By Chidiebere Ugwu
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has pledged to support Nigeria in the development of roadmap on the environment sector.
Ibrahim Haruna, the Head, Press and Public Relations Unit, in a statement, said that this was disclosed during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal in his office by the new Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ms. Elsie Attafuaw recently in Abuja.
The Minister congratulated the new UNDP country rep. on her new posting to ECOWAS/Nigeria and solicits UNDP’s support in tackling climate change challenges and environmental sustainability.
Balarabe further stated that Nigeria needs UNDP technical assistance to fight insecurity and banditry in the forest.
“Other areas of collaboration and partnership between the Ministry and UNDP include; pollution control, biodiversity, erosion and flood control and desert encroachment among others”, he said.
In her welcome address, the new UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Elsie Attafuaw congratulated the minister on his well deserved appointment as Minister of Environment.
Elsie reiterated that energy is a national security issue, and lamented that Nigerian and many African nations are not doing enough on energy , climate change, new innovations , plastic pollution, conservation and biodiversity.
She added that UNDP will support Nigeria in the development of its roadmap on environment and achieving its mandate of its 18 key priority deliverables of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR Renewed Hope Agenda on environment.
The envoy stated that she feels very much at home being in Nigeria and promised to collaborate with the ministry on climate change crisis.
