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Stakeholders review flood response profile ahead 2016 rains

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Stakeholders review flood response profile ahead 2016 rains

As the nation awaits this year’s Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) courtesy of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) as well as the Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), stakeholders have attempted an appraisal of last year’s flood response profile in order to ensure a hitch-free 2016 preparedness.

Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi. Photo credit: elombah.com
Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi. Photo credit: elombah.com
UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Jean Gough
UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Jean Gough

Both the SRP and AFO are analysed to make forecast for flood early warning, early dissemination and action to flood-prone regions and high risk states in the country. The SRP, specifically, gives early warnings to reduce the risk associated with the nation’s two extremes of flood and dry spells.

At a three-day forum from February 22 to 24, 2016 at Akwanga, Nasarawa State, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), NiMET, NIHSA and State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) attempted to fashion out a fresh early warning and early action mechanism for the nation.

This, they set out to do by reviewing last year’s flood prediction, determining what was done right and devising ways to improve on it in the 2016 Annual Flooding Season.

Kayode Fagbemi, Deputy Director (Planning, Research & Forecasting), NEMA
Kayode Fagbemi, Deputy Director (Planning, Research & Forecasting), NEMA

Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi, underlined the need to embark on flood prevention and mitigation measures that, according to him, would ensure free-flowing drainage systems, operation and maintenance of hydraulic structures such as dams and reservoirs which are being adequately controlled by the various dam management institutions in the country.

Sidi, represented by Kayode Fagbemi, Deputy Director (Planning, Research & Forecasting), NEMA, said: “This is yet another occasion for dialogue and in-depth deliberation geared towards improving flood early warning and early action mechanism in Nigeria. With the backdrop of the 2012 unprecedented flood that caused widespread devastation in several states of the country, we can no longer wait until we witness another catastrophe.”

He described the event as an informed stakeholder’s forum designed to “review our progresses, the challenges we faced and come up with a wise decision as a way forward.”

His words: “I would like to note that we need to invest more in Disaster Risk Reduction and gather evidence to enable well-informed decisions to reduce disaster and climate risk as a central element of sustainable development. We also need to recognise the need to work together to achieve the set goals.”

The UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Jean Gough, recalled that, following the 2015 SRP by NiMET, NEMA had constituted a multi-stakeholder committee to examine the implications of the SRP on various vulnerable groups and communities in the country. According to her, UNICEF was part of the committee and also part of the team that supported the Flood Contingency Plan for 2015 for all Flood High Risk States in the country.

“It is in line with such activities that NEMA and the stakeholders have decided to review the Flood Response Profile for 2015 ahead of the 2016 SRP in order to ensure that lessons learnt from the previous preparedness and early warning activities are not lost in the 2016 preparedness,” she added.

Gough, represented by UNICEF Nigeria’s Monitoring & Evaluation Officer (Emergency Preparedness for Response), Olusoji Adeniyi, stressed that the UN body remains committed to its mandate of protecting the rights of children and women in humanitarian situations “in which flood remains one of the most challenging and the most devastating in terms of nature-induced disasters as it often affects women and children more than any other group in the affected population globally.”

UNICEF Nigeria’s Monitoring & Evaluation Officer (Emergency Preparedness for Response), Olusoji Adeniyi
UNICEF Nigeria’s Monitoring & Evaluation Officer (Emergency Preparedness for Response), Olusoji Adeniyi

UNICEF’s commitment to Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR), she noted, is unwavering and remains one of the core elements of its humanitarian policy. The workshop, she stressed, provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to review their roles and responsibilities, identify challenges and make recommendations towards improved preparedness in the future.

“It is important to note that such recommendations, especially after the serious nationwide floods of 2012, led to several improvements by National and State governments in the high risk states by the introduction of both structural and non-structural risk mitigation and risk control measures in their states resulting in lower casualties and lower disaster loss in the year 2015. This workshop is expected to further make recommendations that will assist the policy makers to further make improvements to processes and assign resources towards improved disaster risk reduction measures,” Gough added.

Dr. Emmanuel Adanu, Executive Director, National Water Resources Institute (NWRI)
Dr. Emmanuel Adanu, Executive Director, National Water Resources Institute (NWRI)

In a presentation, Dr. Emmanuel Adanu, Executive Director, National Water Resources Institute (NWRI), urged government to focus more on preventing disasters than managing it in order to save human, material and financial resources.

