Towards Effective Environmental and Town Planing Policies for Delta State

By Professor Andrew G. Onokerhoraye University of Benin & Centre for Population and Environmental Development Benin City

Introduction

The people in rural and urban areas rely on the environment for their livelihood and survival strategies and are affected by the way others around them use environmental resources. Moreover, because most natural resources are exhaustible or degradable, improved management of environmental resources is needed for both rich and poor populations, which continue to grow in numbers and consumptive habits. One of the most important developments of recent times is the increasing appreciation of the linkage between environment and development. Questions related to environment and development were central to debates at the United Nations conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro (1992), the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (1993), the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo (1994), the Conference on Small island Developing States in Barbados (1994), the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen (1995), the Fourth World conference on Women in Beijing (1995), and the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements in Istanbul (1996). But unfortunately, the link between poverty and environment is often mechanically characterised as a "vicious circle" or "downward spiral." Population growth and inadequate resources are presumed to force poor people to overuse the environment. In turn, the degradation of these resources further impoverishes them. While this can does happen, as an overarching model it is highly simplistic. In fact, various experiences show that:

1. Poverty does not necessarily lead to environmental degradation. The links between poverty and the environment are complex and require locally specific analysis to be understood. There is no simple causal link.

2. Population growth does not necessarily lead to environmental degradation. While initially degradation can occur as population increases, what happens next is context- specific and can be influenced by policy.

Based on experience from around the world, there are win-win options that can build partnerships with the generality of the people especially the poor for creating both more robust livelihoods and healthier environments. These options simultaneously pursue two goals:

1. reduced poverty and better social equity; and

2. enhanced environmental quality.

It is against this background and in the context of the contemporary situation in our state, Delta that this paper attempts to answer three questions as follows.

1. What are the major contemporary environmental problems, challenges and issues in Delta State?

2. What are the underlying causes of the contemporary environmental problems in Delta Stale?

3. What are the policy issues and options for effective environmental management in Delta State?

Environmental and urban development problems of Delta State

A critical component of good environmental planning is clear problem identification. It requires a review of the broad range of issues that come under the umbrella name "environment." The review process must consist of assessing existing data and reports and in this era of democracy and participation in decision-making by the generality of the people must also entail the articulation of the assessment and views of key stakeholders. In Delta State the participation of stakeholders in the identification of environmental problems is particularly important because of the political nature of many environmental issues, as well as, the relative scarcity of sound scientific data from which to make such evaluation. The World Bank in a recent survey and evaluation of the environmental problems of Delta State and other parts of the Niger Delta region categorised the environmental problems into three major classes; land resource degradation, renewable resource degradation and environmental pollution.

The World Bank ranking of the major environmental problems in Delta State is developed by experts scoring selected factors related to the environment. In this case, these factors include: current environmental significance, current health significance, potential intervention benefits, and potential intervention costs. Table 1 indicates the problems that received the highest overall priority.

From the perspective of the stakeholders in the state, the findings from the Niger Delta Environmental Survey (NDES) sponsored stakeholders workshops showed the viewpoint of Delta State residents with respect to key environmental problems confronting them. The major environmental problems identified by the stakeholders are as follows.

• Flooding and coastal erosion- Related to deforestation, poor engineering construction, sea encroachment, dredging, canalisation, escavation, and inappropriate land use along riverbanks and within urban areas.
• Sedimentation and Siltation - Related to narrowing of creeks, reduction in creek depth, increase in inter-tidal zones.
• Degradation and depletion of water and coaster resources -Relation to industrial effluents, oil pollution, salt intrusion, industrial wastes, watershed degradation, invasion of aquatic weeds, farming and dam construction.
• Land Degradation -Related to inappropriate waste management, quarrying, oil spillage, bush burning, urban and industrial pollution, erosion and improper agricultural practices.
• Oil Pollution -Related to spills, leakage, well blowouts, and seepage.
• Air Pollution -Related to gas flaring and gaseous emissions from a variety of sources
• Land Subsidence -Related to oil exploration and other mining activities such as sand mining
• Biodiversity Depletion -Related to air pollution, deforestation, population pressure, urbanisation, over-exploration, and introduction of exotic species.
• Noise Pollution and Light Problem - Related to gas flaring and seismic operation.
• Lack of Community Participation - Related to general ignorance, inadequate enlightenment, illiteracy and poor capacity to implement programmes.
• Health Problems - Related to gaseous emission and poor management of hazardous waste.
• Housing Problems- Related to inadequate housing and poor planning of housing provision especially in urban areas.
• Low Agricultural Production - Relation to over-exploitation of resources, poor farm yields and general disincentives for farming operations and unsustainable agricultural practices.
• Socio-Economic Problems - Related to joblessness, poverty, loss of farm land, inappropriate compensation measure, poor housing and human settlement difficulties, lack of sustained commitment to rural development programmes and deficiencies in existing system of programme implantation, coordinating and resource assessment.
• Weak or Non-existent Laws and Regulations - Related to weakness and biases in the political and legal frameworks which govern economic and environmental policies and actions, including failures in regulatory and enforcement capabilities.

There is some convergence in many of the environmental issues developed by the World Bank with those identified at the NDES Stakeholder Workshops. Findings of studies conducted by independent researchers in rural communities in Delta State in the late 1990s show that rural inhabitants identified soil fertility, declining crop yield, shortened fallow, conflict over land, overhunting, unemployed, and crime as well as poverty as key factors affecting environmental quality in rural communities. These were found to be sources of pressure on natural resources and in the communities, especially among the poor. Recently the submissions of the various oil producing communities with respect to projects to the Government of Delta State Committee on 13 per cent derivation revenue provide further insight into grassroots stakeholders' perception of their development needs. It is instructive to note that over 70 per cent of the submissions made so far focused on providing solutions to their environmental problems, which they identified as follows:

• Land degradation in rural and urban areas due mainly to oil exploration
• Pollution/solid waste disposal
• Flooding of urban and rural communities
• Blockage of river channels which are transportation channels
• Shoreline devastation
• Environmental devastation of communities which require complete rehabilitation
• Housing shortage in both urban and rural communities
• Water supply

It is on the basis of these four sources that the key environmental problems of Delta State can be identified as indicated in Table 2.

The Causes of Environmental degradation in Delta State

Identifying underlying causes of environmental problems is crucial for formulating appropriate policies and for targeting interventions by the Delta State Government. It requires understanding the links between causes and effects of environmental issues. The major underlying causes of environmental problems in Delta State are: inequity, population growth, migration, poorly defined sectoral policies and national political instability. The sectoral policies that negatively affect the environment are those of industry, fisheries, forestry, transportation, urban planning and infrastructure. A major factor is the feeling of inequity, which is seldom explicitly seen as a criterion because perhaps it is hard to measure. Inequity influences the mode of production and wealth of groups affected by environmental problems. Thus the root causes of such problems are reflected not only to industrial development but also to patterns of resource exploitation and use. Some of these causes are discussed in some detail below.

Although the environmental problems of the Delta State are complex, interconnected and caused by many factors, the exploitation of the natural resources of the Niger Delta over the last forty years without reference to any sustainable environmental management strategies has contributed to the escalation of these problems. Public attention has tended to focus on the appropriation of oil from the region. The source of these problems include natural invents like flooding and erosion, and socio-economic circumstances. The problems from oil-related activities include oil spills, refinery operations and transportation. Thus land degradation, direct loss of land to habitation and cultivation are caused by erosion and flooding while the most common environmental problems related to the oil industry are oil spills, gas flaring, dredging of canals. A number of environmental laws geared towards protecting the environment exist but are poorly enforced. The economic importance of petroleum to national development is such that environmental considerations are given marginal attention. Yet, both economic and social evaluation of resource exploitation and development activities are key to the objective of Sustainability. National legislation affecting oil-bearing lands and the skewed patterns of resource ownership are also of deep concern to communities of Delta State.

Closely related to the issue of resource control is the absence of appropriate methods for resource valuation in the oil producing communities of the region. One of the fundamental issues in the frequent conflict between the oil companies and the local communities is dissatisfaction with the determination of the value of damaged natural resources. The current approach is based primarily on basically unjust and skewed economic considerations. The approach attaches monetary value to any damaged or destroyed resource, with no consideration of what may accrue from the resource over the years, if it were not destroyed. This, no doubt, has several limitations; for, there is always a social and cultural dimension to resource damage or destruction. This lack of an acceptable valuation method has been a contentious issue as far as the local communities are concerned. Indeed, it could be argued that where these resources are appropriately valued, the wanton destruction of such resources might be reduced. Any optimal and equitable valuation of resources in the communities of the state must reflect different forms of economic value attached to it including; direct, indirect, option, existence and bequest values.

