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Government overhauls solid waste management, unveils ‘Cleaner Lagos Initiative’

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Government overhauls solid waste management, unveils ‘Cleaner Lagos Initiative’

A package of reforms in the wobbly waste management sector, designed to transform the environment and economy of the bustling city-state, was unveiled on Tuesday, December 6, 2016 by the Lagos State Government.

Tagged the “Cleaner Lagos Initiative”, the scheme, according to state officials, was informed by numerous flaws in the structure as well as dynamics of the existing system.

Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Samuel Adejare, at a media session, disclosed that, besides creating the enabling environment for the private sector to harness international best practices, the Cleaner Lagos Initiative is likewise concerned with addressing the existing challenges in solid waste management in the state.

Dr Adejare, who was in the company of the Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, added: “Cleaner Lagos Initiative aims to protect the environment, human health and social living standards of Lagos residents by promoting a harmonised and holistic approach to the challenges thereby ensuring improved operational efficiency; and addressing the lacunae in the existing legislation to expand the scope of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to enable it enforce, regulate and generate revenue from the waste management process.”

Describing the scenario as a “Broken system,” the commissioner lamented that several factors had colluded to stall the hitherto smooth running of the state’s waste management process.

He listed some of these to include:

  • Regular waste collection hindered by a vicious cycle between clients and operators as poor collection service delivery leads to irregular and poor payments.
  • Bin placement, transfer loading stations, and other supporting infrastructure have been ignored and undue attention placed on waste collection only.
  • LAWMA in its role as regulator is overwhelmed by the responsibilities of having to coordinate the activities of 350 individual companies and still carry out its own collection services.
  • The billing system is unduly complicated due to the differences and inconsistencies in charges and collection routes therefore leaving the billing system open to manipulation and fraud.
  • Many individual operators have failed to fulfil their obligations on the trucks.

To address the situation, he stressed that, apart from the transformation of the existing Transfer Loading Station (TLS) and the introduction of no less that 25 Material Revolving Facility (MRF) where wastes will be sorted, 600 new compactor vehicles will be acquired, and waste dumpsites will be closed and replaced with engineered sanitary landfill sites.

His words: “The PSP and LAWMA partnership was quite effective, but is no longer applicable, considering the fact that the population of Lagos has increased several fold (and still increasing) and the over 300 compactors in use are old and in a state of dis-use. Wastes should not bring us hardship and shame, but rather we should make money from it. Emphasis will be on zero-dumping, recycling and generation of power from wastes.”

According to him, government will carry out a recertification of all the 350 PSP operators, relicense them and audit the state of their compactors.

“Each compactor will be tracked, the state will be divided into zones and compactors are allocated to different zones,” Dr Adejare said, adding that there will be a control room where every compactor will be monitored.

He noted that five new power stations – one in each division in the state – will be built to generate poer from wastes, and that the numerous dumpsites dotting parts of the state will soon be a thing of the past.

He said: “We will close down Olusosun and Solus (dumpsites) sometime next year. Dumpsites are dangerous to health and the environment. The leachate and gas to be recovered from the proposed sanitary landfills will be put to good use.

“We plan to regenerate Olusosun and turn it into a park, where intercity buses will end their journey and would no longer be allowed to enter into the city. Passengers will from here now take taxis and intra-city buses to their destinations in town.

“Also, we will have about 25,000 community sanitation workers who will be engaged mostly as street sweepers. They will be well kitted with decent uniforms, gloves, boots, pickers, brushes, carts as well as mobile phones with which to communicate with the control centre. And they will be well paid.

“Every sanitation worker will reside in the Ward they operate for convenience and to curb high cost of transport to work. They will be well trained and given an attractive welfare package. In all, we hope to generate a total of 46,000 new jobs.

“A law is in the works to back and support the Cleaner Lagos Initiative. It will allow big-time players in the waste management sector to do business with us. Lagosians will be required to pay a public utility levy (PUL), which is not a tax but something similar to what is currently being paid to PSP operators. Part of the PUL goes into an Environment Trust Fund. The Initiative will naturally send the cart pushers packing.”

The state government is considering sites in Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu for the about five sanitary landfills being proposed.

Defending the cancellation of the monthly sanitation exercise, the commissioner said: “We lose so much money on our sanitation day. No other place in the world is a whole city completely shut down and movements restricted. Lagos is a growing megacity and this is not desireable. Besides, care for the environment should be an everyday thing. We need to realise that we should clean our environment and make such an habit a part of us.”