For instance, he called on the authorities to actualise the Dasin Hausa Dam, a multi-purpose facility designed to cushion the effect of the Lagdo Dam flooding. Since 1982 when the Lagdo Dam was built in Lagdo town on the Adamawa Plateau in the Northern Province of Cameroon along the course of the Benue River, lowland communities in north-eastern Nigerian states (of Borno, Adamawa and Taraba) especially those located downstream within the River Benue drainage basin are usually flooded whenever water is released from the reservoir.

Following an agreement involving Nigeria and Cameroon in 1980, the Nigerian government was supposed to embark on a similar venture along the course of the river, ostensibly to contain the gushing water released upstream from Lagdo Dam and curb flooding and attendant destruction of property and loss of lives.

Designed in 1981, the site of the proposed dam is the Dasin Village of Fufore Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

Marine Meteorologist at NiMET, Glory Onyegbule
Marine Meteorologist at NiMET, Glory Onyegbule

It will be recalled that the release of water from Lagdo Dam in 2012 caused extensive flooding across the border in Nigeria, submerging hundreds of settlements in Adamawa State, killing people and displacing thousands of families. Many were reportedly missing. The entire upper and lower Benue River basin was extensively flooded.

Worst hit areas were in Fufore, Girei, Yola South, Yola North, Demsa, Numan, Lamorde, Shelleng, Michika, Guyuk and Ganye Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state. Additionally, LGAs in Taraba State such as Jalingo (the state capital), Ardo Kola, Ibbi, Karin Lamido, Wukari, Takum and Lau were affected.

Adanu, erstwhile Director of Dams in the Ministry of Water Resources, said: “Apart from building the Dasin Hausa Dam, government should consider daming some of the tributary rivers feeding the River Benue because this wing contributed most of the water that led to the infamous nationwide 2012 flooding. If such rain falls again, we are going to have a repeat of that situation.”

A Marine Meteorologist at NiMET, Glory Onyegbule, described adaptation and/or mitigation measures as the response by disaster managers to tackle the ever increasing frequency and intensity of natural weather and climate hazards such as floods.

She explained that NiMet provides SRP as a critical early warning tool to encourage good planning and assist early action for any predicted extreme weather and climate events during the year.

“The use of the SRP is now known to reduce the impact of these extreme weather and climate events by about 35%, and this can rise further reduced with massive publicity as is being done today,” Onyegbule stated.

At the end of the day, participants made observations on issues bordering timely and effective 2015 forecast/prediction, hydrological data gaps, inadequate meteorological data, timely but inadequate dissemination of information, vandalisation of equipment, reduction of instruments’ sensitivity to measurements, non-functioning of some data measuring equipment, inadequate coverage of density of hydro-met network of station and untimely release of operational funds by state governments to SEMAs during response activities.

Consequently, the gathering recommended that, amid an enhancement in information dissemination that utilises the new and emerging media, stakeholders should improve its strategies in identifying and involving relevant stakeholders in information dissemination.

While state governments were urged to timely release operational funds to SEMAs, host communities and security agents were on the other hand charged to be involved in the protection of equipment.

Apart from a regular review, update and implementation of contingency plan by NEMA and SEMAs, as well as improve capacity building of stakeholders, the gathering recommended that, besides NEMA, NIHSA and NiMET, the existing task team should be expanded to include critical stakeholders like NWRI, Federal Ministry of Environment, and the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

World bicycle ownership going downhill, says report

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World bicycle ownership going downhill, says report

Bicycle ownership around the world is declining amid rising wealth levels and increased use of motorised vehicles in developing countries, a study has found.

Marc Shotten of the World Bank
Marc Shotten of the World Bank

Four out of 10 households on the planet own a bike, according to a paper based on surveys from 150 countries between 1989 and 2012. But the growing popularity and affordability of motorised transport, such as cars and scooters, “have disfavoured bicycle use”, the researchers say.

China in particular experienced a collapse in bike ownership rates since 1992, when 97 per cent of households had bikes. However, this dropped to 63 per cent by 2009, the study shows, with ownership rates in most other countries either flat or decreasing.

In Togo, bike ownership has remained stable at around 34 per cent of households between 1998 and 2010, but in Paraguay ownership rates dropped from 57 per cent of households in 1996 to 39 per cent in 2002, the paper states.

These trends could be expected as the number of motor vehicles per person has increased over the past decade at a rate “never seen before in human history”, in particular in China, India and parts of Africa, says Marc Shotten, a transport specialist at the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility in the United States.

Shotten, who was not involved in the study, points out that the data underlines the importance of policies and funds that protect vulnerable road users, including bicyclists and pedestrians, in the face of growing car numbers.

