Non-governmental organisation (NGO) observers called out the juxtaposition between growing real world momentum for a 100% renewable energy world and the slow pace of the UN climate negotiations which came to a close in Bonn, Germany on Thursday, June 11, 2015.
Jaco du Toit, climate change officer, WWF. Photo credit: www.wwf.org.za
In the negotiations toward a new global climate agreement due to be signed in Paris this December, countries will agree that the the co-chairs in charge will produce a new draft for senior politicians to review. This will allow them to tackle crunch issues over the coming months before talks resume in August. The co-chairs will also set forward initial ideas about how a Paris package covering finance, mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage should be structured. And after difficult negotiations, all countries have come forward with proposals to achieve more ambitious and immediate emissions cuts over the next five years – another key element of the Paris package. A work programme on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation also closed, providing guidance to those working in the field.
Officials of member organisations of the Climate Action Network (CAN) International have been commenting on the development.
Jaco du Toit, climate change officer, WWF: “The reality is that we need much faster progress on the post-2020 negotiations, that we need to ramp up what we are doing already, that we cannot ignore that impacts are already hitting people everywhere, and that the solutions, from falling renewable energy prices to low carbon transport are out there, waiting to be scaled up.”
Mohamed Adow, senior climate change advisor, Christian Aid:“The text which will make up the Paris agreement is like a lens we’re all looking through to a safe and secure world. At the moment it’s a bit grubby and hard to see through. The co-chairs of the negotiations on the Paris agreement need to go away and give it a good clean so that leaders can see what needs to be done.”
Jake Schmidt, director of international programme, Natural Resources Defense Council: “All around the world, we are witnessing a groundswell of climate action – from companies, governments and financial institutions. Now there is a clear path for our leaders to make the necessary, bold decisions in the coming months that will ensure historic international action on climate change.”
Martin Kaiser, head of international climate politics, Greenpeace:“The Luddites of climate action in the coal and oil industry should take note of the signals coming from G7 and progressive business leaders. The negotiators in Bonn should take note too, and make more rapid progress in the upcoming formal and informal meetings. The Paris climate protocol should accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels, building in new commitments from major emitting countries every five years, so that we can achieve the vision of 100% renewable energy by 2050.”
Alden Meyer, director of policy and strategy, Union of Concerned Scientists: “From floods and droughts to hurricanes, typhoons and heat waves, the impacts of climate change are increasingly evident all over the world. The world expects an agreement in Paris that accelerates the shift away from a global economy based on polluting fossil fuels towards one based on clean renewable energy sources, and that helps vulnerable communities deal with climate impacts. Ministers and national leaders must actively engage with each other over the summer to provide the political guidance that will enable their negotiators to pick up the pace when they return to Bonn in late August.”
Jan Kowalzig, climate change policy adviser, Oxfam:“Negotiators avoided a show-down over crunch issues like finance and increasing near term emissions cuts, but they are only delaying the inevitable. A clearer mandate from Heads of State and ministers is needed to ignite the talks and ensure key questions are answered. Upcoming events like the Financing for Development meeting in Addis, the UN General Assembly in New York or the G20 in Turkey offer the perfect opportunity for high level political signals to be sent. Political leaders need to give a clear steer on how to address the inadequacy of current emissions reductions pledges, but also on the urgent financial support needed for the most vulnerable countries and populations.”
Niranjali M. Amerasinghe, director, climate & energy programme, Center for International Environmental Law:“The conclusion of the work program on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation provides a little more clarity on safeguards reporting and the importance of promoting the multiple benefits that forests provide, but it is minimal. Now all eyes are on finance and implementation, and we will have to be vigilant in tracking whether safeguards are actually respected on the ground.”
Environmental activists have underlined the need for a strong national institution that will provide leadership, coordination and create access to information to fully respond to the immediate and future challenges posed by climate change. In this regard, they called for the passage and implementation of the National Climate Change Commission/Agency which stagnated in the seventh National Assembly waiting for Presidential signature.
Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo, Executive Director, ERA/F0EN (third from left), flanked by other resource persons at the meeting
At a recent forum in Abuja on 5th June 2015 to commemorate the World Environment Day (WED) courtesy of the Environmental Rights Action (ERA)/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (FoEN), participants clamoured a shift from fossil fuel-based energy sources to cleaner energy options such as solar and mini-dams. According to them, the provision of reliable, clean, affordable energy access is required to create economic opportunities especially in the rural areas where there is need to grow Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Similarly, at forum on “Environmental Sustainability Agenda for National Development”, the activists called for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which, according to them, will guarantee the unbundling of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and transparency and accountability in the oil sector. They recommended metering at the point of extraction of the country’s oil to check oil theft and shore up oil revenues.
The gathering likewise recommended the immediate implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland, adding that oil companies should be required to contribute an initial amount of $100 billion to address the issues raised in the UNEP report, in particular, restoration of the degraded environment.
Participants also underscored the need for a National Basic Income Scheme (NaBIS) to cater for the unemployed and aged that suffer social exclusion and livelihood losses from environmental degradation. A social security scheme initiative of N10,000 monthly, they reasoned, would unlock creative potentials and create social cohesion while building citizen’s morale.
Participants at the daylong event were drawn from community campaigners from across Nigeria, civil society groups, lawyers, labour unions, the academia, and the media among others, who brainstormed on the state of the Nigerian environment with a view to charting the way forward.