Delta State, as other parts of the Niger Delta Region, has also borne the negative effects of upstream developments along the Niger River. Various upstream infrastructural developments and activities affect the environment and people of the Niger Delta Region. It has been shown that there are 26 existing and proposed dam projects on the River Niger before it empties into the Delta. All these reduce river flow through increased evaporative loss of water from the reservoirs and associated irrigation schemes. They also trap the sediments, which settle out in the reservoirs rather than contribute to the coastal sediment equilibrium and fertilize the Niger Delta floodplain. The reduced flood also affects floodplain fish nursery areas in the Delta. Furthermore, industries such as sawmills and metal plating plants including the Ajaokuta Steel Plant (when it becomes functional), discharge waste materials into the River Niger thereby pollute the water for fisheries and human consumption. Finally, the rapid increase in urbanisation in the settlements bordering the River Niger and River Benue has led to increased generation of domestic and industrial wastes most of which are discharged into the rivers. The impact of urbanisation on the people and economy of the Niger Delta Region will surely increase given the fast pace of physical development of the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja). The area covered by the territory is 8,00? km2. Large population concentrations are also beginning to develop at the points where road bridges have been built across the river including Jebba, Lokoja/Koton Karfe, Ajaokuta, Onitsha and Patani.

Finally, institutional weakness and coordination problems have been significant constraints to the economy of Delta State. Over the years many Federal Agencies have operated in Delta State (such as the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority, the Niger Delta Development Board, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and OMPADEC) but they have been rather ineffective because each of them has its own set of rules and regulations and there has been no attempt to co-ordinated effort and reconcile the rules and regulations of the different agencies. It may well be that the operations of some of these agencies breach the rules and regulations set by others; yet, such agencies cannot be brought to book being government establishments just like the others. It is, therefore, very easy for land and resource developers to become confused as to which agency has jurisdiction over particular matters. Furthermore most state and local government institutions involved in the development of the Niger Delta lack funding, trained staff, technical expertise, adequate information, analytical capability, and other pre-requisites for implementing comprehensive policies and programmes.

The poor consume too few resources, contribute little to pollution and waste, and have too little access to soils, forests, fisheries and freshwater to be a major source of degradation. Most environmental degradation is underpinned by the consumption patterns of middle and upper income groups and the large increasingly globalised production system that meets and shapes their needs. Where the poor do contribute to environmental degradation, such as cutting down forests, it is due to the non-poor controlling the vast majority of cleared land leaving the poor with little alternative. Consumption is increasing by the non-poor, and people's desire for consumption goods is increasing. The environment in which the vast majority of the poor lives bear the blunt of the consumption implications of the middle and high income groups.

Market failure has been one of the major causes of environmental degradation in Delta State. Market failure occur where producers and consumers do not bear the full cost of their environmentally damaging actions, or where property rights over natural resources are ill-defined or missing. For example, the full cost oil exploitation damage to environment is generally not reflected in the market prices of goods produced and the benefits derived. This has resulted in the over exploitation of environmentally damaging oil and gas production and other natural resources in Delta State. Ill-defined property rights make it unclear who has the right to benefit from a resource or who has the right to protect or pollute it. This may lead to inadequate investment in maintaining the quality of the resource. In cases where property rights are vested in a body not directly affected by the use of the resource as in the case of the present oil exploitation in Delta State there is an incentive to overuse it or degrade it. Users do not have an incentive to mange it in a sustainable way as the future benefits of their actions may go to other or the actions of others may cancel their efforts. This creates a role for government intervention to correct market failures and eliminate market distortions.

