Yar’Adua, who was represented by the Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, said this in his address at the maiden National Environment Summit, organised by the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development in Abuja.

He said that the theme of the summit which is “Greening the environment for sustainable economic development’’ would x-ray the environmental imperatives of the administration’s socio-economic development goals.

Yar’Adua cited a World Bank report published in the 1990s as estimating that Nigeria lost about 5.1 billion dollars (N597 billion) due to environmental degradation.

He noted that improper exploration and exploitation of the country’s natural resources had a negative impact on the social and economic health of the citizens, the resources and the ecosystem.

“We are concerned that some of the northern states of the country are being ravaged by drought and desertification exacerbated by human activities.

“Increased incidences of flooding across the country  constitute clear evidence of stress and ecological imbalance in the environment of many of our communities today,’’ the president said.

Yar’Adua identified the environmental challenge facing the country as combating land degradation, deforestation and de-vegetation, drought and desertification, flooding, erosion and waste disposal, among others.

The summit, he said, provided an opportunity to evolve a roadmap to “frontally face up to the environmental dimensions to our rapid sustainable national development challenge.’’

Yar’Adua said the signing of the “National Environment Pledge,’’ the first of such, would ensure the mainstreaming of the environment into the nation’s development agenda.

He urged governors and local government chairmen to effectively integrate environmental concerns into the development processes at sub-national levels to ensure sustainability and environmental protection.

The president expressed the hope that the forum would help to strengthen and deepen collaboration among the government, civil society groups and development partners.

Earlier in her address of welcome,  Mrs Halima Alao, the Minister of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, called for the sustenance of political support for environmental initiatives.

Alao stressed the need to integrate measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change into development policies by pursuing innovative solutions that would create new opportunities.

According to her, Nigeria can stabilise electricity supply through the implementation of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) .

CDM is one of the initiatives designed under the Kyoto Protocol to assist developing countries to adapt to climate change and achieve sustainable development.

The summit, Alao said, would provide an opportunity to focus on the severity of environmental problems facing the country and the production of a blueprint for environmental and sustainable development.

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