The gathering served as a platform for ERA/FoEN to present a roadmap to the Muhammadu Buhari government in form of a memo on how to tackle the myriad of environmental challenges and social exclusion of majority of Nigerians as part of the administrations “change” agenda.
In the course of the meeting participants made the following observations:
Even with Nigeria’s much-touted commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the country is yet to set up a National Climate Change Commission and unveil any credible roadmap to tackle climate change phenomenon.
Environmental degradation continues to expand from northern Nigeria where desertification is ravaging 11 states, to the east that suffers from gulley erosion, and the south and west that suffer deforestation and unmitigated oil pollution respectively.
Nigeria still relies heavily on oil and gas resources to the detriment of renewable sources of energy
The extractive industry, particularly those operating in the Niger Delta, have institutionalised disdain for the environment due to their imperious influence on the Nigerian government.
Nigerians still do not know exactly how much oil is extracted vis-à-vis volumes sold from the export terminals. Oil extraction and export is still fraught with theft as the oil companies continue to challenge metering at the point of extraction and at the export terminals
Four years after its release, the Federal Government is yet to instigate or demonstrate the political will to implement the recommendations of the UNEP report on Ogoniland
Social exclusion in the Nigerian polity continues to grow, creating discontent and a recourse to militancy and terrorism in various parts of the country.
The Lome Declaration of Oilwatch Africa on Climate Justice and Food Sovereignty in Africa
Members of Oilwatch Africa network met in Lome, Togo, on 9 June 2015 and robustly considered the implications of the world’s stubborn dependence on fossil fuels on climate, food sovereignty, nutrition and well-being in Africa.
Oil spewing from busted Shell equipment in Nigeria. Photo credit: greengrants.org
Participants at the conference shared experiences on impacts of extractive activities on their communities and countries. The conference particularly examined the environmental and socio-economic impacts of oil, gas and coal extraction. The impacts on food production, water pollution and deforestation were discussed as well as the growing trend of land grabbing on the continent.
Oilwatch Africa frowns at the trend where corporate interests and international groupings, such as the G7 and the like, aimed at polluting our biodiversity, grabbing our lands, water and seeds, are being promoted under the banners of Africana being hungry and now being malnourished, stunted and going blind, as unacceptable ploys to destroy our agriculture, subvert our economies, recolonise the continent and subjugate our peoples.
The conference noted that the current level of consumption of fossil fuels is in denial of the demand not to burn 80% of known fossil fuel reserves without raising global temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels and triggering catastrophic climate change.
The conference noted that fossil fuel dependence fuels corruption, engenders conflicts and distorts the value base of our communities.
Oilwatch Africa members regretted that the false dreams that African countries can build their economies on the extractivist path has unfortunately been bought by our governments. Furthermore, with the rise of new fossil fuel reserves being found and extracted across the continent, there is no respect for pristine areas of high cultural and world heritage value.
The conference noted the serious impact on agriculture by the pollution of our lands, salinization of fresh waters and the destruction of fisheries as inimical to our economy and overall wellbeing.
The meeting also noted that this trap is an extension of the colonial route that saw Africa merely as a source of raw materials and strapped colonial and neo-colonial governments on the treadmill of cash cropping and mineral extraction for export.
With a resolve that urgent actions must be taken to save the African continent from being wholly degraded, grabbed and burnt, Oilwatch Africa declares and demands as follows:
1. Global distortions brought about by excessive consumption of fossil fuels and the externalisation of costs to parts of the world that consume less energy and fossil fuels lock in unacceptable injustices and must be urgently and openly addressed.
2. The world must wake up to the fact that at least 80% of known reserves of fossil fuels must be left unburned and this should be the core of climate negotiations if the Planet is not to be burnt on the altar of profiteers who do not care about future generations and other species on the planet.
3. Africa is one of the most exposed regions of the world to climate change impacts, with temperature rise at least 50% above global averages. Global action to tackle this cannot be based on voluntary independently nationally determined contributions (INDCs) being pursued at the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
4. African governments must reject false solutions to global warming including those pushed though REDD+, geoengineering and other strategies that are threatening to elevate the currently intolerable levels of land grabbing to that of a whole continent grab.
5. Floods, droughts and expanding desertification on the continent are all fed by the world’s continual addiction to fossil fuels.
6. Obnoxious activities such as pollution and gas flaring which alarmingly continue in the oil fields of Nigeria, Angola, Algeria and elsewhere must be stopped and energy needs be met with abundant renewable alternatives. In particular, Oilwatch calls on the new government in Nigeria to implement the almost four years old UNEP Report on Ogoni environment and give the people a chance to enjoy a healthy environment.
7. Oilwatch Africa declares that with uncontaminated lands and adequate support for local agricultural production Africa can feed Africans and levels of nutrition can be maintained without resort to commercially and politically driven genetic engineering of our staple crops for enhanced vitamin levels. We insist that nutrition cannot be manufactured in laboratories.
8. We demand access to land and security of land tenure for women
9. Oilwatch Africa calls for stoppage of fossil exploration and other expansion activities on the continent, demands an audit of already accumulated impacts and full restitution for harm suffered.
10. Oilwatch Africa resolved to support the fight for justice by communities impacted by mining and other extractive activities in Togo and elsewhere in Africa.
11. In line with the United Nation’s declaration of 2015 as the Year of the Soil, Oilwatch Africa reminds all that the soil supports life and culture and that extractive activities are inimical to keeping our soils healthy and alive and reiterate our call to leave fossil fuels underground and work to build a better life above the ground. Leaving fossils underground has been a clarion call of Oilwatch for decades and has recently been confirmed by neoliberal institutions such as the World Bank ands the International Energy Agency.
Oilwatch members and communities at the conference declared that Africans must stand together in the global struggle for food sovereignty, stand with the movements that say Yes to Life and No to destructive Mining and pledged to remain active in the movement for climate and food justice all aimed at building a well-being economy inspired by the African spirit of solidarity economy and Ubuntu.
Finally, Oilwatch Africa called to memory the many martyrs of environmental justice struggles in Africa and around the world. Calling to mind that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Ogoni leader and activist and Africa’s foremost environmental justice campaigner, Oilwatch Africa resolved that their struggles will not be in vain.
Signed by: Host Community Network members from Ghana, Nigeria and Togo; Civil Society and Oilwatch Africa members from Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Togo and Uganda
Almost 80 per cent of citizens across the globe are very concerned about the impacts of climate change, but close to 70 per cent also see action to combat it as an opportunity to improve their quality of life.
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
These are among the findings of the largest ever citizen consultation on climate change carried out by the more than 100 partners of the World Wide Views Alliance in the run up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris 7 (COP 21), taking place this December.
The debate and citizen consultation, conducted on a single day in 75 countries starting in Fiji in the Pacific and ending in Arizona in the United States, involved 10,000 people carefully selected for being demographically representative of their countries. Well over 90 per cent said the new universal agreement to be inked in Paris should have a long term goal of zero emissions at the end of the century.
* 67 per cent say this should be legally binding for all countries with 17 per cent saying it should be only a legal requirement for developed and hemerging nations. Ten per cent said the long term goal should be voluntary.
The debate among citizens also found strong support for action by their owcountry even if others do not act. * Asked “should your country take measures to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions?” 79 per cent said yes, even if many other countries do not take measures.
Education and Protecting Tropical Forests Cited as Big Wins for Cutting Carbon Pollution * Questioned as to which instruments they thought most relevant to reducing the level of greenhouse gas emissions, 77 per cent chose education” programmes on climate for a broader public. * Action to protect tropical forests was the second most popular action for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The debate and citizen consultation, which took place on 6 June, was a collaborative endeavor involving the secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Missions Publiques, the French National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) and the Danish Board of Technology Foundation.
Participants were provided with information about climate change and the different views under negotiation for COP 21 before the event began.
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, said: “We were delighted to co-initiate this debate and citizen consultation and bring the voice of the ordinary woman and man into the climate negotiations.”
“Many cities, companies and NGOs are voicing their support for a transformational agreement in Paris. The view of citizens is also crystal clear – they see the threats and they see the opportunities: the vast majority want action now, and they want action that is sustained over the long term to bend the emissions down to zero by the end of the century along with support for developing countries for their efforts,” she said.
* Asked if high-income countries should pay more than the already agreed $100 billion annually by 2020 for mitigation and adaptation in low-income countries, 78 per cent said yes.
Among the many other findings are: * There is no difference between the so called North and South. Climate change impacts are a source of threat and concern for the large majority of people consulted both in developed and developing countries.
* Another big issue in the negotiations is that of differentiated responsibilities of each country. Citizens were asked: What would be the best basis for setting the ambition of national climate contributions?
* 21 per cent said historical emissions; 39 per cent said current or anticipated emissions and 32 per cent said current or future economic capabilities.
* The vast majority of citizens said the private sector has an important role in contributing to climate action, with 85 per cent agreeing, 53 per cent saying the private sector must contribute half or more and 32 per cent saying it has to contribute, but in a small part.
The project is coordinated by the Danish Board of Technology Foundation, in collaboration with Missions Publiques and the French National Commission for Public Debate. It is co-initiated by the UNFCCC secretariat and implemented by partners in the World Wide Views Alliance, with support from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development and the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy as COP 21 host.
The theme of this year’s celebration for World Environment Day is: “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume With Care.” The following anecdote may suffice to better explain the meaning of the theme.
Surveyor Efik
The theme can be said to depict seven billion “Golden Hens” inhabiting one enclosed Basket. This is the only Basket that gives them life and should not be broken or damaged so that the Hens are not destroyed or go into extinction. No other Basket can make them survive or give them life.
The Basket is yet fragile but very fertile to enable the golden hens undergo a natural process of fending for their food, livelihoods and sustenance. They grow and advance in their skills of developing industrial and mechanised means for their movement, housing, security, trade, culture and education amongst themselves.
Their uncontrolled mechanised activities thus brought about the exploitation and rape of the inherent natural resources within the Basket, including cutting down of trees for energy and development purposes. This indeed polarised the air that guarantees their survival in the Basket and further lead to environmental pollution. As a result, the Basket becomes stuffy and the temperature no longer remains moderate but gives way to heat waves in the Basket. The weather and climatic condition are impaired and the rainfall pattern that is usually experienced in moderate proportion in the Basket changed drastically, leading to excessive but destructive floods in some parts of the Basket and severe droughts in other parts. The scenario posed great threat to the survival of the Golden Hens and the Basket as disasters of diverse magnitude now rock the Golden Hens, with attendant genocidal crises for survival.
Upon confirmation of the reality of the threat to their survival and the survival of the basket, the various species of the Golden Hens realised the need to indulge in Care for the Basket and care for the ecosystem and the resources therein and even care for their activities, actions and decisions so as to remedy the situation and keep the temperature at 2oC or below. In the light of this, care for mitigating the activities that polarised the air and care for adapting to the precarious situation in the Basket should consume the focus of the Golden Hens, isn’t it?
