CSO calls for use of real time environmental data in advocacy, policy formulation in Nigeria

The Media Awareness and Justice Initiative, MAJI, has called on governments and other relevant stakeholders in the environment sector to always use real time data for their evidence-based engagements, insights, reporting and policy development.

This was contained in a communique endorsed by the Executive Coordinator of MAJI, Okoro Onyekachi Emmanuel.

The communique was issued at the the end of a one-day preliminary meeting with target groups in Akwa Ibom as part of the implementation of the project tagged, ‘Strengthening Data for Climate Action in Nigeria (SD-CAN)’.

The group noted that effective deployment of data would form a catalyst for promoting inclusive and participatory Climate Action in Nigeria

The meeting however identified bureaucratic bottlenecks in accessing data from Ministries, Departments and Agencies, (MDAs) and urged the agencies to reduce those hurdles and incorporate collaborative inter-agency approaches.

Parts of the communique read, “We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria, the state governments across the Niger Delta
region, the environmental regulatory agencies of both national and state levels, and other critical stakeholders in the region to propagate the use of environmental data for climate campaigns and policy
formulations as a catalyst to promote inclusive and participatory Climate Action in Nigeria.

“There is need for open and accessible environmental data, that can be read and downloaded in easy-to-read and understandable formats for identified target groups.”

The communique also called on government to as a matter of importance subsidize and reduce import tax
on environmental educational related gadgets and equipment needed for real time environmental data collection, analysis and sharing.

It also pledged readiness to provide hands-on training for key target groups and stakeholders on realtime data collection for environmental data use, awareness and evidence based engagements.