About 200 houses and huts were swept away on Friday in Makurdi, the Benue state capital, following over four hours of torrential downpour. Many valuables worth millions of naira were also submerged in the flood.
Makurdi is located along the Benue River, the nation’s second biggest waterbody after the Niger.
Flooding in Makurdi. Photo credit: sahara reporters
The latest incident which has taken its toll on residents was the second major flood disaster in the state capital, in the last four weeks.
The hardest hit areas included the Wurukum Roundabout and Railway Crossing, Wurukum Market, Judges Quarters on Gboko Road, Logo and Angwa Jukum, which were completely taken over by flood water
Also affected was the personal residence of the Second Republic Governor of the state, late Aper Aku, Benue State University (BSU), Living Faith and Dunamis churches, Steam fast and houses on Daniel Amokachi Avenue were all submerged in water.
Shops and stalls at the popular Wurukum Market were also not spared as most of them were filled with water, while traders battled hard to save whatever they could from the flood.
Reacting to the development, the state Commissioner of Water Resources and Environment, Nicholas Wende, lamented that the state would need about N100 billion to stem the flood menace in the state.
He said the state government had submitted a request to the Federal Government for intervention adding that the government was expecting the federal government to also assist in dredging River Benue as a permanent solution.
Wende explained that the state government had constituted a committee to identify flood prone areas with a view to taking measures to control the disaster.
World leaders, water experts and development professionals will meet for six days beginning from Sunday, August 23, 2015 in Stockholm, the Swedish capital city, to seek solutions to the world’s several escalating water crises. With both World Water Week and Stockholm Water Prize celebrating their 25th jubilee, several special events and campaign finales will take place during the Week.
Stockholm, Sweden
The yearly event is organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), a Stockholm-based policy institute that provides and promotes water wise solutions for sustainable development.
According to the body, the role of water for development, this year’s World Water Week theme, cannot be overestimated. It adds that water is the foundation for all aspects of human and societal progress.
“We need it to survive – literally, to quench our thirst, to prepare our food, and maintain our hygiene, but it is also central to economic and social development, sustainable growth, and a prerequisite for healthy ecosystems,” Britt-Louise Andersson, Communications Director, SIWI, said in a statement.
“While we need to ensure access to safe water for those 1.8 billion people who do not have it today, we must also manage the global rise in demand for water from growing economies by increasing water productivity, and find incentives for using it more effectively. Water security is both a condition for, and a result of, sustainable development.”
At World Water Week, the complex challenges related to water and development will be addressed by over 3,000 participants from some 120 countries, representing governments, the private sector, multilateral organisations, civil society and academia. Speakers at the Opening session on 24 August will include the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven; the Prime Minister of Jordan, Abdullah Ensour; the President of the Marshall Islands, Christopher J. Loeak; the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Adnan Z. Amin, and Peru’s Minister of State for Environment and President of the COP20, Manuel Gerardo Pedro Pulgar-Vidal Otálora.
During the Week, the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize will be awarded to Rajendra Singh of India, for his innovative water restoration efforts, improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need. The prize will be awarded to Rajendra Singh by H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, during a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall on Wednesday 26 August.
Other prizes that will be presented are the Stockholm Industry Water Award, which will be awarded, on Sunday 23 August, to CH2M, a Colorado-based global service and engineering company, for developing and advancing methods to clean water, and increasing public acceptance of recycled water, and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize which, on Tuesday 25 August is given to one national team out of the 29 competing nations by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
Water is a central part in a range of issues that will shape the world in the decades to come. They will be discussed in-depth during World Water Week:
Water and food. About 800 million people in the world are undernourished, and prevalence is going down. Overweight and obesity rates are heading the other direction and today, around 2 billion people are overweight or obese. Meanwhile, about a third of all food produced is either lost, or thrown out by the consumer. Since most food production demands huge amounts of water, this means rivers of water are literally lost as a result of food being lost or discarded, or overeating.
Water and climate change. Climate change is to a large extent water change. We feel the impact of climate change through water. Increased rainfall variability, less reliable monsoons, prolonged droughts and reduced water storage in snow and ice are just some effects. California is currently suffering the worst drought in living memory, straining parts of the state’s economy. Cities are rationing water and food prices are increasing. Water is also critical for the mitigation of climate change, as many efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions depend on reliable access to water resources. Expansion of renewable energy will to a large extent also depend on access to water – on all levels.
Water and conflict. Approximately 276 river basins cross the political boundaries of two or more countries, and serve as a primary source of freshwater for approximately 40 percent of the world’s population. Decisions on water allocations can be a source of conflict, but also a catalyst for cooperation and peace building. Cooperation over transboundary waters is an opportunity for people, regions and states to strengthen and develop cooperation, and to open up new paths of working together.
Water and health. An estimated 1.8 billion people live without access to safe water and 2.4 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation and hygiene kill more than 5,000 people each day.
