To ensure that Nigeria meets up with the United Nations Sustainability Goals on saving the environment, stakeholders have called on Nigerians to collaborate with the government and embrace initiatives that address the adverse impacts of climate change on the environment.

At a one-day symposium organised by the Nigerian Environmental Society in commemoration of the World Environmental Day in Abuja, the stakeholders argued that if everyone becomes lackadaisical in the approach to keeping the environment safe, in no time, everybody will feel the negative impact on human wellbeing.

This year’s event with the theme Only One Earth, drew participants from both the public and private sectors, as the assembly used the opportunity to call for the passage of the bill to establish the Institute of Environmental Practitioners of Nigeria (IEPN) into law and further enhance environmental practice as a profession.

For them, the passage of the bill is overdue and remains the veritable solution to the problem of environmental practice in Nigeria.

In his address, the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, said that contrary to insinuations, the government is committed to the sustainability of the mother earth in line with the United Nations agreement.

Gambari, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on natural Resources, Nuhu Habib, said Nigeria had taken steps to mitigate environmental hazards through policy formulation and implementation.

‘‘This year’s theme is an excellent one. It reminds us that we have billions of planets but only one earth. Nigeria as a nation has taken steps to mitigate environmental degradation. Today’s deliberation should promote useful recommendations for government to implement its rule on our collective role towards sustainable goals.’’

In his remarks, the Chairman, Caretaker Committee/Interim President, Nigerian Environmental Society, Victor Imevbore said the preservation of Mother Earth is not only for environmental practitioners, and policymakers but for everybody.

He recalled that in 1972, World leaders observed in Warsaw that climate change is adversely impacting negative trends in the environment and agreed to mitigate it. ‘‘If we don’t do something about it, we will all pay for it. So, this year’s World Environment Day celebration is checking where we are 50 years after that agreement was taken in 1972.

‘‘More importantly, it is meant to draw attention to the fact that everybody has a role to play, it is not only the role of environmental practitioners, policymakers, and everybody has something to do. It is also to remind us that environmental challenges in Nigeria are getting worse. ‘Unfortunately, when we look back 50 years, we are worse off than we were 50 years ago. so, it calls for a lot of action, it calls for all hands to be on deck to save our collective treasure, Mother earth.

‘‘Nigeria as a country has certain things we have done: we have national Environmental Policy, we have Environmental Laws, Environment Impact Assessment Law, Sectoral Standards, Guidelines, Environmental Agencies, national and State Agencies.’’

However, the NES Chairman insisted that more effort is required to ensure a sustainable environment. ‘‘There is also the issue of rule of law in terms of sustainability, our lawyers need better education, our Judges need better education, security forces need better education on how they can support the work towards improving sustainability,’’ he added.

The immediate past President of NES, Dr Dorothy Bassey counseled “there is no planet to be compared to the earth and therefore, it is the duty of everyone to be committed to the activities aimed at ensuring that the current challenges of climate change today are effectively tackled.

‘‘It is a very complex situation, being that we have just come out of Covid-19 and the various conflicts across the globe.’’

She urged all stakeholders to find a meeting point that will enable the country to focus on the climate crisis, adaptation and litigation.