As flood ravages several parts of the country from cross-border water believed to have been caused by unexpected change in weather pattern, environmentalists believe that adopting regional solution would greatly reduce the devastating effects of these environmental challenges.
Rivers like air cross regional boundaries and, they only change name when they are in a particular country or state or town or village. It is the same body of water coursing its way to the Ocean. Environmentalists have stated that the way the water is managed upstream generally impacts the lives and livelihoods of people downstream.
With this in mind, states in the South-western region of the country converged in Osogbo, the Osun State capital to seek a common strategy to mitigate the harmful effect of climate change on the region. At the event were top government officials Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun and Lagos States.
The 2-Day High-Level Regional meeting with the theme: ‘Developing Regional Framework for Addressing Climate Change, Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development’ was organised by Osun State, the Federal Ministry of Environment, the United Nations’ Development Programme and HEDA Resource Centre under the Africa Adaptation Programme.
It was called to address Climate Change, Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development in Southwest Nigeria. It was designed to mainstream climate change and environmental conservation into the developmental plans of States and Local Governments in the region; Increase efficiency in environmental governance and regulations enforcement; and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Also, it was aimed at maximising resource efficiency in climate change governance and environmental conservation; Identify and address knowledge, resources, policy and information gaps in climate change adaptation, mitigation and environmental conservation within the region; Increase the region’s voice and relevance on climate change and environmental conservation governance at the national, sub-regional and global levels.
In his charge to the distinguished gathering that included the Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, the Deputy Country Director of UNDP, Mr. Janthomas Hiemstra advised the participants to look beyond physical boundaries in their deliberations and lauded the federal government for producing a climate change policy for the nation.
Hiemstra called on the federal government to inject the policy into national planning, adding that it was also important to put climate change in the constitution.
He advised the states to learn how to access the carbon market, which he described as a complex way in which polluters pay for their developmental actions. “At the UNDP, we will be able to connect you with people who are knowledgeable about these complex issues and, who will be able to measure how much carbon you have in your forests, which you can sell for money in the international market.”
Welcoming participants, the Osun State Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Professor Olubukola Oyawoye acknowledged the fact that Lagos State and other states have been addressing climate change issues individually but that it was important to address environmental issues at the regional level.
Oyawoye said at another forum she explained to the different states the need for them to collaborate, stating that for instance Lagos gets flooded because states upstream of the river that ends up in the Lagos have flood problems, adding that if a single action plan to clear the river course in all the states was carried out then the problem of flooding downstream would be solved.
One of the resource persons, Professor Emmanuel Oladipo of the Department of Geography, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria observed in his presentation, ‘The Imperative for a Regional Response to Climate Change in South-Western Nigeria’ that “most state and local climate change initiatives are being pursued unilaterally by the state governments in the southwest. For instance, many cities and states are independently developing action plans to respond to climate change and extreme weather events-induced floods.”
Oladipo said the approach neglected the inter and intra-state nature of the problem and the fact that watersheds producing the flood water are trans-boundary across many states.
According to him, “a regional response approach to the climate change challenge is not only necessary, but also critical and imperative.”
He said to respond adequately to the challenge of climate change in southwestern Nigeria, the region should adopt a regional approach that would, among other things: Undertake a comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of the region’s physical and human environment to climate change in a holistic and comprehensive manner; Promote good regional climate change governance (including responsible policy- and decision-making); Develop a regional response strategy to climate change in the context of the recently approved National Climate Change Policy and Response Strategy; Develop and implement regional climate change response initiatives, starting with a regional watershed management strategy to reduce the impact of extreme weather events-induced floods in the region.
He also advised the governments to empower communities and stakeholders to participate more actively in vulnerability assessment and adaptation implementation; Develop capacity to take advantage of opportunities presented by international organizations for climate change adaptation, and being able to integrate international concerns into a regional al adaptation strategies; and mainstream climate change into development planning at all scales, levels and sectors in the region.
He stated the environmental challenge, saying that governments should lead the process for a regional approach and that Southwest Nigeria could lead the example of a regional approach to climate change in Nigeria.
Common environmental challenges, he said included; Deforestation and de-vegetation; Biological diversity depletion; Drought and desertification; Erosion; Land resources degradation; Oceanic surge and flooding; Water and air pollution mainly from industrial activities; Urban decay and municipal waste; and Climate Change.
Discussing ‘Policy, Legal Implications and Options for a Regional Governance Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Environmental Conservation for Southwest Nigeria’, Professor Olanrewaju .A. Fagbohun of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of Lagos,
Akoka, Lagos, said, “when natural areas are shared, a collective response will mutually reinforce and have benefits across sectors, address drivers, enhance accountability and encourage multi-stakeholders participation.”
Fagbohun, who is the Director, Environmental Law Research Institute, said “it will also enhance the effect that policy makers have on achieving sustainable development objectives.”
According to him, “regional cooperation will support learning, improve sustainability encourage ecosystem approaches, improve equity, enhance skills sharing and reduce conflict.”
Source: OgoniNews
JOIN OGONI ONLINE FORUM TODAY!!!