In a nutshell, the theme is simply saying that the dreams of Seven Billion Human Populace on Planet Earth should be underlined with actions of care for the environment. Actions of care for the survival of the one and only life-sustaining Planet, and actions of care for the survival of the seven billion and fast-increasing human population on Earth, as well as actions of care for sustainable development.
Please as you all mark the greatest day of Global Unity, Global Commitment, Global Action and Global Care for our environment and our common planet, epitomised by the World Environment Day (WED), always do remember to plant a tree to save our planet and plant two where one is cut down. As human needs oxygen to survive, so our planet Earth needs the trees to survive the suffocation caused by excessive greenhouse gas emissions (otherwise known as carbon emissions), which our human activities have contributed to. Think how fragile the Hen and the Basket are, and Think of us in the same light.
By Surveyor Efik (National Coordinator, Climate Change Network Nigeria)
Before the former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, left office after the completion of his two-term tenure on March 28, 2015, it was reported in the dailies that he signed (into law?) model city plans for Ikoyi/Victoria Island, Agege/IfakoIjaiye and Apapa. For Lagosians, this is pleasant news and a good parting gift particularly for the residents of the three districts who are the direct beneficiaries of the plans. Kudos must be given to the former governor for the brilliant initiative. Likewise, the former Commissioner for Physical Planning, Tpl. Toyin Ayinde, and the retinue of indigenous town planning consultants and sundry stakeholders directly involved in the planning process before the plans were concretised into plan documents, ready for implementation by all concerned-government, town planning officials, community based organisations and the residents of Ikoyi/Victoria Island, Agege/IfakoIjaiye and Apapa.
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State. Photo credit: ecomium.org
While the former governor would not be in office to oversee the implementation of the plans in phases, it is incumbent on his successor, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, to take charge and ensure smooth implementation of these plans, on the belief that government is a continuum. A lot of state resources must have gone into the preparation of the plans in terms of financial and human and, by extension, the extent of time it took to format the array of information (data, statistics, divergent opinions, etc) into a readable document. If the painstaking task is considered and the amount of money the state government paid for the services of the consultants who prepared the plans, it would be justified to prevail on Governor Ambode to take the plans seriously and accord same high priority among other populist programmes he promised to do for Lagos State during his tenure. However, methinks it is going to be an uphill task for Ambode, since he is not going to be in every nook and cranny of the three districts covered by the plans. Administratively, the governor would rely heavily on the report of his Commissioner for Physical Planning and District Planning Officers who would be responsible for enforcement, monitoring and evaluation of the effects of the plans on the three districts. This preface brings readers to the central focus of this piece: matters arising and suggestions to Governor Ambode about the strategies to facilitate smooth implementation of model city plans whether on-going or on the drawing board.
A plan is as good as dead or worthless if its provisions are not complied with and respected, not inclusive/people-centred, not periodically reviewed by the superintendent ministry and amended as may be necessary. If Governor Ambode is to record any appreciable level of success concerning the implementation of the various model city plans for different districts/areas within Lagos Mega City, it would do a lot of good for him to take to heart the admonitions contained in this piece, more so when it is from coming a stakeholder resident whose vocation is town planning and advocacy.
Let us start with history. Lagos State had a Master Plan for Metropolitan Lagos (1980-2000) and Lagos State Regional Plan (1980-2000) all in the effort to properly guide developments within the Lagos Metropolitan area and the regional plan was to serve as an overall guide for future physical developments, thus providing the foundation for all urban and local area plans. As good as the recommendations contained in these pioneer plans were, their implementation suffered serious setback. For example, the Master Plan for Metropolitan Lagos recommended the establishment of 28 activity centres, to serve the commercial needs and employment centres for the fast growing Metropolis while acting as spring board for rapid economic development. Throughout the 20-year life span of the Master Plan, no single activity centre was established, despite the necessity for such need. This was a great error on the part of the government because the adverse impact of the error could still be felt regarding the inadequacy of central places within the densely populated metropolis, which has now transformed into the second largest mega city in Africa.
The Lagos State Regional Plan (1980-2000) did not fare better. There was absolute disregard for the land use element of the plan in particular. Wetlands and Conservation areas designated in the plan to protect agricultural farmland, natural habitat for flora and fauna; and to check-mate urban sprawl were flagrantly encroached upon. The Alapere Conservation area is a classic example where urban sprawl has overrun the wetland and altered the entire ecology of the area. Houses are being built on flood plain and storm water catchment areas with reckless abandon.
Proper monitoring was not done to ensure compliance with the provisions of the plans, while the periodic review expected to be carried at five years interval was never done. Albeit feeble attempts were made in 2005 and 2007, it was too late. It was a case of medicine after death because colossal damages had been done.
In the two examples cited here, the government lacked the political will to implement the provisions of the plans, which negates the value of the plans. While the colossal damages were being done, the state government could not hold any culprit responsible, more so the plans were never backed by any force of law. It is in the light of this experience that cautious optimism rather than euphoria should greet the news of the three model city plans signed by erstwhile Governor Babatunde Fashola before he left office in May this year. However, Governor Abode could avoid a repeat of the mistake of the past if he could be proactive and do the needful.