The paper, published in the Journal of Transport & Health last December, found that bicycle ownership is most common in developed countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands, where around four-fifths of households have at least one bike. But in West, Central and North African countries, bicycles are more uncommon, with less than a fifth of households owning one, the study says.

While motor vehicles are often well documented, this study is the first to gather global data on bicycle ownership, the researchers say. Understanding bike numbers could help governments in developing countries devise bicycle-friendly policies that promote better health, less congested cities, safer roads and cleaner air, they add.

The researchers spot wide disparities within regions and several outliers. Peru and the Philippines were found to have extremely low bicycle ownership rates compared with their neighbours. In contrast, Burkina Faso in West Africa is the only non-European country in the top tier, with 84 per cent of households owning a bicycle in 2010.

According to the researchers, this is due to the country’s investment in cycling infrastructure and a “positive attitude” towards cycling among the population.

“Compared to its surrounding countries, Burkina Faso has an astonishingly high level of cycling infrastructure such as physically separated bike lanes or road lighting for cyclists at intersections,” says lead author Jimi Oke, a civil engineer at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

While cycling patterns are well studied in countries such as China and the Netherlands, the study sheds light on other interesting countries — such as Burkina Faso — that have been less studied, Oke adds.

“We can learn from what happens elsewhere and it’s better to have a bigger pool to widen the evidence base for policy,” he says.

Southern Africa prepares for El Niño impact

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Southern Africa prepares for El Niño impact

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) secretariat on Thursday (February 25, 2016) convened a two-day multi-sectoral stakeholder consultative meeting to develop a regional preparedness and response strategy to address the impacts of El Niño on Agriculture and Food and Nutrition Security in Southern Africa.

Barbara Lopi of SADC
Barbara Lopi of SADC

The El Niño phenomenon is caused by warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the eastern Equatorial Pacific and is usually associated with reduced total rainfall over a shorter period than normal across the region.

In a region where over 70 percent of the population depend on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihood, the El Niño event has greatly impacted on food and nutrition security of millions of vulnerable people.

According to Barbara Lopi, the communications and awareness expert at the water sector of SADC Secretariat, some 165 delegates from the agriculture, environment, food and nutrition, disaster management, climate change, water, health, planning and finance sectors from the 15 SADC member states are participating in the meeting which is being organised with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP). Other participants include representatives from the humanitarian, development and donor communities.

Lopi notes that the meeting, at Southern Sun OR Tambo International Airport Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, is meant to help form a common understanding of El Niño and agree on essential actions and commitments on how to best prepare, respond and mitigate its impact through a coordinated, multi-sectoral regional approach.

Ghanaian legislators demand explanations for water crisis

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Ghanaian legislators demand explanations for water crisis

Usually, it is the agitations of residents that give an indication of water shortage, scarcity or crisis. But when a nation’s legislature become the agitators unanimously, it is a signal that water has now become an urgent political matter.

President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana
President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana

It is a good sign that, the current water crisis that has hit portions of the country has alarmed and shaken the nation’s Parliamentarians to demand an explanation from the relevant institutions. It indicates that leaders are beginning to understand with greater depth and clarity the urgent need to pay attention to water.

The crisis has come just at the heels of the commendation Ghana received for having made significant progress in attaining the water targets of the now ended Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In other words, Ghana was able to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water. The country’s attainment is pegged at 80 percent coverage.

While, ordinary citizens might be wondering what has gone wrong, water experts might not be puzzled by the unfolding events of water shortages or access to safe water in sections of the country.

They are aware of the fact that the country is well endowed with significant freshwater resources that could compare to current uses at that time and demands in the foreseeable future. They are also not ignorant that the amount of water available changes distinctly from season to season as well as from year to year. Moreover, the experts know that distribution of freshwater is not uniform, with the south western part of the country or the high forest zone being better water than the coastal and northern zones or savannah wood and grass lands.

The National Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Plan prepared in December 2012, by a team of experts in consultation with representatives of the key stakeholders, warned that the nation’s water resources, “are at risk of depletion and degradation…”

According to the document, problems are emerging because of uncontrolled catchment degradation due to human activities such as poor agricultural practices especially farming along river banks coupled with population pressure, deforestation and surface mining, which all always affect surface water availability and quality.

Another major problem identified in the document include pressure from climate change and climate variability, which impact on the natural flow of water in river channels. The document notes that “Fresh water regimes have been modified resulting in shrinking of the resources, and affecting water supply and river transport.” Consequently, some areas experienced severe floods, with others drought.

