HomeEnvironment & ClimateNigeria: US Partners Lagos On Improved Air Quality, Sustainable Living

Nigeria: US Partners Lagos On Improved Air Quality, Sustainable Living

Lagos State Government has been assured of readiness by the United States Mission in Nigeria to improve the condition of the air quality and the environment aimed at promoting sustainable living among the residents.

This remark was made on Tuesday by the Acting Consular-General of the US Embassy in Lagos, Mr. Brandon Hudspeth, at an advocacy and partnership meeting with Lagos State Governor, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu, at Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

Hudspeth was received by the representative of the governor, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, held at the ministry’s conference room.
The Consular General affirmed the readiness of the US, which is to establish an important system that will enhance, monitor, and manage quality air throughout the state.

According to him, “The United States (U.S.) Mission in Nigeria is ready to partner Lagos State Government to promote sustainable living environment as we have been working with the Ministry of the Environment and by extension the Lagos State Government in the area of quality air advocacy.

“And here we are, excited at collaborating with Lagos State Government in the area of providing technical support in quality air control. I assure you, this will be a fruitful, continuous partnership.”

Earlier, Sanwo-Olu recalled the past and present efforts of the state government in mitigating the effects of Climate Change through the Climate Change Conference, which was birthed since the administration of the then administration of Governor, Babatunde Fashola.

The governor explained that despite several interventions to mitigate the impacts of climate change, there is a need for more collaboration. “You (US) have come at the right time. We need collaboration, particularly in the rea to capacity building and how we can move forward considering the huge population of Lagos State estimated at over 25 million people.

“Together, we shall combat the menace of noise, and emission pollution, among other climate change effects in Lagos.”

The General Manager, Lagos State Environment Protection Agency, LASEPA, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, also gave a presentation on air pollution in Lagos and described the collaboration as “apt” as part of the focus of the agency to steer environmental innovations via inter-sectoral partnerships with related shareholders.

Fasawe said, “In a bid to sustainably achieve our commitment to the environment, LASEPA constantly seeks for knowledge and skill sharing opportunities to drive discourse, policy, and innovations geared and exceeding our targets on mitigative and adaptive climate resilience solutions, in particular, air quality management.”

According to her: “This partnership was borne out of the fact that they (US) noticed our activities in advocacy for cleaner air in Lagos.

“The consulate realized our efforts in measuring air quality and the need to benchmark and compare, hence, the need for partnership.

“To have any intervention for mitigation, we need data. The US Consulate has supported Lagos State with a technical fellow. An American-Nigerian Professor, Jimi to work with us for a year in the area of capacity building, air quality monitoring and measuring, and education, among others.

“The impact of this is for people is to know which areas to avoid if you are prone to airborne diseases, such as bronchitis, asthma, among others.”
She, however, expressed confidence that the partnership will open new opportunities for dealing with environmental problems, particularly air quality.

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