NATIONAL MIRROR, 17 APRIL, 2012

I

Tuesda~ April 17, rol2

25

Real Estate &Environment dayoeyeyeml@yahoo.com

08033312578

Stakeholders seek ways of tackling climate change challenges

Some 0 1 the dangers posed by climate change to the sUNival of Lagos State and Nigeria as a nation were brought to the fore last week by experts during the 4th Lagos Climate Change Summit. The experts, who brainstormed for the three days that the summft lasted, tool, 03 critical look at various issues 01 climate change and suggested appropriate measures that should be taken by the state government to mitigate its effects, urging the Federal Government to take the lead. DAVO AVEYE MI reports. resh observaUons by various experts at lle Just concluded 4th Climate Change Summ it In Lagos has revealed dil l the earlh is golog to experience a warming over the next 50 years regardl,~ of the poUtical decl· sions being taken, hence. lhe needs for climate chang, adaptation.

The sununlt themed, ~Vulnerabil · ily and AdaplobUlty In Nigeria: Lagos State AgricuHure. Industry and Health Sectors In focus" was an effort by the stale goverl1ft¥!r t to create a forum for awareness on I.1e menace of cUmate change and rw1her senslUse people about the loomln8 dangers and its effects in all arefUI of human endeavour.

Spealtlng wi tl one voice in a commuDIQu~ Lssued ~t the end of the three-da:y summit, stakepolders agreed that the is· sue of cUmale change transient natural boundary, callinJ for the adolliion of an integrated re~ional approach by adjoLning stales to Lhgos to tackle Its Impacts.

For prompt adaptation measures, lhey called on the Federal Government

F

' T HERE SHOULD BE INCREASED SYNERGY IN CLIMATE CHANGE POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND RESPONSmLE INSTITUTIONS AMONG VARIOUS LEVELS OF GOVERNANCE ( FEDERAL, STATE AND ----r:-OCAL) , to take the lead in Integrating the states tUateral and bilateral climate change into Its efforts to combat the challenges funds. of climate change.

The summit was declared open by lhe Also, for effective manage.ment of La· Gover nor Babatunde R.;yi Fashola. and gas State coastal and marine ecosystem had Ln attendance the Deputy Governor In the face of cli mate change. they want of state, Princess Adejoke Oreiope-Adethe state to Invest In the empowerment fullre: Minister for Environment. Hadof research insU mllons to predict local Jla Hadiza MaUana. as well as over 700 impacts. partner with adjolnlng states participants/stakeholders comprising to build regional response capabiUUes representatives of the National Assemand fle::dbllltIes, prepare fo r adj ustment bly; political office holders. top governto shoreline changes and protect the ment functionaries at federal, s tate and livelihoods of the affected people, par· local levels. members of the academia. ticularly the nshery 5CCtOl: organised private sectors, media. develThey enjolned the state Kovern ment opment partners and bl·lateral agen10 develop and Implement a state-specif· cies. national and inter national eXIM!rts Ie framework to facilitate access to mul- on climate change. non-governmental

organisations, environmentalists and school chUdren amOllg others.

Explaining the dangers posed by climate change to the nations and Lagos' survival, experts at the forum pointed out that Nigeria is one of the countries with h igh vulnerability with coastal zone Impact of s torm surges. adding that Lagos is one of the cities projected to be the hardest hit by storm surge; and that by year 2100. sea level rise Ln coastal areas of the state could range between O.32m and 1.41m.

They listed Badagry, Epe. EU·Osa, Amuwo·Odonn. Ojo. Kosofe., Lagos Is· land. Apapa. IbeJu·Lekkl and Ikorodu as local government areas that are mostly at risk from ocean surge.

From their observations. the experts said that It Is ezpected that extreme wa· ter levels from stor m surges could reach beyond two metres even at low sea level rise projection.

Bes ides. they observed that marine and mangrove ecosystems of Lagos CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

»

Stakeholders seek ways of tackling climate change challenges « CONnNUED FROM PAGE 2S

Ity, selecting ccw"Ses of action, main-

"Lagos Slale shouJd give adequate support to surveillance and monitorIng of climate-related health outcomes, Water and sanitation services in Lagos State need to be scaled up, includIng the avaUabllityof polnt-of-use fumigation! disinfestation Interventions.

"There should be simulation exer· clses to prime the responsiveness or the health emergeney preparedness system In the state to clImate-Induced health

streaming

hazaros.

were under threat from climate change, saying there is need to understand the changes taklog place in the Interest of a sustainable n !,h lng Induslry and food security.

For Lagos to adapt to climate change being a coastaJ state, experts said It wouJd entaU assl'sslng its vulnerabU-

coastal

adaptation

Into

development eOol·ls. Implementing adaptation acUons a nd evaluating the actions for adaptive management.

"Lagos State should engage in sustained awareness campaign on the varl· ous health eITects of climate change, warning signs. survivaJ

paclty to gather, analyse and dissemi·

larty among vulnerable groups."

Governor Fashola, at the opening or the summJt sald that the state's ap· proach to the challenge of climate change had been deliberate, strategic and focused with a plan that bad moved from one stage to the nul On the importance of the summit, the governor asserted that, ..the underlying solution to climate change Is knowledge, preparation and adaptation_ Therefore, knowledge, lnformation and our relentless resolve to dominate the earth will be the weapons we need to fight and win this war."

