From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
The African Initiative for Transparency and Responsibility Leadership (AfriTAL), has identified methane gas as a major cause of premature deaths, global warming and heatwave affecting several parts of the world including Nigeria.
AfriTAL, a non-governmental organization, stated this during a roundtable discussion with experts drawn from the health, environmental and agricultural sectors, as well as civil societies held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The event was organized by Environmental Centre for Oil Spills and Gas Flaring in partnership with
African Initiative for Transparency, Accountability and Responsible Leadership during roundtable discussion on ‘Methane Abatement in Nigeria, a special focus on Methane emissions from Anthropogenic sources’.
Executive Director of AfriTAL, and Project Coordinator, Methane Abatement Programme, Ogbeifun Brown, in his presentation said methane emissions from anthropogenic sources constitute about 60 percent of global emissions.
Brown added that methane plays a critical role in temperature rise and climate change matters.
He said: “I am sure that every Nigerian today sleeps and wakes up with heat. That should be of concern to everybody. It was not like that in the past. Some stakeholders have started to look at why this is now the case and started to pay attention to climate change as something that is real or more real than what people have projected. People now see that the destruction of the ecosystem is beginning to catch up with human beings.
“We need, therefore, to take control in terms of advocacy and in terms of trying as much as possible to manage our waste well as a way of reducing the short-term methane emissions within the atmosphere.
AfriTAL boss proffered practical steps to mitigate methane emissions. “First, many of our garbage cans are open. Many of our waste dumps are exposed within our environment. So, if we decide to do better by bagging our waste from the house level before putting it in the garbage can, then, we cover it, that is within the environment.
“Secondly, at the larger scale, within the community, maybe the local government, all those baggage we expose into the landfills we can begin to ensure that we bury them properly.
“Simple things like that can help our villagers or our communities to know very well that there are things that we do to help abate methane in our environment.”
On the consequences of methane in the human body, the expert explained: “When methane is released into the atmosphere, the first thing is that it pollutes the oxygen that you and I take. And when you take in such oxygen, it goes through your lungs before it goes to every other part of your body.
“One of the major implications of methane is premature deaths. There are also asthma-related diseases which are aggravated; and that is a cause for worry.
“So, it is estimated that if we all do what we could and government is also doing its own bit, that, in the next 10 years, we might be able to reduce methane levels, especially from anthropogenic sources by 45 percent and we reduce hospital visitations and also reduce the infant mortality rate. I think that is worth advocating for so that we can have a better life for our people.
“Methane is a major cause of the heat wave. Methane is a major contributor to the current heatwave in the country. This is because methane is 80 percent more potent in trapping heat and carbon dioxide. It is said the methane on its own causes about 40 percent of global heat-related issues within the environment.”
Also, South-South Zonal Director, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Nosa Aigbedion, said methane abatement should be of high concern to everyone.
He explained: “Methane is not a harmful gas at low levels, but at an elevated level, it becomes a thing of concern to everyone because of its ability to suppress oxygen and reduce what we take in as our daily life breath, which is oxygen.
“So, for that reason, there is a need for us to abate or curtail methane production and reduce its emission into the atmosphere.
“By reducing anthropogenic (human) activities that lead to methane production, we need to ensure that waste management process does not produce methane. We also need to ensure that we reduce indiscriminate dumping of waste in our dump sites. This is because, sometimes, methane production is very natural, through the decomposition of organic materials.
“Additionally, our agricultural processes like cattle rearing which produce a lot of methane into the atmosphere either through belching or farting. It releases a lot of methane into the atmosphere.
“It is also by burning. We want to avoid indiscriminate burning. This process releases methane which is a very high contributor to greenhouse gasses. So, methane is a big issue to be looked at when it comes to greenhouse gasses.
“Government is trying in its bid to reduce methane release, not just methane, but every gas that has deleterious effect on human health. The government is working assiduously to ensure it is reduced.”