The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal has urged construction industries to adopt circular economy strategies to reduce environmental footprints and stem the tide of resource depletion in the ecosystem.
He made the call while presenting a Keynote address at the Workshop on Mainstreaming Circular Economy in Land Degradation Sectors of Construction, Mining and Quarrying in Abuja, Thursday, November 7.
“We must prioritize land rehabilitation in mining and quarrying operations,” the minister stressed, warning
mining and quarrying companies to adopt zero-waste policies, ensure that mining by-products such as tailings and waste rocks are repurposed for other industrial uses or construction projects.
“Unregulated mining pits, exhausted quarry sites, deforestation, and polluted environments are clear signs of the imbalance between development and environmental sustainability,” he noted.
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Abbas continued: “Our landscapes, ecosystems and communities bear the brunt of unchecked extraction, resource depletion and unsustainable development due to construction, mining and quarrying.”
He said the Circular Economy, saying that it is intended to Balance Development and Environmental Sustainability in the face of daunting challenge of various forms of environmental degradation.
In his welcome address, the Director General of NESREA, Dr. Innocent Barikor, noted: “The circular economy offers a transformative framework to ensure resource conservation and regeneration, waste-to-resource systems, and sustainable urbanization.”
He called for the collaboration of all stakeholders to ensure the adoption and promotion of sustainable practices to speed up the restoration of our land, regeneration of our ecosystems, and protection of our environment for future generations.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, Senator Akintude Yunus, and the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Terseer Ugbor, pledged the support of the National Assembly towards providing the necessary legislative backing for environmental protection in the country.
The workshop was organized by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in collaboration with the European Union.
