Abimbola Akosile
10 November 2009
Lagos — Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, and President of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Chief Philip Asiodu, have jointly called for urgent decisive measures to tackle the impact of climate change.
While Fashola canvassed a change of mindset and attitude of Nigerians to anti-conservation activities, Asiodu called for urgent implementation of the national policy adopted in 1988, to restore Nigeria to 25 per cent forest cover by 2020.
The calls were made at the 2009 Walk for Nature programme, which has as theme "Celebrating a Greener Lagos," jointly organised by the NCF and Lagos State government at the State House, Marina, weekend.
NCF's Media Officer, Mr. Kunle Olawoyin, said "indiscriminate emission of carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere, as we all know it today, is wrecking havoc in many countries across the world.
'The fact that our planet is in danger is no longer open to debate. In the process of urbanisation, we have exploited nature's resources may be a little too extensively.
"Nature is fighting back and we cannot withstand the consequences. Lagos is a coastal state and therefore, is at risk to the incidence of rising water levels caused by climate change.
As the threat exists, the limitless capacity of the human race and its ingenuity also demonstrates that this is not a threat that is beyond our capacity to overcome. It simply requires us to do some things differently and change our lifestyles and toil it exacts on the environment," he said.
On his part, Asiodu said the need to live in harmony with nature is not contestable, "if we are to succeed in handing over to posterity, the earth as a viable planet for mankind.
"We are greatly challenged in all spheres of environmental concern: severe deforestation and desertification, sheet erosion, gully erosion, loss of biodiversity and threats to endangered species, oil and gas pollution and severe ecological degradation in the Niger Delta, poor solid and waste management, and lack of capacity for toxic waste management.
"There is much coincidence and complementarities between what we need to do to address these challenges and what we have to do in concert with the global community, to confront the challenge of climate change," he said.
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