing laws. Indeed, we are committed to the continuous improvement of our tax system as part of a dynamic framework. We will use tax administration and technology to widen compliance and encourage more individuals and companies into the tax net.”

She adding that the Federal Government is already investing in technology to boost the efficiency of our collections. According to her, some of the recent initiatives being implemented in the Ministry of Finance mean that it is now virtually impossible to obtain a payment from the Federal Government without being fully taxed compliant.

Promising that tax revenues will be judiciously utilised going further, the Mrs. Adeosun stated that tax payment is part of the social contract between government and people and that the most effective measure to enhance compliance is the knowledge that tax revenues are being utilised effectively for the development of the people. The minister explained that the Federal Government is already implementing public financial management reforms to strengthen financial controls and ensure greater accountability, while the government is also making progress to ensure value for money in every naira spent in its efforts to reduce overhead and increase the efficiency of government expenditure.

She expressed the commitment of the current administration to address the current infrastructure deficit, which is critical to enable economic development. She stated that the 2016 Budget marks a strategic shift given the fact that the Federal Government is determined to direct 30 per cent of expenditure towards capital investment, explaining that the mobilisation of government revenue, including tax revenues, is therefore paramount to meet the significant investment required.

She restated her conviction that the Nigerian economy will recover, saying that, with the support of economic players, including tax practitioners, the Nigerian economy would emerge stronger and more resilient as a result of our recent challenges. She challenged the CITN to engage in economic patriotism in a way to make their skills achieve the best outcome for Nigerians. “Specifically I implore you to, in the spirit of change, ensure that your advice to clients is professional, legal and ethical, and in the best interest of Nigeria.  I urge you to avoid practices that are to the financial detriment of Nigeria and the greater good, and to avoid colluding with parties that are engaged in such detrimental practices,” the minister stated.

She explained that growing the economy at a rate that will address the employment needs of the huge population requires a fundamental change in how government collects its revenues and spends. The minister said government is committed to making sure that every naira counts.  “We have strengthened our controls and made significant progress in enhancing the effectiveness of our financial expenditure in bringing development to Nigeria.”

The minister further commented: “The commercial opportunities in Nigeria, despite our current challenges, are compelling and I am happy to report that we are now witnessing an increasing level of interest from long term investors who are keen to participate in the Nigerian upside as this government begins to position Nigeria to attain its true potential. It is particularly gratifying that the majority of these enquires relate to the non-oil sector.  However, as encouraged as I am about these developments, I am concerned about the ability of our tax system to adequately develop and deploy effective measures to ensure that government revenue is mobilised in line with these developments.”

She concluded by re-iterating government’s commitment towards improving tax administration and efficiency in tax collection in Nigeria.

Scientist decries Petronas’ activities in South Sudan

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Scientist decries Petronas’ activities in South Sudan

“Horrifying.” “Scandalous.”

Those were the responses by Professor Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker to the situation in South Sudan and to the alleged role played by Petronas, the Malaysian petroleum giant, which is accused of causing the distressful situation.

Professor Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker
Professor Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker

Professor von Weizsäcker, one of the world’s most respected environmental scientists and policy-makers, had appraised details of the suffering and culpability in a letter sent to him on April 2016.

The letter was from Sign of Hope, a Germany-based NGO devoted to providing humanitarian assistance to the people of South Sudan. The group does its work by identifying – through systematic field work – and trying to remedy one of the many causes of the people’s suffering: their consumption of water laden with poisons emanating from the pumping of oil.

Sign of Hope says it wrote to Dr. von Weizsäcker because the professor he is a member of Daimler AG’s Advisory Board for Integrity and Corporate Responsibility. As such, he is also responsible for ensuring that the company lives up to the high-minded ethical and environmental principles that it espouses in a variety of codes and manuals.

