- The Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology is happy to join the United Nations in celebrating World Environment day as a day set aside for positive action on the environment. This years celebration is very significant as it comes at an opportune time of the year when we are all getting ready for the earth summit and when it appears that the European fiscal instability challenge seems to caste a shadow on the this years celebration.
- The Nigerian Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology hopes that this year’s celebration spotlights the growing vulnerability of Africa to environmental challenges especially climate change and the need for all countries of the world to act positively and fast to create a global framework for tackling these challenges and to create a framework for green economy development through technology transfers and the adoption of a holistic mitigation policy for the vulnerable poor in Africa.
- As Nigeria joins the global community to celebrate today, it is my earnest hope that everyone, especially the leadership in our beloved country will begin to take positive action to combat the growing environmental threats of desertification sweeping across the far North and eating up about 6km of our arable lands annually, the devastation of hydraulic coastal erosion and flooding in the West to the malignant gully erosion in the East all of which is choking us down to the center.
- As if these are not enough problems already we are still confronted with the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta from oil exploration. In the mist of these challenges however, Nigeria has great potential to leverage on to create a green economy through clean energy development. Let us resolve to immediately tackle gas flaring and the cleaning up of decades of oil spills in the Niger Delta. I ask you all to join hands with us to raise the Nigerian green wall to challenge desertification to a standstill. Let us bring gully erosion to a halt through watershed management and save our collective ecology.
- As a committee it is our pledge to lead the vanguard towards a Nigerian green economy by doing our best to create the necessary legislative structure to successfully guide us through. On this commitment we will not waver.
- In line with these commitments we have initiated a bill on gas flaring prohibition to accelerate the immediate stoppage of gas flaring in Nigeria. This bill has gone through first reading on the floor of the senate. We have also initiated a bill to deal with the oil spill and degradation of the Niger Delta area through an amendment to the NOSDRA Act of 2006. We have just concluded a public hearing on an Erosion Commission Bill with resolve to comprehensively deal with the numerous ecological challenges we face across the country through a comprehensive legislative framework.
- We are committed to adopting a very stringent oversight mechanism on the 2012 Budget implementation. Our aim is to ensure that moneys for funding of projects are utilized effectively and efficiently. This committee is committed to ensure that we see a glaring difference in output in the budget performance of the environmental sector this year through collaboration, oversight and benchmarking. We are also supporting forest conservation initiatives such as clean cook stoves as a green development strategy.
- We can’t do all of this without the help of the media and we as you to join us in fulfilling the committee purpose.
Signed,
Sen. A.B. SARAKI