The model city plans must be backed by force of law, which would make the plan document the legally approved development plans for the three districts. All stakeholders including the government, sundry developers and the citizenry must comply with the provisions of the plans. All development approvals must conform to the development regulations/standards specified in the plans, while arbitrary change of land use must be discouraged. But where it is necessary, justified and inevitable, such proposal must be brought to a public hearing for a collective decision, not a decision made at the whims and caprices or fancy of a powerful individual or government officials. Punitive measure must be taken against any individual or corporate entity that violates this provision of the law.
The law must declare the plan document as the “people’s plan” subject to the protection of each district’s residents, who would be empowered to monitor and report to designated authority any development activities not in conformity to the plan’s guidelines. This is to immediately check-mate any illegal development at the nick of time before it is full blown. The eyes of the government cannot be everywhere. Therefore, the government should allow the formation of a “Citizen Brigade” in each district for in-situ oversight functions in the coverage area for effective implementation of the plan. The citizenry should be allowed the right to challenge any noticeable the wrong-doing, while the state government should create a window where aggrieved residents can petition for fair hearing.
The provision of new public infrastructure is essential. And as recommended in the model city plans, the state government should have the “political will” to provide the infrastructure in phases, realizing the fact that the financial requirement for wholesale capital improvement projects might be too costly for the budget of the state government. In the alternative, the state government might want to enlist the involvement of the private sector under its well-established Public Private Partnership (PPP) for such development as shopping malls, traditional markets, tourism, multi-level parking, health farms, golf course, commercial offices, hotels and bus transport services, which are areas where the private sector has financial capacity and entrepreneurship to succeed. The government should just provide the enabling policy, incentive and conducive environment for the private sector businesses to thrive, which in turn will create more sources for revenue generation. The lack of political will to implement many of the physical planning and socio-economic recommendations in the previous plans, contributed to some of the problems the Lagos Mega City has and is still contending with over the last 35 years- traffic congestion, housing shortage, urban sprawl, flooding, shortage of public parks and vehicle parking facilities, environmental pollution and urban decay.
Effective monitoring, transparency and accountability are pivotal to successful implementation of any plan, model city plan inclusive. Governor Ambode must not mince words in this important aspect. The governor must put the Commissioner for Physical Planning on his toes by ensuring that the latter holds brief with his principal on a regular basis concerning the implementation of the model city plans. In turn, the Commissioner must be briefed by his management team about the activities of the District Planning Officers who are directly in the field and are better-placed to enforce compliance with the development plan’s regulations. These are the officers who should demonstrate high level of transparency and shun the temptation to do things that are inimical to the good intensions of the plans because of lucre and unwholesome enticement. Planners are trained to improve the lot of the areas where they operate and must not be caught doing bad things that could atrophied the communities.
Governor Ambode must hold government town planning officials responsible and accountable for any lapses arising from the implementation of the model city plans under their watch. Erring officials must be sanctioned for proven professional misconduct to serve as deterrent to others who might be nursing the wicked thought to kill the spirit and the lofty ideals of the model city plans, for an all-embracing urban renewal effort by the Lagos State Government.
By Yacoob Abiodun(Urban Planning Advocate and former Secretary, Federal Housing Policy Council, Abuja)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) last week approved a $90 million grant programme for a global partnership to promote investments in biodiversity conservation, preserve wildlife and encourage sustainable livelihoods in Africa and Asia.
Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson
The new Global Partnership on Wildlife Conservation and Crime Prevention for Sustainable Development builds on the urgent need to address wildlife poaching and illegal trade as a development issue that deprives countries of their natural assets. It aims to strengthen cooperation between development partners that will bring together biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods activities, and poverty reduction.
“The GEF is pleased to support the critical fight against illegal wildlife trade and poaching, and we are looking forward to work with country partners and other stakeholders to address this significant driver of biodiversity loss that has such negative impacts on protected area sustainability and human wellbeing in Africa and elsewhere,” said Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson.
“The recent wildlife poaching crisis in Africa has undermined its financial, social and economic capital while threatening the development of tourism and fueling political instability,” said Makhtar Diop, Vice-President of the Africa Region, World Bank. “We hope that this partnership will preserve wildlife and increase the resilience of communities whose livelihoods depend on these natural resources.
Participating countries include Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Congo Republic, Gabon, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, India, and Indonesia. The GEF agencies contributing to the partnership include the Asian Development Bank, International Union for Conservation of Nature, United Nations Development Program, United Nations Environment Program, the World Bank and World Wildlife Fund. In addition to the GEF grant funds, the partnership will leverage US$513 million in co-financing from other sources including, IBRD and IDA. The World Bank, as lead agency of the new programme, will coordinate the partnership and ensure a cross-fertilization of the lessons learned across projects and countries.
“UNDP is fully committed to work with our partner countries in addressing the illegal wildlife trade which is pushing endangered species toward extinction, fueling corruption and conflict, destroying lives and deepening poverty and inequality. We believe that addressing the current crisis involves three key strategies: generating sustainable livelihoods for communities, strengthening law enforcement, and reducing the demand for illegally traded wildlife, strategies which are employed by the recently approved program,” said Adriana Dinu, Executive Coordinator, Environmental Finance, UNDP.
The country projects will focus on designing and implementing national strategies to improve wildlife and protected areas management, enhance community livelihood benefits, reduce poaching, and eliminate illegal wildlife trade. The activities will use an approach that create stronger incentives for local communities to engage in protecting wildlife and for public-private partnerships to invest in sustainable local development.
