Day: June 8, 2023

The African Development Bank (AfDB), says addressing plastic pollution requires effective multi-stakeholder partnerships among the government, private sector, youth groups and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

The Director-General, Nigeria Country Department of AfDB, Lamin Barrow, in a statement, was quoted to have spoken at a Webinar to commemorate the World Environment Day.

Barrow said that collaborative efforts would help to mitigate the challenges posed by plastic pollution and create a sustainable future for the continent.

”Nigeria and other African countries must explore new strategies to control, if not entirely eliminate, single use plastic.

”Among the crucial steps in combating plastic pollution is raising public awareness and educating citizens on environmental and health impacts of plastic waste pollution.

”Through comprehensive campaigns, leveraging various communications platforms, workshops and educational programmes, individuals can be sensitised to adopt environmentally friendly and sustainable practices to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic waste.

Barrow said by highlighting the negative consequences of plastic pollution and providing viable alternatives, awareness campaigns could inspire behavioural changes and promote responsible plastic consumption.

He said it was also important to mention some of the opportunities that plastics offered through repurposing and reuse.

According to him, the theme for this year’s World Environment Day is well-aligned with the AfDB’s priorities.

”Specifically, the 2023 edition of the African Economic Outlook inaugurated recently at the Bank Group’s Annual Meetings in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, underscores the need for increased private sector participation.

”In financing environmental and climate actions in Africa, with specific focus on the role of natural capital and application of circular economy approaches for the efficient utilisation of our environmental assets.

”Finding lasting solutions to plastics waste pollution in Nigeria requires a combination of hard and soft interventions along the plastics value chain.

”To this end, we commend the Federal Government for supporting the Nigeria Plastics Action Plan (NPAP),” the said.

According to the director-general, the plan provides a framework for stakeholder collaboration to tackle the problem of plastic waste pollution in the country, and promote circular economy practices.

Barrow restated the need for Nigeria to invest in infrastructure for waste collection, sorting and recycling.

”By establishing recycling facilities and encouraging waste segregation at source, the country can significantly reduce plastic wastes that end up choking landfills and the natural habitats.

”Strengthening partnerships with private sector actors, youth groups, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and local communities will help accelerate actions to implement sustainable waste management practices and create job opportunities in waste recycling.

”Another viable solution is the use of biodegradable alternatives to conventional plastic.

”Fiscal incentives and regulations can be deployed to stimulate adoption of biodegradable packaging by businesses, reducing demand for traditional plastics, thereby lessening plastic pollution.”

Barrow further said that implementing strict regulations and bans on single-use plastics was an effective measure to combat plastic pollution.

He urged government to take a queue from countries like Rwanda, which had successfully implemented such policies and regulations.

He said that Cote D’Ivoire, since 2014 had banned the production and use of plastic bags in the country.

”Nigeria can encourage industries to adopt sustainable practices and develop innovative solutions to reduce plastic waste throughout the supply chains.

”Promoting corporate social responsibility, supporting research and development of eco-friendly packaging, and establishing partnerships with organisations focused on sustainable development can further facilitate a more integrated approach to tackling plastic pollution,” he said.

The director-general reiterated some programmes the bank and its key partners had rolled out to address plastic pollution in Africa through the circular economy approach.

He named some of the programmes to include; host of the Secretariat of the Africa Circular Economy Alliance to spur Africa’s transition to a Circular Economy.

”The Bank also has established the Africa Circular Economy Facility as a multi-donor trust fund to provide grants to support the mainstreaming of the circular economy approaches.

”As an inclusive green growth strategy, this facility/Trust Fund will help African countries meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

”Nigeria can tap into this facility to support some of its work on the circular economy, including managing plastic pollution.

”More specifically for Nigeria, the AfDB and partners established the Nigeria Circular Economy Working Group in 2019.

”To provide a platform for key stakeholders including State Governments, Development Partners, the private sector and NGOs to share ideas, experience and coordinate actions to support the development of circular economy policies and bankable projects in Nigeria, among other projects.”

Barrow said with concerted efforts, sustainable solutions could be found to tackle the problem of plastic pollution, which poses a major threat to the environment, ecosystems and public health.

He said by raising public awareness, strengthening waste management systems, promoting biodegradable alternatives, implementing regulations, and fostering greater collaborative partnerships with industry and other Non-State actors, Nigeria could effectively address plastic pollution.

He, therefore, urged government, businesses, youth groups and communities to develop innovative partnerships to create a cleaner and healthier future.

The director-general urged the preservation of Nigeria’s natural beauty for the present and future generations, saying “We must say NO to single use plastics.”

