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Government’s housing milestones, by minister

Michael Simire
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Government’s housing milestones, by minister

Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, in this interview addresses a range of issues related to her duty post, even as she lists achievements by government

 

Akon Eyakenyi, Minister of Lands, Housing & Urban Development. Photo credit: thisdaylive.com
Akon Eyakenyi, Minister of Lands, Housing & Urban Development. Photo credit: thisdaylive.com

What is the level of Federal Governments collaboration with the World Bank in the provision of affordable houses?

Yes we have a good cordial relationship with the World Bank through the Ministry of Finance. Last year, the Federal Government launched what we called Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), whose responsibility is to take charge of refinancing the mortgage institutions for the purpose of providing affordable housing to Nigerians. The NMRC, through the Ministry of Finance, was able to tap from the World Bank a certain amount of money for the purpose of establishing support in backing the NMRC Company. About $300 million was given by the World Bank to NMRC through the Ministry of Finance is to be repaid back over a period of 30 years at zero interest rate to help the re-inauguration of the mortgage institutions that we have in Nigeria to support the housing sector.

 

How affordable, and what makes these houses affordable?

When we say affordable, we are looking at the different cadre of the civil servants we have and target them, for a low income person that is on level 3 or 4 that earns may be N20,000 in a month over a period of time – what level of a home can such a person own through his or her own finance afford? So we are providing one-bedroom apartments, two-bedroom apartments, and three-bedroom apartments. We are also providing a studio apartment, one-bedroom portable that a bachelor can stay conveniently to do everything you want to do in that one room with toilet/bathroom closet and kitchen cabinet and where you will lay your head. We are looking at that different cadre to come and then we now fix prices to fit into the different cadre at a subsidised cost. Why I say subsidised is that government provides the land free of charge and government through the ministry will do the different types design, electrical, mechanical then bill of quantity and the cost of doing that is on government. Apart from that supervision which is the most important thing to ensure that the standard is maintained is also done by the professionals in the ministry free of charge, so that takes off cost of construction, and at the end of the day we will be left only with the cost of materials and maybe the labour for the construction. If it is a private developer that handled it highest is to top up with 50% per cent at least for the time and the resources he or she will bring to do the construction, so that helps using a way to put the cost of construction at a very low rate and that is we meant by affordable. Again the rate at which a private developer will build to sell is different from the rate government sells, because government incurs that cost of land, supervision and all.

 

Over the years there have been numerous cases of building collapse. What is your ministry doing to curb the menace?

The ministry is making very serious moves to curb that. When I came in there were many building collapse cases across the nation so we had to review the building code that was in existence, though was not implemented. Building code is the rule guiding the putting up of any structure. Some contractors, when they want to mould over a 100 blocks with just a bag of cement, which is unprofessional because it will not make the blocks to be strong and could lead to building collapse. When the mixture of sand outweighs the cement, the building may collapse after a short while. There are standards for laying foundation for different types of buildings and the amount of iron rods applied and mix of concretes are all part of the standard that must be adhered to.

However, we have been able to address the stakeholder to ensure that the building code ethics are strictly followed to curtail the collapse building that we have in Nigeria. The amount there is not to be determined at a go. 100,000 units is going to be put across the entire nation, for the Apo side we are doing a 20,000-unit estate, then we will go to another location using another developer and then to another state where we have land. The important things is what is the cost of construction per one building multiplied by the number of housing that will be built, which gives us the lump sum. Like the developer in Apo for the 20,000-unit scheme, we are looking at N300 million to put in there for the initial takeoff of the project, while the ones in Gwagwalada handled by Signature Homes from Dubai is going to put up about 4,000 housing units and the budget estimated is about $80 million for one develop, and we have various developers numbering about 10 that are going to be putting in 200 housing units; we also have other developers about to mobilise to site and we are processing their documentation, the signing of MOU before they are taken to site of about 200 hectares of land to ensure we give each developer depending on their financial strength and what each is interested in delivery because we will not give more than what they can handle or swallow at a time to ensure timely delivery.

 

What are the challenges so far?

