Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Dr. Muhammad Mahmood Abubakar, in the presentation of the country’s statement at the Ministerial High-Level Segment of the 25th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) holding in Madrid, Spain, says the nation is advancing policies and initiatives aimed at addressing significant challenges occasioned by climate change, and also willing to be a part of the global solution towards tackling the phenomenon. The political momentum generated by the recent UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in September at the margin of the 74 United Nations…
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The World Bank has approved a loan of $275 million to support disaster risk management in Morocco, the MAP news agency reported on Thursday, December 12, 2019. The loan aims to help the North African country strengthen its capacity to manage the financial impact of natural disasters and climate-related shocks, it added. It will also support the reforms designed to strengthen the financial, governance, and operational framework of the Moroccan Solidarity Fund against Catastrophic Events. The fund is a critical tool which complements private insurance by providing compensation to the uninsured, such as the poor and most vulnerable, the MAP…
A new analysis of satellite data dispels the prevailing view that rainforests took the biggest hit from widespread fires in Indonesia in 2019. “While there has been much speculation in the news that the heavy fire season has taken a toll on the country’s remaining rainforests, there was no hard evidence to support that notion,” said David Gaveau, a landscape ecologist, and research associate at the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Bogor, Indonesia. “We set out to determine how much land has burned and what type of land cover has been burning. This knowledge is crucial to understanding consequences and…
Ahead of the World Soil Day (WSD) Prof. Ayo Ogunkunle, President, Governing Council of the Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS), says no fewer than 1.5 billion people are affected by soil erosion globally. Ogunkunle, who disclosed this on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 in Abuja, attributed the statistics to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), 2013 latest figure. The WSD is commemorated annually on Dec. 5, to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and advocacy for sustainable management of soil resources. The theme for 2019 is “Stop soil erosion, save our future”. The president defined soil…
Nigeria has said that the revival of the Lake Chad Basin which dried up over the decades will gulp up $50 billion. Minister of Environment, Dr. Muhammad Mahmood Abubakar, made the disclosure on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 in Madrid, Spain during the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that ended on Sunday, December 15. COP25 had “Time for action” as its theme. While attributing the drying up of the waterbody that spans several countries including Nigeria to climate change, Abubakar described the disappearance of water in…
The Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered the transfer of Soku oil field from Bayelsa State to Rivers State, adjudged by it to be the rightful owner. Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order on Monday, December 16, 2019 while delivering judgment in a suit instituted by Rivers Government against the Attorney-General of Bayelsa and the Attorney-General of the Federation. Ekwo ordered the National Boundary Commission (NBC) to rectify the error in its 11th Edition of Administrative Map which designated San Bartholomew River as the boundary between the two states, instead of River Santa Barbara. The Counsel had submitted that the…
The Lagos State Government on Wednesday, December 18, 2019 unveiled 39 construction companies who have expressed interest in the construction of the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge in the state. Some of the firms are Julius Berger, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Kyeryong Construction Company, Pythgoras Holdings and CRCCCI Nigeria. China State Construction and Engineering Corporation Nigeria Ltd, Bua International Ltd, China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation Company Ltd, among numerous others, also submitted bids when the state government advertised for expression of interest on the new bridge some weeks ago. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works…
World Health Organisation (WHO) says overall global tobacco use reduced from 1.397 billion in 2000 to 1.337 billion in 2018 or by approximately 60 million people. The world body disclosed this in a statement released on Thursday, December 19, 2019 in Geneva on Global Trends in Prevalence of Tobacco Use 2000-2025 Third Edition, posted on its website. The report covers use of cigarettes, pipes, cigars, waterpipes, smokeless tobacco products (like bidis, cheroots and kretek) and heated tobacco products. Electronic cigarettes are, however, not covered in the report. It noted that the number of males using tobacco globally had declined, showing…
Turkey unveiled its first domestically designed automobile prototypes on Friday, December 27, 2019 – a sport utility vehicle (SUV) and a sedan. The fully electric SUV is expected to have two engine configurations – 200 horsepower or 400 horsepower, CEO of Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) Gürcan Karakaş announced during a presentation in Kocaeli. The version with the higher running capacity will go from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 4.8 seconds. The vehicle will have a range of up to 500 kilometres and a locally produced Lithium-ion battery chargeable to 80% in less than 30 minutes. Speaking…
Zimbabwe is facing the worst hunger crisis in 10 years, a deputy director of the World Food Programme (WPF), who addressed the issue in the capital Harare, said on Monday, December 30, 2019. “More than half of the population of 14 million people is threatened by food insecurity,’’ deputy director, Niels Balzer, said. Balzer adding that it was as a result of drought and decades of mismanagement under the long-term ruler Robert Mugabe, who died in September. The WFP had planned to distribute food from abroad to 4.1 million people, especially in rural areas. The hunger crisis, however, continues to…