In a recent media statement, officials of Sign of Hope disclosed: “One of those principles: doing business with only those companies that also adhere to such principles. And that is precisely what Daimler’s partner Petronas, the Malaysian oil giant, has not been doing. It holds major stakes in South Sudanese consortia that are responsible for the polluting of the water with lead and other heavy metals, with salts and with other contaminants – according to the findings scientifically and systematically put together by Sign of Hope.

“As Sign of Hope has been documenting for the last eight years, the lives and livelihoods of at least 180,000 people, their livestock and the environment have been devastated by the consortia’s greed-motivated, environmental principles-violating procedures.”

Dr. von Weizsäcker’s was quoted in the statement to have responded to the letter thus: “You have called upon me to get involved in causing Daimler to cease or at least freeze all business ties with Petronas – until the latter lives up to its responsibilities. Your call entirely corresponds to my interests in this matter.”

According to the group, the story of its struggle to stop the suffering in South Sudan is told in the recently-released book “Oil, Power and a Sign of Hope”, which can be procured at http://www.ruefferundrub.ch/buecher/zeitfragen/item/348-oil-power-and-a-sign-of-hope.

Dr. von Weizsäcker’s distinguished career includes stints as the president of the University of Kassel; director of the UN’s Centre for the Sciences and Technology; director of the Institute for European Environmental Policies; president of the Wuppertal Institute for the Climate, Environment and Energy; MP in the Bundestag (Germany’s parliament); and, since 2012, co-president of the Club of Rome.

For more than 30 years, Sign of Hope has been working to protect the rights of the world’s people and to meet their needs for assistance. Headquartered in Konstanz, Germany, the organisation’s work is informed by Christian principles. Sign of Hope is not affiliated with any denomination.

LDCs group wants early Paris Agreement operation

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LDCs group wants early Paris Agreement operation

If the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) group were to have its way, the Paris Agreement will come into force sooner than later so that all can benefit from its implementation.

Chair of the LDCs group, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu
Chair of the LDCs group, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu

Chair of the LDCs, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, who made the submission, declared that the group is working towards that dream.

“Building off current political momentum, the LDCs will continue to push for early entry into force of the Paris Agreement, so that the world can benefit as soon as possible from its implementation,” Mpanu-Mpanu, who will be in Bonn, Germany for the next international climate meeting from 16-26 May, stated.

The Bonn meeting follows the adoption of a new global agreement on climate change in Paris in December, 2015. Parties will now begin negotiating how they will reach the goals set down in Paris.

In the lead up to the meeting, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu added: “Reaching global agreement in Paris does not mean we can become complacent. We have drawn the blueprint and we must now begin construction of the rules and procedures that will bring the next phase of our global climate regime to life. A record-breaking 175 Parties united in New York on April 22 to sign the Paris Agreement, demonstrating that we have the political momentum to achieve this.

“Even if current pledges are fulfilled, the world is on a path to over 3 degrees C of warming, well above the global goal of 1.5 degrees set in Paris; and that is without considering that developing countries need support to the tune of $4 trillion to meet these pledges.”

On the issue of climate finance, Tosi Mpanu Mpanu said: “The least developed countries are the least responsible for climate change, with developed countries bearing both the historic responsibility and the capacity to respond. Public finance to support developing countries needs to rise to meet the challenge that lies before us.”

On the importance of adaption, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu stated: “The earth’s oceans are rising, disease is spreading, our land is no longer producing the food we need to survive. The world must adapt to meet the unavoidable impacts of climate change head on, or face the consequences.”

Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu also emphasised the necessity of pre-2020 action: “We cannot sit idly waiting for the Paris Agreement to commence, the window of opportunity to act on climate change is closing. We must harness the power of fresh global cooperation to strengthen pre-2020 action.”

Port Harcourt’s lost Garden City status to be restored

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Port Harcourt’s lost Garden City status to be restored

Rivers State Commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning, Chinyere Igwe, has said that his ministry will collaborate with the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce in its Port Harcourt urban renewal project that is aimed at restoring the city back to its lost “Garden City” status. To this end, Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce has been appointed member of a special task force in the ministry charged with achieving the ministry’s urban development and renewal projects plans for Port Harcourt and other cities in the state.

Commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning, Chinyere Igwe, presenting the operational guidelines of the ministry to Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, the PHCCIMA president
Commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning, Chinyere Igwe, presenting the operational guidelines of the ministry to Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, the PHCCIMA president

The Commissioner, who gave this indication when a delegation of PHCCIMA members led by its president, Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, paid him a courtesy call in his office, stressed that the collaboration to add PHCCIMA as a strategic partner has become expedient considering that they are the mouthpiece of the organised private sector with gluts of businesses registered under their belt as members. With this partnership, he said, PHCCIMA would help in the area of public enlightenment and re-orientation campaign, as well as advocacy.

Igwe noted that, among the lofty objectives of his ministry as mandated by the executive governor of the state, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, are efforts geared towards putting in place vigorous strategy that will ensure that Port Harcourt and other surrounding cities in the state restore their lost glory through advocacy, re-orientation, information and enforcement.

“We are committed to controlling and regulating activities in the city. Every major place cannot be converted to motor park, building without building plan approvals will henceforth not be condoned, trading on walkways, building on drainage, utility lane unauthorised sites and under high tension power lines will strongly be resisted,” he said adding that achieving healthy and safety of the people and environment are paramount to his ministry.

“This is why we are elated today with this valuable partnership with PHCCIMA who will join member ship of our special team, and we believe they will be instrumental to our campaign and success,” Igwe added.

Earlier on in his remark, Dr. Membere-Otaji noted that the courtesy visit was to propose a public-private partnership with the ministry and seek for ways to assist the ministry through advocacy, and enlightenment in its objective to restore the city to what it was.

He congratulated the commissioner on his appointment and thanked him for appointing PHCCIMA as member of a special task force in the ministry. He said the appointment was timely because, according to him, PHCCIMA is an aggregate of businesses in the city. He gave assurances that PHCCIMA would ensure it reposes the confidence bestowed in it.

His words: “We are committed to contributing our quota and working tirelessly in conjunction with the ministry to stop haphazard and uncontrolled trading development in Port Harcourt and its environs. We are determined to help take away nuisances that has turned impediments to smooth businesses in the city and we believe that Port Harcourt can be attractive for businesses again.”

He lamented that Port Harcourt has of late been muddled and lawless as a result of a disorganised system of trading. “PHCCIMA is solidly in support of your ministry’s effort to reverse the trend; we are committed to working together assiduously to restore Port Harcourt back to what it was,” he said.

Highlight of the event was presentation of the Commerce Port Harcourt magazine to the commissioner by the PHCCIMA president and the receipt of the ministry’s operational guidelines.

Group wants fossil fuel sector shut out of climate talks

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Group wants fossil fuel sector shut out of climate talks

Environmental groups rallied in Lagos on Wednesday to demand that Nigerian delegates to the UN climate treaty take decisive action to address the influence of the fossil fuel industry on climate policy.

Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo, executive director of ERA/FoEN, leading a protest march in Abuja
Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo, executive director of ERA/FoEN, leading a protest march in Abuja

The action is part of a global series of actions calling for governments to launch an investigation into industry interference at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) – a leading group in the Kick Big Polluters campaign – has demanded that Nigerian delegates to the talks lend their voices to calls for the fossil fuels industry to be shut out of the talks. ERA/FoEN is part of the Break Free from Fossil Fuels Coalition which commenced actions in Nigeria on Tuesday (10th May 2016), with a rally at Oil Well 1 in Oloibiri, Nigeria’s first oil well drilled in 1956.

The gathering on Wednesday had hundreds of community chiefs, youths, women groups, and civil society groups.

“Thanks to interference from big polluters, the Paris Agreement doesn’t go far enough to prevent the worst effects of climate change here in Nigeria,” said Godwin Ojo, executive director of ERA/FoEN. “We, the people, urge our government leaders to take action in Bonn to eliminate the primary obstacle to more ambitious and aggressive action by showing big polluters the door.”

