Thread by @NESREANigeria

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY USMAN JIBRIL, HONOURABLE MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS ENFORCEMENT AGENCY’S 12TH NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS’ FORUM, NICON LUXURY HOTEL, ABUJA
11TH DECEMBER 2018.

It is my pleasure to be with you today for this 12th National Stakeholders’ Forum being organized by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), a Parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Environment.

2.Let me also welcome all participants to this very important Forum. I want to commend the Director General of NESREA and his team for the organisation of this Forum, with the theme “Circular Economy and Environmental Governance”...........

.........The choice of the theme for this Forum is very apt especially as this Administration implements the National Economic Growth and Recovery Plan.

3.For any development to be sustainable, such development must go hand in hand with environmental protection. Sustainable development simply means a development that does not pollute or degrade the environment,..........

....... a development that can benefit us today without comprising the benefit for our future generations, and a development that is in harmony with nature.

4.The concepts of green economy and circular economy are all aspects of sustainable development. Green economy supports a circular economy, in which the use of materials and generation of waste are minimized, and any remaining waste recycled, .............

........remanufactured or treated in a way that causes the least damage to the environment and human health.

5. In addressing the perennial solid waste management problem in the country, NESREA, an enforcement arm of the Federal Ministry of Environment developed, and are enforcing 33 environmental regulations to protect and preserve the environment for sustainable development......

........The 34th regulation on Healthcare Wastes was presented at the last NESREA Annual regulatory Dialogue held in Abuja last month, for further review and input from Stakeholders.......

It is pertinent to note that eight (8) of the 33 Regulations already passed into law have specific reference to solid waste management and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Programme............

These Regulations are those for the food, Beverages and Tobacco Sector; Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Soap and Detergent Sector; Electrical/Electronic Sector; Domestic and Industrial Plastic, .......

.....Rubber and Foam Sector, Base Metal, Iron and Steel Sector; Pulp and Paper, Wood and Wood Products Sector; and Motor Vehicle and Miscellaneous Sector.

6.The Regulations were developed pursuant to Section 25 (I) of the 2007 NESREA Act, which empowers the Agency to make regulations for the purpose of protecting public health, promotion of sound environmental sanitation, and protection of the environment.

7.The purpose of the EPR programme in each of the 8 Regulations is to promote circular economy in our country. The EPR is an approach in which a producer’s responsibility, physical and/or financial, for a product, is extended to the post- consumer stage of a product’s life cycle

......... It focuses among others, on the end-of-use treatment of the consumed products to increase the amount and degree of product recovery and to minimize the environmental impact of waste materials.

8.The Operational Guidelines for the EPR Programme had been developed and published, delineating responsibilities for the key sector player – the producers, consumers, collectors, recyclers, the Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) and the government.........

.......The implementation of the EPR is starting in two sectors – the Food and Beverages Sector and the Electrical/Electronics Sector. The two sectors have successfully registered their PROs with the Corporate Affairs Commission, a process that was facilitated by NESREA.

9.I want to use this opportunity to urge all Stakeholders in these two sectors to immediately key into the programme. It is required by law that all stakeholders must be part of the programme, .......

......and early next year, NESREA will start sanctioning industries that have not joined the EPR Progamme. There must be a level playing field for all industries, and individual or corporate body is above the law of the land.

10.Let me also use this opportunity to commend those corporate bodies/industries in the Food and Beverages Sector and Electrical/Electronic Sector who have shown tremendous leadership and commitment to drive the process in their respective sectors.

11.We wish to express our deep gratitude and appreciation to Mr. President for assenting to the amended NESREA Act. This is a clear demonstration of Government’s effort to ensure the protection of our environment and the achievement of sustainable development.

12.A robust regulatory framework and effective enforcement of legislation are critical means of driving green investments. The use of regulations is necessary to address all unsustainable consumption and production patterns, by creating standards,.......

.........prohibiting entirely certain operations and activities, implementing programmes that promote markets for green goods and services, and can induce efficiency and stimulate innovation.

13.I look forward to the concrete recommendations coming out of this Forum, which I have no doubt, will assist in the implementation of the EPR Programme, and the promotion of circular economy in our country.

14.Thank you and God bless.