One of the major causes of environmental degradation in Delta State as in other parts of Nigeria is poor and ineffective governance. Future generations are key stakeholders in the environment, but have no voice in today's decisions. Similarly poor people often suffer from the worst environments, and also have little or no voice in decisions which affect them. The real difficulty in harnessing and protecting the environment has been to reconcile the diverse interests and demands of people alive today as well as the next generation. Good governance can improve the lives of the poor but much government policy has been neither economically nor environmentally efficient. Most environmental problems have been inadequately identified - so the situation has become difficult to resolve even before they have been noticed. But even then, the lack of systematic monitoring of clearly defined environmental indicators means that linkages between policies and environmental impact are not recognised. As a result, people systematically undervalue the environment. Where it is considered, it is still often perceived as a risk to be avoided rather than an opportunity for adding to the sustainable benefits of policies, programmes or projects. Most environmental ministries and institutions have low status in government structure and are under-funded. In some cases funds allocated specifically for environmental management such as ecological funds are diverted to other uses. They lack the political weight, authority and legal power to enforce compliance with environmental regulations or to influence other ministries.

Policy Issues and Options for Effective Environmental/Urban Development Management in Delta State

An attempt has been made to outline the rationale and characteristics of the present environmental and urban development problems facing Delta State. A sustainable environmental and urban development policy must recognise that the economic, environmental, social,-cultural and psychological contexts for strategic decision-making and interaction in Delta State and in deed the whole of the Niger Delta region have dramatically changed over the years. This change has resulted from the progressive deepening of the crisis ofunsustainability in environmental resource use and management and socio-economic development, occasioned by widespread, multi-faceted adverse effects of oil and gas exploitation in the region over the decades. In this regard, previous fragmented, ad-hoc and top-down approaches to environmental development in Delta State must now give way to alternative development process in which holistic, integrated and participatory approaches constitute the hallmark of sustainable development in the state. This change has been appreciated by the present Delta State Government in its various development activities of the last two years including the promotion of the much-needed changes in governance structures. There is no doubt that there has been remarkable changes in urban and rural areas of Delta State in terms of improvement in the indicators of environmental quality and these are commendable. However, there is still a lot to be done but the challenge is not only for the Delta State government. Implementing pro-poor and pro-environment policy requires both conceptual and operational shifts by government agencies, international development organisations, NGOs and other civil society actors and the private sector. The main responsibility of the Delta State Government is to provide the enabling environment for the participation of the various actors in the improvement of the environment in the state.

Accordingly, the sustainable environmental development policy thrust must broadly encompass a number of issues and courses of action. Some of these are examined below.

Sustainable leadership, democracy and true federalism

One of the key challenges to the sustainable environmental development of Delta State within the framework of the Nigerian federation is the sustenance of democracy and the recognition of the peculiarities of component states. Many years of military rule in Nigeria basically eliminated political leadership at the national and particularly at the state levels. Often military officers were posted to states as administrators and in our state, Delta, attention of these leaders was focused in promoting conflicts among the various groups within the state. This will enable them to have a job to do in the context of military rule, which is the maintenance of peace and security. Thus the business of government was restricted to maintaining peace and security at a crucial time in its development. Similarly federalism which has been recognised in Nigeria's political development, so as to protect the desire and interest of different groups was basically eliminated by military rule. It is only through democracy that these two problems can be solved in the region and in deed other parts of Nigeria. Although one recognises the existence of other categories of leaders comprising the elite and traditional rulers, experience has shown that in the absence of a committed political leadership these other categories of leadership became pre-occupied with intra-group or ethnic interests rather than what can be attracted to the state. It is therefore in the overall interest of Delta State for democracy to survive in Nigeria. The new democratic leadership in Delta State is already working towards showing the difference between military and democratic regimes and this approach must continue. It is only in the context of democracy and true federalism that sustainable improvement in the environment of Delta State can be carried out.

Clear administrative responsibilities are needed

The arrangements for managing the environment are often confused, with responsibilities shared between various government ministries or agencies. We congratulate the Delta State Government for establishing the new Ministry of Environment. What is urgently needed is for the new Ministry to articulate its structure and responsibility with respect to providing the enabling environment for sustainable improvement in the environment of the state. Basically, the new ministry must be strengthened to carry out a leadership role in the sustainable management of the state's environmental programmes. The ministry must be take innovative measures in terms of enforcing national and international environmental laws and regulations and contributing to the development planning process usually through monitoring environmental impact assessments (ElAs). However other ministries whose activities have environmental impacts as well as poverty reduction must also be strengthened to handle environmental concerns within the framework of the laws, regulations and guidelines operating in the state. In this respect there is need for an environmental unit in each ministry whose activities have environmental implications. At the local government level the role of local authorities in environmental management must be clearly defined. Typically, a concurrent transfer in resources or powers must accompany the transfer, of environmental responsibilities to LGAs.