Across all the geo-political zones of Nigeria, climate change is dislocating communities and ruining livelihoods. From the north where the desert continues its downward march, to the south west where coastal erosion is swallowing coastal communities, and to the east where gulley erosion is assuming frightening dimensions, the impact is real, according to ERA/FoEN. It adds that oil extraction and gas flares in the Niger Delta, aside polluting surrounding communities, are exacerbating the climate chaos.

On May 16, delegates to the UNFCCC will convene in Bonn, Germany for the first time since the Paris Agreement was gavelled through last December. While the agreement has been applauded as an historic accomplishment, many have criticised it for not being ambitious enough to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

“The Paris Agreement doesn’t go far enough. In fact, without more ambitious action now, we will be on a path that far exceeds the temperature threshold that would prevent the worst effects of climate change,” said Patti Lynn of Corporate Accountability International, “To ensure governments can take action far beyond the Paris Agreement, we must first ensure that those that wish to undermine progress – polluting industries like Big Oil, Coal, and Gas – are out of the room.”

From aggressive lobbying at the regional level to financial sponsorship of international meetings, the industry interferes at all levels. Industry co-optation of treaty meetings has been a growing problem and a primary obstacle to progress. At the 19th Conference of the Parties (COP) in Warsaw, corporate entities with a direct conflict of interest in the treaty’s success not only sponsored the talks, they were given preferential access to delegates.

And, at COP21 in Paris, industry interference was a central concern. The meetings, dubbed the “Corporate COP,” were financially sponsored by dozens of corporations with massive carbon footprints and track records of undermining sound climate policy. Inside the meetings, special areas were created for corporations and everything from charging stations to water fountains were branded.

Wednesday’s events are part of a rapidly growing movement of people demanding that big polluters are removed from the climate policymaking process. To date, more than 570,000 people have joined the call, which was launched in May of 2015.

Elevating public participation in planning practice

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Elevating public participation in planning practice

The title of this article arose from the writer’s rumination about the urban planning practice in Nigeria and its shortcomings. Every planner knows public participation is fundamental to the profession. It is in our code of ethics, our academic training; and it is made mandatory in our planning laws.

Dr Femi Olomola, President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP)
Dr Femi Olomola, President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP)

Yet our practice of public participation in planning has not witnessed acceptable level of improvement. It is still practiced in tokenism compared to what obtains in other democratic countries where citizen participation in planning is the norm, the law and the only acceptable practice. The citizens of those countries own their cities. They have collective voice in the planning process. They are well informed of planning issues in their cities and “the dream of a better city is always in the heads of the residents.” Their planning professionals provide the technical expertise in translating the dreams to reality through plan formulation, program initiation and project development. The funding and implementation of programs and projects is the responsible of the government.

Readers may ask, what is the fuss about public (citizen) participation in planning? The answer is simple: citizens are their own experts on what they value and what they hold as their belief. This does not require rocket science rationalization. For example, it is a personal decision where you want to live, the type of house you want to live in, how you want to commute and where you play or spend your leisure time. As citizens, you have to provide the information during plan formulation to enable the planners who have the technical knowledge to conceptualise a plan that would fit into the value of your community. Such value is usually a collective decision of the residents taken at a forum, typically a public hearing or town hall meeting. The exact thing planning does (using the expertise of planners) is to enable the citizens to have choices in their communities.

It then logically follows that if any decision is to be taken, those who will be affected by the decision must take part in the decision-making process. Research has found out that “wherever citizens have been given the opportunity to participate in their communities, the results have been drastically encouraging.” Definitely, such inclusive approach produces better decisions and in the long run, citizens are satisfied because they are rest assured that their various interests have been adequately addressed.

 

Let us have a paradigm shift

The kernel of the message I want to transmit is that citizens’ participation has come to define good planning world-wide. If we embrace the practice in our society, it should improve the quality of life of our people. When government decides to plan, the citizenry should be carried along. If planning is not to be labeled a direct control of resources by government, not only it must take into consideration citizens’ and other stakeholders’ opinion, it must start with them (my emphasis). Public participation builds trust and support. There is little chance of a plan that has no “ownership” by the citizenry of being effective and successful.

