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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has expressed readiness to strengthen its partnership with environmental journalists.
The partnership , according to the agency, is to improve public awareness on healthy environment, water resources management, flood forecasting, early warning systems and other hydrological issues affecting Nigerians.
Speaking when he hosted the Executive Council of Environmental Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria (EMCAN) led by its chairman, Joycelyn Ellekeche Adah, Director-General of NIHSA, Architect Umar Muhammed stressed the importance of stronger collaboration between the agency and the media in disseminating critical information to the public.
He said that the media remained an important partner in helping the agency reach vulnerable communities with timely and accurate information, particularly on early warnings and water-related risks.
According to the Director General, effective management of water resources is critical to preventing water scarcity, contamination and outbreaks of water-related diseases.
“If you do not have a good environment and water resources, one day you’ll wake up and you’d be shocked with what you see. Either you totally run out of water or you have no clean water,” he said.
Mohammed further warned against poor environmental management and contamination of water sources which, according to him, could have serious public health consequences, noting that human activities contribute significantly to the pollution of streams and other water bodies.
The NIHSA boss said that the agency needed organisations such as EMCAN to interface with the public and ensure that quality information on water resources and early warning systems gets to those who need it.
“We will need an organisation like yours to interface with the public and disseminate quality information for public use,” he said.
On EMCAN’s request for sponsorship, the DG explained that NIHSA, as a federal government agency, operates within a statutory funding framework.
He, however, said the agency was already collaborating with international development partners and would explore opportunities that could potentially accommodate additional participation.
“If we are able to secure quite a number of slots, why not? Definitely, it’s something that we could consider,” he said, while noting that he could not give a definite commitment at the moment.
Earlier, the association had used the occasion to formally inform the NIHSA management of its plans to cover the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31), scheduled to hold in Türkiye.
The EMCAN Chairman had appealed to NIHSA to support the association’s participation in the global climate conference, particularly through sponsorship for two to three members who are being considered to represent the association.
She explained further that EMCAN had already commenced efforts to raise funds to facilitate the participation of its members but was seeking support from relevant government agencies and environmental organisations.
In his remarks, Special Assistant on Media to the organisation, Mr, Yakub Aliyu, also stressed the importance of closer collaboration with environmental journalists, particularly in the areas of publicity and capacity building.
He said NIHSA required greater visibility to enable Nigerians understand the agency’s mandate and appreciate the importance of hydrological information in preventing disasters.
Aliyu noted that Nigeria faces both water scarcity and excess water challenges, including flooding, while contamination of water sources remains another major concern.
He said the contamination of streams and other water sources through human activities could increase the risk of diseases and other public health challenges.
He, therefore, expressed the agency’s interest in partnering with EMCAN on specialised training programmes that would equip journalists with the technical knowledge required to accurately report hydrological and environmental issues.
