Environment
Ministry To Focus On Deforestation, Green Industry
The Federal Ministry of
Environment has said it would focus more on the issues of deforestation, green growth and green industry in 2015.
The Minister of Environment, Mrs Laurentia Mallam, who led other officials of the ministry, disclosed this at the Reviving the Climate Change Donor Group meeting held in Abuja.
Mallam solicited more support from the development partners, saying that the ministry needed their support to address environmental challenges facing the country.
“We want you to join hands with us, collaborate with us and help us to build a healthy Nigeria,’’ she said.
The minister told the meeting that the Federal Executive Council had approved some policies that would help to address the impact of climate change in the country.
Mrs Nana Mede, the Permanent Secretary, said the ministry would prioritise the issues of deforestation to create awareness on the dangers of trees felling.
Mede said that President Goodluck Jonathan had recently inaugurated the Great Green Wall (GGW) Project aimed at tackling deforestation in the 11 frontline states.
She said the 11 frontlines states were Kebbi, Zamfara, Gombe, Yobe, Jigawa, Adamawa, Bauchi, Katsina, Borno, Sokoto and Kano states.
“The minister will be in Katsina on Wednesday to inaugurate the GGW project, which will make people aware of the dangers of felling trees, burning of bushes and the need to plant trees.
“We also want to focus on the green growth and green industry.
“To this end, we realise we have to collaborate with other agencies; I want to inform you that we have started talking with the other key line ministries to achieve our focus.
“We have started talking with the ministry of water resources – in terms of developing irrigation infrastructure; ministries of trade and investment, health and power.
“We are collaborating with the ministry of power because the issue of renewable energy is critical; so there is already a committee set up at ministerial level to look at some of these issues,’’ she said.
The permanent secretary added that the ministry had also developed a plan on the involvement of the private sector, saying “this is where we need awareness, advocacy and campaign.
“We have designed a plan, which we intend to present at the next meeting; the kind of campaign we need on the electronic media, print, bill board and other media.
“We also need to sensitise Nigerians on how their activities can contribute to climate change; we hope to increase awareness on these issues,’’ she said.
Mede solicited the support of the development partners to contribute to the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) on climate change coming up in Paris, France later in the year.
She said that Nigeria wanted to shine at the conference and represent Africa very well, adding that work had already started in that direction.
She explained that, however, technical support from development partners was needed to achieve that goal.
Also speaking, Ms Francoise Marie-Nelly, the World Bank Country Director, said the organisation had in 2014 conducted two important studies in Nigeria on climate change.
The two studies, according to her, are on Climate Resilient Development and Assessing Low-Carbon Development in Nigeria.
Marie-Nelly called for effective collaboration with other key line ministries in addressing climate change and other environmental challenges in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that meeting reviewed the achievements and challenges in the sector in 2014.
There were also discussions on methodology to capture and track donor programmes and to agree on the priorities areas for 2015.
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.
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