Expert wants national data base for environmental issues

By Omotayo Edubi

Dr Dorothy Bassey, the outgoing National President, Nigerian Environmental Society (NES) on Tuesday in Abuja said there was the need  to establish a national data base for environmental issues.

Bassey said this at the inauguration of the Carbon Chamber Project (CCP), a conference organised by the National Chamber Policy Centre of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

According to her, it will host and provide source of digital data required to evaluate the nature and pace of ecological changes.

“It will also interpret its effect and forecast the range of future biological responses to change,’’ Bassey said.

Speaking on reducing the Green House Gas emissions, she said it would improve the economy, human health, and lives of plants and animals.

“When we talk about reducing the Green House Gas emissions, we are talking about improving our economy, we are talking about improved health, effects on plants and animals.

“We cannot continue as before, are we looking at data and are we interpreting the data right?

“Are we checking the trend so that it can back the innovations we are going to have?

“There are synergies as to what happens in one sector is bound to affect the other one.

“Look at Ogoni, there have been efforts to clean it up, but no amount of clean up can bring Ogoni back to its original state.

“Can we look at countries that have controlled things that have been faced globally, so what then is your data telling you so that you can use that for innovation.

“We have monitoring stations but if you want to look at things holistically, that is where you get a clearer picture

“Until we have a national data base for national environmental issues, we will continue to have conferences upon conferences with less results,’’ Bassey said.

She, however, called for increased awareness to sensitise Nigerians on issues affecting the environment.

NAN reports that according to her, businesses can support by going green and letting everybody know that they are going green.

“Nollywood exploded because of wide publicity, can we begin to teach our children about climate change.

“In other climes, children are at the front of climate change and holding companies responsible but here it is a different thing.

“It is an academic exercise, we come year in year, but we talk and we have communiques, we wait till the next year.

“Where are our children in all this? the future is for them and not for us.

“They must begin to have this sensitisation when they are young so that by the time they get to where we are now, they will understand what the issues are.

“Everybody must come together to ensure that we are all moving in the same direction,’’ Bassey said.