Nigeria’s environment dangerously approaching tipping point – Minister

Mallam noted that the unsustainable exploration and exploitation of the country’s natural resources are giving rise to various environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss, deforestation, desertification, erosion and flooding.  She made the remark while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 8th National Stakeholders Forum of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), […]

Mallam noted that the unsustainable exploration and exploitation of the country’s natural resources are giving rise to various environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss, deforestation, desertification, erosion and flooding.  
She made the remark while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 8th National Stakeholders Forum of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), tagged ‘Stakeholders’ Engagement in Environmental Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement’, in Abuja.
She disclosed that the air we breathe is becoming more polluted than ever before from our indoor and outdoor activities and that the water we drink is also increasingly being polluted and fouled by domestic, industrial and agricultural activities.
“The state of our environment calls for active engagement and participation of all stakeholders, both from the public and private sectors, and at national, regional and global levels,” she said.
She said our landscape is being degraded and suffocated with all sorts of wastes and that the noise levels in our homes, work places and public areas have exceeded the acceptable decibels.
“We are becoming very uncomfortable, and at risk too due to environmental problems, wherever we find ourselves,” she said.
She added that the state of our environment calls for active engagement and participation of all stakeholders, thereby making stakeholders’ engagement a top priority of NESREA.
Mallam was of the opinion that we created the problems for ourselves by disregarding and abusing the extant laws and regulations bearing on the environment and also that we are failing in our civic responsibility to be active watchdogs and vanguards  against all forms of environmental crime.
“By our actions and inactions, we are distancing ourselves from the attributes of a clean and healthy environment,” the minister said.
Speaking earlier, the Director General of NESREA, Dr. Ngeri Benebo stated that over the years, the agency has strived to live up to its vision and mission, and to implement its mandate with the cooperation and support of stakeholders from various sectors within and outside the country.
She said the 8th national stakeholders’ forum offers a unique opportunity to evaluate the gains so far and to further deepen the understanding of stakeholders’ participation and engagement in environmental governance, particularly in the area of environmental compliance monitoring and enforcement.”
She said the agency is willing to partner with all stakeholders. “We believe we can all work together to forge a common front for the environmental protection and sustainable development of our dear country, Nigeria,” she added.