Kick-Out the Cholera – Clean Up the Waterways
A two months COMMUNITY WATER CLEAN UP CAMPAIGN in the Niger Delta, to reduce the spread of cholera and waterborne diseases. Kick-out the Cholera – Clean up the Waterways is an initiative of the Centre for Ecological and Community Development in response to wide-spread cholera and other water related diseases in Nigeria and in anticipation of World Water Monitoring Day as well as International Coastal Cleanup Day, targeted to be implemented in 36 LGAs and 108 local communities for a period of two months with a projected cost of $30,500 USD (₦4,575,000). The cholera epidemic is assuming a devastating hurricane wind in Nigeria, sweeping through the North and South Eastern parts of the country – there have been recorded 6,497 cases with 352 deaths while the Federal Government alerted the nation that the entire country was at risk of the epidemic.
Youths Summit on Climate Change (YSCC)
In realizing that the worlds population is about 3.2 billion people under the age of 35, of which 85 percent are living in our developing countries, young people are concerned, thoughtful citizens capable of participating in, and changing the society of which they are a part. Climate change has become a reality globally, with deteriorating socio-economic and environmental impacts. More fierce weather events, floods, desert encroachments, disrupted season cycles; ecosystems, food supply and water supply are seriously affected. The main aim of this summit is to build the youths capacity to champion the green economy in Nigeria and generate employment as well as reduce poverty and impact of climate change in their communities.
Urgent Need for Natural Heritage Conservation Commission
Today, Federal, State and Local governments, including development partners, are spending billions of Naira on various development programmes, especially in the Niger Delta. Environmental resources – such as rainforests, biological diversities and the genetic pools that have sustained the livelihood of our people for centuries – have never been considered as a major component of the development programmes. This therefore calls into question sustainability. There are over 30 abandoned forest reserves in this region and nothing has been said about it. During the ancient time, our forefathers learned that their actions could undermine the natural resource base of their communities. They developed traditional coping mechanisms, such as protecting some forests as sacred groves, fishing some streams only once a year, and taboos forbidding animals and birds from being killed at certain periods of the year – all this traditions enhanced conservation and protection.
CECD Call to Action
We thank you all for participating in our workshop on tropical forestry and climate change 2009, while seeking for partnership and collaborations to continue our full time rain forest conservation project in the Niger Delta. The national forestry policy as adopted since 1958, and the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, recommended that 25 percent of Nigeria\u2019s land mass should be set aside as protected forest reserves. But today less than 8 percent of Nigeria\u2019s land mass is protected. About 22 designated forest reserves are in the nine states of the Niger Delta; these forests are under the control of state governments, they either stand or fall depending on the interest of the ruling government, and they are ruthlessly exploited without maintenance. In the face of climate change, forests remain the only opportunity we have to benefit from the carbon credit market. We are calling on civil society organizations to work together to further the interest of conservation in Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta where oil exploration is rendering our tropical rain forests to sterile soil.
Protection of the World Remaining Tropical Rainforest is Vital for All Humanity
When forests thrive, we all thrive. To prevent the most dangerous impacts of climate change, we must conserve the world\u2019s tropical forests. These investments will also protect the vital resources that forests provide – fresh water, food, medicine, and habitat for more than half of all the species on Earth. We in Nigeria need to be at the forefront of protecting these vital assets in Africa, which are important not only for stabilizing the climate, but for ensuring the long-term security of our rural communities, including our own cities. Fighting global warming and moving to a clean energy economy will require the world to come together and protect the world\u2019s tropical forests. Destruction of the world\u2019s forests produces about 20 percent of the climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere each year – more than from all the planes, trains and automobiles on Earth. Additionally, millions of people around the world depend on forests for clean water, food, shelter and their livelihoods.