Barrow assured the Bank’s strong commitment to supporting the endeavours to turn the challenges posed by plastic and other wastes into opportunities toward building a greener and circular economy.

Plastic pollution poses a significant environmental challenge worldwide.

It is estimated that seven billion tons of plastics are produced each year globally and about 21 million tons finds their way to the rivers, the seas, and the oceans where they can remain for a thousand years.

Only about 10 per cent of the plastics are recycled globally. The rest are dumped arbitrarily in open spaces, creating public health problems, damaging our ecosystem and defacing the aesthetics of our cities.

The story of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is not different.

Indeed, plastic pollution ranks among the topmost environmental challenges in the country, evidenced by the huge tons of plastic waste generated on a daily basis, particularly in our teeming cities and urban areas.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Chief Economist, Analysts’ Data Services and Resources (ADSR), Dr Afolabi Olowookere, has unveiled a baseline data book (Nigeria in Figures) to aid Nigeria’s planning process and drive socioeconomic growth and development.

Olowookere, during the book launch on Thursday in Lagos, said ‘Nigeria in Figures’ was presented as a reference data book to guide the measurement and assessment of Nigeria’s socioeconomic performance over time.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the event was, “Nigeria’s Socio-Economic Performance since 1999: Lessons for New Policymakers.”

According to the economist, the book provides evidence-based inputs into the discussions, analysis and planning by policymakers, researchers, businesses and other key stakeholders in the country.

He stated that the data book specifically showed the country’s relative performance against selected comparator countries providing detailed sources and description of relevant data.

Olowookere described the data book as a must have for the new government, particularly as the availability of these baseline data would afford Nigeria the opportunity to benchmark itself among top global countries.

“The Nigerian economy is changing and we have a new government that would need the data that scores performance of democracy from 1999 till date to aid its policy planning processes.

“This book presents in a comprehensive manner data at national, regional and state levels and describes the development, challenges and policies of different sectors.

“More often than not, Nigerians complain about the unavailability of data but we have lots of data in different sources such as libraries, bookshelves of many professors among other places,” said Olowookere.

He said he had put together all the data from different places, across different sectors in a single and simple source called Nigeria in Figures (A socioeconomic data book) even though his goal was to have the largest database in Africa.

“The data was collated across different key sectors of the economy and has compared the data from 1999 till date to provide background information aimed at driving socioeconomic growth and development.

“Alongside the data presentation, economic policies, trends, and development across different sectors of the economy are collated into a single source for easy access to provide insights for policymakers,” he said.

In her remarks, Mrs Toyin Sanni, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Emerging Africa Group, stated that access to such data would help align policies and initiatives that would aid private sector development.

According to Sanni, the private sector, though very dynamic and entrepreneurial, has been crippled by unfavourable policies and environment, which does not give room from planning.

She stressed that henceforth, the private sector should be brought in during policy creation, infrastructural development discussion, among others, for improved economic growth and development.

“Policy environment needs to change, infrastructure needs to be tackled and we need to know the initiatives that would ameliorate the impact of subsidy removal on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

“I am looking forward to some of these savings directed to stimulate MSME growth, healthcare, education, and security not just doling out cash to anybody,” she said.

Dr Chukwuka Onyekwena, Executive Director, Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa(CSEA), emphasised the need to mobilise resources towards education, agriculture and health sectors to promote socioeconomic stability.

He said for Nigeria to fulfil its socioeconomic objectives by 2050, the human capital must be developed by investing in sectors that directly impacted their development.

“This can be achieved by freeing up resources spent on things that are not urgent and channel same to those that impact the citizens directly.

“I suggest there should be expansion of vocational training and Nigeria must develop rural areas via rural infrastructure and ensure agricultural intervention programmes to drive economic growth and development,” he said.

Dr Suleyman Ndanusa, CEO, Global Mandate Consulting, said the data book was a massive and excellent undertaking by the author who has succeeded in creating a data encyclopedia on Nigeria.

He, however, emphasised the need for government to embrace measures that would help earn the trust and build the confidence of Nigerians in its abilities.

He noted that citizens needed to have confidence in the government to do what was fair and right and that trust was essential in a free and democratic environment.

“People are not willing to trust government, and when citizens lack trust, they are less likely to comply with laws and regulations.

“The challenges a country would face when they are building trust include people saying things that foster disunity along religious and tribal sentiments causing insecurity.

“Government needs to fulfil socioeconomic promises to build the trust of the citizens and the top priority area for the new government is good governance and discipline to perform its social contract,” he said.

Prof Olu Ajakaiye, Executive Chairman, African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building, said Nigeria in Figures offered comprehensive coverage of the key social and economic development indicators.

He stated that it would be particularly useful for policymakers at all levels of government.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria