Environmental protection specialists have asked that more attention be given to the issue of gender in order to address the challenges hampering effective waste management across the country.
They made the call at the ongoing three-day workshop organised by the department of climate change (DCC) of the Federal Ministry of Environment, to validate Nigeria’s Biennial Update Report (BUR2) and National Green House Gases Inventory Report (NIR1), in Keffi, Nasarawa State, saying it is important to critically focus on that dimension because waste is something that is generated and used by every human being.
Speaking at the multi-sectoral stakeholders’ forum comprising actors from both public and private sectors, an expert, Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo, said mainstreaming gender into the sector would be heavily tasking since waste is something artificial that no single individual can control and canvassed for more women to be encouraged and mainstreamed into participating in the oil and gas business.
Asking the question ‘who owns waste?’, Oladipo described the gender aspect of waste as a very complex one.
He added the workshop had brought out the challenges of trying to write gender analysis very clearly.
“It is a very good beginning as all that we are going to be writing in the review will now have a lot of cross-cutting issues that can properly be analysed,” he stated.
In her remarks, the head, greenhouse gases inventory/national reporting, Mrs. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, told the participants that the aim of the workshop was to bring national experts together to engage on critical discussions.
She listed the conversations as revolving around mainstreaming objectives of the National Gender Action Plan into the BUR2 as well as reviewing and final validation of the two documents (NIR1 and BUR2), ahead of the International Consultation and Analysis process and submission to the United Nations Frame Work on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Nigeria, as non-annex 1 party to the UNFCCC, developed National Communications and Biennial Update Report. So, far three National communications and one biennial update report have been submitted to the UNFCCC.
She explained that following the successful completion and submission of the BUR1, Nigeria has completed her first stand-alone national inventory report (NIR1), and her second biennial update report (BUR2), both requiring assessment and review by relevant stakeholders for final validation.
“The BUR2 is required to align with Nigeria’s National Action Plan on Gender and Climate Change and effective strategies for integrating gender into the implementation of national climate change initiatives, the Paris Agreement and the National Reporting,” she added.