The challenges I have faced border on sourcing for funding and getting corporate organisations and individuals to partner with government. I think basically that is major, because when you talk about building you need funding. Another major issue that I am facing has to do with land because, in the ministry, we don’t own land when we move to a state. Either we go pay to acquire a land for our project and government does not put in money in one direction as there are private issues that government is handling, we now go to the state governors because the Federal Government is bringing projects to their state; for them to partner the state governor, all we need is for them to acquire land as compensation and give us the certificate of occupancy (C-of-O) and a letter of exchange then we will now call in the developers to put up a structure for the benefit of the people of the state. However, some states have not responded and some have responded, and for those who have responded we are mobilising to start development.

 

What has your ministry achieved within the four years administration of President Jonathan?

I want to start by acknowledging the interest of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for the housing sector and his top agenda in providing housing for Nigerians and in four years we have been able to put up 61,000 affordable houses for Nigerian workers and other Nigerians inclusive. But on-going we have the 100,000 housing unit specifically for workers, the flag-off for the first 20,000 was done in Apo late last year by the president himself. We have also on-going 10,000 housing unit projects cross the nation but the first was specifically for workers. The project was commenced in Abuja at Gwagwalada by Signature company from Dubai. Apart from that there are private developers who also come up with housing development projects, we do the censors on the houses that government has encouraged private developers do and then the once done by government PPP partnership ministerial project scheme, and we have various housing schemes and I want to say that we have more than 61,000 housing units that has been provided in Nigeria since in caption of the present administration.

Human health benefits from protecting biodiversity, says report

Michael Simire
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Human health benefits from protecting biodiversity, says report

A report on biodiversity and health launched on Friday, February 13, 2015 at the 14th World Congress on Public Health, in Kolkata, India, shows the significant contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem services to better human health.

Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations
Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations

The report, titled: “Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health,” demonstrates that the relationship between biodiversity and human health is extensive and complex. It outlines the ways that the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity has positive impacts on human health, including through impacts on water and air quality, nutrition, non-communicable and infectious diseases, and medicines, among others.

Prepared by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), the report features contributions from numerous partners and over 100 experts, including Bioversity International, COHAB Initiative, EcoHealth Alliance, Harvard School of Public Health, United Nations University, Wildlife Conservation Society’s Health & Ecosystems: Analysis of Linkages and many others.

“We hope this joint report will increase awareness and understanding not only of the intrinsic value of biodiversity, but also as a critical foundation for sustainable development, and for human health and well-being,” said Dr. Maria Neira, WHO Director for Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. “In particular, it should serve as a useful reference for the definition of the sustainable development goals and the post-2015 development agenda, which represent a unique opportunity to promote integrated approaches to protect human and planetary health.”

Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, said: “Despite the clear role that biodiversity plays for human health, and thus for the Sustainable Development Goals, this linkage is not being made in policy forums. Hopefully this new report will help shed some light on this critical issue.”

The report provides specific examples of the relationship for a number of issue areas including: water, air quality and human health; biodiversity, food production and nutrition; microbial diversity and non-communicable disease; infectious diseases; medicines, including traditional medicine; physical, mental and cultural well-being; pharmaceuticals and biodiversity; climate change and disaster risk reduction; and sustainable consumption and production.

Highlights of the report include: Biodiversity, Food Production and Nutrition; Microbial Diversity and non-communicable diseases; and Infectious diseases.

The report concludes with recommendation for health and biodiversity strategies. It calls for the
creation of coherent cross-sectoral strategies that ensure that biodiversity and health linkages are widely recognised, valued, and reflected in national public health and biodiversity conservation policies.

They also need to be coordinated with programmes and plans of other relevant sectors. Their implementation could be a joint responsibility of ministries of health, environment and other relevant ministries responsible for environmental health programmes and national biodiversity strategies and action plans. In all cases, they should be developed and implemented with the involvement of local communities.

Given the interconnected nature of these challenges, there is a need for policy makers to coordinate their responses. The report suggests that the solution lies in uniting work in social and natural sciences through integrative and interdisciplinary approaches such as the ecosystem, ecohealth, and One Health approach, in order to develop cooperation and mutual understanding that can lead to the production of knowledge and recommendations that can be used by policy makers and practitioners

 

Taraba to institutionalise participatory forest management

Michael Simire
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Taraba to institutionalise participatory forest management

The Taraba State Government of Nigeria has been enjoined to institutionalise and build on the Participatory Forest Management approach to natural resources conservation initiated by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF).

Participants at the forum
Participants at the forum

As part of efforts to arrest the degradation of forest as a result of overexploitation of timber products, the NCF had in the past implemented the Participatory Forest Management Project where a Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum was formed to see to the community involvement in the management of forests in Taraba State.

Speaking at a recent stakeholders’ workshop on ‘Forest Conservation’ in Baissa, Kurmi LGA of Taraba State organised by the NCF with the support of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Technical Adviser of the NCF,  Mr. Ibrahim Inahoro, attributed the unsustainable management of forest resources in the state to ineffective forestry institutions in the state.

According to him, though government did set up a Forestry Task Force Committee, much has not been done to curb the rate of forest degradation in the state.

Director of Forestry in the state, Mr. Samuel Tetule, reiterated government’s commitment to supporting efforts being made towards the protection of forest and other natural resources in the state.

At the close of the forum, participants agreed to embark on an awareness campaign on the immediate and future benefits of forest conservation targeting the youth; underlined the need for a strong political will and commitment of the state and local government on forest conservation and Management; and ensure improved funding to the forestry sector by all tiers of governments through counterpart agreement.

Similarly, they appealed to government to enact and enforce bye laws on community forestry governance structure and ownership, train and provide financial mechanism for the development of alternative income generation ventures that will reduce dependence on forest while preparing roadmap and mechanism for forest communities and the state to benefit from the UNREDD+ Programme.

Oxfam, NCF build farmers’ climate adaptive capacity

Michael Simire
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Oxfam, NCF build farmers’ climate adaptive capacity

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Oxfam are making efforts to improve small scale farmer’s resilience to climate change food security.

Tourists at the Omo Forest Reserve. Photo credit: cometonigeria.com
Tourists at the Omo Forest Reserve. Photo credit: cometonigeria.com

Tagged: Farmers Field School (FFS), the initiative is aimed at preparing farmers to adapt to and cope with the negative effects of climate change.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the initiative in Omo J4 Forest Reserve, NCF’s Chief Conservation Officer, Adedamola Ogunsesan, said that though the menace of climate change and it numerous effects is a global issue, countries have begun to develop strategies to ameliorate its impact on human lives and agricultural production so as to tackle the issue of food insecurity.

According to him, Ogun State, like other states in Nigeria, is faced with low food harvest due to ineffective farming practices and inadequate knowledge to effectively manage the effects of climate change on food crop production.

“Hence, the need to equip farmers in rural communities with knowledge on how to tackle climate change-induced poor yield, poor soil fertility and low nutrient retaining ability, abnormal flow of rain fall and the spread of common and uncommon diseases,” said Ogunsesan.

He added: “Adaptation strategies are short and long-term changes to human activities that respond to the effects of changes in climate. In agriculture, adaptation will require cost-effective investments in water infrastructure, emergency preparation for and response to extreme weather events, development of resilient crop varieties that tolerate temperature and precipitation stresses, and new or improved land use and management practices”.

According to NCF’s Field Officer in Omo Forest Reserve, Clifford Omonu, the initiative requires grassroots experiments, regular field observations and group analysis. He emphasized tsat the knowledge gained from these activities enables participants to make their own locally specific decisions about crop practices and management as it affects them.

“This approach represents a shift from earlier agricultural programmes; in which farmers were compel to adopt generalised recommendations for a better outcome.

“The purpose of this initiative is to establish a regular FFS in nine communities in Omo Forest as well as to train and build farmers capacities for climate change adaptation while reducing human pressure on forest resources in Omo forest. We will train some farmers in these nine selected communities of Area J4, Aberu, Mile 1 village, Osoko, Olooji, Aba kurudu, Abeku 1, Eleyele London and Abeku Temidere,” Omonu said.

African ministers accelerate efforts to build weather resilience

Michael Simire
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African ministers accelerate efforts to build weather resilience

Ministers responsible for meteorology in Africa are meeting to coordinate and accelerate regional efforts to strengthen resilience to weather hazards and adapt to climate change.

Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture. Photo credit: Water Journalists Africa
Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture. Photo credit: Water Journalists Africa

The Third Session of the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) is being hosted by the government of Cape Verde from 10th to14th February.

It focuses on improving weather and climate services which are vital to food security, water management, disaster risk reduction and health, as well as key economic sectors like transport, energy and tourism, among others.

“Every African country should be involved in the collective effort towards the transformative socio-economic development of the continent to build The Africa We Want envisaged in the African Union Agenda 2063,” says African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Rhoda Peace Tumusiime.

“National Meteorological and Hydrological Services are critical actors in supporting sustainable development. There is today increased awareness of the socioeconomic benefits delivered by weather and climate services,” says World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.

The ministers are discussing the Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology (Weather and Climate Services), one of its aims is to increase recognition and funding for NMHSs. They will approve a new regional climate centre for Central Africa to consolidate research and forecasting capabilities. They will also consider input from the meteorological community to a pan-African Space Policy and Strategy.

“Knowledge, research and innovation are all vital to the competitiveness of the African economy and to allow us to meet weather, water and energy challenges,” says Dr. Antero Veiga, Minister for Environment, Housing and Territorial Planning.

“The recent devastating flooding in many parts of Africa, particularly Southern Africa, has highlighted once again how weather-related hazards undermine and disrupt social, political and economic development,” says Saviour Kasukuwere, Minister of Environment, Water and Climate of Zimbabwe and the outgoing Chair of AMCOMET. “There is no doubt that the vagaries of weather and climate will play a critical role in shaping Africa’s development agenda. This requires a collective approach, unity of purpose based upon the shared vision on climate proofing of our beloved continent, genuine partnerships and commitment.”

Courtesy: Water Journalists Africa

Food security: Groups take up climate justice campaign

Michael Simire
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Food security: Groups take up climate justice campaign

Oxfam Nigeria, with the Human and Environment Development Agenda (HEDA), has launched the food and climate justice campaign with the aim of changing public attitude towards agriculture and building a movement to increase food sufficiency for local consumption and export.

A maize farmer at work. Photo credit: osundefender.org
A maize farmer at work. Photo credit: osundefender.org

An official of the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF), Mrs. Funmi Tsewinor, said the increasing global impact of climate change affects weather pattern thereby resulting in delayed rain, with adverse effect on the farming calendar.

“Most farming activities in Nigeria are rain-fed due to lack of proper irrigation and thus causing shifting cultivation. The small scale farmer bears the burden of farming with little or no assistance. It is time for concrete steps aimed at meeting the Maputo Declaration which states that 10% of annual national budget should be allocated for agriculture. This will help to reduce the statistics in Nigeria, which states that one in eight persons go to bed hungry,” she stated.

Tsewinor noted that women are key players in the food chain from farming to harvesting and processing but suffer the most injustice in accessing land for agriculture.

“The face of poverty is a woman,” she added.

Small scale farmers from different parts of Lagos involved in fish and rice farming, poultry and piggery production and vegetable cultivation, amongst others, lamented the incessant land eviction by thugs known as Omo-oni ile and also political farmers.

A rice farmer in Badagry, Mr. Segun Atho, explained that people that are not into any farming activity pose as farmers, thereby benefitting from government assistance to real farmers.

According to him, this group of people who are termed “political farmers” are sometimes backed by politicians who inform their people to register co-operatives which they use in accessing funds and agricultural inputs.

Atho urged government to verify the status of farmers before disbursing funds and agricultural input so that the real farmers will benefit from government support.

Another farmer, Mr. Lawal Sulaiman, explained that when he was evicted from his farmland in Ibeju-Lekki which he had cultivated for eight years, he relocated to Ijebu-ode in Ogun State.

“This has affected our cost of operations. We need government to protect lands meant for agriculture so as not to be converted to commercial lands for property development. Farmers in Lagos are increasingly been evicted by area boys and Omo-onile,” he lamented.

Director of Rural Agriculture from the Lagos state Ministry of Rural Development, Mr. Habeeb Giwa, however lamented the dearth of youth participation in agriculture in the state.

“The state government has farm settlements in the outskirts of Epe and other areas but most youths don’t want to leave the city centre to take up agriculture. This is so sad. Youth unemployment can be reduced if our youths join the movement to participate in agriculture. The farmers we have are growing old and need the younger generation to take over from them.”

The winner of the Female Food Hero Award South-west Zone, Mrs. Chinasa Asonye, called for more government support in the area of irrigation to boost agriculture and all-year-round farming.

She said: “With proper irrigation farmers will have increased yield. Also more youths need to engage in the agriculture because they are the ones that will take it to the next level.

“I am young and a proud farmer. I also want more women and youth participation in Agriculture.”

Executive Secretary of HEDA, Mr. Sulaiman Arigbabu, said programmes like the launch of the food and climate justice campaign provide a platform for engagement between farmers and government agencies.

This, he noted, would enable farmers make their challenges known and solicit for more support.

 By Tina Armstrong-Ogbonna

The road to Paris 2015

Michael Simire
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The road to Paris 2015

The year of our Lord 2015 is an important year in addressing global development. For example, in September in New York, the Millennium Development Goals will give room to a new set of 17 development initiatives to be known as Sustainable Development Goals. In December 2015, COP21 will agree a new global climate deal. The agreement will aim to strengthening collective action on climate change through mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change consistent with no more than a two degree Celsius global average temperature rise since before the industrial revolution.

Prince Lekan Fadina
Prince Lekan Fadina

It is important to stress that the December deal will be applied from 2020 and will replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The agreement is expected to have more countries as signatories, help to redefine the political and institutional arrangements governing international co-operation on climate change in the next decades, underline the importance of science and highlight the need for humanity responsibility in addressing the menace of climate change.

The COP 20 held in Lima last December progressed and in spite of the fact that it extended for two days it was able to lay a basis for the talk in Paris. In Lima, Parties were cautious not to overcommit ahead of the negotiations in 2015. It is clear that the coming months will be very challenging and interesting. There are indications that there are high stakes in the forthcoming round as well as provision of information that will go into the negotiation text.

The UNFCCC Secretariat has requested Parties to submit their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). The information will be useful as inputs into the Negotiation Text and basis for the agreement in December.

The Preparatory Meetings have started and other activities from governments, business, civil societies, academia and others have also commenced. The African Group of Negotiators started its preparatory meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on 6th February with a review of COP 20 activities and prepare a road map for the year.

This piece is the beginning of a series on the road to Paris. It is hoped that the subsequent write-ups will touch on the state of play on some of the elements that could potentially form a part of the new climate agreement, suggest implications for a wider stakeholder group such as policy makers, government officials, legal issues, investors, as well as trade and sustainable development practitioners.

By Prince Lekan Fadina (Executive Director, Centre for Investment, Sustainable Development, Management and Environment (CISME). He is a member of the Nigeria and Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN) and member, AGN Finance Negotiation Group)

Demand sound UN goals, Nigeria urged

Michael Simire
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Demand sound UN goals, Nigeria urged

The action/2015 movement has urged the Nigerian government to use its weight to demand action on poverty, inequality and climate change at crucial negotiations next week in New York (17-20 February 2015).

President Goodluck Jonathan at the UN. Photo credit: csdevnet.org
President Goodluck Jonathan at the UN. Photo credit: csdevnet.org

The negotiations in New York will set the overall vision of the next set of sustainable development goals – key agreements that will set global goals for the next generation. These negotiations are the crucial moment for governments to set the ambition of the agreements and action/2015 is urging a clear focus on poverty, inequality and climate change.

Amid growing worries that tackling inequality could be side-lined in the final document, the Nigerian Government is being asked to push hard for a strong commitment that every goal and target is only considered met when all groups in society have met it. In previous agreements despite impressive progress, too many groups have been left behind with progress coming slowest for the poorest and most marginalised groups.

According to Atayi Babs, National Network Coordinator of Climate and Sustainable Development (CSDevNet) who doubles as the Team Lead for action2015 in Nigeria, “next week the Nigerian Government will have an opportunity to defend the rights of the poorest and most marginalised and shape one of the most important agreements of our time.”

