The Federal Ministry of Environment is set to implement the outcome of the 2012 Rio+20 summit to ensure environmental sustainability, the Minister of Environment, Mrs Hadiza Mailafia, said yesterday.
Mailafia said this in Abuja yesterday at the workshop on the adoption of the Framework of Action Plan for the Implementation of the outcome of the Rio+20 summit.
Our correspondent reports that “Rio+20” is the short name for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012.
The summit focused on two themes — a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and the institutional framework for sustainable development.
The seven priority areas highlighted at the summit were decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.
Represented by  the Director of Human Resources in the Ministry, Mailafia, Mr Gambo Jakada,  said the ministry had in October 2012, organised a step-down workshop to deliberate on the outcome of the summit.
She said the workshop was organised in collaboration with the UNDP for relevant stakeholders to come up with the implementation strategies that would be presented to the government.
“At the end of the workshop, a six-man committee of experts/consultants was set up under the aegis of the UNDP, to develop a framework of action plan for the implementation of the outcome of the summit.
“This document has been developed and is before you today for your consideration and adoption,’’ she said.
According to her, Nigerian stakeholders have agreed on the need to integrate sustainable development into the National Vision 20:2020 and the Transformation Agenda, in line with the Rio + 20 outcome.
Mailafia said that the agreement involved developing the appropriate know-how and identifying priorities in the implementation of the green economy.
She added that the agreement involved building a strong support base mechanism as well as development partners in the various sectors of the economy.
Also speaking, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics in the ministry, Mr Momoh Abu,  said the development of an action plan was in line with the major outcomes of the Rio+ 20 summit.
He said it aimed at achieving a green economy using a 10-Year Framework of Programme (10-YFP) on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP).
In his presentation entitled: “Proposed Framework (Action Plan) for the Implementation of RIO+20 Outcome: The Future We Want for Nigeria”, Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo, said implementing the plan would enable Nigeria to achieve environmental sustainability.
Oladipo, a consultant with the ministry, said the action plan would also enable the country to improve economically and socially for the sustainability of the future generation.
He said that the workshop would come up with strategic ideas of reducing poverty in the country, ensure inclusive and equitable economic growth, facilitated by an environment that would enable such development to become a reality.
Oladipo said that the workshop would also address the root cause of climate change which had affected the natural, ecological resources and processes that support food production in the country.
Commenting on the issues of water scarcity and poor sanitation, Oladipo said that the meeting would come up with measures to address drought, water scarcity and other environmental challenges in Nigeria.
Our correspondent reports that stakeholders at the workshop are expected to review the draft action plan for the implementation of the Rio +20 outcomes and forward the reviewed document to the Federal Ministry of Environment for consideration.