 

What is expected of town planners

The professionals involved in planning, most especially the town planners, must build trust with the people and sustain that trust. To care is to build trust. People care less about what you know professionally until they know how much you care about their welfare. Planners should be tolerant, patience, good listeners to the yearnings of the people, not impostors. They should not abuse their office. The message in the phrase “abuse of office” in our situation is self-explanatory and implicit. It needs no further explanation.

Abuse of office is one of the reasons for societal disdain for the profession. Our planners must always remember that planning is a function of society working together to achieve a desirable goal; the planners are the catalysts in realizing the dream. In our society, public perception about town planners must change from ill feelings to mutual understanding and cordiality with the public.

Again, we need to critically assess our role in whatever approach we choose to galvanise public support during plan preparation, mindful of the population we are serving and the level of the education. Given recognition to this fact, our primary obligation is to design simple, easy-to-understand and inclusive engagement process to draw citizens closer, not to drift them apart from us. City dwellers in our country need civics education on how not to be charlatan about planning, how to be community-minded and to care for the city. They need to know how people can work together as a community. I see a big role that planners can play in this regard by letting citizens have exposure into the workings of government, in order to erase the erroneous impression that planning is about control of resources or outright dictation as to what people can do with their property.

 

What the citizens should do

The citizens’ complementary role in this bargain should be total. They must be active and ever-ready to participate in planning. Houses make a town; citizens make a city.  Therefore, the people must be in the driver’s seat during the planning process. To be effective, the citizenry must be ready to read and freely discuss planning issues affecting their communities, attend public hearing and participate in civic engagement activities focused on promoting good planning practice where they reside.

The citizenry should be able to connect with the government through many media and options. They can choose letter writing to city officials, submit suggestion online with the use of the internet or join a group discussion such as the Community Development Association (CDA), Landlord Association and Religious Association. These are just few examples; the means are inexhaustible. The overall benefit is that active participation educates and empowers citizens and makes them responsible for civic action.

 

Last word

My candid opinion is that, both government and planners need to raise the level of our practice and commitment to citizen participation. We cannot deny this fact. It is the right thing to do. Albeit there are challenges, we should not throw in the towel.

A caveat: if we fail to recognise citizens’ involvement in the planning process due to often-held bias that the process is time-consuming and costly. The ranting that people don’t usually come to town hall meetings or that the target audience are mostly illiterates, my fear is that this could cause more damage to the fragile reputation of the planning profession which, in the main, is still struggling for public acceptance in our society.

By Yacoob Abiodun, a planning advocate, in Hayward, California, USA.

Sea level rise claims five Pacific islands

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Sea level rise claims five Pacific islands

Rising sea levels that submerge entire islands were supposed to be a distant possibility of an apocalyptic future. But in the idyllic Pacific, that future is here.

Communities in parts of the Solomom Islands have been forced to move to higher ground as the receding coastline allows seawater to flood their homes
Communities in parts of the Solomom Islands have been forced to move to higher ground as the receding coastline allows seawater to flood their homes

Five of the Solomon Islands have completely disappeared under water over the past seven decades, one drawing its last breath as recently as 2011, according to a study published in Environmental Research Letters.

Another six islands have lost more than 20% of their surface area, forcing communities to relocate as the shoreline closes in on their homes.

“The human element of this is alarming. Working alongside people on the frontline who have lost their family home – that they’ve had for four to five generations – it’s quite alarming,” the study’s lead author, Simon Albert of the University of Queensland, said.

The study is the first scientific confirmation of what residents in the Pacific have been saying for years – their islands are disappearing.

The Solomon Islands are a sparsely populated archipelago of more than 900 islands that lie east of Papua New Guinea, and as low-lying islands are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rises.

The study, by a group of Australian scientists, used aerial and satellite imagery of 33 islands between 1947 and 2014 to track changes in land surface areas.

