Climate Watch: Minister seeks effective reporting of environmental challenges

Despite directly impacting our communities, health, and livelihoods, climate-related reports usually take a back seat to dominant news beats like politics and business.

Climate Watch aims to ensure you never miss important stories on climate change and actions being taken toward limiting its impact.

Here is a round-up of last week’s climate stories:

• Iziaq Salako, minister of state for environment, has called for effective climate reporting to address environmental challenges in the country. Salako spoke in Abuja on May 3 at an event marking the 2024 World Press Freedom Day. The theme of this year’s event is, “A Press for the planet: Journalism in the face of the environmental crisis”. Salako said there is a need to reaffirm the collective commitment to the principles of a free and independent press for effective climate journalism. He said journalism plays a pivotal role in advancing environmental agendas, as a catalyst for change, as well as a watchdog for accountability. The minister said journalists shed light on the pressing issues of the environmental crisis facing the country through investigative reporting and insightful analysis.
• The Lagos ministry of environment and water resources has warned residents of the Ojota and Ogudu areas against building on drainage channels. Tokunbo Wahab, Lagos commissioner for environment and water resources, said contravention notices had been served to property owners in the two areas since 2021 to encourage voluntary compliance. The commissioner said some residents disregarded the notices and continued construction. Wahab said the ministry would commence major maintenance dredging at Okota and Faseun bridge system 6E, located off Ago Palace way. Read more here.
• A group of scientists has developed a “self-digesting plastic” which could help reduce environmental pollution. The researchers have come up with a sci-fi-like solution to incorporate spores of plastic-eating bacteria into polyurethane. Polyurethane is tricky to recycle and mainly ends up in landfills, but with the new development, the plastics can self-destruct. Han Sol Kim, a researcher at the University of California San Diego, La Jolla, added that the spores might increase the toughness of the plastic. Find out more here.
• Joseph Utsev, minister of water resources and sanitation, has implored the World Bank to increase funding and support for Nigeria to address water and sanitation challenges in the country. The minister said the ministry is expecting more funding for the sustainable power and irrigation project for Nigeria (SPIN). Utsev said he is optimistic that the initiative will generate employment opportunities for the youths and also aid power generation and agriculture, thereby improving the well-being of Nigerians. Read more here.
• The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concern over the rising number of displaced persons following the persistent rainfall across regions of Africa. The UNHCR said thousands of people, including refugees, have been displaced from their homes due to heavy rains in Central and East Africa. Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi are among the countries experiencing abnormally heavy rains this season. Find out more here.
• The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) said Nigeria has acquired a cosmic ray muon detector to aid climate change and atmospheric research. Babatunde Rabiu, director of the UN-African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in English (UN-ARCSSTEE), announced the acquisition at a symposium in Abuja. He said the muon detector was built and designed by the physics and astronomy department of Georgia State University. Rabiu said cosmic rays are useful in studying the climate because they are natural radiations that are not ionised in the atmosphere. Read more here.