Ahead of the crucial talks scheduled for Paris, France in December, current topics on climate change causes, consequences, management and adaptation will be tabled for discussion at an international training workshop scheduled to hold next month in Akure, Ondo State in Nigeria.
Director of WASCAL Centre, Prof Jerome Omotosho
Organised by the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science as well as theWest Africa Science Service Centre and Adaptive Land-use (WASCAL) Graduate Research Programme on the West African Climate System (GRP-WACS) of the Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Akure, the conference has “Climate Information for Adaptation and Policy Development” as its theme and will hold Monday 13th – Friday 18th September, 2015 at the institution’s WASCAL Centre.
The workshop, according to the organisers, targets staff of relevant policy making ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) like NIMET, NEMA, IITA, MoE, MoWR, MoA and NEC, relevant departments in higher institutions of learning, local government chairmen and House Committee on Environment.
The workshop will be facilitated by experts with more than two decades of experience in climate science activities with universities, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and other international organisations. The training will involve lectures, discussions and hands-on activities/exercises.
Main topics include:
Climate change: the science, causes and consequences
Climate change projection, variability and extremes
Climate change challenges, risks and opportunities
Politics and economics of climate change
Climate change mitigation
Climate change: adaptation, politics and governance
Climate change policy design and response
Director of WASCAL Centre, Prof Jerome Omotosho, said: “Climate change is a topical issue that has local, national and international dimensions. Climate change is certainly one of this century’s greatest destabilising forces which undermines our global economy, threatens our health and food security. The earth is currently affected by occurrence of record heat, drought, storms and fire.
“Climate change topics include sustainable agriculture and water resources, environment, energy, security, climate-related conflicts and the on-going climate negotiations and agreements. Taking reliable decisions in the face of consequences of climate change requires expert knowledge of what to do and a well-informed populace. This workshop will therefore deal with.
“At the end of the workshop, participants would acquire deep understanding of climate change and also the capability for incorporating climate change issues into decision-making and policy development and implementation.”
Rajendra Singh of India on Wednesday in Sweden received the Stockholm Water Prize for his innovative water restoration efforts, improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need. H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden presented the prize to Rajendra Singh at a Royal Award Ceremony during World Water Week in Stockholm.
Rajendra Singh (left) receives the award
In its citation, the Stockholm Water Prize Committee said: “Today’s water problems cannot be solved by science or technology alone. Rajendra Singh’s life work has been in building social capacity to solve local water problems through participatory action, empowerment of women, linking indigenous know-how with modern scientific and technical approaches.”
On receiving the Prize, Rajendra Singh said: “I want to thank all in this world who work for water. Today I make a promise to dedicate the rest of my life to water conservation.”
Mr Singh lives and works in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The results of his work are without equal: in close cooperation with local residents, he and his organisation have revived several rivers, brought water and life back to a thousand villages, and given hope to countless people.
“Rajendra Singh has – through water – given people capacity and courage and thereby control over their lives and hope for the future. He has shown that sustainable development – environmental, economic and social – is based on wise water management,” said Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
The methods used by Mr Singh are modernisations of ancient Indian ways of collecting and storing rainwater. The methods fell out of use during British colonial rule, but have now brought water back to India’s driest state.
On the significance of the prize, Rajendra Singh said: “I spent the last 31 years with a spade in my hand, down in the earth, but now, this prize give authority to my work.”
Born in 1959, Singh is a well-known water conservationist from Alwar district, Rajasthan in India. He is often referred to as the “Waterman of India”. In 2001, he won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership for his pioneering work in community-based efforts in water harvesting and water management.
He runs an NGO called Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS), which has helped villagers take charge of water management in their semi-arid area, through the use of johads, rainwater storage tanks, check dams and other time-tested techniques. Starting from a single village in 1985, TBS has helped build over 11,000 johads and other water conservation structures to collect rainwater, which has brought water back to over 1,000 villages and revived five rivers in Rajasthan. In 2008, The Guardian named him one of “50 people who could save the planet”.
The Lagos State Government has shut down 22 religious houses and three companies over noise pollution and environmental degradation.
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State. Photo credit: ecomium.org
This is coming barely four weeks after it shut about 40 churches and mosques statewide.
Rasheed Shabi, General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), explained that government took the decision after inspecting some of the facilities that violated the state’s environmental law in different parts of the state.
He disclosed that a popular strip club was shut down and that it would never be reopen again, explaining that all his directives “to control noise pollution in the last two years have never been complied with.
“Ogba, being a mixed residential and industrial area, should have a decibel not exceeding 55 at night. The noise coming from Shakara is more than 100 decibel. And anyone exposed to 115 decibel of noise for about six hours will automatically go deaf. That is the kind of risk Shakara poses to the area,” he said.