They attributed the changes to general sea level rises driven by climate change, as well as an intensification in trade winds, driven by both a warming of the atmosphere and natural cycles.

In the past 20 years, sea levels in the archipelago have risen 7 to 10 mm (.28 to .39 inches) annually, three times the global average. According to the International Panel for Climate Change, global rises will reach 5mm annually in the second half of the century.

“So the Solomon Islands are like a natural laboratory that gives us a good indication of what we can expect globally. What we are seeing there will become the norm,” Albert said.

The five islands that disappeared were not inhabited, although they were significant in size and communities used them for fishing.

The inhabited island of Nuatambu, however, has lost more than 50 percent of its surface area – more than 14,000 square meters – forcing some families to move to a higher volcanic island nearby.

But more worrying for the Solomon Islands is the likely relocation of Taro, a provincial capital, which will involve moving major infrastructure in health, education, sewage and electricity services.

“This kind of relocation will be incredibly complex and likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars, which will make the country more reliant on international help,” Albert said.

Yearly climate adaptation cost could hit $500 billion by 2050

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Yearly climate adaptation cost could hit $500 billion by 2050

UNEP’s Adaptation Finance Gap Report: Failure to cut emissions will dramatically increase the annual costs of adaptation, which could be up to five times higher by 2050 than previously thought.

Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP
Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP

The cost of adapting to climate change in developing countries could rise to between $280 and $500 billion per year by 2050, a figure that is four to five times greater than previous estimates, according to a new United Nations Environment (UNEP) report.

Released as nations sign the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, the report assesses the difference between the financial costs of adapting to climate change in developing countries and the amount of money actually available to meet these costs – a difference known as the “adaptation finance gap”.

The report, the second in UNEP’s series of Adaptation Gap reports, finds that total bilateral and multilateral funding for climate change adaptation in developing countries has risen substantially in the five years leading up to 2014, reaching $22.5 billion. But the report warns that, despite this increase, there will be a significant funding gap by 2050 unless new and additional finance for adaptation is made available.

“It is vital that governments understand the costs involved in adapting to climate change,” said Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme.

“This report serves as a powerful reminder that climate change will continue to have serious economic costs. The adaptation finance gap is large, and likely to grow substantially over the coming decades, unless significant progress is made to secure new, additional and innovative financing for adaptation.”

Previous estimates place the cost of adapting to climate change at between $70 to $100 billion annually for the period 2010-2050, a figure based on a World Bank study from 2010. The Adaptation Finance Gap Report, which is written by authors from 15 institutions and reviewed by 31 experts, builds upon these earlier estimates by reviewing national and sector studies.

As a result, the report finds that the World Bank’s earlier figures are likely to be a significant underestimate. The true cost of adapting to climate change in developing countries could range between $140 and $300 billion per year in 2030, and between $280 and $500 billion per year in 2050, it says.

Adaptation costs are likely to increase sharply over time even if the world succeeds in limiting a global rise in temperatures to below two degrees Celsius by 2100, the report warns. For higher scenarios of global warming, estimates of the adaptation costs in developing countries are higher even in early years, the report states.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has called on developed countries to provide $100 billion annually by 2020 to help developing countries mitigate climate change, and adapt to its impacts, such as drought, rising sea levels and floods.

However, the UNEP report notes: “There is no agreement as to the type of funding that shall be mobilised to meet this goal. This hampers efforts to monitor progress toward meeting the goal.” The report further highlights the need for the proper measurement, tracking, and reporting system of adaptation investments, to help ensure that finance is used efficiently and targeted where it is most needed.

The report states that, while dedicated climate funds are breaking down the barriers to investing in adaptation projects in developing countries, contributions to these funds are low when compared to the contributions made to funds that mitigate climate change.

The Green Climate Fund, which was set up by the UNFCCC, with its stated goal of splitting funding equally between mitigation and adaptation efforts, is expected to play a significant role in efforts to fund adaptation, the report states.

