Abuja – As the global community prepares to celebrate the 2014 World Environment Day, the Ecological Fund Office (EFO) in the Presidency on Wednesday advised Nigerians to comply with all environmental regulations and laws.

Mr Tolu Makinde, Deputy Director (Press) in the Fund’s office made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

The World Environment Day, a declaration of the UN, is celebrated on June 5 every year. The UN General Assembly declared 2014 as the International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

World Environment Day (WED) 2014 will be celebrated under the theme of SIDS under the slogan “Raise your Voice Not the Sea Level”, with the goal of raising awareness of their unique development challenges and successes regarding a range of environmental problems.

They include climate change, waste management, unsustainable consumption, degradation of natural resources, and extreme natural disasters.

Makinde advised the public to adopt most decent waste management practices while urging rural communities to control indiscriminate discharge of waste within their localities.

He urged rural communities to also stop indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal production and to adopt other sources of energy for cooking.

“Our advocacy for this year’s world Environment Day is for the people to align with the government in terms of environmental compliance.

“We advice people to stop building on waterways to avoid flooding.”

He attributed the delay in the commissioning of ecological fund projects nationwide to the need to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the fund’s office and those communities where projects were located.

He said the taking over by the communities would ensure their sustainability, adding that without their maintenance, the purpose for the projects would not be achieved.

“Most of the ecological projects are completed nationwide and are waiting for commissioning.

“Our new policy is not only the commissioning but the taking over of those projects for their sustainability.

“The issue is not just commissioning of those projects but the post-commissioning service.

“We want those benefiting communities to take over those projects for their maintenance and their sustainability.

“These projects must be serviced and protected so that people will not turn them to waste dumpsites,” Makinde said.

– NAN