Government of Anambra State is leading the way to fashion out measures to mitigate flood disasters before it happens in coastal areas of the state.

 

A German NGO, Heinrich Böll, and an architectural firm, ADDapt, in collaboration with the state government organized the 2024 Workshop on flood resilient solutions in Anambra State.

 

Speakers at the two-day event titled ‘Riverside Resilience: Unveiling Anambra’s Flood-Resilient Building Traditions,’ centered on ways to develop flood mitigative building strategies in the state.

The workshop sought to address the challenge of government having to relocate residents of flood-prone areas to Internally-Displaced Persons, IDP, camps, whenever flooding happens annually.

 

Being a follow-up to an earlier workshop held by Heinrich Böll in Lagos where some staff of theAnambra State Physical Planning Board were in attendance, the two-day event sought to pair indigenous knowledge with innovative solutions while ensuring environmental preservation, protection of traditional architecture, historical monuments and ultimately to eliminate or minimize the need to relocate the indigenous settlers of the identified flood-prone areas.

The State Head of Service, Barrister Theodora Igwegbe, in her speech, said the workshop came at the right time, as the rains have set in, pointing out that it will equip participants with the correct measures to take to mitigate the impact of flooding in Anambra communities.

 

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Lands, Professor Ofonze Amucheazi, disclosed that his Ministry is partnering with the Anambra State Physical Planning Board to ensure that the right approvals are given, and that the green areas stipulated by government are adhered to, stressing on the need to sensitizing the public on the role of the State Materials Testing Laboratory, which helps to address structural integrity of buildings.

Contributing, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs Chiamaka Nnake, decried the incessant harmful practice of dumping refuse in the waterways, which results in flooding of the roads, thereby causing erosion.

 

Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman, Anambra Physical Planning Board, Barrister Chike Maduekwe, explained that erosion and flooding have become a major challenge in the state, pointing out that Governor Chukwuma Soludo has been deliberate about supporting the development of the state flood resilient plan.

 

He further stated that the board is partnering with the foreign NGOs to develop new typologies for buildings, which they can pair with the traditional methods of building and innovation, so as to have buildings that will withstand such disasters if they happen.

According to Barrister Maduekwe, the Governor Soludo-led administration is determined to build a sustainable, green, liveable homeland for Ndị Anambra, explaining that it can only see the light of the day if all parts of the state are brought on board.

 

On her part, a principal partner with ADDapt, Miss Eve Nnaji, who spoke on behalf of Monica Umunna, of the Henrich Böll Foundation, said that the decision to host the workshop in Anambra was to improve the state’s interaction with water and ensure that the people who hitherto have been the cause of several flood challenges through their harmful practices will begin to provide solutions to the issues.

 

In their separate remarks, the Traditional ruler of Umueri, Igwe Ben Emeka, who leds one of the coastal communities of the state, and the President-General of the Anambra State Association of Town Unions, ASATU, Barrister Titus Akpudo called for strict enforcement of the law and punishment of offenders, expressing willingness to carry the message down to the grassroots.

The workshop featured breakout sessions where participants brainstormed on the traditional building practices of the indigenous people.

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