He added, "when the ordinary man In the street Is beginning to acknowledge that there is a problem , then, It makes It easier for us to Join hands togethertoOght it", The CommLssioner for the Environment, Mt: TunJl Bello, added that the annual summit was an effort by the state government to create a forum for awareness on the menace of cl1m.ate change and further senslt1se the people about the looming dangers of Its effects in all areas of human endeavour.

BeUo also remarked that the expected outcome of the successive climate change summits was to atiraCI the support of all nationaJ governments towards environmental sustainabi11~ He added that Lagos State, being a traU blazer among other states in the nght agamst climate change. was ever committed to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through Green Economy Technologies, capturing of methane generated from solid waste for electricity and alternative energy, as well as othu forms of waste to wealth programmes.

He emphasised that part of the commitment was the technical review of the Vehicular Emission Regulation, proposed for year 2013 and lhe review of the flnal draft of the Lagos State En· vlronmental Law whose passage into law would have tremendous impact in achieving a sustainable environment in Lagos State.

He added that the commitment of the state government was also reflected in Its participation at various internatlonaJ summlts such as the C40 CIties Summit In Sao PauJo Brazil and the Resilience ClUes Swnmlt in Germany, the aim of which was to afford the stale gov· ernment the opportunity to share best practices in miUgaUon and adaptation to climate change.

nale climate reared data snch as high resolution di&hal elevation land-use patterns, meteurological and oceanographIc data among others to facilitate Ole determmatton of climate change risks, impacts and adaptation planning.

The communlqu! which was signed by the Public Relations Officer of the the state Ministry for the Environment.

MI:. MukaiJa SMut, read, NLagos State

needs to develop a comprehensive coastaJ adaptation slrutegy, Identifying cost effective and appropriate adaptation options for dllferenl areas and infrastructure al risk."

They canv883ed that the capacities of local gOl'unments should be enhanced In orrler to enable them lead the way in climate change adaptation, urging state government to adopt a bottom-up approtch to climate change adaptation and partner effectively with private sector <,p'rators and clvU society organizations The communlqu~ read, "Good synergies belween poUey-makers, sclentislS, lhe cltb.ens and other stakeholders should be promoled at aU levels of gov· ernance In the ('o"mtry.

"There should be increased synergy In cllmnte chante poUcles, strategies and responsible I.nstituUons among varIous levels of govl'rnance (FederaJ, state and local)," In order to fa:llitate the reduction of vehicular eillifsions, slakeholders at the forum canv8sl;ed the enforcement of Installation of ffllven catalytic converters In cars at t'le poMs of entry and to em;:ourage car peoUng as weU as mass transport system.

"A comprehellSlve response approach that wU1 incluye c1lmate chBllge information systen\l flood risk analysis and operationaJ adflitatlon strategy, with emphasis on Increasing people's resUlence. should Ue put in place," participants stated_ The experts slated that a thorough economic anatrsls of cUmate change Impacts should be undertaken to bring out the econonhc lmpl1catlons or inadequate respotl!le to climate change in the state.

They want ihlJ Federal Government and coastal staler to give priority to the creation of a ~rklng group to investigate the fealbllity and approach required ror the tabUshment of the continental prog mme for the assessment and management of risk to the African

' A COMPREHENSNE RESPONSE APPROACH THAT WILL INCLUDE CLIMATE CHANGE INFORMATION SYSTEM, FLOOD RISK ANALYSIS AND OPERATIONAL ADAPTATION STRATEGY, WITH EMPHASIS ON INCREASING PEOPLE'S RESILIENCE, SHOULD BE PUT IN PLACE ' coastal envlronmenL They said, "Lagos State should Inten· slfy research to domesticate many of tile economically lmponanl freshwa· ter fish species such as Estuarine cat· fish (Chryslchthysnlgrodlgllatus) and Snakehead (Parachannaobscura) and marine species such as Shlnynose (Polydactylusquadrifills) and Boboc.roaker (Pseudotolithus elongates) Blnong oth·

.".

"The state should put In place a COin ' munity-based adaptation initiative to ensure coherent response to cUmate change impacts in various sectors, particularly agricuJture, heaJth and wate!: "Lagos State should continue to un, dertake targeted greenhouse gas emission inventory of the industrla.J, telecommunication and transport sectors to monltor the eITecUveness of Its strat· egles and tnJUatives to curtaU Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions."

They urged the state to Invest In research and development to enable It to capitalise on a number of new opportu-

nlUes thai climate change oITers, "particularly for innovaUve approaches to the dlverslflcatlon of the state's energy mix, development of aJternative energy sources, energy emclency, cleaner tech· nologles and industries."

Participants at Ule event enjoined Lagos to continue to develop and Improve its early warning systems in respect of severe and e.xtreme weather and ensure that the warnings get to the on time The communique read, "The state should work closely with the Federal Government to lmprove Its accesslblLi· ty to various global resources to address climate change and explore additional bUateral relations to enhance Its capacIty to respond to climate change..

"Lagos State should collaborale with the Federal Government to establish an enabling environment, including tax inCi!ntlves, that will facU1tate large-scale adoption of LPG cooken and accessories as well as other energy efficient cooking appliances at aJIordabJe costs to the peri·urban and rural households.