“Industrial scale poaching is violently upending pathways out of poverty for thousands of rural families across Africa,” said Paula Caballero, Senior Director, Environment & Natural Resources Global Practice, World Bank. “This program will build on national efforts to stop the slaughter and will once more make a country’s wildlife wealth available to support pro-poor decision-making.”
“This program aims to raise the scale of what the GEF can do to stop the bleeding across Africa and lay the foundation for wildlife to become a positive force for economic development across the continent,” said Gustavo Fonseca, Director of Programs in the GEF.
Illegal wildlife trade is a multifaceted global threat that is gaining increased international attention. The problem is particularly acute in Africa, where species such as the African elephant, white and black rhinos, and several other species are being poached to the brink of extinction. In 2014, over 25,000 elephants were slaughtered for their ivory. Presently, the global wildlife market is estimated at $8 billion – $10 billion annually, with wildlife crime becoming more international and better connected to organised crime and insurgency.
Crime affecting natural resources and the environment inflict damage on developing countries worth more than US$70 billion a year. This means that when natural resources and wildlife are extracted illegally, private and public income is effectively lost. This World Bank-led partnership will support international efforts to stop the environmental and social crises generated by the poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking between Africa and Asia.
“Vulnerability to environmental crimes, and the underlying demand driving the related trade, is often deepened by overarching problems of governance, corruption, and weaknesses in accountability at the national level,” said Leonard McCarthy, WBG Vice-President for Integrity. “This cancer of corruption can only be excised through hard-nosed prosecution, transparency and partnership”.
The London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in 2014 and the follow-up Kasane Conference in 2015 resulted in a declaration signed by 46 countries to stop the illegal wildlife trade around the world. The World Bank will build upon these milestones to ensure a successful implementation of this partnership.
Healthy communities rely on well-functioning ecosystems. They provide clean air, fresh water, medicines and food security. They also limit disease and stabilise the climate. But biodiversity loss is happening at unprecedented rates, impacting human health worldwide, according to a new state of knowledge review of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and World Health Organisation (WHO).
Dr Maria Neira. Photo credit: idf.org
The report, “Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health,” launched last week in Brussels at Green Week 2015, Europe’s biggest annual conference on environmental policy, focuses on the complex and multi-faceted connections between biodiversity and human health, and how the loss of biodiversity and corresponding ecosystem services may negatively influence health. One of the first integrative reviews of its kind, the report brings together knowledge from several scientific disciplines, including public health, conservation, agriculture, epidemiology and development.
“This state of knowledge review is a significant contribution to our understanding of the complex relationships between biodiversity and health,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the CBD. “Increasing our knowledge enables us to develop effective solutions capable of strengthening ecosystem resilience and mitigating the forces that impede their ability to deliver life-supporting services.”
All aspects of human well-being depend on ecosystem goods and services, which in turn depend on biodiversity. Biodiversity loss can destabilize ecosystems, promote outbreaks of infectious disease, and undermine development progress, nutrition, security and protection from natural disasters,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. “Protecting public health from these risks lies outside of the traditional roles of the Health sector. We are ready to work with other sectors to bring about change.”
Access to sufficient quantity, quality and diversity of foods, clean air, freshwater, medicines and healthcare are not only central to maintaining healthy populations, they are foundational pillars of sustainable development. Meeting these needs while facing the persistent challenges of biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, emerging disease pandemics and shifting disease burdens is not an insurmountable feat, but it does require concerted action, based on robust evidence and coordinated cross-sector solutions. This comprehensive report brings this knowledge to the forefront, demonstrating that biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and ill health often share common threats and pointing toward innovative, mutually-supportive and cross-sectoral solutions.
This contribution is especially timely as governments finalise agreement on the post-2015 development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and prepare to reach new global commitments to tackle climate change by the end of 2015.
Among the shared threats identified throughout the report, land-use change is identified as an important driver of biodiversity loss with concurrent implications for many of our most pressing public health challenges. For example, land use change through deforestation is a leading driver of disease emergence in humans and is believed to have contributed to the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
While the resulting development of our freshwater and terrestrial resources is also associated with some health benefits, these are unevenly distributed, often to the detriment of our most vulnerable populations and carry unintended consequences. For example, under unsustainable conditions, industrial agricultural practices in many parts of the world may also exacerbate biodiversity loss, pest and disease outbreaks, micronutrient deficiencies, antibiotic resistance and the impacts of climate change on the health. These outcomes are not inevitable. They can be averted through concerted global efforts, by connecting our vast scientific and local knowledge, and developing coherent, cross-sectoral policy priorities toward a healthier, more equitable, sustainable future.
Contributions from over 100 scientists and practitioners working in global public health and biodiversity conservation policy were included in the report, including experts from Bioversity International, COHAB Initiative, DIVERSITAS, EcoHealth Alliance, Harvard School of Public Health, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, IUCN, United Nations University, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
New analysis released at the G7 summit currently taking place in Germany confirms that major economies stand to gain massive benefits as the result of their latest climate action pledges, with laggards Japan and Canada bucking the trend due to their weak plans.
Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Photo credit: telegraph.co.uk
A new NewClimate Institute report shows that a Japanese plan in line with a pathway to 100% renewable energy by 2050 would give the country a healthy workforce thanks to cleaner air, new jobs in a booming renewables sector, and huge savings resulting from avoided fossil fuel imports – three things that Japan desperately needs in its current economic malaise.
