Abuja — All citizens and key stakeholders should work in partnership with the government to ensure that Nigeria maintains a litter-free environment while civil society organisations (CSOs) should assist establish anti-litter programmes at community-level and encourage a "tidy-up-Nigeria" campaign as an imperative national initiative.

These are part of a 23 point communiqué issued at the end of the two-day third national stakeholder's forum on the new institutional mechanism for environmental protection and sustainable development in Nigeria.

The communiqué also recommended that the public and private sectors should, with the involvement of civil society and gender, identify and promote, at all levels, indigenous knowledge and coping strategies on environmental challenges while CSOs should identify ways and means of mobilizing citizens and ensuring their effective participation in environmental compliance monitoring and enforcement.

Earlier in his speech to declare open the two day workshop, the Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey, had appealed to members of the civil society organizations and community based organizations to deploy their networks for the mobilization of Nigerians on the threat of climate change and other environmental challenges, asking them to encourage Nigerians to embark on measures that will enhance green house gases emission reduction.

The most fundamental of these measures is to mobilize Nigerians to imbibe the culture of planting at least a tree and nurturing same.

The third national stakeholders forum on new mechanism for environmental protection and sustainable development in Nigeria was jointly organized by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and an organization called Tidy-up-Nigeria.