HOMEF Urges Emergency Action As Nigerians-Reflect On Environmental Crisis On World Environment Day (Details)

HOMEF Urges Emergency Action As Nigerians-Reflect On Environmental Crisis On World Environment Day (Details)

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has called on the Federal Government to urgently declare a state of emergency on the environment as it joins the global community in celebrating World Environment Day (WED). In a statement commemorating the 2024 WED, signed by Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, the organization emphasized the critical need for immediate environmental action.

HOMEF, an ecology-focused advocacy group, highlighted that this year’s World Environment Day is dedicated to communities whose lands and livelihoods have been devastated by extractivism and pollution. The theme for 2024 WED is “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience.”

The advocacy group urged Nigerians to reflect on their responsibilities to nature, the environment, and all living beings, and to cease predatory and destructive practices. HOMEF stressed that urgent steps are needed to halt deforestation, biodiversity loss, and land degradation, warning that without serious climate action, humanity will continue to suffer from multiple crises.

“This year’s World Environment Day provides a template for socioeconomic and environmental reexamination and action,” Bassey stated. He pointed out that parts of Africa, including Nigeria, are severely affected by environmental degradation, water stress, and drought. Desertification and other ecological harms are particularly pressing issues in Nigeria.

“As we celebrate World Environment Day, we remind ourselves of the destructive activities, especially resource extraction and poor land-use changes, that have plagued our environment,” Bassey said. “Nigeria needs an emergency environmental restoration plan across the board as the only way to build resilience and ensure a safe future.”

Bassey called for the Nigerian government to take immediate steps to clean up polluted lands, restore them, and compensate affected communities. He warned against the reckless exploitation of the earth’s resources and emphasized the need to handle nature’s gifts with gratitude and care.

HOMEF also stressed the importance of ensuring that communities are fully informed, consulted, and their consent obtained before any projects impacting the environment are designed or implemented. The NGO highlighted that these communities continuously tackle the impacts of the ecological crisis in an unsupported and vulnerable state and deserve protection.

“We should transformatively change our policies and choices to live sustainably in harmony with nature, fully understanding that the planet is our only home and that her resources are finite,” HOMEF concluded.