A third key problem has to do with increasing population growth and urbanisation leading to increased demand on land, water and other natural resources, resulting in conflicting and competing water uses and pollution.

On Friday, February 26th, 2016 when Parliament convenes, top on the agenda is a statement to the House by the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing. The Minister and his key officials including the Executive Secretary of the Water Resources Commission will respond to queries regarding the current situation from the House.

It is certain that they will touch on the challenges such as weak enforcement of regulations; lack of regulations on dam safety and control of industrial effluent and sewerage outfalls and lack of adequate data on surface and ground water quantity and quality. They are also likely to mention the non-incorporation into sectorial water management strategies of climate change and climate variability impacts on water and other natural resources.

It will be prudent on the part of the Minister to also mention that unregulated activities in river basins leading to catchment degradation and poor water quality as well as inadequate systems for early warning and mitigation effects from floods and droughts are additional key challenges confronting the sector.

The Minister should be able to impress on the House that in the face of the increasing population and growing uses of freshwater vis-a-vis depletion of usable freshwater resources, water requires careful management and monitoring in its use and availability. The House will need to appreciate that the time has come to re-think the nation’s development priorities and institutions should be made to work.

As Parliamentarians spearheading national legislature formulation, they have the power to negotiate and resolve the current conflicts besetting the natural resources sector. Conflicts that could have been prevented if the there was a working National Land Use Policy in place. Such a policy would have identified practical land use options and provided guidelines for the competing land uses – agriculture, logging, mining and biodiversity conservation including integrated water resources management.

But the current water crisis in parts of the country is not an isolated case and happens to be one of the global scenarios. Scientists are even arguing that the current situation has arisen because “we’ve been significantly underestimating our water footprint.” New studies published in the Science journal estimates that “global water consumption has increased by nearly 20 percent,” adding, “we may have crossed an unsustainable threshold in our water use.”

It is against this background that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon convened an emergency panel of heads of states to prompt a political response to the world’s increasing scarcity of water. This was at the special session of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting earlier this month during which a special Panel was formed to move global water actions forward.

The Secretary General stressed that “Water is a precious resource, crucial to realising the sustainable development goals, which at their heart aim to eradicate poverty.” He hoped, “the new panel can help motivate the action we need to turn ideas into reality,” and said “countries needed to take the lead on tackling the problem.”

The President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim, who was at the event, said: “Achieving the global water goal would have multiple benefits, including laying the foundations for food and energy security, sustainable urbanisation, and ultimately climate security.”

He expected the panel to “accelerate action in many countries so that we can make water more accessible to all.”

By Ama Kudom-Agyemang (kudomagyemang@yahoo.com, kudomagyemanf@gmail.com)

Fiji begins post-Cyclone Winston cleanup amid call for climate action

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Fiji begins post-Cyclone Winston cleanup amid call for climate action

A massive clean-up operation has begun on the Pacific Island of Fiji after a powerful cyclone.

The cyclone caused widespread damage around the town of Rakiraki in Fiji's Ra Province.
The cyclone caused widespread damage around the town of Rakiraki in Fiji’s Ra Province.

Cyclone Winston hit the island recently, with winds of over 200 miles per hour, torrential rain, and waves of up to 12 metres. Many homes were destroyed, several people died and electricity lines were cut.

It’s the first time that Fiji has been hit by a Category 5 storm – the strongest kind of storm found on earth.

Fiji is the first nation to ratify the Paris Agreement.

Indeed, Tropical Cyclone Winston became the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, wreaking havoc in Tonga and growing into an unpredictable and severe Category 5 system, leaving a trail of destruction across Fiji.

In the wake of the devastating cyclone, 350.org Pacific is urging global climate action.

“The relationship between climate change and more severe tropical storms is well understood, and extreme weather events like Cyclone Winston are a timely reminder as to what is on the line,” pointed out Koreti Tiumalu, 350.org Pacific Region Coordinator.

“Every year, people in the Pacific Islands are finding ourselves at the forefront of climate impacts. As the world continues to experience the escalation in the force of natural disasters, it’s imperative now more than ever, that all countries also escalate their efforts to keep climate changing fossil fuels in the ground in order to change the outlook of those who have done the least to create climate change but are experiencing firsthand its worst impacts,” Timalu added.

How firm is impacting biodiversity, livelihood in Africa, by Greenpeace

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How firm is impacting biodiversity, livelihood in Africa, by Greenpeace

A new Greenpeace France investigations on Socfin, a company owned 38.75% by Bolloré group, has revealed the impact of the company’s plantations on forests, communities and wildlife in Africa. The revelation was made in a recent study.

