The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), has called for collective support against unlawful trade of wildlife, hunting and possession of wildlife parts.

The General Manager of LASEPA, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, made the call on the heels of the recovery of a sea turtle from an illegal poacher, who was arrested by the officials of the Kick against Indiscipline (KAI), Eti-Osa Zone.

Fasawe said in a statement in Lagos, that protecting the wildlife would help to sustain the ecological balance and prevent extinction of some special animals and plants.

She said that ignorance of the general public to the benefits of wildlife is contributing highly to the rate of unchecked illicit trade of the endangered species, by few selfish people against the general interest of all.

“Our awareness advocacy recently paid off, as the officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), Eti-Osa Zone, professionally arrested one Muhammad, who confessed to hunting of sea animals at the ocean and selling to awaiting customers.

“The sea animal was recovered and later released back home into the ocean at oniru beach, in the presence of our natural resource protection team,” the general manager said.

According to her, the laws covering the preservation and conservation of wildlife in Nigeria are largely enshrined in two sets of Acts.

She said that they are the Nigerian Endangered Species Act (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Act, Decree 11 of the 1985 Constitution, and Section 20 of the National Parks Service Act.

Fasawe said that these extant laws in principle regulate the hunting, raring and trade of animals, as well as set up the various game reserves currently existing in Nigeria, including the Yankari, and Borgu game reserves, Okomu and Old Oyo National parks, among others.

The existing laws allow for a fine of N5 million or one year jail term for the illicit trade of endangered animals in Nigeria.

“Lagos State is a largely urban setting, with the fastest growing population in Africa.

“The per capita needs such as housing, industrialisation, recreational centres and other amenities pose danger to existence of some special animals and plants with limited availability of land for conservation activities,” she said.

The general manager, however, said that LASEPA is striving to maintain balance by diligently monitoring the effects of these undesirable activities on the environment and also protect the native wildlife population.

She said that this was by insisting on a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), as a mandatory requirement before the commencement of any projects, in a bid to savage the comfort zone.

Fasawe said that as a port city, Lagos is vulnerable to illicit trade of these treasured species, therefore, the agency had embarked on aggressive advocacy, improved surveillance and monitoring activities.

According to her, the peculiarities of wildlife conservation and management require all three levels of government to clearly map out policies to prevent trafficking of these precious species, through various airports and seaports across the state.

“Therefore, there is the need to create several layers of policies and checks to protect our precious biodiversity and also ensure that people acts responsibly by totally avoiding poaching, unhealthy gaming and habitation destruction (bush burning, deforestation,” she said.

Fasawe said that LASEPA has improved its baseline data collection, identification of endangered animal species and protected areas, botanical tagging of special trees/plants, in addition to strengthening the policies at state and local levels.

She listed the green turtle, African savanna elephant, western gorilla, white bellied pangolin, black rhino and grey parrots as endangered species facing varying threats, as a result of unlawful sales, habitat destruction, fashion trend, domestication amongst others.

Tree plant such as sandbox tree, pine tree, anta root, cabbage tree, African mahogany and stool wood are categorised as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), due to over exploitation and medicinal relevance.

Due to the changing weather patterns farmers often are not able to produce the maximum output that they usually could however that’s where inventions like greenhouses and ploy houses come in.

The government of India, too, is doing whatever it could to the best of its abilities so that this technology could be adapted by Farmers small and big. 

The Himachal Pradesh government is offering 85% subsidies to farmers who want to build Poly houses.

Due to the tiny size of the poly homes and a lack of resources for upkeep, the poly house program, which was intended to generate self-employment in rural regions, failed to attract farmers.

The size of the poly home has been expanded from 2,000 sqm to 4,000 sqm under the new program in order to qualify for an 85% subsidy.

After five years of installation or in the event of damage due to natural catastrophe, at least a 50% subsidy will be provided to replace poly sheets.

Non-impaneled vendors can build polyhouses as long as the technical standards are met. By the end of 2017-18, the government has set a target of building 4,700 poly homes and 2,150 drip irrigation or sprinkler systems, with a subsidy component of Rs 111.19 crore.

A total of 8.35 lakh hectares will be converted to poly house farming and 8.20 lakh hectares would be irrigated using micro-irrigation. Actually, this scheme of the state government is very beneficial for the farmers and gardeners.

Its name is Mukhya Mantri Nutan Polyhouse Project. Under this scheme, the state government provides subsidies to farmers for setting up poly houses.

Under this scheme, the state government gives subsidies to farmers for setting up poly houses, so that farmers can get good income by setting up poly houses and producing fruits and vegetables. Under this scheme, the Himachal Pradesh state government is providing an 85 percent subsidy.

In this, the farmer has to pay only 15 percent of the amount. Along with this, the subsidy is given according to the area of ​​the greenhouse.

Prices for greenhouse cucumbers in Ukraine are still rising rapidly. They are now already significantly higher than last year.

The main reason for the rise in prices was the limited supply of cucumbers on the market. Most of the Ukrainian greenhouses have already completed the sales season for cucumbers.

Supplies from the external market, in particular from Turkey, are rather unstable.

At this point in time, local greenhouses are selling cucumber at 48-55 UAH/kg ($1.76-2.02/kg), which is on average 11% more expensive than last week.

At the same time, only a few Ukrainian greenhouses are selling cucumbers today, and almost all of them are shipped to retail chains.

Prices for Turkish cucumbers have also increased significantly this week. At the moment, imported cucumbers are sold at 38-46 UAH/kg ($1.40-1.69/kg).

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources of Oman has signed five agreements worth RO3.581mn with local investors. The projects will be spread over an area of 1.470mn sqm.