He added that, so far, 55 religious houses had been sanctioned in the last three weeks, thereby expressing concern that churches were fond of going back to their old ways after a brief period of compliance.
Shabi said that government would begin to sanction churches by making them pay fines ranging from N50,000 to N100,000 before they are reopened, explaining that the agency “has been working with the companies in the last two years, to ensure voluntary compliance in the treatment of waste water.”
He added: “It is based on water pollution that the three of them (industries) were shut because they are dealing with waste processes. Before you can discharge your effluent into the environment, you must have treated with Effluent Treatment Plant to a permissible standard that we have in the state.
“One of the companies we sealed off is a pharmaceutical company. I did a research on three pharmaceutical companies in this state in 2014. I found that their waste water contains heavy metals, which is very dangerous to the environment. By the time it is bio-accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals, it will bio-magnify into human beings and that is a source of cancer.”
He said Dura Products Industries Nigeria Limited on Sanni Olabode Street, in Abule Egba, owned by a retired Group Captain, was also shut.
On Ayilara Street, Surulere, two churches: The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), God Royal Sanctuary, Lagos Province 3, Zone 15, Area 48 and another on its opposite, Tower of Praise Ministries International Praise Centre, were shut over noise pollution.
Others shut are Jesus Our Lord Divine Catholic Prayer Ministry, on 11 Anuoluwapo Street, Ilasamaja, where prayer session was ongoing at about 11am. Except for the pastor, all the worshipers are pregnant women, nursing mothers and their children. The residents complained over noise pollution and lack of clarity on activities carried out at the centre.
In Ogba, Thomas Salako Street, a Strip Club/Hotel, popularly known as Shakara Bar, was closed in violation of noise pollution and illegal siting.
The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), in collaboration with the Cross River State Forestry Commission (CRSFC), has secured funding from the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF) to execute a project aimed at curbing carbon emission.
Adeniyi Karunwi, Director General of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF)
The NCF and CRSFC accessed recently $65,000 from the GCF’s Governors’ Climate & Forests Fund (GCF Fund) to actualise a project titled: “Strengthening of Forest Carbon Assessment and Monitoring System for Cross River State, Nigeria.”
The goal of the initiative, according to Adeniyi Karunwi, Director General of the NCF, is to improve Forest Carbon Enhancement (FCA) and other low carbon emission pathways and monitoring in Cross River State in compliant with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) decisions.
The GCF is a sub-national collaboration between 29 states and provinces from Brazil, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Spain and the United States. Over 25% of the world’s tropical forests are in GCF states and provinces, including more than 75% of Brazil’s and more than half of Indonesia’s.
The GCF Fund, a non-profit climate finance facility established by the GCF, began operations in 2013 through a generous grant from the United States Department of State.
The GCF seeks to advance jurisdictional programmes designed to promote low emissions rural development and reduced emissions from deforestation and land use (REDD+) and link these activities with emerging greenhouse gas (GHG) compliance regimes and other pay-for-performance opportunities.
Karunwi states: “The GCF focuses on all aspects of efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and establish lasting frameworks for low emissions development. It facilitates the exchange of experiences and lessons learned across leading states and provinces; synchronises efforts across these jurisdictions to develop policies and programmes that provide realistic pathways to forest-maintaining rural development; supports processes for multi-stakeholder participation and engagement; and seeks financing for jurisdictional programs from a range of sources, including pay-for-performance public finance, emerging carbon markets, and ongoing efforts to de-carbonise agro-food supply chains.”
He lists the objectives of the project to include:
Developing forest monitoring plan and establishment of a sufficient number of sample plots to estimate carbon stocks to an uncertainty level of 10% of the mean at a 90% confidence interval.
Carrying out research of wood density data and production of database for Nigerian species.
Identifying the most appropriate biomass equations, including validation of existing regional Allometric Equations (AEs) and/or conversion of existing volume of AEs to biomass functions.
Producing standard operations manual, based on initial manual developed by Winrock International and Cross River State Forestry Commission.
Training staff on carbon stock sampling, Permanent Sample Plots establishment and monitoring including data analysis
The maiden edition of the Rural Women Energy Security (RUWES) capacity enhancement workshop with the theme: “Practical Entrepreneurship and Financial Management Skill Training” commenced in Abuja on Tuesday, August 25 2015 to be rounded up Friday, August 28, 2015.
The forum has been described as a very important and laudable step in educating and providing clean, accessible energy solutions to peri-urban and rural people while developing sustainably towards a climate resilient and low carbon economy in Nigeria.
Graced by dignitaries, the opening day featured colourful scenes.
The high table: L-R: Engr. Mrs Bahijjahtu Abubakar (National Coodinator, Renewable Energy Programme of the Federal Ministry of Environment), Chief Mrs Felicia Sani (President General, Market Women Organisation), Sir John Odey (Chairman of RUWES Advisory Board and erstwhile Environment Minister), Mr Daouda Toure (Resident Coordinator, United Nations Systems in Nigeria), Mr Luka Jonathan Mangset (Director, Enterprises, Development & Promotions, representing Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Development) and Engr. mrs Valerie gberagba (representing President of the Nigerian Institute of Engineers – NSE)
Women from some states in the South West and South East
A cross section of participants
A drama sketch
Mr Daouda Toure making a presentation
The MC: Hajia Dr Amina Salihu of Oyster Consulting
Sir John Odey
Chief Mrs Felicia Sani
A rural woman hands over a bunch of firewood to Mr. Toure…On extreme right is Mrs. Halima Kolo Mohammed, the RUWES Admin Coordinator
…and the lucky woman gets, in return, a fuel (or energy) efficient stove
Another rural woman gets a solar lamp…
Sir John Odey, Mr Daouda Toure and Mrs Bahijjahtu Abubakar
Engr. Mrs Bahijjahtu Abubakar
Mrs Abubakar with Chinonye Obionwu (Gender and Developmental Research Group)
Mrs Abubakar stressing a point to Sir John and Mr Toure
Sir John, Mrs Abubakar, Mr Toure and Mr Mangset
Group photo with women from South West and South East states
Group photo with RUWES state coordinators
Group photo with internally displaced women
Representatives of CRC Ceceli C. Ejindu (MDG/Gender Desk Officer, FRSC): L-R: Funmi Philips, Ogaji Alhassan and Damaris Abu
Mrs Halima Kolo Mohammed (RUWES) with Mr Muyiwa Odele (United Nations Development Programme – UNDP)
For the first time in his 30 years of residence on Sagbo Kodji Island, Friday Onos has electricity in his home. To him, it is a dream come true – and one that will likely make him dream again.
Mother and baby at risk from smoke poisoning as mother processes fresh fish at Sagbo Kodji Island
“I had big dreams of setting up businesses but the lack of power supply to this Island kept extinguishing my dreams of creating alternative job opportunities for the youths here,” he says.
Onos continues: “Most residents are into fishing and because there is no power, they smoke the fish and ensure they are sold off immediately – and by implication at a low cost. But this solar power project is a big chance to ensure that fishes are preserved. I am now thinking of setting up a cold room business, so people can preserve their fresh fish.
“At nights children gather around my house and dance for joy as they play till they get tired. They have never seen 24-hour power supply till this solar power was installed.”
Onos is one of a few lucky beneficiaries under a solar power project provision on the beleaguered island. In fact, only five homes out of the nearly 300 dwelling units in the neighbourhood have benefited.
Sagbo Kodji Island is one of the 34 riverine communities in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos in South-West Nigeria. The century-old Island is bounded by the Apapa seaport to the South and has existed without electricity.
Smoking fresh fish at Sagbo Kodji Island
Residents of the Island who are predominantly Egun speaking people are said to have ancestral ties with the ancient town of Badagry. The main source of livelihood is fishing. The fish is processed locally with heat from firewood stoves and sold in the metropolitan market as smoked fish.
Many residents of Lagos are unaware of this group of people who ferry daily in crowded boats to sell their fish in markets and street corners in the Lagos city centre.
The cloud around Sagbo Kodji Island is usually dense due to the smoke emanating from many homes, as women are either smoking fishes with firewood or sawdust, or cooking for the family. Many children on the island have lived all their lives believing that the only source of light is from the popular small petrol powered generator locally called “I better pass my neighbour” or when cargo ships arrive the shores of the Apapa wharf at night with their flood lights brightly and temporarily light up the community as the ships sail by.
Several months ago, some homes on the island were provided power under a pilot initiative courtesy of the firm Arnergy, whose head, Femi Adeyemo, says he was shocked to learn that a community exists for about 100 years without electricity.
He says: “I decided to visit the island and, after series of meetings with community leaders, a pilot project was launched. The project enables users to pay N100, N200, N300 or N500 daily for a 24-hour constant power supply.
“Before we install the solar panels in any home, we take inventory of gadgets and appliances that would be used by residents. This will help us in ensuring the right panel than can supply power to the home is installed.
“Also you know a times people can be tricky. After listing the appliances that will be used and we have finished installation, they will later include other appliances not listed. We have a technology that can detect overloading and this will be remotely switched off from our office.
“When we set out to light up Sagbo Kodji Island, we were hopeful that we would get support. But, up till now, most promises are yet to be fulfilled. These solar panels cost a lot of money to import. And there are many homes yet to be powered on this island. With support, the socio-economic life of residents of this abandoned island will be boosted.
