By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Climate change, Ogoni clean up, erosion makeup the Federal Ministry of Environment priority areas in 2022, Minister of state for environment, Chirf Sharon Ikeazor, stated.
Others areas of interest are circular economy, waste management and pollution control, conservation, ocean, afforestation, desertification and wildlife conservation, wildlife management and the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.
The minister in her address stated noted that the mandate of the Ministry amongst others is to ensure environmental protection, natural resources conservation, and sustainable development.
Ikeazor said that the Ministry has been working with development partners, line ministries, MDAs, NGOs and CSOs, to address and ameliorate these problems through our policies, action plans and environmental regulations and projects.
Giving score card of the achievement of the Ministry, She said that in the area of Afforestation, the national afforestation programme under the green bond project has successfully forested 6,191,363 ha of land through the green bond project implemented by; Forest Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), NAGGW, Department of Desertification, land degradation and drought Management, National Parks Service (NPS), NGOs, State Governments, Private planters and international stakeholders.
In addition, a total of 6,550,056 seedlings, were raised, distributed to state governments and institutions and planted by Forest Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Federal Department of Forestry, Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF) and tree restoration and planting company in 2020 under the forestry trust fund initiative.
The most significant action taken towards playing our role in climate change mitigation and adaptation is the signing of the Climate change bill into law by Mr President, in November 2021, she said.
Giving update for Ogoni cleanup, the Minister said the Ministry is accelerating the remediation project, expanding on the livelihood program of the hydrocarbon impacted communities.
Preliminary remediation activities had commenced in early 2018, and work is at various stages of the remediation processes, with successes despite delays encountered.
The Project implementation status is between 2019-2021 and covers three (3) core areas, which are contaminated soil remediation, sustainable livelihood programme and portable water supply.
1.In 2019 contracts for 21 lots were awarded for remediation, these covered 12 of the 65 listed sites in the UNEP report. These lots covered an area of 276 acres. To date 18 of these lots have been completed and certified by NOSDRA. 3 of the lots are currently undergoing certification process and one lot is still undergoing remediation.
2.An additional 29 lots were awarded for remediation of 8 sites in February 2020. The area covered is 289 acres. Six of these sites have been completed and certified by NOSDRA while two outstanding sites at Bdere and Ogale are above 60% completion of which we are accelerating
3. As of January 2022 bidding for additional 37 hydrocarbon impacted sites is in progress. Total volume of contaminated soil to be remediated is 5,354,766 cubic meters over an area of about 314 acres.
The impacts of the remediation effort have produced remarkable employment and livelihood opportunities among Ogoni youths. So far, a total of one thousand three hundred and thirty-seven (1,337) persons have been trained, employed, and earned income to support their livelihood, thereby enhancing local economy.
In the area of Climate change, the Ministry has made significant strides in the area of climate change adaptation by developing a National Adaptation Communication (ADCOM) document, which provides a mechanism for Nigeria to report “priorities, implementation and support needs, plans and actions. Also a National Adaptation Plan Framework to help with adaptation planning and governance.
She said, ‘’The most critical step we have taken towards playing our role in climate change mitigation and adaptation is the realization of the Climate Change Act, in November 2021.
‘’The Act provides for the establishment of the National Council on Climate Change, which will have the powers of policymaking and decisions on all matters related to climate change in Nigeria.
‘’Nigeria’s Climate Change law provides a legal framework for Nigeria’s efforts at Climate Change mitigation and adaptation in an overarching manner and has as part of its provisions the establishment of the National Council on Climate Change to be chaired by Mr. President.
‘’Furthermore, the Act establishes the Climate Change Fund which will help Nigeria address issues of adaptation, loss and damage, innovations to reduce GHG emissions, development of technology for renewable energy and transition to a green economy, etc.
‘’As part of efforts to ensure that the country meets its target of attaining net zero by 2060, the Act provides for the phenomenon of carbon budgeting which will be set in a five-yearly cycle with annual targets assigned to private and public entities, with the Council imbued with the powers to monitor and ensure that set budgets and targets are met as at when due.
‘’Also, since one of the country’s greatest means of balancing emissions is the provision of carbon sinks and biodiversity preservation, the Act makes a case for the exploration of nature-based solutions. Amongst these solutions is the establishment of the UN-backed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) registry. The REDD+ programme is currently being run under the department of forestry.’’
Nigeria has developed an energy transition plan which shows a detailed roadmap for Nigeria to achieve both SDG 7 by 2030 and Net Zero by 2060. This roadmap highlights the scale of the effort required for a developing nation to achieve net zero including the scale of financing, renewables to be deployed and the importance of transition fuels
‘’To meet our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target and fast track our low carbon development pledges to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Nigerian Sovereign Green Bond was issued in line with our Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP). These Green Bonds are used in financing environmentally friendly projects through debts tied to sustainability targets.
‘’In collaboration with the Energy Commission of Nigeria through the support and expertise of the UK government, we launched the Nigeria Energy Calculator, as a tool for generating evidence to support intelligent policy making around energy and climate change.
‘’In December 2021, We launched the Deep Decarbonization project with the support of the French Development agency (AFD). This project is a National research and capacity development project for the implementation of a Deep Decarbonisation pathway program for Nigeria,’’ she added.
The Federal Ministry of Environment has been implementing programmes and projects aimed at preventing and controlling land degradation arising from inland soil erosion, flooding, coastal and riverbank erosion throughout the Federation.
The Ministry since inception executed over 2,000 erosion and flood control projects and other smart climate related ecological interventions in various states.
Speaking on its achievement, the minister said, ‘’Our flagship program, NEWMAP was born by the Department of Erosion and Flood Control as an initiative to solving the astronomical ecological challenges and dwindling funding of erosion projects in the Ministry.’’
NEWMAP is a World Bank funded project that adopts the Integrated Watershed Management Approach, aimed at addressing the menace of gully erosion and other forms of land degradation with the objective to reduce vulnerability to soil erosion which is a framework that integrates natural resources management with community livelihoods in a participatory and sustainable way.
Under NEWMAP, 56 sites completed; 23,829 hectares of degraded land reclaimed, 75 erosion sites reduced in severity, surpassed target of 55 sites, 25,491 households directly benefitted from Project, and Storm-water Master plans developed.
The Federal Ministry of Environment installed Flood Early Warning Systems (FEWS) geared towards effective environmental governance for adequate nationwide flood forecasting and to provide flood warning in advance to reduce flood disaster impact and ensure prompt response to impending floods.
The Ministry is carrying out the FEWS program in synergy and collaboration with relevant stakeholders such as the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and other stakeholders.
We have established a web based flood early warning systems (FEWS) showing 307 locations across Nigeria.
• Installed 17 community based FEWS stations nationwide in Ondo, Bayelsa, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Osun, Lagos, Jigawa, Sokoto and Oyo states.
• Installed 17 automated Flood Early Warning Systems along- Ogun, Ondo and Benin Owena River Basin, Sokoto Rima, Upper Benue and Anambra-Imo River Basin.
The Ministry is also collaborating with other MDAs on the proposed Soil Erosion and Flood Control Project at Ayetoro community of Ilaje Local Government Area in Ondo state.