By Rita Iliya
Minna, – The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and stakeholders on environment in Niger, have advocated stiffer penalties for indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the state.
The stakeholders made the call in a communique on Wednesday in Minna issued at the end of a meeting on “2019 Flood Preparedness, Mitigation and Response”.
They said that stiff measures on refuse management were necessary to avert the danger associated with flood disaster in the state.
The stakeholders urged disaster management agencies to partner media organisations to ensure adequate publicity on the penalties for residents engaged in indiscriminate waste disposal, especially along water channels.
The communiqué called for advance early warning system and pre-planning activities for successful mitigation and management of flood disaster in the state.
It suggested that traditional and modern means of information dissemination should be used as early warning mechanism in alerting residents during emergency.
The stakeholders called for increased sensitisation and awareness creation on riparian communities on the need to relocate to safer ground, particularly during raining season.
The communique said that the stakeholders resolved that structural measures should focus on protection of human health and safety measures.
It called for continuous monitoring of trans-boundary streams and river flows in the state for effective dam operations as well as flood control and management.
It urged government to enforce laws to conserve and restore degraded wet-lands and flood plains in the state
