Lagos plans wetland policy, urges protection of ecosystem

By Dada Jackson

The Lagos State Government has restated its commitment to environmental conservation and announced a plan to develop a wetland policy.

The state Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, who gave the indication on the occasion of the World Wetland Day at Alausa, also called for the adoption of best practices to protect the ecosystem across the state.

He stressed that a sector policy on wetland and biodiversity was being developed to ensure balanced development, where the course of nature would be adequately mainstreamed into development planning.

He added that this would be achieved through the subjecting of all future developments on or around wetlands to a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in line with World’s best practices.

Bello described wetlands as a good source of freshwater, stating that action must be put in place to restore them as well as stop their depreciation and loss.

He said this year’s theme “Wetland and Water- inseparable and vital for life”  is  very apt as it aimed to highlight the importance of fresh water to human existence, stressing that the shortage of housing is not as dire as the shortage of freshwater.

The commissioner explained that man is known to utilize more fresh water than the ability of the wetlands to naturally replenish and regenerate, adding that for this reason it wais very important to manage the relationship of man with wetlands so as to ensure continuous availability for man’s life processes.

Bello said, “Wetlands are known to be natural purifiers but the Wetlands in the State are facing an unprecedented pressure for housing occasioned by an increasing human population leading to sand-filling and consequential loss of the wetlands and their ability to naturally purify water and recharge the underground aquifer for various human uses”.

“It is important to stress at this point that the shortage of housing is not as dire as the shortage of freshwater.”

He said the state government would continue to address wetland quality decline through wetland restoration plans, continuous cleaning up of wetlands as well as ensure the integration of wetlands into development plans and resource management.

He further said the state government had at different times designated certain wetlands in the state as protected areas to protect their pristine nature and recently installed signposts in all the wetlands in the state to further protect them from encroachment as well as preserve their natural functions, one of which is water purification.

The commissioner stated that the Lagos State Government had commenced the monitoring of degraded wetlands in the state with a view of developing regulation for their management in order to prevent further encroachment.

He urged all those involved in illegal reclaiming of wetlands to desist from the act, warning residents to stop the indiscriminate dumping of waste in the wetland and as the state government remained committed to protecting the wetland and its biodiversity.