But the Abe government’s draft offer – also known as an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) – towards the new global climate agreement due in Paris this December is so insufficient that it will see – by 2030 – Japan waste 67,000 potential jobs, forfeit USD25 billion annually, and fail to save 15,000 lives each year.
“We are calling on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to take this draft plan back to the drawing board and deliver a vision for the country that taps its renewable energy potential, creates decent jobs and saves the lives of Japanese people at risk from air pollution,” says Kimiko Hirata, CAN Japan coordinator.
“The people want more action, businesses want more action – it’s high time the government tries to regain the country’s lost climate leadership.”
Compared to the forecast impact of current policies, by 2030, Japan’s paltry offer will create zero additional jobs in the renewable energy sector, reduce the country’s fossil fuel import bill by only USD8 billion a year, and save just 1500 lives annually. That’s ten times less than the co-benefits resulting from the more ambitious action plan which civil society organizations are calling for.
As a result of its low ambition, Japan clearly loses out in comparison to its East Asian rival China. Thanks to a groundbreaking bilateral agreement with the US last year, Japan’s neighbor unveiled a plan that would – by 2030 – create around 500,000 decent new jobs and save around 100,000 lives from deadly air pollution every year.
The report shows that Japan’s G7 peers in Europe and America are – like China – set to secure more benefits from enhanced climate action, as they move faster in the ongoing transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies.
“The consideration of the multiple benefits of climate action can significantly influence the ambition level of national governments when formulating their national plans as it links directly to the needs of the people,” says NewClimate Institute’s Niklas Höhne, author of the study.
Japan’s fellow laggard at the table in Elmau, Canada, is also pitching a pathetic climate plan at the G7 this Monday. If the weak Canadian offer had been in line with a 100% renewables pathway by mid-century, it could have secured an enormous 600% increase in lives saved, and 60% more jobs in the renewables sector by 2030, compared to what is likely to happen under the proposed plan.
“Canada’s failure to take its climate protection responsibilities seriously will hurt Canadians in the long-run, as our economy remains over-reliant on dirty oil, as our air remains more polluted than it needs to be, and because sustainable jobs in the renewable energy sector were not created,” says Louise Comeau, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada.
2015 will be the first time all countries present national climate action commitments. Some of these plans will be stronger than others, but collectively they are a signal of intent to end the fossil fuel age, to embrace the dawning renewable energy era, and to build resilient communities free from poverty and inequality.
The climate action plans by the five major economies assessed in the new report – Japan, Canada, EU, US and China – will collectively save 115,000 lives a year, put USD41 billion back in the coffers annually, and create 1 million jobs in the renewable energy sector by 2030.
If all these governments had presented plans in line with 100% renewables by 2050, the additional benefits of their collective actions would add up to 1.2 million lives saved per year, more than 2 million jobs created, and USD514 billion saved.
My attention was drawn to the publication titled “How Planning Blunders Deface Lagos,” on Democracy Day May 29th, 2015. The article was written by an urban planner, Tpl. (or Town Planner) Yacoob Abiodun and published in EnviroNews Nigeria an internet-based news magazine on Town Planning and Environment related issues. The author, Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun, made wide allegations on town planners in Lagos State Public Service as well as Lagos State Government. I am reacting to the allegations made by the author on personal grounds as a proactive, upright, Registered Town Planner in Lagos State Public Service. This response is personal and not the position of the Lagos State Government.
Olatunji Badejo
I have decided to address the issues raised by the author on town planning related matters and not personal attacks on town planners in Lagos State Public Service. The issues raised by Tpl. Yaccob Abiodun are summarised to eight, and they are:
(i) Lagos State Government is the Chief Culprit breaking her Laws on Urban and Regional Planning and, by extension, the Urban Planners in Lagos State Public Service. He cited non-establishment of Urban and Regional Planning Appeal Tribunal as stated in the Law.
(ii) He also cited location of Lagos Ferry Service Terminal at space earmarked as play ground for the residents of Osborne Foreshore Estate Phase II Ikoyi, Lagos.
(iii) Underhand dealings with members of the public by town planners in Lagos State.
(iv) He equally alleged that Lagos State planners can approve anything under the sun based on bargaining power.
(v) Approval of filling station in a residential area at Admiralty Way, Lekki.
(vi) Approval of Shopping Mall at Jakande’s Roundabout in Lekki without adequate setbacks.
(vii) In Lagos State, the citizens never have “our plan” but Government plan public participation in planning is perfunctory.
(viii) Town planners in Lagos State are “arm-chair town planners”.
A critical digest of the report revealed that the author Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun did not proffer any workable solution to physical planning challenges confronting Lagos Mega City and Town Planners in Lagos State Public Service or to the hydra headed town planning blunders he identified in his report. Since Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun did not proffer any solution, I will take him as a very good critic who is demanding attention and relevance.
My reactions to Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun’s allegations are:
(i) That Lagos State violated her Law by not establishing Town Planning Appeal Tribunal. It is unfortunate that a Senior Registered Town Planner reacted negatively to an issue he has limited information on. Let me set the record straight. In 2009, a list of nominees for appointment as members of the Appeal’s Tribunal was presented to the former governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, for approval by your colleague and a good friend of yours, the then Honourable Commissioner for Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development in Lagos State. Within a week the Governor returned the file and requested to know why no female nominee was in the Seven-Man Appeal”s Tribunal. For reasons best known to the presenter, he never returned the file to the Governor. All spirited efforts made by town planners working in the Ministry to ensure that he represents the list or give reasons for non-inclusion of a female nominee in the composition of the Tribunal met a brick wall.
