NAN-AE-4
Projects
By Vivian Emoni
Abuja, Aug. 16, 2017 (NAN) Mrs Ibironke Olubamise, National Coordinator, Global Environmental Facility, Small Grants Programme (GEF/SGP), has urged the Federal Government to come up with a strategy that will ensure effective implementation of environmental projects.
Olubamise made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
She said that the strategy should enhance the execution of environmental projects and create an enabling environment for a good working relationship between GEF/SGP project coordinators and government.
“The Federal Government needs to come up with a very good strategy to ensure that the entire projects are addressed effectively with better coordination from the government.
“Government should collaborate with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisation (CSOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) so that the communities will know the projects are being handled in good manner,’’ she said.
Olubamise said that the collaboration would facilitate the knowledge of the kind of projects that could be merged to achieve a more holistic approach to address environmental issues in order to achieve specific goals.
“We discussed issues with communities and project coordinators in those states where we were implementing projects anytime we visited the states.
“We made sure we gathered the communities to identify their challenges.
“We also expect the government to adopt the same approach so that the execution of projects will be more effective.
“The efforts will help the communities and the project coordinators to learn from one another, share their challenges and then know how to tackle such challenges.
“The collaboration will also encourage local environmental initiatives to achieve global environmental benefits and enhance livelihoods,’’ she said.
Olubamise said that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) took most of the project coordinators to the field to monitor and evaluate the projects.
She said that such efforts would enhance effective implementation of projects.
She urged the government to adopt the same approach to engender strong, comprehensive environmental management and create effective sensitisation in the communities.
NAN reports that the GEF is partnering with international institutions, CSOs and private sector organisations to address global environmental issues.
The GEF, which is supporting national sustainable development initiatives, is the largest source of finance for projects aimed at improving the environment.
The GEF provides grants for projects that focus on biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants. (NAN)
VOE/AJA/OOK
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Edited by Adeleye Ajayi and Dayo Komolafe