The report, titled: “Africa’s forests under threats”, shows that Socfin’s expansion plans in a dozen countries, mostly in Africa, are threatening forests that are essential for the preservation of climate balances, biodiversity and communities livelihood and calls on CEO Vincent Bolloré to immediately commit against deforestation.

Cécile Leuba, campaigner for Greenpeace France
Cécile Leuba, campaigner for Greenpeace France

Africa, a new frontier for palm oil

According to Greenpeace, Africa may only represent a small proportion of global palm oil production, but there is currently a run on African forests. The group adds that an increasing number of investments are being made, with investors attracted by favourable climatic conditions and above all by soft regulations that are either not applied (in particular due to corruption) or that are particularly favourable to foreign investment.

The leading planter in Africa, the Société Financière des Caoutchoucs (Socfin) is little known to the general public but has been operating in the continent for over a century, reveals Greenpeace in a media statement. Heading up Socfin’s shareholdings are two figures of African business: Vincent Bolloré, France’s ninth-richest person who remains highly active in Africa, and the Belgian businessman Hubert Fabri.

Plantations that threaten the climate

In the report, Greenpeace France’s investigations in Democratic Republic of Congo and Sao Tome-Principe, show that Socfin’s plantations include primary and secondary forests, that store large quantities of carbon. Furthermore, Socfin is involved in many conflicts with forest communities.

“We found that some concessions border onto unique ecosystems, as in São Tomé where they are located next to a national park that is home to remarkable biodiversity. However, unlike its main competitors in the palm oil sector, Socfin has no policy to combat deforestation and end the land conflicts.” says Cécile Leuba, campaigner for Greenpeace France.

In Sao Tome, according to Greenpeace’s estimations, the total amount of carbon stored in these cleared forests exceeded 600,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent. This is the equivalent of annual emissions from a small coal-fired power station.

Bolloré group’s responsibility

The group wants Vincent Bolloré to use his influence to make Socfin immediately commit to a credible zero deforestation plantation policy that respects the rights of local communities. At the same time, the Bolloré Group must itself publish a zero deforestation policy that covers all of its investments in the sector, it adds.

“To prevent African forests from being subjected to the same fate as Indonesian or Malaysian forests, investors must immediately adopt zero deforestation policies, together with social safeguards. The Bolloré Group cannot clear itself of its responsibility with regard to Socfin’s practices,” concludes Leuba.

Food security concerns as cocoyam disappears in Arochukwu

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Food security concerns as cocoyam disappears in Arochukwu

Cocoyam, a root crop, for many years served as a major source of revenue for rural women in the ancient town of Arochukwu in Abia State. But, of recent, the crop has disappeared, thus triggering off food insecurity concerns and threat to livelihood among the predominantly farming populace.

Tubers of cocoyam. Photo credit: southpawgroup.com
Tubers of cocoyam. Photo credit: southpawgroup.com

Though a remote town, with access roads in a poor state, Arochukwu parades such attributes as home to the popular deity “Long Juju,” the originator of the “Mazi title” used to qualify traditionally complete men, and a place where the African culture still waxes strong, despite the influence of modern civilisation.

But the people are facing hard times following the non-availability of different species of cocoyam, which used to be a major source of revenue for the women in the community.

Cocoyam cultivation is predominantly the business of women and, depending on the size of the farm, bigwig farmers among them could harvest numerous bags of the crop annually, making many of them breadwinners in their families.

But what started some 10 years ago, as the gradual decline in yield has led to the total disappearance of the crop and, as it is, locals cannot even produce enough for consumption, let alone for sale.

According to a woman leader, Mrs. Esther Obong from Ugwuakuma Village, which is the biggest farming village in Arochukwu Kingdom, the disappearance of cocoa has helped to increase famine in the land, while women suffer a lot to raise their children.

“Cocoyam has gone to extinction, and our people are suffering a lot. The impact is more on widows because they have to grapple with the task of raising their children with an empty pocket,” she cries out.

Following the disappearance of this important crop, many of the women have now taken to odd jobs, such as breaking of stone and cultivation of plantain, which require considerable amount of energy that a lot of them seem not to have.

A concerned husband, Mr. Philip Ikechi. explains, “Stone breaking has been an age long practice here with even children mastering the act of breaking large stones. But, in recent times, the number of people in the trade has increased tremendously because the farms are no longer productive. This time some years back, some of these women would be smiling to the bank with the sale of many bags of cocoyam.”