Why a Nigeria without oil is possible

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Why a Nigeria without oil is possible

Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo, Executive Director, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), says at the public presentation of a book titled “Nigeria Beyond Oil – Pathway to a Post-petroleum Economy” in Lagos on Tuesday, December 6, 2016 that Nigeria should look beyond oil not only to diversify its economy in the face of dwindling global demand for the product, but also to save the environment

Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo - Nigeria Beyond Oil
Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo, Executive Director, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), at the public presentation of a book titled “Nigeria Beyond Oil – Pathway to a Post-petroleum Economy” in Lagos on Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Why are we talking about a post-petroleum Nigeria at this time? The answer is simple but also very complex.

It is no longer news that our nation is passing through very hard times. The failure of successive administrations to save for the rainy day, slide in international oil prices from over $100 to less than $40 per barrel, bombing of oil pipelines across the Niger Delta, among others, have pushed us into the recession we now find ourselves in.

But this development did not come without warning. While Nigeria basked in the euphoria of being Africa’s largest oil producer and the sixth largest oil producing country in the world, experts warned that the era of cheap oil would soon end. The International Energy Agency (IAE) had warned of late that global oil demand would slow from a five year high of 1.8 mbpd in 2015 to 1.2 mbpd in 2016 with grave impacts on investments in oil exploration and production.

The slump in oil prices led to a sharp drop in Nigeria’s foreign reserves from $36.5 billion in 2014 to $28.7 billion in December 2015 and less than $27 billion in January 2016. A gloomy picture is painted for the end of 2016. Within this period, capital and recurrent expenditure has also dipped to the point where states can no longer meet salary obligations. Even a N359.4 billion bail-out from the federal government in 2015 to help the states meet their obligation has not tipped the situation.

Evidently, Nigeria is now at cross roads. Oil dependency has not helped the nation but has only fueled conflict, corruption, pollution, and wastage while contributing to climate change and the destruction of lives and rural livelihoods.  It is now a painful lesson that a whopping $1 billion will be required for the initial take off of the clean-up of Ogoni according to the UNEP assessment report and recommendations. Since 2011 when the Federal Government accepted the report, not a drop of oil has been cleaned up. The sum of $100 billion initial take-off grant is required for the clean-up of the entire Niger Delta. In spite of the huge oil revenue, poor infrastructural development, gap of inequalities and social disparity is on the rise in Nigeria being one of the highest in the world.

 

The Book: Nigeria Beyond Oil

The book therefore responds to the question of what development pathway we should follow to get the nation out of the woods.  It seeks to align national development goal to the global shift from fossil fuel dependence to cleaner and efficient fuels such as solar and wind energy that abounds in Nigeria.

It also reiterates ERA/FoEN position of economic decarbonisation by 2050: Let’s leave oil in the soil and plan the economy as if oil resources are already exhausted. Let’s transit from oil dependency to safe and decentralised renewable alternatives of community controlled energy systems such that communities are co-producers and suppliers as well as beneficiaries from renewable energy investment in mini-grids and non-grid systems.

For this change to occur, the book make the case for funding divestment from oil exploration and development and the removal of loans, grants and subsidies to be invested in renewable energy development and infrastructure that should attract zero tariff. It also advances legislative backing to increase Nigeria’s energy mix and revenue from non-oil revenue sources. It draws attention to the issues of natural resource governance, its inclusiveness and sustainability and the need for policy and institutional change to support an energy transition from oil dependency to alternatives in renewable sources.

It promotes the cause of sustainable management and conservation of resources including the rights of nature and citizen’s rights to protect it, right to safe, healthy environment, protection of forested landscapes and livelihoods, enforcement of extant laws for environmental crimes, and transparency and accountability issues. In particular, agricultural development should not be to promote large scale agro-business and land grabbing but to support local small scale farmers facing displacement and equip them with post-harvest infrastructure for the added value to stem food deficits and supply from areas of surplus to areas of needs.

The recommendations in this book will assist policy makers in re-framing resource governance in Nigeria and build policy frameworks for post-oil Nigeria. Let’s protect the environment. The environment is our life.

Shell boosts geology studies at OAU

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Shell boosts geology studies at OAU

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) Joint Venture has donated modern geophysical equipment, accessories and books to the Department of Geology, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife to uplift research and study of geosciences at the institution.

Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State

“In 2014, we donated equipment worth nearly N50 million to the Geology Department of this institution. The equipment has since been in use and their quality assured. In addition to the equipment, we are now donating geophysics textbooks to ensure quality learning,” the Managing Director SPDC and Country Chair Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, said during the commissioning ceremony at the university.

Acting Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Anthony Elujoba, thanked SPDC for a long-standing support that has taken the university to greater heights and pledged several departments in the university to put the donations to good use for the improvement of academic development and contribution to the nation’s economy.

The geophysical equipment is suitable for various applications such as geological mapping, environmental studies, groundwater prospecting and mineral exploration as well as geotechnical investigations.

The SPDC JV collaboration with the Obafemi Awolowo University began in 1992 when it was chosen as one of the first five universities for the endowment of professorial chairs in Nigeria. There are currently seven such SPDC JV chairs in Nigerian universities and two Centres of Excellence in Geophysics and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Benin and Marine Engineering at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, respectively.

Shell Companies in Nigeria have a long history of scholarships, research internship, sabbaticals, ICT infrastructure support and technological development initiatives. In 2015, SPDC JV and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo.) alone invested the sum of $10.1 million in scholarships. A total of 3,532 grants were awarded to universities over the last five years.

Community, workers collaborate to tackle infant, maternal mortality

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Community, workers collaborate to tackle infant, maternal mortality

In a bid to check high child and maternal mortality in Lagos, locals in communities have forged a harmonious collaboration with health workers in government health institutions to ensure that health institutions are well funded and their workers improve on their service delivery.

There are concerns over the high infant and maternal mortality rates in Nigeria
There are concerns over the high infant and maternal mortality rates in Nigeria

The collaboration was announced in Lagos during a campaign on “Saving the lives of mothers and babies in Lagos” which was organised by Mamaye, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

According to the Director of Mamaye, Dr. Tunde Segun, the community collaborators called “health Activists” are to be empowered to perform vital roles including mobilising communities to demand for better health care from their primary health centres, convincing pregnant women to present themselves for anti-natal care, encouraging people to donate blood to assist pregnant women and babies in need of blood and making available transport services for women in labour to access timely medical attentions.

Segun, who spoke in a presentation on activities of Mamaye, explained, “Mamaye is about using evidence to demand health accountability from policymakers. We believe that the three – Evidence, Advocacy and Accountability – if effectively deployed will lead to better funding of our health centres and ultimately better care for our pregnant women. The rate of women in the process of giving life remains high. Records have it that an estimated 110 pregnant women in Nigeria die daily; that is equivalent of a plane full with pregnant women crashing every day and all dying. This can be avoided by taking the right actions, and that is what Mamaye is determined to achieve.”

Speaking further on the roles of the activists, the Chairman, Advocacy Sub-Community of the Lagos Accountability Mechanism for Maternal and Newborn Health, (LASAM), Alhaja Sakanah Salvedir, said the number of the activists have reached 600 from 60, while the hunt for more volunteers was ongoing until nearly all Lagos residents become involved. She said the number grew fast because each activist is expected to recruit 10 others.

“When activists have recruited 10 others, they graduate into super activists. Today in Lagos, we have 600 health activists. Activists in Mamaye take voluntary actions to save pregnant women. They donate blood and also encourage others to donate. They propagate the news about safety practices during pregnancy, including beginning anti-natal services at least below 20 weeks of pregnancy. In Apapa Local Government, the activity of our activists led to the provision of water and widow spines in the hospital. Also in Ikorodu, they mobilised pregnant women and other villagers to protest the bad attitude of health workers in government institutions. Today, the health workers have changed from their bad behaviours.”

At the event, six of the super activists were honoured for rendering selfless services to promote quality health care delivery.

One of the award recipients, Dr. Donald Imosemi, who is the Chief Medical Director, Island Maternity Hospital, was said to have paid the hospital bills of poor patients, sustaining a system in which patients are given immediate health care even without paying for deposits, as well as using his money to provide key infrastructure in the hospital.

Two of the super activists who were journalists were reputed for have been involved in important investigative reports that promoted quality of health care delivery. They were also said to have facilitated free airtime and spaces for propagating health information.

