Nigeria: House of Reps, Stakeholders Strategise on Environment

 Source : thisdaylive

The House of Representatives Committee on Environment and other relevant stakeholders on the Nigerian environment have moved to map strategies out on a collaborative approach for managing the environment.

It is against this backdrop that the House Committee on Environment is organising a National Conference on the Environment with the theme: ‘Managing our Environment for a Sustainable and Secure Future,’ with Tandice -B Solutions Limited as consultant for the conference.

The conference, according to the organisers, stemmed from the fact that “while sovereign laws, international treaties and conventions acknowledge the fundamental right of the individual to live in a healthy environment, environmental protection and conservation continues to be a reoccurring challenge especially for developing economies like Nigeria.”

The conference, which will take place next week in Abuja, will bring together all public and private sector organisations involved in environmental activity in Nigeria to deliberate and agree on a common agenda for environmental sustainability.

Unveiling the plans in a statement, the consultant identified pollution of water, air and land, solid waste management, health care waste, desertification, aggravated soil erosion, flood disasters, noise pollution as exigent issues in Nigeria.
“Decisions concerning the environment often focus on the role of government, legislation and law enforcement. Protecting the environment, however, is the responsibility of all stakeholders, including industry, indigenous groups, environmental groups and the general population. It is clear that any blueprint for national development without a collaborative approach to managing the environment is unsustainable and an invitation to eventual disaster,” the statement explained.
According to the statement, the outcome will greatly assist the House Committee in developing a functional and practical legislative framework that will promote and maintain an efficient and coordinated environmental policy.

Topics to be discussed include: Tiers of Government and their roles in Managing the Environment for a Sustainable National Development; The place of NESREA in the Environment’s Management Framework in Nigeria; Adequacy of the current Legal and Regulatory Framework for the Management of the Nigerian Environment; Environmental Pollution: Types, Causes, Impacts and Management for the Health and Socio-economic well-being of Nigeria; as well as Deforestation, Desertification and Erosion: Amplitudes, Impacts and Action Points for Remediation.

Other topics include: The Challenge of Waste Management in Nigeria: Recommendations towards a Functional National Policy; Implications of Exploration and Exploitation of Mineral Resources on the Environment in Nigeria: Recommendations for a Sustainable Environment and Environmental Disasters in Nigeria: Policy and Management.

Key speakers include, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Bukola Saraki; Director General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr. Ngeri Benebo; Partner, Aelex, Mr. Soji Awogbade; former Chairman, House of Representatives Committees on Environment and Gas, Hon. Mercy Almona-Isei; Former Chairman, House of Representatives Committees on Environment and Gas; Executive Director, UNN/ Shell Centre for Environmental Management & Control (CEMAC), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Christian N. Madu and Prof. Akinwale Oladotun Coker of the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.

Other speakers include, founder, Fight against Desert Encroachment (FADE), Chief Newton Jibunoh; Dahiru Salisu of the Federal Ministry of Environment; Prof. Jimoh H.I of the Department of Geography, University of Ilorin, Kwara State; Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board; Mrs. A.O Adebayo; Theresa Hitchcock of  DLA Piper U.K LLP; Director General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency ( NOSDRA); Sir Peter Idabor and Professor Margaret Okorodudu Fubara of the  Faculty of law, OAU, Ife.