Environmental laws and regulations should be made more relevant and effective

Many of the environmental laws and regulations mostly articulated by the Federal Government are based on a 'command-and-control' approach. These have not been implemented effectively, as government institutions lacked the powers and resources to enforce them. In addition they did not take account of the views and rights of other stakeholders, in particular the poor at the community level. Nigeria has legislation requiring ElAs for projects. Key factors influencing success are that assessments should be conducted at an early stage in project design, those affected must be consulted, the assessment must form part of a wider development planning and decision-making process, they must be available for public scrutiny and there should be an independent and objective evaluation of the quality of the assessments. Despite the regiour of ElAs, process has not brought any significant impact on the local communities in Delta State that have been exposed to different forms of environmental pollution over the years. What is needed is appropriate taxing of organisations polluting the environment with their activities. Many natural resources in Delta State have a value, which can be taxed by the State Government or the Local Governments for the damage they impact on the environment while still allowing for profitable exploitation. It is clear that the regulatory approach to environmental compliance is not enough. There is need to shift to environmental taxes and charges, which will not only reduce pollution but also provide funds to government for environmental management and compensation for those affected by environmental pollution.

Civil society and Community participation in environmental management

Long years of military rule in Nigeria have negatively affected the participation of the civil society particularly grassroots population in decision-making in Nigeria. Contemporary approaches to development in all parts of the world in this era of globalization focus on ensuring the participation of the population. Grassroots participation in the Niger Delta Region is low compared with many other parts of Nigeria. The prevailing settlement pattern and the poor transportation and communication facilities are largely responsible. Consequently, a number of self-styled leaders and youths have emerged claiming to represent the people's interests. Meeting the Delta people's needs improving communities and safeguarding the environment should all start with the people in their communities, take account of their needs, culture, traditions and make sure that all interests in the community are understood. We must differentiate community needs from ethnic demands because invariably most ethnic demands may not tally with those of deprived communities scattered in different localities within the region. Therefore, the principles of participation, priority setting and decision-making, policy and programme design require the that all stakeholders including state governments, elected representatives, oil-companies, resource mangers, local communities and their grassroots leaders are consulted and they agree through dialogue to harmonise their interests, broaden involvement, overcome barriers and resolve conflicts. Women in Delta State require special attention in terms of improving their participation in decision-making. Women in the region play a key role in the traditional economy of the region as pointed out earlier. In many cases women are not only the producers, but also the marketers. And they play a much more significant role in these areas than men do. In spite of this, basic decision-making in these areas and in general social sphere is almost usually the monopoly of men. The implication is that this separation between decision-making and decision execution in resource development may affect the efficacy of resource and environmental management activities. Given this state of affairs, a meaningful empowerment of grassroots women will no doubt make for a much more rational and purposeful management and utilisation of resources at the grassroots level.

Private sector activity on sustainable environmental improvement

In this era of privatisation, it is imperative to involve the private sector in any programme of environmental improvement. This can be illustrated with the issue of housing provision, which is in high demand in all parts of the state especially in urban areas. Indeed, apart from the government, there are seven categories of private sector operators all of which have their own specific tasks to perform in promoting mass housing provision. These are:

• Real Estate Developers, Cooperators & other Non-governmental Housing Associations
• Construction Companies
• Building materials Industries
• Building materials Supply Companies
• Professional groups (Architects, Engineers, Lawyers, Researchers, etc.)
• Mortgage Finance Institutions
• Funding Agencies (Pension Funds, Insurance companies, etc)

