To proffer solutions and mitigate the impacts of impending floods in the country, environmental sector stakeholders have recently met in Abuja.

Michael David, executive secretary, Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEF), disclosed this in an interview on Sunday.

Mr David said the stakeholders had reiterated the call on the federal government to embark on immediate sensitisation of residents of flood-prone states and put effective mechanisms to mitigate such disasters in place.

“Unfortunately, many persons have moved back to these flooded areas again; it appears we are not taking precautions; we should probably mop up these areas for them to know they are inhabitable.

“People should be punished for violating urban and town planning laws,” Mr David said.

He advised Nigerians to avoid bush burning and the felling of trees, as these practices had also been identified as some of the factors contributing to flood disasters.

The executive secretary further urged farmers to imbibe climate-smart agriculture, which is irrigation farming.

“We need to practice irrigation more, the rains that come are a blessing; we have the opportunity to construct dams, though as environmentalists, we are against the construction of mega dams that impact the ecosystem,” he said.

Similarly, Osi Braimah, the Director Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), also called on the public to stop indiscriminate dumping of wastes, especially in drains, to avoid flooding.

Mr Braimah noted that globally, the plastic waste situation had assumed a worrisome dimension.

“It has also become endemic, with drainage channels, canals, and waterways, littered with various plastic wastes.

“This contributes significantly to climate change, which results in short-term damages, such as erosion and flooding, due to blockage of streams and waterways,” Mr Braimah warned. 

(NAN)