VZCZCXRO3443
OO RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #0142/01 0780552
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 190552Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0618
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0227
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LAGOS 000142 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USTR-AGAMA 
DOE FOR GPERSON, CHAYLOCK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV SOCI PGOV ECON NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: DOCUMENTARY HIGHLIGHTS RISING SEA LEVELS, 
EROSION 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Nigerian film director Desmond Majekodunmi, 
with funding from the Heinrich Boll Foundation, produced 
"Global Warming: Nigeria Under Attack", a documentary 
screened in Lagos on November 19.  The 40 minute-long film 
documents the threat of rising seas levels on recent 
developments on Victoria Island in Lagos State as well as 
Bayelsa, Rivers, and Cross River States.  Over time, the 
rising sea level may create millions of refugees and cause 
millions of dollars of damage to buildings and 
infrastructure.  In the South East, erosion is destroying 
farm land, buildings, and roads, and state governors are 
seeking to access federal funds now used to combat 
desertification in the north.  Lagos State says it has taken 
effective steps to combat the threat of rising sea levels. 
Some in the Federal Government argue Nigeria must do more. 
End Summary. 
 
Sea Threatens Major Nigerian Cities 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Nigerian Director Desmond Majekodunmi, with funding 
from the Heinrich Boll Foundation, produced "Global Warming: 
Nigeria Under Attack", a documentary screened in Lagos on 
November 19.  Professor Emmanuel Obot, Executive Director of 
the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, interviewed in the 
film, predicts that rising sea levels are threatening the 
entire coastal region, including parts of the Delta cities of 
Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Warri in Delta State as well 
as Calabar in Cross River State, and the mega-city of Lagos. 
Professor Obot believes the flooding of these cities will 
create tens of millions of ecological refugees.  He predicts 
that heavier rains and higher sea levels could wipe out much 
of Bayelsa State, having a devastating effect on the oil and 
gas industry, Nigeria's life blood. 
 
¶3. (U) In a press interview with ThisDay Newspaper, published 
November 21, Stefan Cramer, the director of the Heinrich Boll 
Foundation's Nigeria Office predicted that most of Nigeria's 
low lying coastal area will be covered with water by 2050, 
with the remaining sections (Lagos and other coastal cities) 
being covered by 2100.  The exclusive Lekki area, where 
properties are sold for millions of dollars, is barely two 
meters above sea level, Cramer said.  As a result, these 
properties are likely to be among the first to be covered by 
water if sea levels rise by one meter in 50 years as 
scientists predict, rendering two to three million people in 
Lagos homeless.  Desmond Majekodunmi, the narrator and 
producer of the film, argues that the rising ocean levels 
make nonsense of Lagos' recently completed city development 
plan. 
 
Lagos State Says Adequate Measures Taken 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Responding to the film, Lagos State Commissioner for 
the Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire, told ThisDay on November 
21, that the government is taking significant measures in 
anticipation of rising sea levels.  These include shoreline 
protection projects, the proposed Eko Atlantic City project, 
preservation of coastal wetlands, the dredging of existing 
canals for de-flooding, and the acquisition of emergency 
de-flooding equipment.  In addition, he noted that the state 
is planting trees, stopping the burning of refuse, developing 
solar energy, and emphasizing multi-modal transportation, all 
to combat global warming. 
 
Widespread Erosion Threatens Southeast 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) The film focuses on large scale erosion, another 
effect of climate change that is creating dangerous gullies 
that swallow farmland, homes, and roads in the states of 
Nigeria's South East geopolitical zone.  Anambra State 
officials listed over 1,000 erosion sites, the loss of over 
2,000 buildings, and the threat of losing another 10,000 
structures as new gullies are created and existing ones 
widen.  Imo, Enugu, and other South East states report 
similar erosion and losses.  In addition to the occasional 
loss of human life, erosion has cause tens of thousands of 
local residents to leave their farmland.  Professor Sabas 
Asoegwu of the Federal University of Technology in Owerri, 
 
LAGOS 00000142  002 OF 003 
 
 
Imo State explained that some of the gullies were formed as 
early as the 1970s, when the diversion of a watercourse 
during the construction of Nnewi-Okigwe road cause a massive 
gully to develop; the government did nothing to ameliorate 
the situation.  As a result, the gullies have grown in size, 
wiping out sections of main highways, Professor Asoegwu says 
in the film. 
 
SE Governors Ask Federal Funds to Fight Erosion 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶6. (U) State governors in the South East are aware of the 
problem and want to address it but do not have sufficient 
funds.  Imo State Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. 
Aloyisius Aguwa told the Guardian Newspaper on November 23 
that Imo State alone will need naira 50 billion (about USD 
430 million) to address the menace of its 500 erosion sites. 
Since the state governments cannot single-handedly afford 
these costs, they are asking to access a federal fund 
currently used only to fight desertification in the north. 
The Guardian Newspaper reported that Senator Ayogu Eze, 
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information, said the 
federal government is committed to tackling the problem in 
the 2009 budget.  In the meantime, leaders of the affected 
states are trying to limit further erosion by regulating the 
mining of sand and gravel by local residents. 
 
Film Asks Ordinary Nigerians to Change Behaviors 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶7. (U) The 40 minute-long film explains some of the 
ecological threats Nigeria faces and challenges viewers to 
change their behaviors to mitigate the effects of global 
warming.  Natural gas flaring is a major cause of green house 
gas emission in Nigeria as is the burning of firewood for 
cooking.  The movie attempts to change everyday behaviors 
that also contribute to global warming.  These include the 
use of diesel generators, cars, and the clearing of farmland 
by bush fires.  One fictional scenario portrayed a mother 
returning home to find her children unconscious from inhaling 
generator fumes inside the home.  A doctor challenges them to 
decrease generator use, and the government to improve 
electricity service.  The film also encourages individuals to 
decrease the use of wood as an energy source while planting 
trees to both create oxygen and decrease soil erosion.  It 
challenges the government to provide better energy options 
and coastal management. 
 
Nigerian Officials Outline Way Forward 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) A former Federal Permanent Secretary for Petroleum and 
Special Assistant to the President, Phillip Asiodu argues in 
the film that Nigeria must develop its alternative energy 
sources, including wind, solar, and sea wave potential.  He 
expresses concern that as the developing world undergoes 
industrialization, it will go through a period of pollution 
before finding a green solution. 
 
¶9. (U) In this film, Minister for Environment, Housing and 
Urban Development, Halima Tayo Alao (Note: Ms. Alao has since 
been removed as Nigeria's environment minister.  End note), 
noted that over the past two decades, Nigeria has lost over 
75 percent of its natural forest to energy use.  She argued 
that although Africa contributes about three percent of total 
global carbon emission and Nigeria is within the Kyoto 
Protocol limits, it must decrease greenhouse gas emissions 
and control the effects of climate change to prevent 
increases in poverty throughout the country.  Alao said 
reforestation programs are key to Nigeria mitigating the 
effects of climate change, and that failure to do so could 
result in conflicts as Nigeria's 140 million inhabitants are 
forced into an are one-third its current size. 
 
¶10. (U) Comment:  Although there is disagreement about the 
rate of sea level rise or the extent to which it is caused by 
climate change, the film which the producer plans to screen 
on Nigerian television stations and in schools, will help 
Nigerians understand the potential impact of climate change 
and the results their individual choices will have in 
remediating it.    End comment. 
 
LAGOS 00000142  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11. (U) This cable was written by Consular Officer Erin 
Sweeney. 
 
¶12. (U) The cable was cleared by Embassy Abuja. 
 
BLAIR