Environment
UNEP Names Winners Of 2020 Young Champions Of The Earth Challenge
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) last Tuesday named seven young scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and activists from across the globe as its 2020 Young Champions of the Earth.
The Young Champions of the Earth prize is awarded every year to seven entrepreneurs under the age of 30, with bold ideas for sustainable environmental change.
The seven prize winners, all 30 years old or younger, were selected by a global jury of experts following a competitive public nomination.
Hailing from different regions around the world, the winners received US$10,000 in seed funding, tailored training, and communication support, to help scale up their ideas.
UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, said these change-makers showed how innovative ideas, coupled with ambitious action, can help solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
“With solutions to harvest water from the air, recycle plastic into paving slabs, and motivate fishing boats to haul tonnes of plastic out of the ocean, these change-makers show how innovative ideas, coupled with ambitious action, can help solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
“Globally, young people are leading the way in calling for meaningful and immediate solutions to the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution – we must listen”, she said.
The statement also quoted Andersen as saying that as the world enters a decisive decade to cut emissions, restore and protect ecosystems, “UNEP Young Champions” demonstrate that “all of us can contribute, starting where we are with what we have”.
“Every single act for nature counts, and we need the entire spectrum of humanity to share this global responsibility and this profound opportunity.”
The 2020 Young Champions of the Earth are: Nzambi Matee, a 29 year old Kenyan, who produced a sustainable low-cost construction material made of recycled plastic waste and sand, Lefteris Arapakis (Greece), Max Hidalgo Quinto (Peru), Niria Alicia Garcia (USA) and Fatemah Alzelzela (Kuwait).
Others are; Xiaoyuan Ren (China), who used MyH20 app to collect clean water data, diagnose water problems on a case-by-case basis, with the goal of connecting data-driven water resources and solutions to underprivileged communities in need, to improve their overall health.
Vidyut Mohan, an Indian and co-founder of Takachar, a social enterprise, enabling farmers to prevent open burning of their waste farm residues and earn extra income by converting the residues into value-added chemicals, like activated carbon on-site.
UNEP, a UN agency, is the leading global voice on the environment, providing leadership and encouraging partnerships in caring for the environment, by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve the quality of their lives.
The Young Champions of the Earth prize is UNEP’s leading initiative to engage youth in tackling the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Since inception in 2017, 28 environmental trailblazers had been recognised from every corner of the globe. (NAN)
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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