Besides organising the annual World Water Week and hosting the Stockholm Water Prize, the Junior Stockholm Water Prize and the Stockholm Industry Water Award, SIWI performs research, builds institutional capacity and provides advisory services
“Smart Villages: New Thinking for off-grid communities worldwide” is a collection of opinion pieces in renewable energy. It is a chronicle of ideas by experts aimed at tackling the issues of energy as a catalyst for sustainable development – health, food security, education gender equality, governance, security and employment.
Off-grid lighting in Africa. Photo credit: unep.org
The 124-page book, which is comprised of 16 essays written by scientists and leading thinkers from around the world, was compiled by Prof. Sir Brian Heap, Senior Adviser to Smart Villages and launched at the World Conference of Science Journalists, Seoul, South Korea in June 2015 by Dr. Bernie Jones, a project co-leader of Smart Villages.
In the Preface to the book, Prof. Heap said: “We published these essays with policymakers and decision takers in mind – planners of sustainable off-grid well-being faced with the demanding challenges of lifting the bottom billion out of the poverty trap”.
It is a publication therefore that is in tandem with the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative (se4all.org) and the new Sustainable Development Goals, post-September 2015.
Scope
A browse through the book shows the scope of the book as covering a range of viewpoints on the complex problem of energy access in developing countries. “On the supply side, it asks, what are the scientific and technological advances of today and tomorrow that could transform the way that energy, particularly electricity, could be made more readily available for rural transformation?
“On the demand side, what are the enabling factors that make energy access a catalyst for sustainable development in off-grid villages? What framework conditions need to be put in place so that local entrepreneurs can establish enterprises to deliver and make productive use of energy in remote villages, the home of some 1.3 billion poor and under-served?”
Essays Synopsis
It begins with the concept – “Energy for Development,” authored by the project co-leader and Manager of Smart Villages Initiatives, John Holmes and Terry van Gevelt, respectively. The concept enumerates the options of electrification technology for smart villages. It also states how energy access to rural communities could positively improve education, health, food security, productive enterprise, participatory democracy, quality of life and environment.
Energy Innovation For Smart Villages by Daniel M. Kammen, a professor of Energy at the University of California draws up the advantages on off-grid systems and how diverse technology options could expand village energy service. Kammen also drew a roadmap to clean energy in, and ended with an action agenda for smart villages.
Transforming Rural Communities Through Mini-grids by Prof. AbuBakr Bahaj, principal investigator of the e4D programme presented case studies of mini-grids in some countries where e4D had worked with villages to “determine their needs, aspirations and goals with respect to electrification.”
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Power by Dr. Vasant Kumar of the Department of Material Science, University of Cambridge stressed the need for a close link between off-grid energy paradigm for electrification and development on one hand and the evolution of clean, green and low-carbon power.
He emphasised the importance of exploring new opportunities, energy storage technologies and recycling.
Ahmad Zaidee Laidin, Secretary General Malaysian Academy of Sciences’ Smart Villages – The Malaysian Approach, highlights the development of electricity in Malaysia and how rural development has been achieved there.
Laidin draws a table of Malaysia’s path to rural development in its Vision 2020, including the government’s 10-year transformation programme (2010-2020) for rural development.
The country’s 21st Century Village Initiative (21CV) as stated in the Smart Villages – The Malaysian Approach, aims to encourage the youth to remain in the villages. “The 21CVs have and will be developed using the following initiatives: 39 state-driven modern integrated farms; 15 private-sector-driven large scale fruit and vegetable farms; 39 enhanced village cooperatives in tourism, plantation and cottage industries and 39 encouraging selected university, technical and vocational graduates as youth entrepreneurs.”
Laidin further draws the advantages of electricity beyond lighting to include education, e-commerce, agriculture advances, e-health, community empowerment and ICT.
Can Energy Access Improve Health? By Prof. Wole Soboyejo of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University is premised on the challenges of life in Mpala village in the Laikipia district of Kenya.
This was Soboyejo’s personal experience of communities that lived with no access to electricity.
The people “relied on kerosene lanterns, resulting in environmental pollution and about 80 percent incidence of pulmonary health problems.”
Soboyejo told of how they explored options to meet the challenge. They arrived at a solar-powered solution lantern with a 2-watt solar panel and a 6-volt motorcycle battery. It reduced the pulmonary health problems.
Energy Provision and Food Security in Off-grid Villages by Prof. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (a Geneticist and Chief Mentor of M. S. Swaminathan) and Prof. Parthasarathy Chenna Kesavan (a Geneticist and Radiobiologist) discusses the interrelationship between energy provision and food security in off-grid villages.
It describes off-grid villages as vulnerable because of lack of electricity, which enables the development of small-scale village industries, locally. Foreseeing modern agriculture as heavily dependent on energy, the essay observes “a strong positive correlation between energy input and food output…” A chain of agricultural production processes, the two Professors posit, “make heavy demands on energy supply.”
The essay also suggests the use of biomass, biogas, wind, solar power, and ocean thermal energy for electrification towards sustainable food production.
