From Paul Orude, Bauchi
The Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA) in collaboration with OXFAM Nigeria, Menonite Economic Development Association (MEDA), ASM Foundation and other partners have organised a stakeholder meeting with over 58 organisations and partners in the state to commemorate the 2022 World Environment Day.
Those who attended the meeting included members of the academia, the Chairman House Committee on Environment in the State Assembly, Honourable Musa Nakwada, members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bauchi State council led by the Chairman Umar Sa’ed.
Others were officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Bauchi State Ministry for Housing and Environment, MDAs in the state, community-based organisations, religious and community leaders, among other relevant stakeholders and experts in the environmental sector.
In his welcome address at the event, which was held at Hazibal Suites along Yelwa road, on Monday, the Director-General of BASEPA, Dr Ibrahim Kabir, explained that the different stakeholders in the state were invited to the meeting in order to promote sustainability and in harmony with nature to overcome environmental challenges.
Dr Kabir appreciated Senator Bala Mohammed’s support to BASEPA since his assumption of office as governor, explaining that the governor welcomed the idea of organising the interaction with stakeholders to commemorate World Environment Day.
“This is the first of its kind in the state and the goal is to protect the environment. We have more than 58 organisations here working on different aspects of the environment,” he said.
“What we are targeting is to create a forum where environmental issues in the state would be discussed in order to come up with laws, policies and initiatives to solve the identified challenges”
The Director-General said the event was made possible by the support of members of the academia, MEDA, Oxfam Nigeria, ASM Foundation and other partners as well as stakeholders in the environmental sector.
He stressed that it was with the aim of achieving some goals, one of which is, sustainable development and to also create a forum that will be discussing environmental issues in the state and call on the legislative arm of the government to make a law on that regard.
Kabir also discussed the two activities of the Day, one of which was the stakeholders’ engagement that will provide an avenue for all the participants to discuss and brainstorm on all the environmental issues in the state and the outdoor activities of urban tree planting exercise at the Sulaiman Adamu community.
He thanked all the development partners such as MEDA, OXFAM, SISDEV, the Federal Ministry of Environment, state MDAs, NAGGW, NESREA, EHORECON, Uniform Voluntary organisations, Environment Based Groups CBOs, FBOs the traditional institutions as well as members of the press among others.
Commissioner for Housing and Environment, Hamisu Shira, commended the BASEPA DG for the initiative to organise stakeholders in the sector to interact and form a common ground to promote environmental issues.
Shiria, who was represented by Shehu Umar, Director of Environment in the Ministry of Housing and Environment, thanked donor partners for their support towards achieving sustainability in the environment in the state.
The Chairman House Committee on Environment, Hon Musa Wakili Nakwada, pledged the support and cooperation of the State Assembly to make relevant laws that will continue to promote environmental sustainability in the state.
The country Directors of MEDA, OXFAM and SISDEV, the chief executives of other organisations who spoke during the technical session commended the Director-General for initiating the stakeholders’ engagement and pledged to continue supporting the Agency and the state government to achieve a sustainable environment.
They also used the occasion to highlight some of the activities and achievements as well as challenges of their organisations in the state, which are all targeted towards the protection of the environment and the improvement of the livelihood of the people in the State.
At the end of the indoor session, the gathering moved to Sulaiman Adamu community, behind BSADP Bauchi for the conduct of a special tree planting exercise, where the stakeholders also discussed the new approach and modalities of the exercise and its importance in the improvement of livelihood and the achievement of sustainable development.
The community leader, Mallam Abdulbari Limanci, appreciated BASEPA and the partners for choosing his community for the important activity and assured them that the trees will be taken care of up to maturity level and become useful to humanity.
Limanci called on the Agency to intensify the establishment of the Environmental Health Officers (Duba Gari) in order to address numerous environmental nuisance in the community.
In his speech at the event, Governor Bala Mohammed who was the Special Guest of Honour said that he was overwhelmed attending the special celebration which was the first of its kind in this manner and in a larger scope.
He also said his administration has joined the international community in the celebration decades ago with the aim of creating a platform for raising awareness on environmental issues such as marine pollution, waste management, global warming, climate change, deforestation and population among others.
The Governor who was represented by the Chief of Staff, Government House, Dr Aminu Hassan Gamawa commended the collaborative efforts of all the development partners and organisations for coming together towards achieving the theme of this year’s celebration, which is ‘ONLY ONE EARTH’.
Mohammed assured of the state government’s support in providing an enabling environment for the organisations to achieve their plans of improving and promoting environmental sustainability.
World Environment Day was set aside by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the aim of raising awareness about degrading environmental conditions and encouraging people globally to take positive environmental actions, to help create a better future.
The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Only One Earth.’ This was also the slogan for the 1972 conference in Stockholm, where the annual global event was first instituted as contained in a statement by Isyaka Laminu Badamasi, SA IMedia to DG BASEPA.