“Children will be able to study at any time of the day without fear of power outage. Women will no longer inhale smoke from firewood that has continued to worsen their health conditions. Businesses will come alive on this island. You can see that they are bounded by the busiest seaport in Nigeria but so neglected and far from development. This solar power project will change the air they breathe on this island: clean air and no longer polluted air.”
In Nigeria, smoke from indoor air pollution contributes to 95,000 deaths every year.
A Federal Government clean energy project worth N9.2 billion meant to supply clean energy cook stoves to women in rural communities has run into troubled waters.
Director of a not-for-profit group, Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, says the supply of clean energy cook stoves to women in communities like Sagbo Kodji who don’t have any clean alternative source of energy for household cooking would have benefitted from federal government clean stove project.
“When we advocate for transparency in government projects like the clean energy cook stove project, we know there are real women in poor communities like Sagbo Kodji who need this source of energy. When there is no power supply for communities, they turn to the forest and cut down trees as firewood for cooking. We lose our forest, the Sahara desert encroaches and our women continue to inhale smoke. But for how long will these women continue to inhale smoke from firewood as they cook for their family?” he demands.
Many residents in the community are hopeful that their homes will be installed with solar power in the next phase of the project but for how long they will wait will depend on when Arnergy gets financial support to continue the light up Sagbo Kodji project.
Nigeria ranks sixteenth among nations with high maternal deaths. To reduce the incidence, advocacy groups say exploring the possibility to incorporate the communities will scale up progress
The rainy season in Nigeria is usually between the months of March through July with a break in August before it picks up again in September.
However, the pattern of the weather in the Southern part of the country in recent weeks has been unusually cool and breezy.
In this report Emmanuel Oladipo, a professor of climatology , department of Geography, University of Lagos, tells me what could be responsible.
The 2015 World Water Week, themed Water for Development, officially opened on Monday August 24 in Stockholm with over 3,000 participants from more than 120 countries, representing governments, academia, international organisations, civil society, the corporate sector, and many others.
Torgny Holmgren. Photo credit: theguradian.co.uk
The role of water for development cannot be overestimated. Water is the foundation for all aspects of human and societal progress. We need it to survive – literally, to quench our thirst, to prepare our food, and maintain our hygiene, but it is also central to economic and social development, sustainable growth, and a prerequisite for healthy ecosystems.
This year, a decision on the Sustainable Development Goals will be followed by a new climate deal at COP21 in France. Water’s role in these processes, and in development, is crucial. With water availability severely altered by climate change, and a growing world population needing more food and demanding more goods and services, time is not on our side.
“From the Horn of Africa, over the Sahel, to São Paulo, California and China, people’s perseverance is being tested. We can no longer take a steady water supply for granted. The many local water crises today combine into a severe global water situation of great concern to all of us,” Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), told the opening session.
In his opening address, the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven, said: “When the international community is shaping a new sustainable development agenda, water management and allocation must be at its heart. Not only as a separate goal but as an essential vehicle for development and health.”
Painting a very serious picture when talking about climate change and the effect it has on his small island nation, the President of the Marshall Islands, Christopher J. Loeak, said: “We are a country contemplating a future where we are literally being wiped off the map of the world. As the leader of my country I cannot look my people in the eyes and with good conscience say that everything will be ok, when I know the world continues to travel down a very destructive path.” President Loeak underlined the great importance of reaching an ambitious climate agreement during the upcoming COP21 in France.
The Prime Minister of Jordan, Abdulla Ensour, described the extreme pressure his country is under due to the combination of water scarcity and a very large refugee population, and emphasised the importance of regional cooperation over water.
Peru’s Minister of State for Environment and President of the COP20, Manuel Gerardo Pedro Pulgar-Vidal Otálora, echoed the words of several of the speakers and added weight to the argument that water must be made a key player in the climate debate.
During World Water Week, three prizes are awarded, to recognize excellence in the water world. On Sunday, the Stockholm Industry Water Award was awarded to CH2M, a Colorado-based global service and engineering company, for developing and advancing methods to clean water, and increasing public acceptance of recycled water.
On Tuesday, 25 August, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize will be awarded to one national team out of the 29 competing nations by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
On Wednesday 26 August, the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize will be awarded to Rajendra Singh of India, for his innovative water restoration efforts, improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need. The prize will be awarded to Rajendra Singh by H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, during a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall.
Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), on Monday August 24, 2015 hosted visiting UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, in dialogue on Democracy, Development, Climate Change and Countering Violent Extremism. The forum was attended by dignitaries.
From left to right: Retired Major General Babagana Mongunu, National Security Adviser (NSA); Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General; Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria; Abubakar Sa’ad, the Sultan of Sokoto; John Olorunfemi Cardinal Onaiyekan, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja
