Environment
Stakeholders Want Review Of Environment Pollution Laws In N’East
Stakeholders in the environment sector in North-East states have called for the review of state laws to ensure adequate protection of the environment.
Responding during a survey, some noted that there were areas that called for urgent enforcement of environment laws, but had been ignored for political and religious reasons.
One of the respondents cited the case of ‘noise pollution’ that often emanated from houses of worship as one of the sensitive cases.
But, he lamented that appropriate authorities were too scared of taking measures against this type of noise pollution because of its implication on their political fortunes.
The respondent, Mr Faruk Aliyu, Head of Department, General Studies, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi State, said “laws may be on ground but politicians are afraid of the reaction of religious leaders if such laws are implemented” .
Aliyu said there could be laws to deal with the situation but that where such laws existed, implementation had been difficult.
The lecturer also observed that indiscriminate burning of bushes had introduced much carbon dioxide into the air.
“Indiscriminate bush burning has a great effect on air quality. It introduces a lot of carbon dioxide into the air and such carbon dioxide emissions cause global warming and ozone layer depletion, among others,” he said.
Another respondent was Mr Sukumun Ezekiel, programme manager of a Bauchi-based Non – Governmental Organization, Women Development Association for Self Sustenance.
Ezekiel said that one of the first steps taken by the current government in the state was the establishment of some designated waste collection points.
The programme manager explained that one of the objectives of his organisation was to monitor and assess government’s policies and programmes.
Ezekiel said that the state government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a British energy company for generation of power through waste.
He said the company was to convert waste to power, adding that the state would ultimately harvest 10 megawatts of electricity from the project.
Ezekiel however said that his organisation was not aware of any laws against noise pollution in the state, saying “I believe that would be a subsequent engagement”.
He explained that the state government and other stakeholders had made a lot of efforts to curtail open defecation, adding that government had benefited from partners and international donors in tackling the menace.
“So far so good, we have a couple of local governments areas that have been declared open-defecation-free in Bauchi State, such as Dass, Bogoro and Warji, among others,” Ezekiel said.
In Yobe, the state government announced that it had established a committee to review obsolete laws with a view to overcome environmental challenges.
Managing Director, Yobe Environmental Protection Agency,Alhaji Buba Kachalla, told newsmen that the laws would take care of noise pollution and release of toxic fumes into the air by motorists, among others.
Kachalla said his agency had intensified awareness campaign in the mass media against bush burning, open defecation and other practices inimical to the environment.
The director called on community leaders to assist the agency in educating the public on the need to keep their environment clean and safe.
In Borno State, Alhaji Nasiru Surundi, Coordinator of Borno Environmental Protection Agency, said government intended reviewing laws of the state to punish environmental pollution related offenders and violators.
Surundi told newsmen that the move was part of measures to curb the unwholesome habit of abuse of the environment through noise pollution and open defecation.
He explained that the agency had concluded plan to employ youths as street vanguards to check the threat of abuse of the environment.
Surundi said the security challenges facing the state had been responsible for the delay in coming up with strong laws on environment.
Our correspondent reports that the measure is coming following calls by environment experts and residents of Maiduguri for proactive measures to protect the environment.
In Gombe, Jewel Environmental Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, has decried the increase in activities causing air pollution in the state.
The Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Mr Ismail Bima, said the level of pollution in the state was worrisome, while lamenting that little or no effort was made to check the menace.
Bima stated that at dump sites, waste were burnt frequently, thereby polluting the air.
He noted that other forms of air pollution in the state included activities of meat sellers in abattoirs, those roasting meat in the evening, open defecation, and bush burning for dry season farming.
“In some of our abattoirs, the kind of pollution going on there is worrisome, particularly the roasting of slaughtered animals using tyres; this is contributing to the pollution of the air,” Bima said.
He also decried the increase in cases of open defecation in the state in spite of government’s ban on such act, adding that there was need for enforcement and sensitization in this regard.
Bima called on government to establish mobile courts to try those engaging in open defecation, just as he stressed the need to ensure that toilet facilities in markets, parks and other public places, were maintained properly.
On its part, the Adamawa State Government announced that it had concluded plan to to establish an environmental protection agency.
Director, Environment and Sanitation, Adamawa State Ministry of Environment,Mr. Kwaya Danfulani, told newsmen in Yola that a bill for the establishment of the agency had passed second and third readings in the state House of Assembly.
Danfulani said although the state had few industries, activities of bush burners, motorists, firewood and charcoal dealers, as well as bakers, were causing huge threat to the environment.
He assured that if signed into law, the bill would assist in regulating the activities of people threatening the environment.
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 saidAlso 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”
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
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)