On the occasion, Dr. Saud bin Hammoud al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, said, “These projects will enhance and help achieve food security. The ministry will continue to increase the number of food projects and also job opportunities for young people.”

The agreements include a project called Desert Oasis for the production of non-traditional vegetables and fruits, field crops and grains at a cost of RO751,000.

The project aims to improve self-sufficiency through the use of modern irrigation systems.

The project will include the establishment of a farm to produce commercial vegetables and fruits in the wilayat of Suwaiq on an area of 100 acres. Estimated production of 2,700 tonnes of figs and field crops is expected from the project annually.

A greenhouse project will be built on an area of 50 acres in tSuwaiq aiming to produce vegetables and fruits – 1,200 tonnes annually – in 80 greenhouses.

This project aims to enhance food security, increase agricultural production and rationalize water consumption.

The farm will be accessible to visitors to learn about farming methods and include freshwater fish farming, hydroponic cultivation of vegetables and fruits, and seasonal fruits grown in open fields.

Located in the wilayat of Bidiyah on an area of 100 acres, the project is worth RO1.3mn. It is expected to produce 3,200 tonnes of vegetables and fruits, and 60 tonnes of fish annually.

Under efforts to expand its business and renewable energy capacity in Greece to 500MW by 2025, EDP Renewables has constructed and inaugurated a 45MW wind energy plant.

The plant is EDP Renewables’ first wind energy farm in Greece and is expected to help avoid 48,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum, thereby helping to decarbonise the Greek economy and EDP’s operations.

The plant is sited near the town of Malesina in central Greece and is expected to produce enough electricity to power over 28,000 households.

EDP Renewables says it will invest over €500 million ($564,9 million) to expand its renewable energy business in Greece through 2025, as the company seeks to expand its role in the country’s energy transition.

Expanding the renewables portfolio will also enable consumers to be provided with affordable electricity.

Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of EDP and EDP Renewables, said: “The country’s commitment to Renewables presents a great opportunity for the company, and we plan to continue to explore opportunities that both strengthen our leadership position in the renewable energy sector and boost the country’s energy transition.”   

In 2018, renewable energy accounted for 12% of the country’s energy mix, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, and increased investments and the enactment of supporting local and regional policies expanded the share to 40% in 2020.

Today, Greece is able to avoid 4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions owing to the installed renewables capacity.

The Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy has set a target to increase renewables’ share in the energy mix to 35% by 2030 with up to €20 billion ($22.5 billion) in investments anticipated to be mobilised through the Greek Energy and Climate Plan for clean energy infrastructure development and energy efficiency programmes.

In late November, the Greek government secured €2.27 billion ($2.58 billion) in funding from the European Commission to fund the development of onshore wind, photovoltaic, and solar with storage, biogas, biomass, landfill gas, hydroelectric power, concentrated solar power, and geothermal power plants.

Spanish energy company Iberdrola and Swedish steel manufacturer H2 Green Steel have signed an agreement to build a green hydrogen plant with an installed capacity of 1,000MW.

The plant, costing an estimated 2.3 billion euros, will provide clean fuel to power a direct steel reduction furnace with a capacity to produce around 2 million tonnes of green steel per year.

The use of clean power will reduce CO2 emissions by 95%, according to Iberdrola.

“Large-scale green hydrogen production will be essential for heavy industry’s transition to more sustainable ways of operating,” said Henrik Henriksson, CEO of H2 Green Steel.

“By sharing the common goal of reducing emissions in hard-to-decarbonise industries, starting with steel in Europe, we are taking a truly global and innovative approach to green hydrogen production. Iberdrola brings invaluable experience, technology and know-how, which will enable us to scale up our green steel projects”

The site will be located on the Iberian Peninsula, where several possible locations are being considered. The goal is to commence production in 2025 or 2026.

Aitor Moso, Iberdrola’s director of deregulated business, said: “Green hydrogen will be a key technology in the decarbonisation of heavy industrial processes, such as steel production.

“Innovative projects such as this will help accelerate the commercialisation of larger and more sophisticated electrolysers, making green hydrogen more competitive.

“With access to low-cost renewable energy supplies, and a highly skilled workforce, the Iberian Peninsula can play a key role in Europe taking a global lead in the development of this green technology.”

The electrolyser with a 1GW capacity will be jointly operated by the two companies, with Iberdrola supplying renewable energy to the plant, while the production of green molten steel and all downstream metallurgical processes will be operated and owned by H2 Green Steel.

Ansaldo Energia has commenced a project to improve the efficiency of the EP Produzione thermoelectric plant in Tavazzano and Montanaso, Lodi province, Italy.

Civil works have started and will see Ansaldo Energia construct a new, latest generation combined cycle power plant with approximately 800MW capacity.

Ansaldo Energia will construct and maintain the production unit, from the foundations to the start-up. The combined cycle will consist of a GT36 H-Class gas turbine, two generators and a steam turbine.

“We are very proud that EP Produzione has chosen Ansaldo Energia for the upgrade and the efficiency of its Tavazzano and Montanaso plant,” said Giuseppe Marino, CEO of Ansaldo Energia.

“We are making available our best skills and most innovative technology to guarantee EP Produzione the success of this project and, at the same time, support Italy on its path towards the energy transition”.

The technology of the GT36 will ensure greater flexibility and faster commissioning, according to Ansaldo Energia, essential if the share of renewable sources is not sufficient.

“It is a great satisfaction to be able to start working on this project we are quite keen on” says Claudio Nucci, Chief Operating Officer of Ansaldo Energia. “We took the first steps of this collaboration in the difficult time of the pandemic, but we managed to reach this work start date on time, ready to support EP Produzione and work in full compliance with the agreed deadlines”.

The start of the commercial operation is scheduled for 1 November 2023.