FACED with new urban era - most of humanity now living in towns and cities, the global community will today celebrate this year habitat day to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat and as cities are beginning to have a great influence on climate change.The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. This year, the Government of Mexico will host global celebration. The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter.The theme: Cities and Climate Change was chosen because climate change is fast becoming the pre-eminent development challenge of the 21st century. Indeed, no one today can really foresee the predicament in which a town or city will find itself in 10, 20 or 30 years time.In Lagos, members so the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers held a media parley to mark the day. NIESV President, Mr. Bode Adediji, 1st Vice President, Mr. Emeka Eleh and World President, International Real Estate Society (IRES), Mr. Akin Olawore attended the event.Reflecting on theme, Adediji said that WHD is important to every citizen regardless of professional calling, status and gender. 'NIESV wants to emphasize that the only sector that would drive the knowledge, governance and sustainability would be the built environment professionals because they are central to the theme of urbanization and urban dwelling. If something is wrong with land policy, people will settle in vulnerable locations.'According to him, when tragedies occur, especially floods occur; the people that bear the brunt are estate surveyors because they are in charge of property management. He said that Nigeria should not take the issue of climate change for granted, as some of Nigerian cities are located at coastal areas while the northern part of the country is being threatened by desertification.Eleh said that the government should evolve polices to engender sustainable development such as ensuring gas utilization and electricity in homes to curtail deforestation. 'Vehicle emission in Nigerian cities should also be taken seriously by the relevant authorities. The challenge is for appropriate agencies to take action on cities to ensure the control of emission, coastline is protected and awareness is created on gas utilization and deforestation is stopped. Time is now for it to be done for the sake of the future generation and our country. 'He lamented that the government is not paying attention to infrastructure development as only 20 per cent of the budget goes to capital expenditure while 80 per cent is budgeted for recurrent expenses. Eleh said that if the government invest massively on infrastructure, it would open up new areas and reduce urbanization as well as cost of houses.Olawore urged the government to fashion out polices that would ensure estates adopt ways of recycling its waste and sustainable housing, such as restricting the use of wood in building houses and curtailing dredging on Nigerian shorelines.In a message, the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Bank-Moon said that cities were centres of industrialisation and sources of emissions, but they were also home to solutions, saying that local efforts were critical to success, but they must be supported by international initiatives.The UN chief warns that rising sea levels are a major impact of climate change ' and an urgent concern. 'Sixty million people now live within one metre of sea level. By the end of the century, that number will jump to 130 million. Major coastal cities ' such as Cairo, New York, Karachi, Calcutta, Belem, New Orleans, Shanghai, Tokyo, Lagos, Miami and Amsterdam ' could face serious threats from storm surges.The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Dr. Joan Clos in a statement said that many towns and cities, especially in developing countries, were still grappling with climate change strategies, working out how to access international climate change funding and how to learn from pioneering cities.
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