Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has called for a more robust implementation of frameworks for access to environmental information to mitigate its negative impact.
In a statement issued in Lagos during the launch a report highlighting the risks posed by an inadequate national response to environmental and climate challenges to ecosystems, public health, livelihoods, and national stability, MRA’s Programme Officer, Ayomide Eweje, said, “although Nigeria has a layered framework of constitutional guarantees, statutory provisions, regulatory instruments, and international obligations that can serve as a solid foundation for transparency and accountability in an effective national response, the country remains challenged by the lack of willingness on the part of public institutions and officials to disclose information as well as the poor capacity of citizens to demand such information and use it.”
According to her, “critical to a national response framework is the right of citizens to access timely and reliable environmental information, without which their effective participation in environmental governance and the protection of their rights will not be possible. However, ensuring access to environmental information is not just about compliance with the law alone; it is also about empowering people to protect their health, livelihoods, and environment; hold duty bearers accountable; and build a future where development does not come at the expense of sustainability.”
She, therefore, called on Federal and state governments to ensure access to environmental information for citizens, particularly in the digital era, where data availability and transparency are crucial to accountability, saying that in order to achieve this, authorities must strengthen and enforce laws that mandate proactive disclosure of environmental information in user-friendly and digital formats; and create centralised, open-access data portals where citizens can easily obtain updates on issues such as pollution levels, deforestation rates, water quality, and climate risks.
