By Aderemi Bamgbose
A don, Prof. Olugbenga Ehinola, has said that contemporary issues in coastal environmental sustainability” encompass a range of challenges that threaten the health and resilience of ecosystem
Ehinola, Aret Adams Professorial Chairman, Geological Studies, University of Ibadan,
He stated this on Thursday at the Ist International Conference of Olusegun Agagu University Leadership Academy (ICOAULA 2024) scheduled between Feb.27 to March 1 which held at the Main Auditorium of OAUSTECH, Okitipupa, Ondo State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Conference with topic: “Contemporary Issues in Coastal Environmental Sustainability” was hosted by Dr. Cecilia Oluwamodupe, Chief Host, Prof. Temi Ologunorisa while Prof. I.A Ajibefun is Conference Chairman.
Ehinola, the Keynote Speaker, highlighted the key contemporary issues to include: climate change impacts, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, pollution and marine debris, coastal developmental pressure, over exploitation of coastal resources and loss of coastal wetlands, among others.
According to him, our society is faced with with numerous challenges but the possession of specialized problem solving skills can make the MDSG’s achievable through collaborative approaches
“The objective is to help understand better the interactions among economic development model, the political institution, environmental impacts, ecosystemic services and human welfare.
“The society is faced with numerous challenges and for it to meet the MSDGs, there must be concerted efforts through collaborative approaches and possession of specialised problem-solving skills,” he said.
Prof. Folashade Olajuyigbe, the Director of Central Research Laboratory and Group Leader, of Enzyme and Environmental Biotechnology Research, Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Akure, spoke on the topic: “Environmental Biotechnology: Key to Achieving Millennium Sustainable Developmental Goals.”
She concluded that Environmental Biotechnology plays a vital role in supporting sustainable development goals especially in: enzyme production for industrial and biotechnological applications to sustain life below water and on land production of renewable energy, cleaning up pollutants from contaminated water, and restoring the quality of land and water through environmental bioremediation.
The Guest Speaker, Prof. Ibrahim Katampe, a professor of Chemistry at John W. Garland College of Engineering, Science, Technology and Agriculture, Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio, USA, also spoke virtually on the topic: ‘Coastal Environmental Sustainability: An Imperative for the 21st Century Researchers’.
Earlier, the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olaide Adelami, said the conference was timely, as it would x-ray most of the challenges facing the immediate environment and the ecosystem.
Adelami urged students to key into discussions at the conference, while also commending the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ologunorisa, for his developmental vision which, he said, had brought about development in the institution’s environment.
He expressed the confidence that, in no distant time, the institution would be ranked among the best in the country and in Africa.
“This conference is timely because it is going to x-ray major challenges and problems confronting our environment and the ecosystem,” Adelami said.
The Vice-Chancellor of OAUSTECH said that the Federal Government had approved a deep sea port in the coastal area of Ilaje.
Ologunorisa said that the university had also established a Marine Academy in order to produce the critical manpower to drive the blue economy.
He urged both the federal and state governments to prioritise the opportunities for possible economic growth for the state and the country at large.
Ologunorisa, who also noted that most of the institution’s projects had been abandoned, urged the state government to do the needful so that the contractors handling the projects could return to site.
NAN reports that members of the academia, government functionaries, students, staff members of the institution, participants from five different countries and Nigeria attended the conference. (NAN)
