joshuaNasarawa, NGOs collaborate on climate change issues
From Esther Akaa , Lafia
Non Governmental Organisations, Beacon Youth Initiative (BYI) and Education as a Vaccine (EVA) have expressed willingness to work in synergy with the Nasarawa State Government to strengthen approaches that will help in mitigating the effects of climate change on people of the State.
The NGOs made this commitment on Thursday during an advocacy visit to the State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in Lafia.
Speaking during the visit, Executive Director of BYI, Mr Emmanuel Okolo said BYI, a non-profit organisation collaborating with EVA and the African Activists for Climate Justice (AACJ) project, was concerned about the negative impact of climate change on vulnerable populations, a situation he explained has prompted the visit to the ministry as a key stakeholder on the issue.
Okolo noted that the Nigeria Meteorological Agency and the Nigeria Geological Services Agency had predicted flooding in the State this year, hence emphasising the importance of working together to mitigating the effects through adaptive measures that would benefit the State.
He expressed willingness to synergise with the ministry and other critical stakeholders to continuously engage and strengthen approaches that will help in mitigating the effects of climate change on the people of the State.
” We are doing our best to mitigate the impact of climate change with greater awareness as well as strengthening the capacity of people that are most impacted by these climate issues.
“We have seen that Nasarawa State has been impacted by flooding and mostly women, youths and persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by some of the impact of flooding and other climate related issues.
” We are therefore advocating for inclusion of women, Children and people living with disabilities in key designs and implementation of programmes that will help to put them in the centre of decision making processes.”
Okolo commended the state government for the efforts taken so far to address environmental and climate related issues and called for collaboration between the government and other non governmental organisations to address climate change issues in the State .
Responding, the Permanent Secretary, State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Mohammed Rosha, said the ministry was on top of the situation as all flood-prone areas have an automated flood machine which is linked to the phones of residents, that informs the community about impeding floods.
According to him, the ministry was also taking proactive measures through monthly sanitation, by clearing the waterways and preventing people from dumping refuse in the waterways as measures to mitigate flooding in the State.
” We have been carrying out sensitisation on the issue of community preparedness in the event of any flooding and even in the urban area, we are also going to sensitise the residents against building on waterways.
“We will soon embark on advocacy vidits to traditional rulers to educate them on how the community can prepare against the adverse effects of climate change,” he added.
He, therefore assured of the ministry’s readiness to partner any organisation or individual for the benefit of the citizens of the State.
The group also visited the Executive Secretary of the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency ( NASEMA), Barr. Zachary Allumaga who assured of the agency’s commitment to collaborate with them to reduce the impact of climate change in the state.
