By Azuh Lilian
Environmental stakeholders will use this year’s World Environment Day to intensify calls for stronger measures to protect Nigeria’s waterways, warning that pollution, indiscriminate waste disposal and environmental degradation will continue to threaten public health, biodiversity and economic growth unless decisive action is taken.
The observance will serve as a platform for experts, policymakers and community leaders to highlight the importance of safeguarding rivers, lakes and other aquatic ecosystems as critical pillars of a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable future.
Stakeholders are expected to emphasise that environmental protection will extend beyond keeping communities clean to preserving water bodies that sustain agriculture, fisheries, transportation, tourism and millions of livelihoods across the country.
“The Earth provides everything humanity needs to survive. Protecting its natural resources will remain a shared responsibility that determines the quality of life for future generations,” the participants are expected to affirm.
Environmental experts will stress that maintaining clean waterways will be essential to ensuring access to safe drinking water, preserving biodiversity, strengthening food security and reducing the adverse impacts of pollution and climate change.
They are also expected to urge governments, industries and households to strengthen wastewater management by ensuring that residential and industrial effluents are adequately treated before being discharged into rivers and streams.
In addition, the experts will advocate responsible dredging and proper maintenance of inland waterways to reduce flooding, prevent erosion and improve water flow. They will also encourage the deployment of modern waste interception systems to prevent plastics and other debris from entering rivers and eventually reaching the oceans.
The event is expected to underscore the importance of public participation in environmental protection, with citizens encouraged to dispose of household waste responsibly, refrain from dumping refuse into drains and waterways, report environmental violations and participate actively in sanitation and community clean-up campaigns.
Stakeholders will further highlight the wide-ranging benefits of environmental conservation, including improved public health, enhanced biodiversity, greater climate resilience and increased agricultural productivity.
To promote sustainable living, individuals will be encouraged to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics, support locally produced food, plant more trees, conserve water resources and compost organic waste to minimise methane emissions from landfills.
Experts are also expected to warn that untreated sewage, industrial waste and agricultural runoff will continue to contaminate freshwater sources if stronger environmental safeguards are not implemented, posing serious health risks while undermining food production and economic development.
As the world prepares to commemorate World Environment Day, environmental advocates will call for collective action, stressing that governments, businesses, communities and individuals all have vital roles to play in protecting the environment.
They will maintain that safeguarding waterways and embracing environmentally responsible practices today will help secure a cleaner, healthier and more prosperous future for generations to come.