All these stakeholders have one primary goal in common viz. facilitating the access of citizens to decent shelter. To this end, however, objectives are different as between the public and the private sector. For the public sector, access of citizens to decent shelter is a major social welfare goal that also indirectly promotes their economic well being. Adequate shelter not only guarantees personal security but also enhances the health of household members. Owning a house enhances for the individual the prospect of eventually owning an economic asset which can serve as collateral and open the door to other wealth-crating possibilities. Its provision generates tremendous employment opportunities and creates a wide range of taxable units, both individual and corporate, in the population. The abundant tax returns make it possible for government to embark on a number of programmes calculated not only to reduce the level of poverty in the population but also to further enhance the productivity of the state and indeed the nation. For the private sector, whilst profitability is a primary objective, mass housing provision also determines the volume and scale at which such profits are made. The scale elements enable increasing specialisation to evolve among operators in the housing market and generally serve to enhance productivity. Among real estate developers, for instance, specialisation begins to emerge among providers of detached and semi-detached residential accommodations, high-rise residential blocks, multi-storey office buildings, industrial factories, hospitals of various scales, schools and colleges serving different types of population as well as other specialized types of buildings. Similar development can be expected among all other categories of private sector operators leading to the expansion and deepening of housing market in the country. Given this wide range of objective possibilities in mass housing-provision, it is easy to appreciate the need for the public and private sector to articulate areas where they have comparative advantage and concentrate efficiently on dealing with these. Thus partnership between the public sector and the private sector in Delta State will remarkably enhance housing provision and environmental improvement in the state especially in the urban areas.

Conclusion

Environmental issues are part of a wider set of factors, which contribute to making people poor. Earlier sections of this paper have demonstrated that there are real opportunities for reducing poverty while also protecting and improving the environment. Such opportunities underline the fact that sustainable development is integral to poverty elimination. We in Delta State cannot do otherwise in our development programmes. We can therefore conclude this paper by reviewing a number of practical actions that the Delta State Government in partnership with other stakeholders in the state can take to implement policies and programmes, which aim to both eliminate poverty and improve the environment. These actions should include the following:

• Strengthen participation by the poor in decision-making related to access to environmental resources and services through facilitating participation by the poor in the preparation and implementation of national and local plans, policies and strategies.
• Protect the current natural asset base of the poor through protecting the access the poor already have to critical resources (such as entitlements to land, water, trees, pastures, fishing grounds) - especially in cases where the poor are in weak position to resist appropriation of these resources by other groups, and through protecting the environmental resources upon which the poor depend for their livelihoods;
• Expand the natural asset base of the poor through transferring ownership of natural assets to the poor (such as the creation of community forest rights or rights to other resources) and promoting pro-poor land reforms;
• Co-manage and co-invest in environmental services and resources with the poor, through promoting and strengthening community management of environmental resources, and assisting the poor to overcome the high initial costs for receiving better quality environmental services (such as water supply and sanitation, energy and waste management;
• Promote environmental infrastructure and technology that benefits the poor through a greater focus on tackling the environmental problems and hazards that impact most upon the health and livelihoods of the poor, and through developing affordable and environmentally sour technologies that are needed by and can be used by the poor;
• Make resource transfers to the poor through reducing subsidies for environmental services the benefit the non-poor (such as energy and water) and increasing investments in areas in which the poor live and works.

Apart from policies and projects to directly reduce poverty while effectively managing the environment, there are other actions that need to be taken by Government and other stakeholders in the state. They include the following:

• recognise that good governance, opportunities for people to participate at both local and national levels in decisions that affect them and a sound legislative framework which incorporates property rights, especially for poor people, are prerequisites for environmental improvement;
• encourage resource based legal frameworks for coastal resources, water resources, forestry,land management and biodiversity;
• encourage government agencies to shift to a more participatory management regime with due attention being paid to resource conservation as well as production;
• use market based instruments as much as possible and pursue environmental policies which minimise administrative burdens, recognising that environment ministries are often newly established, relatively weak with small budgets and administration;
• build capacity for more effective environmental management within the state and for more effective participation in relevant international environmental discussions;
• reform economic policies to protect the environment by ending environmentally damaging subsidies, introducing and raising user charges, for environmentally damaging activities and using incentives for environmentally beneficial activities;
• encourage the private sector to integrate environmental concerns into their decision-making by assistance to industry organisations, promotion of industry codes of conduct and environmental auditing standards, introduction of the polluter pays principle and more effective enforcement and public pressure;
• encourage small and medium sized enterprises to follow the lead of the larger companies;
• promote the development of environmentally friendly private sectors such as clean technology, energy efficiency technology and nature tourism; assist civil society to promote environmental awareness and more effective environmental management;
• make environmental education a standard part of the curriculum in schools. Improve public access to environmental information;
• encourage public participation and action on environmental issues; and
• help build political will.

Thank you.