Earlier, Mr. Ayo Adebusoye of LASAM underlined the expectations from government in area of health care to pregnant women and babies to include making constant provision of essential consumables such as contraceptives, blood and malaria drugs for pregnant women and facilities for managing bleeding, which is the leading cause of maternal deaths.

In a presentation, Adebusoye said the organisation wants the state to make it its duty to publish implementation of health budget by the middle of the year, to enable effective advocacy and documentation.

Women groups from virtually all parts of the state attended the campaign.

It was gathered that the organisation assisted participants with transportation services so that the message about protection of mothers and babies could go round.

By Innocent Onoh

Legislators asked to remove probing water provision in Lagos budget

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Legislators asked to remove probing water provision in Lagos budget

Civil society and labour activists have demanded that the Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA) should reject a recommendation in the 2017 budget proposal which suggests Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) as the arrangement to improve the water sector in the state.

The activists say that privatisation of water will be a burden on the people of Lagos
The activists say that privatisation of water will be a burden on the people of Lagos

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, while presenting the 2017 budget proposal of N812.998 billion to the LSHA recently, noted that “in the area of environment, we will improve water supply through PPP and increase the capacity utilisation of water treatment plants….”

The coalition of civil society and labour unions on the platform of the Our Water Our Right Campaign appear to be uncomfortable with the submission, insisting that it does not reflect the genuine yearnings of Lagos citizens who believe that only democratic control of water under the public sector will guarantee access and affordability of water in the state.

The groups include: Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Peace and Development Project (PEDEP), Citizen Centre and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).

ERA/FoEN Deputy Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: “We find it strange and disturbing that despite the position of local communities, activists and unions that what Lagos really needs is public investment and democratic control of water, the spurious provision on PPP was smuggled into the budget proposal for 2017.  This suggestion should be discarded by the State Assembly if the honourable lawmakers truly represent the people.”

Oluwafemi pointed out that “since the budget is an agglomeration of recommendations from all the ministries it has become very clear that the PPP idea is being floated by a ministry in the state that knows it is a myth but wants to foist it on us purely for profit motives. We have provided the state government a simple alternative in the document ‘Lagos Water Crisis: Alternative Roadmap for Water Sector’. We believe the recommendations can be implemented by the Lagos State Government and Lagos State Water Corporation over a short and long-term.”

National President of AUPCTRE, Comrade Solomon Adelegan, said: “It is absurd that despite the successes of the Ambode administration in many respects, it may have been conned into buying into the PPP myth. Under a PPP regime not only will the rights of our people to a free gift of nature be violated, workers will also be shown the way out.”

Adelegan insisted that PPP has failed in all the poster countries of the World Bank such as Manila, Nagpur, and even Paris, even as he added, “Keeping water in the public sector under Public-Public-Partnership (PUP) is one of the tested alternatives.  We want the PPP proposal totally removed from the budget proposal.”

Executive Director of PEDEP, Francis Abayomi, said: “The budget proposal in relation to water is a bad idea. It has all the marks of prioritising profits over human rights which will further burden our people. Clearly, the governor has been misadvised by those who want to spring this through the backdoor just like the water courts and the recent imposition of high charges by the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commissioned which has led to substantial increase in the cost of water and threats to sue the state government in places like Okokomaiko and Ikorodu.

“The State House of Assembly must stand by the people by rejecting the PPP proposition. The House must demand adequate budgetary allocations to the water sector and stand by the people in upholding the human right to water as an obligation of the government, representing the people. The PPP proposal does not have the blessing of Lagos citizens. It is unacceptable.”

The group further pointed out those comprehensive alternative arrangements to the PPP have been clearly enumerated in the book: “Lagos Water Crisis: Alternative Roadmap for Water Sector” publicly presented in the state recently.

“Again, we reiterate our call to Governor Ambode to take a dispassionate look at our recommendations in that book which include roadmap for sustainable funding of the sector and how Lagos public water utility can collaborate with other public utilities to share expertise and knowledge as a more sustainable solution to water crisis in Lagos in the short and long run,” Oluwafemi added.

Michael Bloomberg to commit $360m to global tobacco fight

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Michael Bloomberg to commit $360m to global tobacco fight

Former New York City Mayor and philanthropist, Michael R. Bloomberg, on Monday, 5 December 2016, announced that he is committing an additional $360 million to the global fight against tobacco use, bringing his total commitment to nearly $1 billion.

