RAE urges African nations to take ownership of hydrocarbon resources - NaijaAgroNet

 ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

The Nigeria’s Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited has called on African nations to take full ownership of the continent’s vast hydrocarbon resources, stressing that energy leadership is central to unlocking industrialisation and sustainable development, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking during a high-level panel on Frontier Plays in Mature Basins at the ongoing Africa Energy Week in Cape Town, South Africa, the Chairman of Renaissance’s Board of Directors, Dr. Layi Fatona, said the time has come for Africa to shift from dependency to leadership in energy matters.

600m children to live with limited water resources by 2040 - UNICEF

NaijaAgroNet: 

An estimated 600 million children will be living in areas where water demand far outstrips supply by 2040, according to a UNICEF, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This, UNICEF also said reflects that 1 in 4 children worldwide will be suffering from water scarcity in the next 23 years.

UNICEF, NaijaAgroNet noted in the report entitled, Thirsting for a Future: Water and children in a changing climate, looked at the threats to children’s lives and wellbeing caused by depleted sources of safe water and the ways climate change will intensify these risks in coming years.

UNICEF Executive Director, Mr. Anthony Lake said that water is elemental; without it, nothing could grow.

“But around the world, millions of children lack access to safe water -- endangering their lives, undermining their health, and jeopardizing their futures. This crisis will only grow unless we take collective action now,” said.

According to the report, 37 countries, including Nigeria, are currently facing extremely high levels of water stress, which occurs when more than 80 per cent of the water available for agriculture, industry and domestic use is withdrawn annually. Warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, increased floods, droughts and melting ice affect the quality and availability of water.

For Nigeria, the greatest challenge, NaijaAgroNet gathered, is the availability of physical infrastructure to harness rainfall and ground water effectively.

UNICEF’s Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Kannan Nadar, pointed out that there are huge variations in rainfall between north and south Nigeria, making it all the more important to better plan and manage water resources to minimise the impact of floods and drought.

“In Nigeria, as we work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of reaching everyone with access to safe, functional, affordable and accessible water, we must manage water resources more efficiently to meet the needs of Nigeria’s growing population and economic development,” Nadar said.

NaijaAgroNet recalled that population growth, coupled with increased water consumption, and higher demand for water largely due to industrialization and urbanization, are draining water resources worldwide. Conflicts in many parts of the world also threaten children’s access to safe water. 

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Green economy solution for Africa’s development

 NaijaAgroNet

A green economy offers considerable opportunities for mobilizing resources towards an economic growth pathway that is low-emission in terms of carbon-dioxide and greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere during economic production activities, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

According to research, NaijaAgroNet gathered, green economy also builds a culture of resource efficiency in economic activities and of sustainable consumption among the population as well as climate-resilient housing, infrastructure and other economic installations, while at the same time adapting to different approaches to promote, among others, resilient agricultural production, diversification into off-farm livelihoods and other diversification innovations for the local and export markets.

 Mr.Achim Steiner, an expert in environmental issues and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, NaijaAgroNet learnt, once said that inclusive green economy has the potential to improve human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.

African countries, NaijaAgroNet also gathered, are at a critical stage in their developmental life coupled with challenges of poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation which include deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, and loss of biodiversity.

However, the combination of tackling poverty, accelerating growth and development, and addressing climate change, is likely to involve trade-offs and policy choices between mutually supportive, but equally important priorities toward the improvement of welfare and quality of life for Africa's citizens.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology