The Honourable Minister
of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, says world population would increase to 8.3 billion by 2030.
Mrs Ochekpe, who said this at the opening of the national consultation on water in the past 2015 Development Agenda in Abuja also said that land degradation, climate change, population growth and deforestation are capable of threatening sustainable management of water resources in the country.
According to her, this situation has placed pressure on water resources.
“Many water bodies in the country have been polluted at an alarming rate through illegal mining, poor farming practice and dumping of waste and effluents discharge from industries,” she said.
She said that these practice subsequently render the water bodies unsuitable for use.
Ochekpe, who was represented by Mr Effiong Bassey, Head Technical Support Services in the ministry, noted that world population would increase to 8.3 billion people by 2030.
The minister noted that feeding a world of over eight billion people would require a more efficient use of water and urged stakeholders to provide measures for improved management of water resources.
According to her, this is critical to promote water security, peace, stability and prosperity at local and national levels.
Also in his address, Mr Muslim Idris, a representative of the Global Water Partnership Nigeria, said the national consultation was convened given the importance of water to the actualisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“It has become critical that there is an insightful and informative debate on the role of water in the post-2015 development agenda,’’ he said.
In her address, Ms. Oualkacha Laila, a representative of the Africa Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), called for the implementation of the different water commitments in the African region.
Laila cited the ‘Sham el Sheikh’ and ‘Africa Water Vision 2025’ as some of the commitments to be implemented.
She warned that if African governments failed to implement the protocols, it would pose major challenge for the sector.
“What we lack in Africa is implementation; the solution is there, we have a lot of commitments but we need to start implementing them.
“We should adapt the programmes to soothe the locality because what we need in Abuja in terms of water is different from the needs of Addis Ababa,’’ Laila said.
The workshop was aimed at obtaining views from countries on the post- 2015 development for water, to build awareness and examine the country’s relevance and applicability on a dedicated goal for water.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mr Taye Haruna; Minister of Environment, Mrs Laurentia Mallam and Retired Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, during the inaugural meeting with officials of T.Y. Holdings Limited and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation on Private Sector Participation in the Management of National Parks in Nigeria in Abuja last Friday. Photo: NAN