Environment

Implementing Climate Change Agreement

Published

10 years ago

May 2, 2016

Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed

Does Nigeria and the
rest of the international community have the political will to implement the Paris agreement on climate change?
The question was raised by a cross section of participants at recent climate change conference in Port Harcourt.
The conference was organised by Alliance Françoise, Port Harcourt, to create awareness on the impact of climate change on the society.
It would be recalled that over 171 world leaders had met in New York, United States of America, 22 April 2016 to sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Agency reports had it that France was the first to sign the Agreement.
It was formed by Marshall Islands, Mauru, Palau, Somalia, State of Palestine, Barbados, Belize and Fiji.
Other signatories include Greenada, Saint Fitts and Nevis, Samoa, Tuualu Maldives, Saint Lucia, Maurtius, Peru, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bulvia Brazil, China, Canada and Italy.
Other countries are expected to sign the Agreement between now and October this year.
The Port Harcourt seminar was attended by cross section of dignitaries from both the public and private sectors.
Specifically at the event were representatives of the Institute of Pollution Studies, Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt Centre for Conflict and Gender Studies, University of Port Harcourt, and the Centre for Development and Support Initiatives (CEDSI).
Also in attendance are the Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Onimim Jacks representatives of the Ministries of Environment, Culture and Tourism, Information / Communication and Youth Development.
A documentary with The Theme: “No where to Run: Nigeria Climate And Environmental crisis” opened discussions at the conference.
The state commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Onimim Jacks said that climate change poses a serious challenge to the state especially in the area of Agriculture.She said that the delay in the coming of the rains this year led to the suspension of planting activities by farmers in the state.
The commissioner added that because of the adverse effects of climate change on the state, her ministry is now encouraging more tree programmes across the state.“We are losing our forest resources to desert encroachment. Agriculture is one of the major causes of climate change because we have to deforest.
“We have to find a midway on how best to grow our feed” she said.
Also speaking, the Director Centre for Conflict and Gender Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Dr Fidelis Allen, querried the rationale behind the refusal of the Federal Government to critically examine some aspects of the draft policy in climate change which is already before the Ministry of Environment.
The university don insisted that the government, the petroleum industry and those involved in local refining of fuel need to respect our existence by being able to respond to climate change.
According to him, since the petroleum industry contributes more than 70 percent to climate change, the low urban industry must be made attractive to investors.
On his part, Dr Tubonimi Ideriah of the Institute of Pollution Studies, Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt said that coastal communities are gradually sinking owing to the rising level of sea water.
He said that even people in the North are also experiencing the increasing rate of desert encroachment, adding that the situation should serve as a wake up call to the relevant Authroites to the something.
The university don who described this year as the hottest in recent times, called for drastic measurers to check deforestation.
Dr Ideriah also called on the government to wakeup to its responsibilities of implementing all laws relating to conservation in the country.
“There are enough laws, but the will to implement them is the problem” he said.
The country Director of the Centre for Development and and Support Initiatives (CEDSI), Mrs Mina Ogbanga querried the rationale behind the non domestication of the agreement by Nigerian Government.
Mrs Ogbanga said that the aspect of the Agreement which talked about the reduction of global temperature below 1.5 per cent must be imbibed by all countries.
She said that the increasing level of heart being experienced these days shows that the temperature is getting out of hand.
She also called for measures to address coastal erosion and flooding.
Speaking to newsmen, a director in the state Ministry of Information Communication, Mr Paulinus Nsirim said that what is needed at the moment is action.
He said that the era of talkshop should be gone for good, stressing that both Governments and members of the civil society must begin to act now to protect the environment from destruction.
The Director Alliance Francaise, Port Harcourt, Mrs Helene Geneuu Okutue, said that the Port Harcourt office of Alliance Francaise is the second to organize the climate change conference in the country.
She said that the conference was to create the needed awareness on the impact of climate change with a view to funding solutions to it.
The conference which participants said was coming at the right time, however observed that so long as industrialized countries such as the United States of America, Great Britain, China, Canada, Australia, amongst others, continue to rely on the fossil fuel industry to power their industries, the political will to implement the agreement will be lacking.
In all, the impact of climate change is here and the government must act now.

Environment

Etche Community Blames Erosion on poor conditions of its Road

Published

2 weeks ago

November 24, 2025

The Tide

Some stakeholders in Okoroagu community in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers state have blamed the perennial erosion in the community on the poor conditions of their road.

They are therefore calling for the rehabilitation of their road.

They said this in an interview with The Tide, at okoroagu.

Speaking to The Tide,the Ochimba of Okoroagu community, Eze Marcus Amadi said the poor conditions of their road has retarded the growth and development of the community.

According to Eze Amadi,”The government has neglected us, they have forgotten about us, we have been writing letters to the government, both to the NDDC to come and repair our road for us, we are on our knees pleading to them to come help us out, at least they should just dredge the road for us”

Continuing he said”If the government comes today to repair our road, nobody will say they shouldn’t.

“Nobody will obstruct them. We have been shouting and crying that our road is not good, the road is affecting the community economically and socially in the sense that, there is no way we can carry our crops out because of erosion.

“Erosion have taken over the road, making it difficult for us to access other communities especially during rainfall you see people falling down and getting injured inside the river which we call Mmiri Ehe in our language, which reaches our waist line during raining season. Our people can not go to other market to sell their products due to the bad road”he said

Also speaking,Chairman Community Development Committee( CDC )Okoroagu , Hon. Elvis Nwaobasi decried the situation of the road, stressing that economic activities are being affected as movement of goods and services have gradually slowed down in the area.

” The road have affected our women so badly, they are no longer going to the other neighboring markets to sell their Agric produce because of the nature of the road.

“This road has also affected us in many ways, it has affected our educational system, security system, it has also affected our health system, because with the nature of that road, people cannot access our health facilities in the community, with the nature of that road, people cannot access our school, with nature of the road, people cannot come in and do business in our community, we cannot access the road because of the neglect of the road.

“People are using our road for excuses to come in and invest and do businesses. People who come to our market to buy our products are no longer coming because of the nature of the road.

” I am pleading with the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayig Fubara to please come to the aid of Okoroagu and repair our road. I am pleading with the Rivers State House of Assembly, we are suffering too much because of this road. We have been neglected and abandoned for years, the government should please come to our aid” he said.

Also the women leader of Okoroagu community, Mrs. Anthonia Nweke blamed some politicians from the area for abandoning the people of Okoroagu

“Our road has been abandoned, overlooked, with no attention, mostly the higher politicians of the place, we have been abandoned for years”

She also called on the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC to come to their aid.

The Youth Leader of Okoroagu community, Comr. Ezekiel Michael Ikeh who also spoke to The Tide correspondent said the community has suffered so much losses because of the poor conditions of the road.

He said despite Okoroagu’s contributions to the wealth of the state and the nation, government has continued to neglect the people “Okoroagu as oil producing community shouldn’t have been suffering what they are suffering today”

By: Omasirichi Ogechi

Environment

UNEP REPORT: FG MOVES TO DESIGNATE OGONI WETLAND RAMSAR SITE

Published

2 weeks ago

November 24, 2025

The Tide

In furtherance to the commitment of the Federal Government through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation (HYPREP) to the full implementation of the recommendations of the UN Environment Programme Report on Ogoni Environment, the Project has commenced processes to designating Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site.

Labaran Ahmed, National Focal Point for Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Environment, who is leading the process for collection of field samples, said the move will converse biodiversity, enhance livelihood, attract ecotourism and further earn global recognition for Ogoni Wetlands.

The UNEP Report envisages that this would provide the Government with a roadmap for restoration and sustainable management of the Ogoni wetland, bring the site unto international among others.

Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, represented by Director Technical Services, Professor Damien-Paul Aguiyi said the project further attests to the Federal government’s commitment through HYPREP to implementing the UNEP Report simultaneously.

Nigeria is a signatory to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction(BBNJ) Agreement for how research on marine genetic resources must be conducted and documented, ensuring transparency and the equitable distribution of benefits.

Environment

Tribunal Acknowledges losses in Rare species Across the globe …urges for government Action

Published

2 weeks ago

November 24, 2025

The Tide

The international Right Tribunal has expressed concerned over the continuous loss of rare species across the world.

This was part of a declaration at the just concluded COP30 in Brazil to mark the close of its 6th international tribunal

. Governments and everyday people have been charged to acknowledge that nature has rights just as humans do, and that ecosystems deserve to exist, thrive, and bounce back.

The Tribunal noted that the loss of species is occurring at an alarming rate and that it is time to stop exploiting nature and start protecting it.

The Tribunal urged nations to write laws that protect rivers, forests, oceans, and to end ecocide, recognise and support Indigenous communities, who have always been the best caretakers of the land.

According to the declaration “We are all part of the Earth, an indivisible and living community of interrelated and interdependent beings with a common destiny but with different existential conditions and rights.

“The multiple crises we are experiencing are rooted in the economic, political, legal and social systems established by the industrial and growth-oriented cultures that dominate the world today, including capitalism, along with patriarchy, sexism, racism, and anthropocentrism.”

It was noted that the choice by the Brazilian government to host COP30 serves as a symbol of the importance of the Amazon. They denounced the current and future impacts of the expansion of the extractivist frontier, deforestation, fossil fuels and large-scale mining. It was urged that the Amazon, with its ecosystems, animal, plant species, and rich biodiversity, natural medicines and its vital and reproductive cycles, should be considered as a subject of rights together with the Indigenous Peoples, and other communities that inhabit it.

The co-president and judge of the tribunal, Nnimmo Bassey, while delivering the verdict, noted that the defence of the rights of Nature is the right way to carry out real climate action and that there is no climate justice without the rights of Nature.

The tribunal stressed the need to phase out fossil fuels and quickly move to renewable energy as a way that protects both communities and ecosystems from false solutions that merely benefit financial speculators and compound climate injustices. The Tribunal also urged the United Nations to adopt the pledge as a blueprint for international environmental law.

A copy of the declaration obtained by The Tide revealed that,Judges at the Tribunal included Ana Alfinito of Brazil, Nnimmo Bassey ( Nigeria), Enrique Viale (Argentina), Shannon Biggs (USA), Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation, USA), Tom Goldtooth (USA), Princes Esmeralda (Belgium), Cormac Cullinan (South Africa), Patricia Gualings (Ecuador), Francesco Martone (Italy) Tzeporah Berman (USA), Ashish Katharine (India), Osprey Orielle Lake (USA), Pooven Moodley (South Africa) and Felicio Pontes (Brazil)