“…the vision for an off-grid smart village is one that achieves food security by using pathways of production that depend increasingly on biological rather than chemical inputs…renewable and decentralised energy services will provide the motive power required for machinery and irrigation, the development of cold-chain infrastructure to reduce waste, and the integration of communication technologies to help with pest management, soil health and improved market access,” the essay postulates.
Smart Villages for Smart Voters by Dr. Mukulika Banerjee (associate Professor in Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics) gives a picture of voter enthusiasts, most of who live in villages. “The most dedicated voters are not the well-educated urban middle-classes but the poorest, most discriminated against and least educated, mainly in villages and small towns…”
Banerjee’s essay tells of how India’s electronic voting machines, powered by batteries, have revolutionised the electoral system. The smart machines are used in smart villages and “proved to be both fraud and fool-proof.” It sees smart villages as initiating change in voter attitude, which allows them play “their own roles in the working of the democratic system and the effect of their individual vote has in determining the composition of government.”
The essay finally opines that un-smart places have limits, especially in people’s “access to news, literacy, information – all of which severally hampers their ability to make their lives better. It is now time to deliver smart villages to these smart voters,” Banerjee suggests.
Public Policy Targets for Energy Access by Benjamin K. Sovacool (a professor of Business and Social Sciences and Director of the Center for Energy Technologies, Department of Business and Technology, Aarhus University), argues that energy poverty arises from a market failure that only governments and public institutions are well-suited to engage.
The essay’s markets and intervention assesses the problem of markets as being “less effective for common-pool goods or public goods that need agreed-upon rules or sanctions – goods such as clean air or improved energy security.”
Sovacool sees the poor as falling through the cracks and “too politically distant and economically costly to provide with energy services.” he also writes that “without strong public policy intervention, hundreds of millions of people will remain mired in energy insecurity for many decades to come.”
The Disturbing trends quotes the International Energy Agency (IEA) as estimating that by 2030, almost one billion people will still be without electricity and 2.6 billion people will still be without clean cooking facilities.
Under the Positive benefits, Sovacool cites Nepal as an example where “evaluations of a rural energy programme involving micro-hydro units have earned US$8 in benefits per household for every US$1.40 in total expenditures.”
Similarly, in Sub-Saharan Africa, he states that the UN reports a woman who generates more than US$46 in economic benefits in the first year selling solar lanterns.
Energy Policies for Off-grid Villages in Tanzania written by Andrew Mnzava, Senior Research Officer with the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) in Tanzania discusses the interrelation between energy and development.
It enunciates health, education, food security, productive enterprise and environment as directly linked to uninterrupted energy access.
Unlike the Tanzanian national policy for off-grid villages, which is coordinated by the Rural Energy Board (REB), according to Mnzava, “many countries do not have renewable energy policies that foster the development of clean energy and directly support off-grid energy development.”
The essay further tells about the existence of Tanzania’s local and national energy developers who generate and supply power to surrounding communities. He identifies financing of energy projects as biggest challenges – high interests rates from loans are clogs.
He talks about the importance of institutions and regulatory framework, including the National Environmental Management Council, which provides EIA certificates, etc.
Communities-consumers looks at the ability and capacity of consumers as well as cluster communities to pay for supplied power as a challenge. Mnzava draws a comparative table to show that upfront and annualised costs of electricity is more expensive than the same of kerosene.
WillPrivate-Sector Finance Support Off-grid Energy? by Tobias S. Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Energy Politics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology takes private-sector financing of off-grid energy to be a challenge.
Though he sees the sector as veritably important if the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative is to be achieved by 2030, confident atmosphere in the off-grid sector, Schmidt posits, must be created for the Private-Sector investors.
Return on investment gives prominence to ‘hurdle rate’ above the normal threshold. More so, “the use of modern energy services should lead to an increase in income of the villagers,’ which would help them afford the consumption rates of the energy.
He talks about Risk of investment, Scale of investment and Policy implications where he calls for the creation of “more favourable conditions for private-sector finance” in order to increase the contribution of the sector to off-grid rural energy.
How Electricity Changed Our Lives by Michael J. Ssali, a seasoned journalist and Bureau Chief of the Daily Monitor draws a picture of a kerosene-enabled lamp used in Uganda called tadooba and the high deforestation as a result of high dependence of the people on firewood. “Uganda’s forests are diminishing because about 95 percent of the country’s households depend on firewood and charcoal for cooking.”
In Changed lives, Ssali gives a vivid story of how the provision of electricity changed the lives of the people of rural Uganda as well as how New businesses have sprang. “To a large extent, rural electrification has contributed to a reduction in the migration of youth from rural to urban areas.”
He posits that electricity is a means of creating Jobs for a growing population, especially in the area of agriculture.
Javier Gonzalez Diaz, an affiliate lecturer at the Centre of Development Studies of Cambridge University writes in his Energy and ICT for Educational Inclusion in Latin America that, as in other regions of the world, Latin America also faces several urgent challenges. “Children and youth living in remote rural locations are literally disconnected from the world, excluded from the opportunities provided by global learning.”
The essay highlights the importance of access to smart energy in rural areas in order to pave the way for access to modern information and communication technologies. This, in turn, could transform the learning experience for pupils and teachers alike in those areas.
It further gives a differential percentages of schools with access to electricity and those without in some Latin American countries. “This unequal geographic and socio-economic pattern of electrification strongly affects the educational opportunities of Latin American children and their chance of achieving a better future.”
Can access to energy and ICT make a difference? The essay answers, yes. While access to energy “opens a range of economic and social development alternatives for geographically isolated communities,” Diaz argues, ICT can “strongly and positively enhance education in several ways.”
In real life stories: aiming for the stars, the essay gives examples of communities in which “lives are being changed in poor, rural and remote areas.”
Improving Life for Women and Girls in Sierra Leone by Christiana A. Thorpe, a former Minister of Education in Sierra Leone states that four of the country’s six million population live in the rural areas with no access to electricity.
Smart villages in Sierra Leone: How did they start? of the essay tells of the government’s removal of financial and technical barriers while distributing solar home systems in rural areas.
Thorpe states that the solar network was helping to change the lives of women and girls in the areas of attitudes, health, education, environment, savings on energy costs, opportunities for income generation and employment.
Also, the essay states the role that Barefoot Women Solar Engineers Association of Sierra Leone (BWSEASL) is playing in “getting solar technology to all the country’s remote and inaccessible villages.
It finally gives reasons at Is the approach sustainable? why BWSEASL approach is. Residents are willing to pay for the technology; trained women are now entrepreneurs and now have a Solar System Home Management Committee (SSHMC) as a network.
AWay of life: Energy Provision in Africa by Murefa Barasa, Managing Partner at EED Advisory Limited, Kenya states that charcoal is the most important but least understood energy source of the African continent. He also adds that “the lack of accurate data on charcoal trends remains a key challenge in managing the threat of unsustainable charcoal production.”
The essay views charcoal, which is a preferred energy source for cooking and heating in East Africa as having a complex value chain. While listing the chain to include brokers, transporters, wholesalers, retailers and recipients of unofficial payments, Barasa states that the reason for the charcoal market is because it out-competes briquettes, kerosene, LPG and electricity, which are its alternatives.
In his summary, he says that “the urban charcoal market is essential for East Africa because it remains a central part of household energy.”
A Better Future for the Bottom Billion by Prof. Deepak Nayyar, an Emeritus Professor of Economics is the last of the essays in Smart Villages: New Thinking for Off-grid Communities Worldwide. It poses the five W questions: “Who are the poorest people in the world?”; “Where do they live?”; “Why are they poor?”; “What are the attempted solutions?”; “Why does the problem persist?”; “Is a better future possible (When)?”
Nayyar gives a Demographic view of the poor concentration in three regions of the developing word of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and East Asia as well as in the Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Absolute deprivation, he talks about energy and income poverty as keeping the people in absolute deprivation. “Economic exclusion denies people the social opportunities and political participation that might otherwise help them to improve their lives.”
However, in spite of attempted solutions, which include rural electrification and other programmes, the author posits that “widespread poverty persists despite such programmes” and suggests that “Orthodox thinking among economists, increasingly accepted by policy practitioners and political leaders in governments, stresses the importance of economic growth as the only solution to the problem of poverty.”
This essay sees persistent problem of abject countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa in spite of economic growth of the regions. “This poverty persisted essentially because rapid economic growth was associated with a rise in economic inequality, and little if any of the increments in income accrued to the poorest…energy poverty reinforced the problem.”
Nayyar sees a better future creation of employment, social protection and human development are central in determining economic growth; he sees employment and livelihoods as “critical as the institutional mechanism that mediates between growth in aggregate income for the economy and growth in private income for individuals or households.”
Initial conditions such as creation of physical infrastructure in rural areas; grid and off-grid, with other non-conventional sources of energy; investment in rural roads, transport and communications; irrigation and storage facilities to boost agricultural income; etc by government, must me met,” says Nayyar.
On the whole, Smart Villages: New Thinking for Off-grid Communities Worldwide gives up-to-date accounts of the promotion of energy access in remote areas of the world. It “explores how energy access for the poor can perform catalytic role” in general development.
The insights portrayed therein “will inform leaders, policy-makers and communicators, as well as encourage a wider debate internationally.”
It is a most-read book for governments whose immediate priority is to improve living standards of their people in the rural areas.
Dikko Abdullahi, comptroller general, bows out of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in style as he performed his last official function by inaugurating a three-storey state-of-the-art hospital facility on Tuesday. It is one of the lasting legacies he left behind in Customs where he worked for 27 years.
From Left: Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai; Commissioner for Health, Kaduna State, Prof. Andrew Noc; and Comptroller-General of Customs, Dikko Inde Abudullahi, during the commissioning of Customs Hospital Karu, Abuja on Tuesday. Photo credit: Bayoor Ewuoso
Abdullahi bowed out of service after six years in the saddle as comptroller general of NCS, leaving a legacy for the people of Karu, a densely populated, but largely underdeveloped part of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
As a fitting climax to his 27-year career at the Customs, he unveiled a three-story imposing hospital build by the NCS to improve the welfare of its staff and Nigerians living around the area on Tuesday, August 18.
Nanman Nandap, medical director of the NCS hospital, Karu, described the hospital as a comprehensive medical facility equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and a well-trained staff. He listed some of the features of the hospital as modern radio-diagnostic and ultrasound equipment; three modular theatres and an intensive care unit with a central gas supply system. It also has executive wards and a mortuary.
Nasir El-Rufai, Kaduna State governor, lauded the management skill of Abdullahi, especially his commitment to the welfare of staff. He expressed mixed feelings on his retirement and described him as “a fine public servant.”
The out-going Custom’s boss described the new edifice as a consolidation of his welfare programme through the delivery of quality health care services to officers and their families.
“This complex will not only cater for the need of Customs officers and their families. The entire Karu community will benefit from its services and reach. From the level of sophistication of our equipment and the quality of our personnel, this facility will also serve as a reference hospital for the entire FCT community,” Abdullahi said.
It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had accepted Abdullahi’s voluntary resignation as comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service with effect from Tuesday, August 18.
The nation’s Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies on Tuesday, August 18, 2015 converged on Abuja for daylong meeting to review the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and adopt a Draft National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
L-R: Bello Mahmud, Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Corporation; Sam Saba, Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau; Ekpo Nta, Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); Ibrahim Lamorde, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC); Emeka Eze, Director General, Bureau of Public Procurement; and, Joe Abah, Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR)
Millions of people and billions of dollars depend on healthy oceans, but human actions create complex interactions that endanger oceans
Katie Auth
The combination of overfishing and climate change may be putting the oceans’ health – and our own wellbeing – at risk. As State of the World 2015 contributing author Katie Auth explains, protecting lives and livelihoods will require urgent and concerted action to improve the oceans’ condition.
“Our sense of the oceans’ power and omnipotence – combined with scientific ignorance – contributed to an assumption that nothing we did could ever possibly impact it,” writes Auth. “Over the years, scientists and environmental leaders have worked tirelessly to demonstrate and communicate the fallacy of such arrogance.”
Three billion people worldwide depend on fish as their main source of animal protein, essential micronutrients, and fatty acids. The livelihoods of millions of people in both developing and high-income countries rely on the multi-billion-dollar fisheries industry – a sector that accounted for 1.5 million jobs and more than $45 billion of income in the United States alone in 2010.
“As our negative impact on the oceans has grown, so has our understanding of the myriad ways in which the health of the marine environment determines our own,” writes Auth. “The combined stresses of human activities like overfishing and climate change now pose distinct and intensified threats to marine systems.”
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported that the global share of marine stocks considered to be fished “within biologically sustainable levels” fell from 90 percent to 71 percent between 1974 and 2011. Of that 71 percent, a large majority (86 percent) of stocks are already fished to capacity. Rapid human population growth and rising incomes are increasing the demand for food fish and pushing wild fish populations to the brink.
Climate-related changes in the marine ecosystem are also affecting the oceans. Over the last 40 years, the upper 75 meters of the world’s oceans have warmed by an average of more than 0.1 degrees Celsius per year. Temperate species are responding to this change and other stressors, such as pollution and fishing pressures, by moving toward the poles, possibly increasing competition with polar animals.
Further, increased carbon in the atmosphere is triggering ocean acidification. About a quarter of human-caused carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has been absorbed into seawater. This changes the chemistry of the water and makes it more difficult for some marine organisms (such as oysters and corals) to form shells and skeletons. Once these populations are affected, entire food webs are threatened.
“Marine ecosystems and individual organisms that already are weakened by overfishing become less resilient and more vulnerable to disruption, especially because environmental change is occurring so rapidly,” writes Auth.
Yet Auth believes that there is still hope. “Conservation efforts aimed at improving system resiliency have proven effective in addressing the nexus between fishing and climate change,” she writes. Changes in fishing policies, equipment, and techniques that result in less damage to ocean-bottom habitats and that reduce bycatch also would diminish fishing stresses. Finally, revamping the global energy system away from fossil fuels would curtail the rise in ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide levels.
Worldwatch’s State of the World 2015 investigates hidden threats to sustainability, including economic, political, and environmental challenges that are often underreported in the media. State of the World 2015 highlights the need to develop resilience to looming shocks.
Islamic leaders from 20 countries on Tuesday in Istanbul, Turkey launched a bold Climate Change Declarationto engage the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims on the issue of our time.
