By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The United Nations declared June 5 to acknowledge how important the environment means to man’s survival on planet earth.
Globally, there have been lots of exploitation and destruction of planet’s ecosystem. The UN stated that every three seconds, the world loses enough forest to cover a football pitch and satisfy other needs.
The ecosystem loss is depriving the world of carbon sinks, like forests and Peatlands. Global greenhouse gas emissions have grown for three consecutive years and the planet is one space for potentially catastrophic climate change.
According to the UN, the emergence of COVID-19 has also shown how disastrous the consequences of ecosystem loss can be as natural habitat for animals has been shrinked by the existence of coronaviruses.
As the world celebrates this day with the theme ‘Reimagine, Recreate and Restore’ focused on ecosystem restoration, NatureNews analysed how the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has performed in fighting climate change.
In 2015, after President Buhari was elected in office, the president issued Climate Action Plan which include to foster low carbon, high growth economic development path and to build a climate resident Nigeria.
It also stated that the Federal government will expand the scope of sovereign Green Bonds.
Also, in his inaugural speech in 2015, the president assured that “Nigeria will become a more forceful and constructive player in the global fight against terrorism and matters of collective concern such as the fight against drugs, climate change, financial fraud, Communicable Diseases and other issues requiring herbal response.”
President Buhari was also re-elected for his second tenure as Nigeria’s president in 2019 and during his visit to New York in September, 2019, the president announced robust plans and initiatives to reverse negative effects of climate change in Nigeria.
In a full text of his speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit sourced from Premium Times, Buhari also reiterated that “Nigeria will develop a more sectorial action plan, expand the scope of our Sovereign Green Bonds in line with our intended upward review of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) towards the inclusion of the water and waste sectors by 2020.’
In addition, the former Minister of Environment, Alhaji Suleiman Zarma in May 2019 at the valedictory press conference highlighted achievements of president Buhari in the environment sector.
Zaria said that some of the noted achievements recorded by the ministry in the last four years were flood prevention and management of coastal shoreline.
Other achievements highlighted include: Installation of functional flood early warning system equipment in flood prone states, production of 4.1 million of assorted forest and fruit tree seedlings for various afforestation and land rehabilitation, planting of 10 indigenous tree species on 834.6 hectares of land through its National Afforestation Project in 2018 and among others.
Just recently, on June 2, 2021, Buhari approved the Revised National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) and the National Climate Change Programmes for Nigeria.
The present minister of Environment, Dr. Muhammad Abubakar explained that the new Policy document capture separates of emerging issues in the sectors not reflected in the previous policy.
During the 2021 world Earth Day celebration in April, the Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, called for the use of natural resources as a Panacea for Environment sustainability.
She further stated that the government has scaled up its commitment to mitigate, adapt and promote the capacity for resilience to the impacts of climate Change through the ratification of the Paris Agreement by president Buhari.
Yet, in all of these achievements recorded, some organisations and individuals have faulted the present administration for its lack of efforts in protecting Nigeria’s ecosystem.
In a statistics by Wikipedia, Nigeria’s total Greenhosue gas emissions were 492.44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtC02e), totalling 1.01% of global emissions.
Carbonbrief also reported that Nigeria has one of the highest rates of energy poverty in the world and in its COVID-19 economic recovery plan, the government scrapped fossil fuel subsidies.
NatureNews had reported that Rivers State for the past six years have suffered serious soot invasion. Also, in Ogoniland, a community in Khana Local Government Area complained of the growth of nipa palms which are affecting fishing activities.
The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) also called on the Federal and state governments to take leadership and responsibility in abiding by the principles and practices of Urban and Regional Planning for eco system restoration.
NITP stated this in a statement released on Saturday to commemorate the 2021 World Environment Day.
It decried the poor attention given to issues of climate crises and urban and regional planning in the country.
According to the statement, “In a nation like Nigeria, where little or no regard has been given to Urban and Regional Planning, this year’s celebration is an opportunity to sound a note of warning on the impending calamity awaiting us as a nation if we do not take heed.
“The constant unplanned use and development of what is glaringly a scarce resource (land and the environment around us) has unveiled the pervading ignorance amongst humanity of the value and role the Environment plays as life’s support.
“Man’s penchant for selfish motives has furthered the severe consequences of the abuse and misuse of the limited environmental resources as we continue to feel the increasing heat of global warming, as well as the rising incidence of flooding caused by swelling oceans, rivers and other larger water bodies, bringing man face to face with threat to food security.”