Nigeria

UNDP Hosts World Environment Day Celebrations 2007

Is Nigeria doing enough to complement the global effort towards mitigating climate change? The question was posed by Mr. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, former Acting Secretary General, OPEC, Vienna, and Coordinator NNPC in a paper, titled “Nigeria’s Vulnerability to the Impact of Climate Change”, at the celebration of the World Environment Day 2007, which was hosted by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, at the UN House in Abuja on 14 June, 2007.

In the middle is Mr. Turhan Saleh, UNDP Country Director, to the right is Head of Service, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, who represented the Vice President at the event

Special Guest of honour at the event, and Vice President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, said that although African countries, including Nigeria are emitting a very small percentage of the gases causing global climatic changes, Africans are the ones who will greatly suffer the consequences, which include water shortages, water borne diseases especially in tropical countries without good sanitation, and decrease in crop yield, with the attendant threat to food security. The Vice President who was represented by the Head of Service, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, further said that part of the policy goal of the government was to ensure sustainable use of our forests and prevent desertification through extensive reforestation programme and tightening control of fuel wood extraction from reserves, as well as ensuring that gases are refined for economic benefits instead of flared.

Participants at the event were unanimous in their agreement that climatic changes threaten the ability of the African countries including Nigeria to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and that Africa’s vulnerability limits the effectiveness of development interventions. They called for greater efforts in reducing the rate of global warming at national and international levels.

The need for sustainable national development to be anchored on environmental sustainability and sound environmental management and given prominence in the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies II document was advocated. The need also to create an enabling environment for the development of Clean Development