“In January, the launch of action/2015 showed that hundreds of thousands of people all around the world including Nigeria want to see their government deliver ambitious outcomes at the negotiations this year which put tackling poverty and inequalities at their heart. This week in New York, negotiators must show they are listening and demand that the goals and targets announced in September are only considered met when all groups in society have met them,” Atayi added.

At its core, the action/2015 movement believes that the new Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Paris climate negotiations in December are a once in a generation opportunity to secure equality for all and ensure that everyone is able to lead lives full of opportunity.

This principle was also backed by a group of 32 leading international figures including Bill Gates, Shakira and Leymah Gbowee, at the launch of action/2015 in January, who issued a letter to world leaders, including President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, warning them that unless they fully grasp the opportunity of this year that they could be ‘sleep-walking the world towards one of the greatest failures of recent history’.

The action/2015 movement is focused on securing ambitious outcomes at two crucial summits this year. The first is September’s Sustainable Development Goal Summit in New York that will result in new global goals – a framework to end all forms of poverty, discrimination, and inequalities. The second is the UN climate change summit in December, that will set new climate action targets – a crucial step towards a safer planet.

These commitments taken together should lay the foundation for addressing the world’s most pressing challenges.

These commitments taken together should lay the foundation for addressing the world’s most pressing challenges.

Lake Nyos tragedy revisited, 26 years after

Michael Simire
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0
Lake Nyos tragedy revisited, 26 years after

On August 26th, 1989, Cameroon’s remote village of Nyos witnessed a strange scientific occurrence in lake water history.

Lake Nyos after the disaster. Photo credit: Water Journalists Africa
Lake Nyos after the disaster. Photo credit: Water Journalists Africa

A volcanic mountain cracked and sunk into Lake Nyos, causing a volcanic eruption that left over 2,000 people and animals dead in one night, leaving West Africa with the worst natural disaster of all times.

The Five for National Geographic Channel reported that the tragedy was a complete mystery as victims both young and old collapsed dead besides the many unconscious survivors that badly needed medical attention. The dead were swollen with rashes and burns all over their bodies.

On that fateful day, as the residents were getting set for sleep, a heavy down pour weakened the already fragile rock walls over the lake, forcing it to give way, killing people who were 25KM away from Lake Nyos. A survivor recounted how they heard big rocks falling into the lake area.

Gilbert Kihmah, a survivor described the atmosphere before the disaster as a mixture of gun powder and rotten eggs. But as dawn approached, the smell had escaped into the atmosphere. Kihmah recalls that there was overwhelming shock and anxiety in the air.

As the news spread, the whole nation began counting its dead and Africa faced a difficult crisis in modern day Lake history. Survivors like Fr. Antony Bangsi were weak and unconscious with an urgent need for medical attention. “In our unconscious state, death was unavoidable,” Bangsi said.

As the village of Nyos witnessed the death of 600 people in addition to more 500 deaths in the villages of Soa Mbum, Fonfuka and Buabua , this lake that provided a lifeline to these communities had become their worst enemy.

 

Degassing Lake Nyos to mitigate the effects of future disasters. Photo credit: Water Journalists Africa
Degassing Lake Nyos to mitigate the effects of future disasters. Photo credit: Water Journalists Africa

Unanswered Questions

This disaster has since left many unanswered questions about what could have led to this tragedy.

Scientific researchers, lake experts and volcanologists reasoned that although crater lakes near the equator like Nyos do not have seasonal and temperature changes, lake water circulates releasing carbon dioxide to the atmosphere at a faster rate as the world temperatures change.

Prof Haraldur Sigurdsson, a volcanologist at the Rhodes Island University in South Africa, said that these volcanic lakes are too deep and are sheltered by high imposing rocks. Therefore, water at the bottom of the lake hardly mixes with water at its surface. “Any carbon dioxide that accumulates at the bottom is trapped there”.

He adds that any massive rock falls into the lake triggers the carbon dioxide saturated water beneath to overturn. This, according to him, was what happened on that day.

Prof George Kling, a lake expert at the University of Michigan in USA, confirmed Sigurdsson’s theory and concluded that a dead densely cloud of carbon dioxide had spread over the lake.

 

Controversy Still Prevails

Today, controversy still prevails between Scientists, Lake Experts and Volcanologists whether such carbon dioxide in the lake could have been able to cause such unbelievable death and destruction.

The Cameroonian government took advice and installed self-powered vent tubes to prevent another deadly buildup of carbon dioxide at the bottom of the lake. An automatic alarm system was also installed at the lake’s gateway to alert residents of any potential dangers.

 

Impending Danger

Recently volcano logical research has being blowing a new alarm on a looming disaster over the Lake Nyos.

In 2005, the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the United Nations Environment Program UNEP issued a joint report warning that the lake wall had seriously sagged and could crumble within a decade. The report recommended that the walls of the lake be solicited with concrete or some of the lake waters be released to ease the pressure on it.

An official with Cameroon’s Institute of Mining and Geological research which monitors the Lake has however refuted allegations of any dangers around this Lake. “But our government has the project under consideration, but it’s not a priority issue,” he said on conditions of anonymity because he lacked authority to speak for or behalf of the Cameroon government.

If the lake wall collapses again it could kill far more people than the incident of August 1986 according to the Five for National Geographic TV channel. Carbon dioxide might travel as far as 50km to the Cameroon boarders with Nigeria. “The dead toll could be much more devastating and alarming,” the channel reported.

Engineers think that it’s no longer the Questions as to whether the worse will happen by the question is when that will be.

By Aaron Kaah Yancho

Trade unions join transition to greener economy

Michael Simire
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0
Trade unions join transition to greener economy

Worldwatch Institute’s State of the World 2014 explores the employment challenges and opportunities of a transition to a sustainable economy

Jobs PRCan the need to protect the environment be reconciled with the desire to safeguard jobs? Labor markets will shift to fit the demands of a greener economy as resources shrink and the climate changes. But with 38 percent of workers worldwide employed in carbon-intensive sectors like fossil fuel extraction and industrial manufacturing, this transition will be challenging. In State of the World 2014, contributing authors Judith Gouverneur and Nina Netzer point to the central role of trade unions in building a “just transition” toward a greener economy.

Through the coming social and ecological transition, some jobs will be shifted or redefined to fit the new economy, such as moving from fossil fuels to renewables. Other jobs, however-such as those in the coal sector-will be lost or displaced to countries with laxer constraints on greenhouse gas emissions. A badly managed transition could have disastrous consequences on employment.

“In modern societies, work is at the centre of the relationship between nature and society…. Achieving sustainable ways of living is therefore inextricably linked to the way we decide to organize work in the future,” write Gouverneur and Netzer. “Parts of the trade union movement, as well as some individual unions, have accepted the reality that they need to become active participants in the transition toward sustainability.”

To address the transition challenge, some trade unions have proposed a “just transition,” a concept coined in the 1990s that strengthens the view that environmental and social policies can reinforce each other. Using this approach, unions promote the employment potential of a green economy through innovation and technology as well as through resource efficiency.

Yet trade unions remain reluctant to step in as the main driver of the green transformation. And they often neglect the need to shift lifestyles and businesses away from the excessive use of goods, resources, and energy.

“This is understandable insofar as the trade union movement, with its traditional goals of advancing worker interests, is deeply anchored within an economic system that bases wealth generation on continuous growth of production and consumption,” write Gouverneur and Netzer.

But there are potential solutions. Lars Henriksson, a Swedish autoworker and political activist, suggests that unions aim not to preserve unsustainable industries in the name of employment, but to engage workers in developing sustainable conversion strategies. In 2009, for example, union representatives united with environmentalists, researchers, and citizen’s groups to develop a sustainable transport plan in Europe after facing railroad privatization. Unions can also help to secure equitable redistribution of work by requiring continuing education and training, adapting existing social protection systems, and regulating staffing and wage agreements.

Trade unions have a central role in ensuring that the transition moves beyond a “jobs versus environment” debate and enables a shift to workers being drivers of change, rather than victims.

Worldwatch’s State of the World 2014 investigates the broad concept of “governance” for sustainability, including action by national governments, international organizations, and local communities.

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