BusinessDay... the voice of business: Minister tasks urban planners on decent housing

Minister tasks urban planners on decent housing
================================================================================
KEHINDE AKINTOLA on 05 May, 2008 02:00:00
 
Minister of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Halima Alao, has called
on urban planners to partner with government in its quest to address climate
change and provision of decent housing.
Alao gave the charge at the pre-summit stakeholders' round table meeting in
preparation for the Nigerian Urban Summit slated for June 2008.
She noted that the effect of climate change had come,  threatening lives of
citizens in the form of desertification, erosion, flooding and other disasters
in various parts of the country as well as the Millennium Declaration and
Habitat Agenda for livable, productive, safe and inclusive cities offered by
sustainable urbanisation.
She therefore, challenged them to deepen their resolve to build on the solid
foundation and steadfast commitment to reform, growth and prosperity already
being laid by Yar'Adua's administration in the various sectors under reform. 
Alao explained that the reforms were aimed at bringing about the desired
improvements in sustainable development, and ensure positive benefits and
impacts on the vast majority of the people.
She observed that the critical issues of sustainable urban development which
directly affected their profession as implied in the seven-point agenda included
urban poverty reduction, provision of affordable housing, adequate
infrastructure, access to basic services, land reforms, provision of security,
healthy environments, urban governance and other critical elements of urban
life.
According to her, they should evolve strategies aimed at making land easily
accessible, delivering mass housing that was decent and affordable, mobilising
long-term and affordable funding for the housing sector, providing basic
infrastructure and services and ensuring healthy environmental conditions and
environmental sustainability of our communities.
"We should in addition, press for the achievement of balanced national
development that fosters economic vitality and social harmony in our towns and
cities, and also have a vision that prevails over crime and that delivers better
urban safety and security."
On the effect of climate change, the minister however expressed fears that
developing countries faced the greatest hardship of climate change and has no
money, the organizations or technologies to help them adapt to current and
future changes.
The developed nations which had the wherewithal, she observed, were not willing
to liberate the developing nations out of the quagmire because it was not
economically profitable to them.
According to her, as rainfall in Africa and the Middle East was expected to
continue to drop, there would be less water for people to use for drinking,
cleaning, and growing crops, in a region where water was already scarce.
She explained that low-lying countries and islands like the nations of
Southeast Asia might be submerged as sea levels rose, displacing large
populations, noting that as weather patterns changed around the world, people
who depended on crops for their livelihood would find it increasingly difficult
to get good yields.
As climate change progressed, she noted, it was impossible to say for sure
where exactly would be affected. The only guarantee was that millions of people
would lose family members, homes, communities and jobs due to climate change and
it was highly unlikely that anyone, rich or poor, black or white would be
unscathed.
Given the looming negative consequences for all, the minister said it was time
for all hands to be on deck to proactively stem the tide and prepare Nigerians
to cope, adapt and to mitigate climate change.