Michael R. Bloomberg
Michael R. Bloomberg

Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, pointed out in a statement that Monday’s announcement continues the visionary leadership Mayor Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies have provided in combating a global epidemic that would otherwise kill one billion people worldwide this century.

According to Myers, since its launch 10 years ago, the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco has changed the trajectory of the tobacco epidemic, saving the lives and improving the health of millions of people. He added that it has supported the implementation of proven tobacco control laws and policies in 59 countries, reaching 3.5 billion people and saving an estimated 30 million lives. After rising inexorably, cigarette sales worldwide have finally started to fall, Myers remarked.

“The Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use is likely to have saved more lives, more quickly, and have as great an impact on the health of people around the world as any other public health initiative ever carried out,” the statement emphasised.

It added however that, despite this progress, much works remains to be done.

“Tobacco use currently kills six million people worldwide each year. The tobacco industry continues to ruthlessly peddle its deadly and addictive products around the world, especially to children and other vulnerable populations. And the industry continues to fight efforts to reduce tobacco use at every turn.

“Michael Bloomberg rightly recognises that efforts to reduce tobacco use must be equally aggressive and sustained. This new commitment will expand and accelerate implementation of proven, evidence-based strategies to reduce tobacco use, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries that will account for 80 percent of the world’s tobacco-related deaths by 2030. Particular emphasis will be on reducing the affordability of tobacco products, which is one of the most effective ways to prevent kids from starting to use tobacco and encourage tobacco users to quit.

“The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is honoured to be a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative and will continue to assist governments and non-governmental organisations in implementing proven measures to reduce tobacco use. Other partners in the Bloomberg Initiative include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation, International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, World Health Organisation and Vital Strategies.”

The Bloomberg Initiative spans more than 110 countries and has been the catalyst for life-saving change across the globe. Since the launch of the Bloomberg Initiative:

  • 44 countries have enacted comprehensive smoke-free laws.
  • 34 countries have enacted comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
  • 98 countries and eight jurisdictions have required graphic health warnings covering at least 30 percent of the cigarette pack.

In addition, the Anti-Tobacco Trade Litigation Fund created by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides funding and legal support for governments whose tobacco control policies are facing legal challenges from tobacco companies. This initiative provided critical support to Uruguay in defending its landmark tobacco control laws against an international legal challenge by Philip Morris International, achieving a landmark legal victory this year that has been felt around the world.

“We are making enormous progress in the global fight against tobacco thanks to the vision, unmatched commitment and results-focused approach of Mayor Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Mayor Bloomberg’s renewed commitment moves us closer to a future free of the death and disease caused by tobacco,” added Myers.

Governments urged to integrate biodiversity concerns into national strategies

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Governments urged to integrate biodiversity concerns into national strategies

World-renowned biodiversity experts are urging government officials from more than 190 countries meeting in Cancún, Mexico to step up efforts to integrate the protection of biodiversity into strategies, plans and polices in tourism and other sectors of the global policy-making agenda.

Patricia Balvanera. Scientists have underlined the need for governments to step up efforts to integrate the protection of biodiversity into strategies, plans and polices
Patricia Balvanera. Scientists have underlined the need for governments to step up efforts to integrate the protection of biodiversity into strategies, plans and polices

Cancún, which is well-known for its tourism and home to a growing ecotourism industry expected to see a record number of visitors in 2016, is the destination of government officials attending the United Nations Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP13) over the next two weeks. In the town, as in many other scenic places around the world, tourism glues concerns over conservation and development.

“Tourism in Cancún is a good example of how the beauty of the sea and the comfort of its luxury resorts impact biodiversity of coastal mangroves and create huge social inequity. However, many bottom-up initiatives are starting from the amazing biodiversity culture and knowledge in the region to encourage small-scale tourism opportunities in which social justice, development and biodiversity conservation can co-exist,” says scientist, Patricia Balvanera at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

Leading researchers presented case studies at the Scientific Forum on Biodiversity (1-2 December) in Cancún, which demonstrated that tourism can be an opportunity to identify interdependencies and opportunities for new development schemes that conserve biodiversity while promoting livelihoods. The event attracted over 300 scientists, practitioners and decision-makers, as well as large international scientific organisations, such as Future Earth, the Inter-American Institute for global change research (IAI) and the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS).

“As scientists, we want to partner with decision-makers and civil society to find common ground to generate the knowledge, capacity and pathways to lead us to a more sustainable future,” Balvanera says.

The outcome of the UN Biodiversity negotiations will be policy decisions that guide nations on integrating biodiversity considerations into agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism and health national policies.

Scientists have highlighted four main areas where science can provide guidance for a better integration of biodiversity into actionable policies and the development agenda:

  • Understanding and monitoring the ways in which biodiversity changes affect human well-being in the short- and long-term, such as through food security;
  • Recognising the interactions (synergies and trade-offs) among the diversity of values of biodiversity (economic, ecological, social, cultural, etc.) held by individuals and society;
  • Ensuring policy coherence within and across production sectors toward the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, such as using planning at the landscape scale;
  • Creating partnerships between different stakeholders and scientists to co-generate relevant information, knowledge and foster transformative changes.

Policy coherence within and across production and health sectors is key to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

“To the extent possible, policy must be evidence-based, not only because it is the right way to do things, but also because it protects against the appearance of pursuing particular political agendas or preconceived notions,” highlights Daniel Bausch, a medical scientist at Tulane University and Consultant for the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Bausch leads a team conducting research on the biodiversity roots of diseases associated with rodents.

“In our particular case, our research information would allow policy-makers to say ‘we are building a road through a forest: what are the consequent changes in rodent fauna that we can anticipate? And knowing that rodents may carry infectious pathogens, what are the risks to human health, how do the affected inhabitants perceive those risks, and how can we mitigate them?’” he says.

Scientists expect governments to integrate biodiversity in sectors in which activities have a considerable impact on the variety of life on the planet.

“We (scientists) want to emphasise that biodiversity change needs to be elevated to the policy-makers’ and the general public’s perception that this is a global change urgency equivalent to that of climate change if we are to maintain a resilient planet,” scientist Rodolfo Dirzo says.

The set of decisions for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity that will be adopted by decision-makers in Cancún add increasing pressure on nations to plan suitable policies to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Images: Mariann Bassey Orovwuje emerges new Chair of AFSA

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Images: Mariann Bassey Orovwuje emerges new Chair of AFSA

Mariann Bassey Orovwuje, an environmental activist with the Friends of the Earth – Africa’s Food Sovereignty Campaign based in Nigeria, has emerged the new Chairperson of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA).

She was elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the AFSA that held last month in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mariann takes over from Bernard Guri, who is Executive Director of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD).

Launched at the UNFCCC COP17 in Durban, South Africa in 2011, the AFSA is a platform comprising networks and farmer organisations working in Africa. They represent smallholder farmers, pastoralists, hunter/gatherers, indigenous peoples, citizens and environmentalists who attempt to shape policies in the area of community rights, family farming, promotion of traditional knowledge and knowledge systems, the environment and natural resource management.

Assem Darius of the Friends of the Earth – Africa (FoEA) said: “FoEA is proud of Mariann for taking on such a high and a key position in the AFSA. We have no doubts that she will take the Alliance to a much higher level.”

New Chair of AFSA, Mariann Bassey Orovwuje, with the African Shield to protect and defend the continent
New Chair of AFSA, Mariann Bassey Orovwuje, with the African Shield to protect and defend the continent
Mariann Bassey Orovwuje receives the Shield
Mariann Bassey Orovwuje receives the Shield
An elated Mariann displays the Shield
An elated Mariann displays the Shield
The new Chair with other members of AFSA
The new Chair with other members of AFSA
Congratulations!
Congratulations!

 

Legal toolkit to aid Paris implementation underway

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Legal toolkit to aid Paris implementation underway

Legal experts from key international organisations, including the Commonwealth Secretariat, met for two days last week to develop a climate change legal toolkit to help countries carry out the Paris Agreement.

Participants at the Consultation
Participants at the Consultation

The two-day consultation held last Thursday and Friday (between 1 and 2 December, 2016) at the Commonwealth Secretariat’s headquarters in London. Academics, think tanks and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) exchanged knowledge and pooled resources to explore how to best support the legal needs and priorities of countries for climate mitigation, adaptation and finance.

Partners included the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Participants included representatives from six United Nations entities and the World Bank. The Paris Agreement was signed by 193 countries and aims to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.

