Communiqué at the End of Two Days Zonal Youth Climate Incubation Hub held at Port Harcourt, Rivers State
* Preamble
The Federal Ministry of Environment in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on August 15th -16th hosted a regional Youth Climate Incubation Hub for South-South zone, the first of six zones at the Visa Karina Hotel in Port Harcourt, this is to further strengthen Nigeria’s position as a member country of the United Nations’ Youth Engagement and Public Mobilization track at the Climate Action Summit in September 2019.
The event was facilitated by Health of the Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), an environmental think-tank organization and had a total number of 70 participants draw from Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers State.
In his remark, Nnimmo Bassey, an Environmental Justice Advocate and Director of HOMEF underscored the importance of the Youth Roundtable on Climate Action, which is to unlock youth innovativeness in Nigeria’s climate action. He further emphasized that young people have the brightest ideas for solving problems of climate change in Nigeria.
While welcoming the participants to the event, the Federal Ministry of Environment through its Department of Climate Change charged the participants on the imperativeness of this event, as climate and climate change have become an issue of global concern particularly in Third World countries like Nigeria.
Sa’adatu Gambo, a Senior Scientific Officer at the Department of Climate Change, who represented the Federal Ministry of Environment also mentioned that the Department of Climate Change is the country’s focal point for the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and are always eager and ready to welcome creative ideas from young people on how to solve problems of climate change which has become a serious global threat to humanity.
* Expectations
It is expected that at the end of the two days event, there will be an acceleration of key improvement on climate change.
Creative ideas that are specific, measurable, achievable, bankable, realistic and time bound which will be harnessed and built from concept stage to actual implementation.
* Observation
Following the foregoing expectations, it was observed that:
- Issues of climate change calls for emergency in Nigeria therefore proactive measures must be put in place by the Nigerian government to tackle it;
-The non-implementation of extant environmental laws and policies continue to serve as a major setback in the fight for a safe climate in Nigeria;
-The need to create more awareness among the Nigeria citizenry;
-Financial investment and transfer of technology to build human capacity and groom basic ideas that will mitigate climate crises in Nigeria.
* Recommendations
After series of brain storming and Focused Group Discussion (FGD) among all participants, the following innovative ideas were strongly recommended by the various South-South States that attended the Regional Youth Climate Incubation Hub in Port Harcourt.
- Climate Change Desk Officers at both Federal and State ministries in Nigeria should ensure that participants of this Youth Climate Hub are further engaged on climate change issues;
- Biogas: generating biogas from household biodegradable waste and biodigester
- Recycling: Effort should be made on recycling as regards plastic bottle collection and reuse and also waste segregation and separation
- Education and Environmental Literacy: Establish environmental clubs and advocacy for target groups and also creating certain social documentaries in local dialects
on climate change;
-Technology: Apps should be available to map vulnerable and non-vulnerable areas to climate change impact and solar panels should be more affordable for the people;
-Mangrove reclamation and tree planting especially indigenous and economic crops;
-There is need for government at all levels to stop paying lip service and amplify action on climate change policy implementations;
- There should be a massive advocacy campaigns on the impact of climate change;
- The inclusion of climate change education in our curriculum at the various levels of learning in Nigeria;
- Youths voices should be further amplified and their creative ideas on climate change harnessed.
- The need to strengthen existing structure to integrate women and marginalized groups participation in all levels in climate action in Nigeria.