Participants at the International Islamic Climate Change Symposium in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo credit: Islamic Relief
Adopted by the 60 participants at the International Islamic Climate Change Symposium (Istanbul, 17-18 August), the Declaration urges governments to deliver a strong, new international climate agreement in Paris this December that signals the end of the road for polluting fossil fuels by creating architecture that will give us a chance of limiting global warming above pre-industrial levels to 2, or preferably 1.5, degrees Celsius.
The Declaration presents the moral case, based on Islamic teachings, for Muslims and people of all faiths worldwide to take urgent climate action. It was drafted by a large, diverse team of international Islamic scholars from around the world following a lengthy consultation period prior to the Symposium. It has already been endorsed by more than 60 participants and organisations including the Grand Muftis of Uganda and Lebanon. The Declaration is in harmony with the Papal Encyclical and has won the support of the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace of the Holy See.
The Declaration calls for a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and a switch to 100% renewable energy as well as increased support for vulnerable communities already suffering from climate impacts. It can be seen as part of the groundswell of people from all walks of life calling for governments to scale up the transition away from fossil fuels. Wealthy and oil-producing nations are urged to phase out all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. All people, leaders and businesses are invited to commit to 100% renewable energy in order to tackle climate change, reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development.
Amongst keynote speakers at the Symposium were three senior UN officials – from the UN Environment Programme, the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Secretary-General’s climate change team. Presentations were also made by scientists, NGO leaders and academics. Also attending were religious leaders from many other faith traditions.
That the Symposium was held in Istanbul is significant – just two weeks before the Paris Summit, for the first time in history, the G20 summit will be organised by the presidency of Turkey, a country with a majority Muslim population. Leaders from the world’s largest 20 economies will gather in an attempt to reach agreement on how international financial stability can be achieved. The economic implications of climate change and the huge amounts of subsidies given by G20 countries to the polluting fossil fuel industry will also be on the agenda.
Expectedly, the development has attracted a barrage of reactions from all over the globe, as eminent persons welcome the declaration.
Din Syamsuddin, Chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema: “On behalf of the Indonesian Council of Ulema and 210 million Muslims we welcome this Declaration and we are committed to to implementing all recommendations. The climate crisis needs to be tackled through collaborative efforts, so let’s work together for a better world for our children, and our children’s children.”
Dr Saleemul Huq, Director of Institute of Environmental Studies: “I am proud to be associated with the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change released in Istanbul today. As a Muslim I try to follow the moral teachings of Islam to preserve the environment and help the victims of climate change. I urge all Muslims around the world to play their role in tackling the global problem of climate change.”
Fazlun Khalid, Founder, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences: “The basis of the declaration is the work of world renowned islamic environmentalists, it is a trigger for further action and we would be very happy if people adopted and improved upon the ideas that are articulated in this document.”
His Eminence Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Vatican City: “It is with great joy and in a spirit of solidarity that I express to you the promise of the Catholic Church to pray for the success of your initiative and her desire to work with you in the future to care for our common home and thus to glorify the God who created us.”
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC: “A clean energy, sustainable future for everyone ultimately rests on a fundamental shift in the understanding of how we value the environment and each other. Islam’s teachings, which emphasise the duty of humans as stewards of the Earth and the teacher’s role as an appointed guide to correct behavior, provide guidance to take the right action on climate change.”
Wael Hmaidan, International Director of Climate Action Network: “Civil society is delighted by this powerful Climate Declaration coming from the Islamic community, which could be a game changer, as it challenges all world leaders, and especially oil producing nations, to phase out their carbon emissions and supports the just transition to 100% renewable energy as a necessity to tackle climate change, reduce poverty and deliver sustainable development around the world.”
Lies Craeynest, Food and Climate Justice lead at Oxfam International: “Today’s declaration is an unprecedented call by Muslim leaders to end the destruction of Earth’s resources. It follows the recent encyclical issued by Pope Francis – the head of the Catholic Church – which warned of the need to prevent catastrophic climate change and stem growing inequality.
“Muslim leaders single out wealthy nations and oil producing states to lead on a fossil fuel phase out and provide support to those less well off to curb emissions and adapt to a changing climate. They also call on big business to stop their relentless pursuit of growth, change their extractive models and provide greater benefits for people and the climate.
“As leaders of the two largest global faiths express grave concern about our fragile climate, there is no justifiable way political leaders meeting in September and December can put the interests of the fossil fuel industry above of the needs of people, particularly the poorest, and of our planet.”
The Declaration:
3.1 We call upon the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Kyoto Protocol taking place in Paris this December, 2015 to bring their discussions to an equitable and binding conclusion, bearing in mind –
The scientific consensus on climate change, which is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate systems;
The need to set clear targets and monitoring systems;
The dire consequences to planet earth if we do not do so;
The enormous responsibility the COP shoulders on behalf of the rest of humanity, including leading the rest of us to a new way of relating to God’s Earth.