“The adaptation finance gap is large, and likely to grow substantially over the coming decades, unless significant progress is made to secure new and additional finance for adaptation,” the report concludes.

“To meet finance needs and avoid an adaptation gap the total finance for adaptation in 2030 would have to be approximately six to 13 times greater than international public finance today”.

Adaptation costs are already two to three times higher than current international public funding for adaptation, states the report, which was launched today at Adaptation Futures – the biennial conference of the Global Programme of Research on Climate Change Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation.

Closing this gap will be vital if the world is to address future adaptation needs, especially those of developing countries.

The Paris Agreement on climate change, which 195 countries negotiated in December, includes several key provisions designed to advance adaptation. Three are particularly momentous: the adoption of a global goal on adaptation, the commitment to increase developed country funding to developing countries and the requirement that all parties draw up and regularly update adaptation plans and strategies.

In an unprecedented move, the Paris Agreement also calls for a balance between adaptation and mitigation finance and support in a bid to meet longstanding demand for adaptation finance from developing countries.

Spate of illegal bird killing in Egypt unveiled

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Spate of illegal bird killing in Egypt unveiled

A new study has revealed that over 75% of bird killing and trapping in Egypt is illegal. BirdLife International releases new data on Mediterranean hotspot for illegal bird killing, and shows graphic video on killing methods.

Migratory birds
Migratory birds

Nature Conservation Egypt (BirdLife in Egypt) and the BirdLife International Secretariat on Tuesday, 10 May, 2016 released a study on the socio-economic drivers of hunting and trapping practices in Egypt.

With an estimated six million birds killed and trapped illegally every year, Egypt is said to be one of the most dangerous places for migratory birds in the Mediterranean, followed by Italy and Lebanon. BirdLife International has also released a video to document the Mediterranean massacre that has reached over two million people in 48 hours.

Tuesday, 10 May is World Migratory Bird Day, and this year is focused on the illegal killing, taking and trade of migratory birds. According to scientists, migratory birds are declining in large numbers. On the African-Eurasian migratory flyway one in 10 migratory bird species are said to be threatened with global extinction.

The new study’s main findings:

  • There are three “hunter profiles”: Commercial hunters motivated by the economic value of bird selling; subsistence hunters who hunt for securing source of protein; and recreational hunters;
  • Almost 50% are fishermen and live in families with more than 4 members. But almost 20% are public-sector employees;
  • At least 75% of hunting observed is illegal and bird hunting has significant socioeconomic importance to the local communities along the coast;
  • Almost all hunters use illegal fine ‘trammel’ nets (100%) and call devices (85%) knowing these are illegal;
  • Only 7% keep the birds for personal consumption. Most of the birds are sold to the market;
  • Almost all hunters target quails and doves. Nearly 80% target also songbirds;
  • Education: nearly 2/3 of hunters interviewed had either primary or no education;
  • Over 50% of the hunters derive 50% or more of their income from the activity, with 21% earning more than 75%.

Dr. Salwa Elhalawani, author of the study for Nature Conservation Egypt, states: “The study sheds light on the magnitude of the illegality of hunting along the Mediterranean cost of Egypt. But, most importantly, we have profiled hunters and mapped their socio-economic background, so we can recommend mechanisms to help them, as well as the birds, in the future.”

Noor A.Noor, Executive Coordinator at Nature Conservation Egypt, adds: “The socioeconomic study provides much needed context for all scientific research taking place by the Responsible Hunting Programme. By deepening our understanding of the human factors behind illegal killing and trapping, we increase our chances of taking suitable measures, in coordination with local communities, to promote sustainable practices.”

Claire Thompson, Conservation expert at BirdLife International, discloses: “Egypt is situated on important migration routes for birds travelling between their breeding grounds in Eurasia and their wintering sites in Africa. Studies such as these enable BirdLife Partners to push for a more strategic and holistic approach to eliminating illegal killing of birds in the Mediterranean region.”

The study contains a detailed list of recommendations to address the illegal killing of birds.

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