By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal has made a case for adoption of circular economy, saying that it provides the framework for the balance between development and environmental sustainability.
Lawal made the call in his Keynote address at the Workshop on Mainstreaming Circular Economy in Land Degradation Sectors of Construction, Mining and Quarrying in Abuja.
The Workshop was organized by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in collaboration with the European Union, Thursday in Abuja.
Mallam Balarabe Abbas Lawal said while the sectors were vital to Nigeria’s economic development, they are implicated in land degradation, as “unregulated mining pits, exhausted quarry sites, deforestation, and polluted environments are clear signs of the imbalance between development and environmental sustainability”.
“Our landscapes, ecosystems and communities bear the brunt of unchecked extraction, resource depletion and unsustainable development due to construction, mining and quarrying,” he said.
The Minister stressed the need for the construction industry to adopt circular economy strategies to reduce its environmental footprint, insisting “We must prioritize land rehabilitation in mining and quarrying operations. Mining and quarrying companies must adopt zero-waste policies, ensuring that mining by-products, such as tailings and waste rocks are repurposed for other industrial uses or construction projects.”
In his welcome address, the Director General of NESREA, Dr. Innocent Barikor noted that the circular economy offers a transformative framework to ensure resource conservation and regeneration, waste-to-resource systems, and sustainable urbanization.”
He called for the collaboration of all stakeholders to ensure the adoption and promotion of sustainable practices to speed up “the restoration of our land, regeneration of our ecosystems, and protection of our environment for future generations.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, Senator Akintude Yunus, and the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Hon. Terseer Ugbor pledged the support of the National Assembly towards providing the necessary legislative backing for environmental protection in the country.
