The Lagos State Government over the weekend reiterated its commitment to protecting the State’s coastline, building a safer, resilient, environmentally friendly and more sustainable Lagos that it can bequeath to the next generation.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said this at the ongoing United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France.
According to Wahab, Lagos as a coastal state faces severe climate risks such as rising sea levels, extreme rainfalls, and excessive heat, but is not sitting back and watching.
In the words of the Lagos State representative at the conference: “Lagos as a coastal state faces severe climate risks from rising sea levels, extreme rainfall, and excessive heat.
“But we are not sitting back.
“We are building resilient infrastructure.
“So as a state, we must face our realities and those realities are that we must build resilient infrastructure, which is key, and we must also take ownership of those infrastructure, which is very key.”
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Wahab said the state had in the past two years invested in its drainage systems through an all year round clearing of all primary and secondary drains to reduce the possibilities of flash flooding.
He added: “At the last count, in the past two years, we have as an administration done about 76km of trapezoidal drainage system statewide.”
He informed that with over 13,000 tonnes of daily waste generation, Lagos is moving from a linear disposal system of “you pick and dump” to a circular model where waste becomes a resource for energy and recovery.
He stated that the state is also transforming the way it manages plastic waste by religiously following a trajectory that has already banned the use of styrofoam food containers and moving on to effect the enforcement of its ban on single use plastics from July 1, 2025 after 18 months moratorium to users and producers.
Wahab said: “In the last two years, we have chosen to categorise waste as a resource, so we have transitioned from a pick and dump system to a more sustainable climate friendly system, where waste is now a resource for wealth, a resource for energy, where waste is not just seen as a waste anymore.”
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