Cocoyam ranks third in importance after cassava and yam among the root crops cultivated and consumed in Nigeria, which used to be the world’s leading producer of the crop with about 3.7 million metric tons annually.

Nutritionally, it is said to be superior to cassava and yam, as it is a rich source of dietary fibre and starch that can speedily energise the body.

Cocoyam belongs to the family of Araceae and, in Arochukwu comprising towns such as Arochukwu Kingdom, Isu, Ututu, Ihechiowa, and Abam, three major varieties are mostly cultivated.

There are the Xanthosoma specie which the people call Ede Bekee or English Cocoayam, Panya believed to have been introduced to Arochukwu by ancient travelers from a town in Equatorial Guinea, and finally the Colocasia esculentum which they call Nkasi Mmamma, mostly used for cooking soup and is said to have high economic value.

In the good old days, cultivating cocoyam, especially Panya and Mmamma, used to be an interesting experience, as it required little effort, compared to yam, cassava and other root crops.

In fact, in some cases, they just grew without anyone planting them, as hundreds of them would sprout at the back yard, sites for dust bin and other open places, weeks after the first rain of the year.

During harvest, a single stand of cocoyam could produce up to 10 sizeable tubers and other smaller ones, enough to fill up a small basin.

But, these days, even when the farm is well taken care of, the crop looks stunted with tiny stands, and many of them barely yielding anything.

The disaster in cocoyam production is being felt nationally, as city dwellers who need it to prepare a special delicacy like the “white Soup” complain that the tiny tubers of the crop displayed for sale in the market are very expensive.

But what worries respondents the most is the unfavorable impact it has on the masses who depend on it for food and income.

“In Arochukwu, after the death of your husband, other men are scared of marrying you. How will the widows cope? Cocoyam is very valuable. Because it matures early, it sustains the people before yam starts coming out. With this development, the people should be ready for hunger,” laments an indigene.

The disappearance of cocoyam in Arochukwu is like history repeating itself. In 1983, species of a particularly high yielding cassava variety suddenly withered and died.

Convinced that it was a nemesis from the gods, the people held a strange ceremony to appease the gods of cassava, during which new wrappers were tied around cassava stands, while crowds of people danced around. chanting, “igburu bu eze”, which is translated to mean, “cassava is king”.

Whether that ceremony was the reason cassava started doing well again in the land is a story for another day.

Many believe that if Christianity had not been established in the land as before, another “strange” ceremony to also appease the gods of cocoyam may have been held.

But what could be responsible for the disappearance of cocoyam in Arochukwu?

Most experts blame it on land degradation due to factors such as over cultivation of a land, prevailing weather and the ravaging climate change, which has also caused drastic reduction in yield and loss of biodiversity in many places across the globe. Application of fertilizers could also cause a land to degrade as in the case of parts of northern Nigeria.

A food expert and National President Nigerian Institute of Food Science Technology, Dr. Chijioke Osuji, explains, “Cocoyam is among foods billed for extinction. Reason for this is because of the failure of research institutions to commercialise the crop. In Nigeria, cocoyam is only consumed either as cooked food or used as a seasoning in preparing soup (white soup). Research. should be done to find out products that can be manufactured with cocoyam. That way the crop would have more market value and institutions would produce new breeds that can adapt with prevailing climate and soil.”

Similarly, an environmentalist and climate change expert, Professor Olukayode Oladipo, links the development to the neglect of cocoyam among the people as well as environmental issues.

His words: “Cocoyam is a crop that most people take for granted. But generally, if you use a particular soil for a long period of time, after some time, the soil almost gets bad and the crop will stop doing well. So, If we want to make progress, it will require a kind of research. So if we are not getting cocoyam again, its either due to sociocultural factor or soil factor or other environmental factors of which climate change is a part of. There is high probability that possible changes in climatic condition have accelerated other factors that are responsible for non-availability or limited availability of cocoyam.”

Also, the National Root Crops Research Institute in Umudike, Abia State, which has undertaken a programme on cocoyam attribute the shortfall in cocoyam production to people’s ignorance of the nutritional value of the crop as they see it as a poor man’s food.

Another is that the recycling of the planting material results in accumulation of pathogens in them which declines yield, as Nigeria witnessed 11 percent drop in National Production between 2000 and 2004.

On the way forward, a holistic system of renewing degraded land through tree planting and other projects has been advocated.

A forester and the Desk officer for the Great Green Wall programme in Kano State, Alhaji Garba Sale, says basically land recovery involves two major processes, short time and long system, with the former involving planting of nitrogen fixing plants, and the later tree planting.

“The process of land recovery takes time, but it depends on the method applied. If you plant nitrogen fixing grasses and shrubs, you can recover the land quickly. And if you plant trees, you can recover the land gradually but it will protect it for a longer time,” Sale says.

According to observers, the authorities responsible should take swift action towards recovering degraded lands across the country to boost agricultural production and curb the threat of food insecurity. Economic empowerment initiatives for women in Arochukwu is also welcomed, apparently to enable them adapt to the loss of their means of livelihood.

By Innocent Onoh

New COP21 president sets agenda to build Paris Agreement momentum

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New COP21 president sets agenda to build Paris Agreement momentum

The new President of the UN climate change process, French Minister of the Environment, Energy and the Sea, Ségolène Royal, on Monday February 22, 2016 visited the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany and underlined the need for continued momentum to build on the historic Paris Climate Change Agreement, which was reached in the French capital in December.

Ségolène Royal (left) and Christiana Figueres. Photo credit: newsroom.unfccc.int
Ségolène Royal (left) and Christiana Figueres. Photo credit: newsroom.unfccc.int

Following a meeting with UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres and other senior UN staff in the German city, President Royal outlined three top priorities for the remainder of the French Presidency: to ensure the swift signing, ratification and implementation of the Paris agreement; to accelerate the climate action coalitions agreed in Paris between governments, cities, business and investors; and to strengthen the link between climate change and sustainable development.

“We now have a concrete action agenda. People all over the world want to do concrete things, immediately. The key is to accelerate the wonderful coalitions that we agreed on Paris and move forward with those,” she said.

Important elements of the action agenda summed up by President Royal include the new solar alliance led by India and France, the geothermal alliance led by Iceland, a coalition to improve the energy efficiency of buildings; along with coalitions on risk prevention, agriculture, forests, water, oceans and putting a price on carbon.

It was her first visit to the UNFCCC secretariat since being appointed COP21 President by French President François Hollande. She replaces the former French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius, who recently assumed the new post of Presidency of the French Constitutional Court.

In a message to governments, President Royal pledged to build on the momentum of the Paris Agreement in conjunction with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, and to hand the Presidency to Morocco this November “under the best possible circumstances.”

Madame Royal praised the effort of government negotiators in securing the Paris Agreement and added: “I am also aware of the unprecedented momentum coming from civil society in the broadest sense to contribute to this mobilisation and provide practical solutions to address the challenge.”

Ms Figueres said: “I thank Minister Fabius again for his outstanding diplomacy and leadership as COP 21 President and I warmly welcome Minister Royal to the post. Her championship of climate action around the world is especially important this year as governments work to implement the full scope of the Paris Agreement as fast as possible.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited governments to formally sign the Paris Climate Change Agreement in New York on 22 April. “The world now has a universal, fair, flexible and durable climate agreement,” Mr. Ban said last week. “Our task is not over. In fact, it has just begun. In 2016, we must go from words to deeds. The 22 April signature ceremony is an essential step.”

The next major UN Climate Change Conference will take place in Bonn 16 – 26 May this year, and the next Conference of the Parties (COP22) will be held in Marrakech, Morocco 7 -18 Nov 2016.

ERA/FoEN to Lagos: Budgetary allocation to water dreadfully low

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ERA/FoEN to Lagos: Budgetary allocation to water dreadfully low

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has called on the Lagos State Government to come up with a more realistic allocation to the water sector in the 2016 budget, noting that the current allocation to the sector appears inadequate towards ensuring equitable access to water by residents.

Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State. Photo credit: ecomium.org
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State. Photo credit: ecomium.org

According to government, budgetary allocation to water in 2016 is N17.6 billion out of a total of N662.6 billion covering all sectors, and representing 2.7% of the total. Environment received 8.1% totaling N53,043,599,505, Housing and Community Amenities got N62,713,091,867 representing 9.46%, while Health received N64,677,679,096 representing 9.76%. Recreation, Culture and Religion got N4,636,917, 054 which is 0.70%.

The budget is recorded as an improvement of 26% over that of 2014 and 2015 respectively which stood at N489.6 billion individually.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday, the ERA/FoEN said that, in spite of the budget improvement compared with previous years, the allocation to water is “a pittance” and does not reflect the governor’s description of the entire package as “the People’s Budget”.

ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: “We have said it time and again that the Lagos State government is not using the maximum available resources in the state to realise the human right to water. The allocation to water is not impressive and does not reflect the yearnings of the people for more allocation to the sector.

ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi
ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi

“With a daily internally-generated revenue hitting about N1 billion, we find it disappointing that the allocation to water is a pittance paling in significance when viewed from the prism that safe and potable water guarantees the wellness of the people and overall security once people have access.”

He said that recent revelations that only eight of the 18 suction pumps at the Akute plant, which is Lagos’ main raw water production facility, are functioning added to the reported shortage of necessary chemicals to purify water indicate that the water sector in Lagos is not given the priority it deserves.

The ERA/FoEN boss insisted that the solution to lack of access “is not and will never be handing of infrastructure built with public funds to privatisers who are only interested in profits, but a sustained investment in the water sector over time and recovery of funds that may have been misappropriated or outrightly stolen by managers of our water works in the past”.

He added: “Our recommendation for improving access to water includes integrating broad public participation in developing plans to achieve universal access to clean water and building the political will to prioritise water for the people. These will lead to a comprehensive plan that invests in the water infrastructure necessary to provide universal water access, create jobs, improve public health, and invigorate the Lagos economy.

“While the state government is yet to appreciate the benefits of a democratic system of controlling our water resources, we reiterate our rejection of water privatisation under any guise including the failed PPP being promoted by the World Bank. We insist that the people must determine how our water resources must be managed. Upping the annual budgetary allocation to water will be one good step in this direction. Unfortunately, the state government has not realised this.”

Nile Day: Region asked to focus on reversing climate change impacts

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Nile Day: Region asked to focus on reversing climate change impacts

February 22nd is the annual day to celebrate the Nile River, an essential force of life for millions. In this celebration, 350.org called for the preservation and protection of the Nile in order to protect the lives of over 200 million people living in the basin that are increasingly threatened by desertification and other natural disasters aggravated by climate change.

The Nile River meandering through Juba, South Sudan. Believed to be the longest in the world, at 6,650 km long and encompassing an area of 3,349,000 square kilometers, the Nile's basin is shared by Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania. Photo credit: oddizzi.com
The Nile River meandering through Juba, South Sudan. Believed to be the longest in the world at 6,650 km long and encompassing an area of 3,349,000 square kilometers, the Nile’s basin is shared by Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania. Photo credit: oddizzi.com

350Africa and Arab world hosted art exhibitions, cultural entertainment, educational talks and live concerts across national and regional commemorations of the Nile Day. Local communities already feeling the impacts of droughts caused by climate change, which is no longer a threat but a clear and present danger, participated in these activities and joined the movement to save and protect the Nile River.

In Egypt, 350 Egypt and Benha Puppetry Troupe have collaborated on an evening of short performances that capture a snapshot of the lives of those who experience the effects of climate change in Egypt’s Nile Delta. In forms as varied as monologue, shadow puppetry and improvisational music, these pieces use live performance to encourage dialogue for social change.

“Nile day celebrations are important to the region given our challenges of water scarcity, drought and severe climate impacts,’’ said Sarah Rifaat, 350.org Arab World Field Coordinator. Many of the poorest Africans, women and children are already facing more drought, floods and extreme weather that threaten their livelihoods and push food prices up. “Climate change will hit Africa hardest so this fight is about climate justice,” added Rifaat.

The Nile River is the longest in the world, at 6,650 km long and encompassing an area of 3,349,000 square kilometers. Its basin is shared by 10 countries: Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania.

Currently, the Nile is unable to cope with shared water demands. Effects of climate change such as unpredictable river flow and precipitation are adding to human-induced land degradation, deforestation, water pollution and the construction of competing hydropower dams in Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. All these challenges combined are aggravating the water crisis throughout the region.

Recent droughts in Ethiopia left more than 10 million people desperate for water and food. Prolonged and severe droughts in January 2016 saw 640,000 Ugandans in Karamoja face food shortages as a direct result of water shortages. Egypt, dependent mainly on the Nile for water supply, could be without water by 2025.

All the basin countries are susceptible to famine, droughts and prolonged El Niño effects. “The drought and recurrent food crisis experienced in the Horn of Africa, make water a very precious and scarce resource, and remind us of our common responsibility to protect the Nile River, which has provided life to people in the Nile basin for thousands of years,” added Landry Ninteretse, 350Africa.org mobiliser.

In celebrating the Nile Day, the region apparently focused on reversing the impacts of climate change.

Governments along the Nile River basin were urged to include climate change adaptation policies into national development plans and base the future of their economies on clean, renewable energy. Such measures, adds 350Africa, can contribute to the global efforts to stop the climate crisis from worsening and lift millions of people in the region out of poverty.

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