Environmentalists have called on business owners and governments in Nigeria to take advantage of the huge investment opportunities in waste management to promote biodiversity and overcome post-COVID-19 economic challenges.
They made the call on Monday during a Zoom virtual meeting organised by the Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Institution of Environmental Engineers (NIEE) to commemorate World Environment Day (WED).
Dr Vishwas Vidyaranya, Technical Director, Value Investment, Colombia, said it was important to link circular economy with waste management while promoting public health.
Vidyaranya called for establishment of effective, sustained and decentralised waste management modules that created jobs and wealth while targeting alternatives that would promote healthy environment.
Speaking on the topic, “Green Recovery and Waste Management“, he said that challenges of the COVID-19 was going to open up huge business opportunities which Nigeria should not miss out on.
He said that economic prosperity of emerging mega cities usually increased pressure on waste management infrastructure but noted that it usually created opportunities in the various waste value chains which developing countries were not exploring.
The expert explained that organic wastes were easier to manage and Lagos State could leverage on its huge population to begin to use the ones from millions of households to produce various useful products.
He said that Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa generated more organic wastes which were easy to manage with Lagos accounting for the highest.
“Lagos in Nigeria generates the largest waste, about one kilogramme per person daily,’’ he said.
Vidyaranya said that sustainability in investment drive could lead to massive post-COVID-19 global economic recovery through investments in the wastes value chains.
“It is important to go for green recovery; green energy could drive COVID-19 recovery with 100 trillion dollars boost. Speeding up investments could deliver huge gains to global GDP by 2050 while tackling climate change emergency,’’ he said.
He highlighted the importance of exploring the business, scientific and engineering opportunities in nature preservation and conservation.
Dr Neeraj Mannie, Executive Director, Munch Innovation (Pty) Ltd., South Africa, called on businesses to focus more on manufacturing products less destructive to the environment.
Mannie explained that manufacturing environment-friendly products would promote sustainability, saying that there should always be consideration for adding value to nature.
“Nature does provide us with capital to use and not abuse,’’ he said.
He said that nature was constantly creating opportunities for new businesses but stressed the need for adoption of green business models that would not further degrade the environment.
On her part, Dr Tania Li Cheng, an expert from Portugal, suggested the need to monetise natural resources and find a balance between profit-making and preservation of the biodiversity.
She cited farmers and fishermen as examples of those who used pesticides to destroy soil or overfish to destabilise aquatic biodiversity.
“It is a challenge but it is possible to make plans that respect both our bio-diversities, communities and economies,’’ Cheng said.
She called for interdisciplinary solutions to environmental problems with experts in various fields coming together to protect most of the world’s endangered aquatic species. (NAN)