Experts say achieving the global ambition of keeping temperature rises well below two degrees, and ideally to 1.5 degrees, will require rapid moves to zero and low emission solutions.The head of UN Environment’s National Law Unit, Maria Manguiat, said, “With such an immense burden of responsibility now on countries to meet the climate change mitigation and adaptation commitments laid out in the Paris Agreement, this tool could prove indispensable to legal and regulatory efforts to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Countries say new or strengthened policy, regulations and legislation will be needed to make this happen.

Katalaina Sapolu, director of the Rule of Law Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said, “The Paris Agreement presents us with a clear and urgent need for a joined-up approach to supporting countries with putting in place the legal, regulatory, and governance architecture necessary for effective implementation. We aim to develop a law and climate change tool that can bring together all of our existing knowledge, as well as the latest evidence on ‘what works’ in national laws and regulations.”

As governments take steps towards writing the Paris “rule book”, a law and climate change toolkit is expected to facilitate country-driven responses. A resource of expertise and guidance for new legal frameworks will help in delivering on nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement. This can include measures in a wide range of laws, such as renewable energy, infrastructure, planning, and transport, as well as a range of adaptation and resilience measures.

Implementation through legislation provides legal certainty for sustainable climate action, said Ms Sapolu. “Climate change is a cross-cutting issue. Here, we have a cross-cutting team that is well placed to meet this immense challenge. The Commonwealth Secretariat is pleased to place its own resources at the disposal of this group.”

Legal officer at UNFCCC, Marianna Bolshakova, said, “As the UNFCCC, we welcome such a collaborative effort of international organisations, including fellow UN agencies, coming together to provide a consistent response to the significant legal challenges that countries face as they begin implementation of the Paris Agreement.”

World Soil Day: Healthy soils critical for climate action – Ban Ki-moon

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World Soil Day: Healthy soils critical for climate action – Ban Ki-moon

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has said that, in a modern world where the population is growing, cities are expanding, the climate is changing and more food is needed, mankind urgently needs healthy soils to ensure the essential services they provide.

Logo of the World Soil Day (WSD) 2016
Logo of the World Soil Day (WSD) 2016

He made the disclosure in an official message to mark the World Soil Day, which was observed on Monday, 5 December, 2016.

World Soil Day (WSD) 2016 has “Soils and pulses, a symbiosis for life” as its theme. The WSD campaign aims to connect people with soils and raise awareness on their critical importance in their lives.

The WSD 2016 was celebrated at the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, FAO regional offices and through national and local events.

A series of six postcards provide the key messages drawn from the book “Soils and pulses” that was launched on Monday. The messages include:

  • Pulses, architects of healthy soils
  • Pulses boost soil biodiversity
  • Pulses improve soil structure
  • Soil, a life enabling resource
  • Pulses fix atmosphere nitrogen and improve soil fertility
  • Soil and Pulses, symbiosis of life

Mr Ban’s message reads in part: “Sustainable management systems and practices will unlock the full potential of soils to support food production, store and supply clean water, preserve biodiversity, sequester more carbon and increase resilience to a changing climate.

“Sustainable soil management will also advance progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change. It should become the worldwide norm in order to optimise our use of soil now and preserve and protect it over the long term.

“Pulses, also known as grain legumes, can boost soil health while supporting healthier and nutritious diets. Dry beans, peas, lentils and other pulses combine with soil in a unique symbiosis that protects the environment, enhances productivity, contributes to adapting to climate change and provides fundamental nutrients to the soil and subsequent crops. Pulses can fix atmospheric nitrogen in their roots. By freeing soil-bound phosphorous to make it accessible and usable by plants, pulses also reduce the need to apply external fertiliser. These are all drivers of sustainable development.

“The international community has identified collaborative and coordinated ways to protect and sustainably manage soils. There are valuable recommendations in the recently endorsed Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management developed by the Global Soil Partnership. Following these guidelines will help pave the way to boosting the health of soil and fully unlocking its potential to support mitigation and adaption actions in a changing climate.

“On World Soil Day, I call for greater attention to the pressing issues affecting soils, including climate change, antimicrobial resistance, soil-borne diseases, contamination, nutrition and human health.

“Let us build on the International Year of Soils 2015, the International Year of Pulses 2016, and all the activities supporting sustainable soil management to generate more hectares of healthy soils everywhere.”

Soils are complex mixtures of minerals, water, air, organic matter, and countless organisms that are the decaying remains of once-living things. It forms at the surface of land – it is the “skin of the earth.” Soil is capable of supporting plant life and is vital to life on earth.

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