By 2010, a new Urban and Regional Planning Law was in place and, towards the end of the Fashola Administration, finishing touches were being put in place by the Ministry of Justice, on the Town Planning Regulations that will back the 2010 Law. Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun with his wealth of experience should know that the Town Planning Appeal’s Tribunal can only function with these two instruments in place. That is, the law and the regulation. Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun may throw more light to the reader, that if the Lagos State Town Planning Appeal’s Tribunal is in place today, which regulation will the Tribunal use? In view of these circumstances, where didthe State go wrong or where have the town planners in the State Public Service erred?
(ii) As regards Lagos Ferry Service Terminal located on parcel of land earmarked as playground for the residents of Osborne Foreshore Estate Phase II. The information given by Tpl Abiodun is not correct. The layout plan of Osborne Phase II was prepared in 2010 by the Federal Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development; Urban and Regional Development Department, Ikoyi Zonal Town Planning Office, Lagos. Signed by Tpl Olakunde A. D. for the Director URD, it revealed that the subject site zoned for mixed use and not playground. That is, the site can be used for a combination of residential and commercial or either of the uses. I am sure, Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun knows the Law governing Urban and Regional Planning in Nigeria. If this statement is in the affirmative, he should answer these questions. Was the Osborne Phase II Layout Plan approved in 2010? Who approved it and who should approve it by Law: the Federal or the State? Notwithstanding, the Scheme is owned by the Federal Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, not Lagos State Government. How can Lagos State embark on the construction of Lagos Ferry Service on Federal Land without strong resistance? For the project to be on course without strong resistance, I’m positive that the Federal, State and or the allottee of the parcel of land must have mutually agreed to use the parcel of Land as Lagos Ferry Terminal as against playground in overall public interest. I think it is unethical for a senior Urban Planner to give the whole world wrong information. To the best of my knowledge, the scheme was only prepared in 2010 but not approved by Lagos State. However, the scheme was official and publicly approved in May 27, 2015 along with the review of Ikoyi Victoria Island Model City Plan and the subject site captured.
(iii) Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun also alleged that there are underhand dealings with members of the public by town planners in Lagos State, but failed to mention any particular case or name those involved. This is a serious allegation which Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun must be prepared to explain before Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) Ethics and Disciplinary Committee. Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun equally alleged that Lagos State town planners can approve anything under the sun based on bargaining power. I and many other town planners take total exemption from this allegation and Tpl. Yaccob Abiodun must give an instance or name culprit(s).
(iv) The petrol filling station in a residential area at Admiralty Way in Lekki is another infringement cited by Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun. I expected Tpl. Yaccob Abiodun to list in his publication the conditions for citing filling station or where filling stations should be cited. Who are petrol filling stations are meant to serve? Until when he responds to these questions or he comes up with acceptable conditions for location of filling station before I will react. It is important to note that that Admiralty Way Lekki is covered by approved Lekki Scheme I Layout prepared by the New Towns Development Authority (NTDA) which designated the locations of two petrol filling Stations along Admiraty Way . These locations have been planned more than three decades ago as filling stations for over 3,500 residential plots in Lekki Scheme I. Tpl Abiodun may want to enlighten us on this. However, the review of the Scheme is on and Abiodun is free to come up and present superior reason(s) for the best locations of the filling stations. I will refresh the memory of Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun who has been living in Lagos for over 40 years and he knows Lagos in and out. I want him to state the land use of the following planned corridors in the 60s and 70s: Itire Road, Akerele and Western Avenue in Surulere, Herbert Macaulay and Muritala Mohammed Way in Ebute Metta/Yaba, Igbosere Street in Lagos Island, to mention a few. Tpl. Yaccob Abiodun should make it public when the existing and some relocated filling stations in these corridors have been in operation.
(v) Another infraction is the Shopping Mall at Jakande Roundabout in Lekki with inadequate setbacks. He further raised the traffic congestion the project will cause when it becomes operational. It is only a criminal planner that will approve such a landmark shopping mall without adequate setbacks or clearance on Traffic Impact Assessment. That, is the extra mile Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority adopts before granting of development permit. If these two conditions are met before approval of the shopping mall is granted, then the author is either biased or has chosen to mislead the readers.
(vi) Tpl. Yacoob Abiodun further alleged that in Lagos State the citizens never have “our plan” but Government plan with no public participation in planning. It is only a person who has been out of circulation can hold on to such position. In Lagos State there is no existing Local, Model City or Master Plan without at least two different public fora of the citizens’ and stakeholders participations. These are, consultations of the stakeholders at inception, data gathering, public presentation of the interim report and public presentation of draft final report. The recently signed Agege, Apapa,Lagos Central Mainland, Ikoyi Victoria Island Model City Plans and Badagry Master Plan are examples. These plans were signed in the public where they started.
(vii) Finally, Tpl. Yaccob Abiodun claimed that town planners in Lagos State are “arm chair” town planners. Yes, Tpl. Yaccob Abiodun is “right” because the last Administration in Lagos State makes them comfortable, in their offices, exposed them to best practices, monthly interactive session with the Chief Executive of the State, budgetary provision for physical planning and placed square men in square holes. These are the reasons why Lagos is regarded as the State of Excellence. The Akinwunmi Ambode Administration is also leaving no stone unturned on physical planning, by focusing on improving quality of living, ease of doing business and wealth creation in the state.
By Tpl. Badejo, Hakeem Olatunji (Director, Town Planning, Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority)
