The World Environment Day slogan for 2009 is “Your Planet Needs You-Unite for Climate Change”. It reflects the urgency for nations to ‘seal the deal’ at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen some 180 days later in the year. A statement by the Women Environmental Programme (WEP) - Nigeria states the organization’s concerns for the gender dimensions of climate change and its impact on Africa.

PRESS STATEMENT BY MS. PRISCILLA ACHAKPA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WOMEN ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMME - NIGERIA
On the Occasion of the 2009 Commemoration of the World Environment Day
5 June 2009

Abuja – Nigeria
5 June 2009

World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

The World Environment Day slogan for 2009 is Your Planet Needs You-Unite for Climate Change. Recognizing that Climate Change is becoming the defining issue of our era and times, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is stimulating worldwide awareness of the current state of our environment and enhancing political attention and action. Of particular attention to the core of each year’s celebration is the empowerment of people and communities to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development.

The theme for this year’s celebration reflects the urgency for nations to ‘seal the deal’ at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen some 180 days later in the year. It also raises a call for everyone to get involved, rethink actions and ways that result in wastage and heavy greenhouse gas emissions, and adopt a greener lifestyle.

As is the practice every year, to celebrate the World Environment Day, WEP has outlined several activities that will last for two days prior to Friday June 5th ranging from creating awareness among the communities in the FCT on environmental issues which have direct impact and bearing on community members’ particularly on women and other vulnerable members of the society who often bear the brunt occasioned by environmental changes which are natural or man-made. It is worthy to note that the activities are targeted at the poor and communities as they often are the hardest hit by weather-related disasters.

The vision and mission of WEP are from the perspective of being ‘entry points’ for the deepening of engagement with the various stakeholders and enlightenment of Nigerians on environmental, socio-economic and political issues within Nigeria and internationally. To facilitate this process, WEP creates and sustains interest in socio-economic and political issues especially among women and youths in the country and across the globe. The Organisation’s Strategic Plan of Operations, which outlays the direction of WEP for the next five years (2008 – 2012), envisages 4 major programme projects viz. Environment, Governance, Peace and Conflict Resolution, and Natural Resources Development. Specifically, one of the objectives of the Environmental Sustainability Sub-Project makes a case to increase public awareness in the various aspects of Climate Change especially the gender dimensions.

While we do not want to go into a detailed discourse on Climate Change, we are pained to point out that non-action on the issue will have profound effect on the populace of Nigeria and Africa as a whole – on their livelihoods, economic activities and condition of the arable land and water bodies.

One particular concern of Climate Change is its gender dimension. Climate Change is a global phenomenon, with impacts that are already being experienced on a human level. It is recognised that it is those who are already the most vulnerable and marginalised who experience the greatest impacts (see IPCC 2007), and are in the greatest need of adaptation strategies in the face of shifts in weather patterns and resulting environmental phenomena. At the same time, it is the vulnerable and marginalised who have the least capacity or opportunity to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate or to participate in negotiations on mitigation. As women constitute the largest percentage of the world’s poorest people, they are most affected by these changes. Children and youth – especially girls – and elderly women, are often the most vulnerable. It therefore means any response to Climate Change must be gender sensitive.

Inequalities can intensify the impact of Climate Change for all individuals and communities. A gender-sensitive response requires more than a set of disaggregated data showing that Climate Change has differential impacts on women and men. It requires an understanding of existing inequalities between women and men, and of the ways in which climate change can exacerbate these inequalities. Conversely, it also requires an understanding of the ways in which these.

Even where there is a lack of hard empirical evidence, it is commonly recognised that climate change exacerbates existing inequalities in the key dimensions that are not only the building blocks of livelihoods, but are also crucial for coping with change, including: wealth; access to and understanding of technologies; education; access to information; and access to resources.

On our part as civil society and in practical terms WEP is currently carrying out an investigation on gender knowledge and awareness for the adaptations to Climate Change in the three (3) geo-political zones of northern Nigeria. The proposed project will assess in detail, the options for adaptation at the community level that include gender knowledge and awareness of Climatic Change. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be used to produce advocacy/ awareness documentaries and Climate Change adaptation training manuals and the information generated in the study will feed into the community based pilot projects and advocacy schemes and will be used to produce policy briefs.

To do this effectively, WEP is working with some partners to undertake coordinated actions in the earlier mentioned parts of Nigeria to assist the Nigerian people organize and have a systematic approach to address adaptive requirements recognized as necessary to deal with climate change impacts and reduce vulnerability at various levels, especially the local level, closest to the people’s lives. The project is to help build informed responses by enhancing capacity at the community, state and national levels for efficient climate change adaption strategies, policies and actions.

While we agree that the Nigerian government is committed to ensuring a safe environment for its people, we must concede that more needs to be done in not just in mitigating the negative impacts of environmental degradation, but also in promoting increased environmental education to all segments of the society.

We therefore call on the Nigerian government and African governments to take action on the following:

1. Gas Flaring by oil companies. It is not enough to give ‘arm-chair’ deadlines. The government must understand that the human and other costs of gas flaring cannot be equated to even the highest revenue brought in by the sale of crude oil. The so-called fines are accounted for as part of production cost of oil and are more or less paid for by the Nigerian state. They are no incentive for the corporations to stop the harmful practice. Halting gas flaring is a major step that government must take to show any seriousness to address the issue of the Niger Delta and to show acceptable global citizenship. Continued gas flaring is a complete negation of efforts being made in the world today to curb global warming. It is also a slight on efforts to halt conflicts in the Niger Delta as well as giving the people a chance to recover their highly curtailed means of livelihood.
2. Gender-sensitivity on Climate Change issues. That the proposed Act setting up the Climate Change Commission must have a gender lens to address the issues of gender, since the impact of climate change impacts more on the female gender
3. Drought and Desertification. Drought and desertification are emergency issues and must be treated as such. Climate change is a major contributor to distorted weather patterns and increasing incidents of drought in Nigeria. Droughts have been one important cause of crop failures, of livestock deaths, and of food shortages in Nigeria currently experienced. Pastoralists are heavily impacted and have to search over large areas for grazing and water for their animals thus risking serious land conflicts. Investment in renewable energy is one way of combating the menace of desertification. Other efforts would include integrating indigenous knowledge systems   in land and natural resource management systems and linking these actions in rural areas, strengthening and supporting local coping mechanisms, and in engaging in research and development activities in collaboration with local people with gender mainstreaming
4. We repeat our earlier call that Nigeria must be more resolute in ‘living by the provisions’ of the various environmental protocols, conventions, agreements and legal frameworks it has signed
5. Review report of the African Commission on Sustainable Development (ACSD5) states that by 2010 forests in Nigeria will diminish, which means in the next one year, Nigeria will have no forests. This situation is frightening and needs urgent intervention. In this regard WEP is recommending aggressive tree planting with the involvement of all stakeholders especially at the community levels and in urban areas

The Planet needs you and I to save it. Climate Change is now widely recognized as the defining challenge of our time. Addressing Climate Change should not be the preserve of the central to the work of the United Nations and world governments. Everyone has a role to play in reducing the threat that Climate Change poses to peace, security, sustainable development and quality of life.

I thank you for your kind attention.

Priscilla M. Achakpa
Executive Director, Women Environmental Programme (WEP)
Block E Flat 2 Anambra Court Gaduwa Housing Estate
Apo after Legislative Quarters, Abuja – Nigeria
+234 9 672 1633
info@wepnigeria.net,wep@usa.com

climate change, human rights, Women rights