The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has called for practical measures to protect millions of people and communities in coastal areas against rising sea levels.
President, NCF Board of Trustees (BOT), Chief Izoma Philip Asiodu, who made the call during his 90th celebration event hosted by the foundation in Lagos, said habitat loss would double the extent of coastline highly exposed to storms and sea-level rise, and called on government to protect coastlines from rising tides and storm surges.
Climate change poses an array of risks that could impact private property. When it comes to sea level rise, the two main possibilities are erosion, when coastal foundations are worn away by tides, and inundation, which refers to flooding caused by rising sea levels.
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the most comprehensive report on climate change ever released — estimates a sea level rise of up to 55 centimetres by the end of the century, while not ruling out a two-metre increase in the same period.
In 2009, more than a decade before the IPCC report, the federal government’s now-dissolved Department of Climate Change estimated that between 157,000 and 247,600 individual residential buildings could be at risk of inundation if sea levels were to rise by 1.1 metres.
Asiodu observed that numerous shorelines had submerged into the ocean as a result of coastal erosion and inadequate management of environmental concerns, advocating for a more feasible and eco-friendly approach to environmental policies.
He called on the federal and state governments to collaborate in fostering national development, adding that without significant intervention to mitigate sea level rise, Lagos may succumb to submersion in the ensuing decade.
“Lagos is endangered if the sea should rise as it is predicted and if we don’t do much to arrest the situation, about two million human beings will have to relocate.
“We pray that urgent measures are taken in Lagos. I still believe there is hope and we can return to a good system. We will soon discover that all sections of the country have intelligent men and women capable of transforming the country,” Asiodu said.
NCF Director General, Joseph Onoja noted that Asiodu had contributed not only to the national development but also to the conservation of the natural environment. “When NCF was founded in 1980 by Chief S. L. Edu and his friends, after Edu’s demise, we needed someone that could continue with the strides, and we had Asiodu. We have moved NCF from that point onward and made so much impact, hence, the need to celebrate him,” he said.
He added that Asiodu was a visionary person and was able to push NCF to where it is.
Onoja encouraged the youth to prioritise environmental conservation, for nature to reciprocate its care towards them.
Earlier, the National Executive Council Chairman, Justice Bukola Adebiyi, said Asiodu had always been working towards achieving the NCF’s vision, where people could prosper and live in harmony with nature.
“The course and message of conservation has been championed by Asiodu at every opportunity. Always available to lead us at NCF, chairing our numerous and lengthy meetings. He has always been leading our yearly walk for nature and conservation trips and visits to various presidents of this country,” she said.