3.2 We particularly call on the well-off nations and oil-producing states to –
Lead the way in phasing out their greenhouse gas emissions as early as possible and no later than the middle of the century;
Provide generous financial and technical support to the less well-off to achieve a phase-out of greenhouse gases as early as possible;
Recognise the moral obligation to reduce consumption so that the poor may benefit from what is left of the earth’s non-renewable resources;
Stay within the ‘2 degree’ limit, or, preferably, within the ‘1.5 degree’ limit, bearing in mind that two-thirds of the earth’s proven fossil fuel reserves remain in the ground;
Re-focus their concerns from unethical profit from the environment, to that of preserving it and elevating the condition of the world’s poor.
Invest in the creation of a green economy.
3.3 We call on the people of all nations and their leaders to –
Aim to phase out greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible in order to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere;
Commit themselves to 100 % renewable energy and/or a zero emissions strategy as early as possible, to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities;
Invest in decentralised renewable energy, which is the best way to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development;
Realise that to chase after unlimited economic growth in a planet that is finite and already overloaded is not viable. Growth must be pursued wisely and in moderation; placing a priority on increasing the resilience of all, and especially the most vulnerable, to the climate change impacts already underway and expected to continue for many years to come.
Set in motion a fresh model of wellbeing, based on an alternative to the current financial model which depletes resources, degrades the environment, and deepens inequality.
Prioritise adaptation efforts with appropriate support to the vulnerable countries with the least capacity to adapt. And to vulnerable groups, including indigenous peoples, women and children.
3.4 We call upon corporations, finance, and the business sector to –
Shoulder the consequences of their profit-making activities, and take a visibly more active role in reducing their carbon footprint and other forms of impact upon the natural environment;
In order to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities, commit themselves to 100 % renewable energy and/or a zero emissions strategy as early as possible and shift investments into renewable energy;
Change from the current business model which is based on an unsustainable escalating economy, and to adopt a circular economy that is wholly sustainable;
Pay more heed to social and ecological responsibilities, particularly to the extent that they extract and utilize scarce resources;
Assist in the divestment from the fossil fuel driven economy and the scaling up of renewable energy and other ecological alternatives.
3.5 We call on all groups to join us in collaboration, co-operation and friendly competition in this endeavour and we welcome the significant contributions taken by other faiths, as we can all be winners in this race
If we each offer the best of our respective traditions, we may yet see a way through our difficulties.
3.6 Finally, we call on all Muslims wherever they may be –
Heads of state
Political leaders
Business community
UNFCCC delegates
Religious leaders and scholars
Mosque congregations
Islamic endowments (awqaf)
Educators and educational institutions
Community leaders
Civil society activists
Non-governmental organisations
Communications and media
To tackle habits, mindsets, and the root causes of climate change, environmental degradation and the loss of biodiversity in their particular spheres of influence, following the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him),and bring about a resolution to the challenges that now face us.
A specialist in internal medicine, Dr. Yiliji Kumtap, has said renal diseases and failures, prominent in hypertensive and diabetic patients, can be curtailed if effectively managed.
Normal kidney versus diseased kidney. Photo credit: medicinestonybookmedicie.edu
Kumtap told the News Agency of Nigeria in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Monday that most patients suffering from hypertension and diabetes could develop renal disease and eventually renal failure in not controlled.
He identified two types of renal failures as acute and chronic, saying that acute renal failure usually occurred suddenly.
He said: “It is the sudden loss of the kidney function, which occurs within days or weeks.
“On its part, chronic renal failure is in stages; it starts from a decrease in the glomerular filtration rate.
“As the kidney function declines, waste products can build up in the blood, causing a condition known as uremia.”
Kumtap added that the symptoms included fatigue, fluid retention, swelling, changes in urine colour and sleeping disorder while kidney pain could be felt in the back.
He advised that patients with high blood pressure and are diabetic should stick to their doctor’s advice.
He said: “Patients who are hypertensive and diabetic should ensure that they go for regular medical checkups, do regular exercises and control their diets.
“They should also take their routine drugs as and when prescribed.”
Kumtap also advised such persons to take lot of water as that could control and prevent kidney diseases such as kidney stones.
Kumtap advised the public to inculcate regular medical checkups to enable experts to diagnose any kidney issue at an early stage when it could be treated or effectively managed.
The Government of Nigeria and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have announced they have reached more than a million Nigerian children with a highly successful and cost-effective treatment for acutely malnourished children, saving over 200,000 lives in the past six years.
A malnourished child. Photo credit: ghp.usa.org
Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition was piloted in Gombe and Kebbi States in 2009 and has now been introduced in 11 northern Nigerian states where malnutrition poses the greatest threat.
CMAM treats acutely malnourished children from six months to five years old on an out-patient basis.
More than 830,000 children have been cured in the programme with the cure rate rising steadily – currently standing at 85 per cent.
Of the remaining children, about two per cent do not respond to treatment and are referred to hospitals.
The current mortality rate is just one per cent, while the other children have defaulted from the programme.
“We must scale-up CMAM in Nigeria. It is a proven high-impact intervention that is saving lives and helping Nigerian children reach their full potential through a good start in life,” noted UNICEF Nigeria Representative Jean Gough. “We need greater investment in Nigeria’s future by investment in good nutrition,” Gough added.
There are approximately 1.7 million severely acutely malnourished children under five in Nigeria – accounting for a tenth of the global total.
Nearly 1,000 Nigerian children die of malnutrition-related causes every day – a total of 361,000 each year.
Acute malnutrition also leads to stunting of children, causing life-long physical limitations and can reduce intellectual capacity.
“The Government of Nigeria is committed to reaching more children with CMAM,” said Linus Awute, Permanent Secretary of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health. “We cannot accept that Nigerian children continue to die of malnutrition and that our potential future leaders should be diminished by its effects.”
CMAM is carried out during weekly appointments over approximately eight weeks at primary health care centres.
It includes education of parents and caregivers on nutrition, the importance of continuing breast-feeding and the role of hand-washing and hygiene.
The nutrition status of the children is assessed during the CMAM sessions and children are given a health screening; if necessary, they are also treated for other illnesses.
Children are given highly nutritious Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food during the sessions and mothers and caregivers are provided with supplies of RUTF to feed the child at home.
The cost for CMAM is just $160 for each child treated, including US$76 for the RUTF.
The remaining US$84 covers all other costs, including staff time and training, transport and storage of supplies, and basic medicines.
UNICEF and the Government of Nigeria are scaling up the CMAM response and UNICEF is advocating for increased investment in CMAM from both the Government of Nigeria and external donors.
Over the years since its introduction in 2009, financial support for the programme has been provided by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, DFID, ECHO, the European Union, USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and JICA.
The drilling programme confirmed extensions of mineralisation in the West pit area and has delineated the higher grade zones at Beta and Gamma
Neil Woodyer, CEO of Endeavour Mining Corporation
The firm of Endeavour Mining Corporation in a recent report on its drilling results from several areas at Agbaou Gold Mine located in Côte d’Ivoire has confirmed extensions of mineralisation in the West pit area and has delineated the higher grade zones at Beta and Gamma.
Neil Woodyer, CEO, stated: “The majority of this new mineralisation at Agbaou is oxides and the next phase of our 2015 programme will focus on ensuring that these zones are brought into reserves at the end of this year and also continue testing strike extents. Intersecting high grade mineralisation including 16.47 g/t over 8.3 metres at Beta and 12.15 g/t over 9.4 metres at Gamma confirms the exciting potential we have to continue to extend mine life at Agbaou.”
Of the 220 holes totalling 22,004 metres completed in this programme, 78% intersected mineralisation. The results demonstrate continuity of grades and widths and have confirmed the interpretation of the Omega and Sigma mineralised zones as extensions of the mineralisation along the same structures that host the West pit mineralisation. Oxidation extends to between 40 and 60 metres depth throughout much of the area.
The Beta and Gamma zones were previously identified in a 2014 exploration programme. The Beta zone (previously referred to as the P2 target) extends southwest of the North pit and drilling highlights include 8.3 metres at 16.47 g/t gold (including 2.1 metres at 42.43 g/t gold), 13.1 metres at 3.95 g/t gold (including 3.6 metres at 10.63 g/t gold), 26.7 metres at 3.68 g/t gold (including 5.3 metres at 10.9 g/t gold) and 16.9 metres at 2.40 g/t gold (including 2.7 metres at 8.49 g/t gold).
The Gamma zone (previously referred to as the P4 target) is a result of follow up drilling of widely spaced holes completed in 2014 on a sub-parallel mineralised trend. The Gamma zone is approximately 600 metres long, moderately to steeply dipping southeast. Intersections include 9.4 metres at 12.15 g/t gold (including 4.3 metres at 20.03 g/t gold) and 11.9 meters at 3.18 g/t gold (including 0.9 meters at 12.14 g/t gold). The mineralisation is still open to the southwest and the strike extent will be further tested during the next phase of drilling.
Drilling results in the Sigma zone included 10.2 metres at 3.52 g/t gold (including 0.9 metres at 15.71 g/t gold) and the best intersection at the Omega zone was 13.3 metres at 2.83 g/t gold (including 1.7 metres at 8.29 g/t gold).
The drill programme included 198 RC holes for 19,750 meters and 22 diamond drill holes for 2,254 meters. This additional data will be incorporated into year-end mineral resource and reserve estimates.
A follow-up drill programme has commenced and includes a total of 21,800 meters of RC and diamond drill holes. The programme includes infill drilling, further exploration of the Gamma and Sigma zones as well as testing geophysical targets southwest of Sigma and also in the Agbaou South area. Agbaou South is 3 km southwest of the South Pit and is on a separate north east-trending geophysical anomaly and strong geochemical anomaly.
All sample preparations and standard 50-gram gold fire assays were performed by Bureau Veritas Laboratories, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Endeavour consistently employs a rigorous quality control and assurance programme comprising regular insertion of certified reference standards, blanks and duplicates.
