Environmental Networking Platform for Children and Youth by SAMSUNG E&A
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HOW BIG A THREAT IS BUILDING TO THE ENVIRONMENT? |
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Development is one thing that every country craves and welcomes. It can come in many ways and forms. Just like other countries, Nigeria is not left out in this regard. We are consistently developing and that puts smiles on the face of the populace. Like I said earlier, development can occur in various forms, it could be through road construction, mass housing, railway construction etc. However,these aforementioned forms of development are sometimes a danger to the environment and my interest is in the mass housing. In Nigeria today,house construction is massively going on in all parts of the country both by the government and private individuals. Being a landlord is something that interest Nigerians,especially those from Southern and Eastern Nigeria. Owning a house gives them a sense of belonging added to the rents paid by the tenants, so it is understandable why there is a massive increase in the rate at which houses are built in Nigeria. But,I am interested in the practices involved in the building process which portends danger for the environment if not curtailed. Now, how do they build these houses? In Nigeria, our common way of building houses is by using blocks and cements right from the foundation but when the house gets to the lintela stage,where they use woods,is the more worrisome for me. At this stage,the iron rods are put in place at the edges, window and door sides of the building. Then, a carpenter is employed to construct a container round the iron rods using woods so as to contain the concrete that will be poured inside it to give the shape of the iron rod and add stability to the building. Again, in constructing storey buildings,after constructing the ground floor above the lintel stage,the building becomes set to be decked and a large number of long,flat and thick woods are purchased to give the decking a flat surface while the bamboo woods are also purchased to support the flat woods containing the iron rods and also to hold the concrete firmly till the decking is fit to stand on its own. As soon as the decking is deemed fit to stand on its own, the supporting woods are removed and then, are either wasted or used as firewood by the rural dwellers. Also, during the plastering stage of building, especially for tall buildings, a remarkable amount of forest resources is sure to be wasted. Here, loads of bamboo trees or branchless, long and strong woods are purchased. The flat,long woods(which looks like a plank but this one is thicker and longer) are also not left out in the purchase. Now, a carpenter is employed to construct a makeshift strong, skeletal framework around the building to enable the masons and other Engineers in the site to plaster the building while standing and walking on the skeletal framework. This enables them plaster the house to any length as the framework itself matches the length of the building. This stage can easily pass as the most consuming of forest resources among other stages involved in the building process. I have been seeing this before but what really moved me to carry out extensive research on this and report it was the huge waste of these forest resources which I saw at a site where a huge building was being constructed. I couldn't believe such a huge waste of timber. I imagined the amount of deforestation that must have taken place for them to have such timber at their disposal. To say the least,I was indeed frightened, why? Because I know that we are wasting more than we can replace, I know the huge danger such a practice portends for us if we don't stop it now. Irked by the huge waste of timber I saw in one of the sites I visited, I proceeded to the coordinating engineers on site. As soon as I introduced myself and TUNZA Eco-Generation,I obtained permission to take pictures of the site and started asking the workers questions as follows: * Why did you choose to use timber materials for support in this building? * Can you use metallic/iron materials in place of the woods? * Have you ever seen a building that used another for support other than Wood? * What will happen to the timber wastes? The answers they gave me were that they have seen buildings that made use of metallic materials as support and that they can use metallic materials as support for the construction but it is more expensive than timber resources. They also told me that the woods once used,cannot be used again as it must have become so weak that it can't carry heavy load again hence,it is wasted, used in construction of kiosks or used as fire woods. After taking pictures of many heaps of wasted timber materials in that site, I spoke with a carpenter in the site who responded in the same ways others had done earlier. I took some pictures with him after others had refused to do same. I left the sight thinking of what to do,how to remedy the situation, who should be involved. But then, I concluded we have to start from the government where they will employ world class practices in achieving their building aims. This will involve them making use of metallic materials in place of timber materials while building as the populace will take up the practice if the government uses it consistently. And then,making these metallic materials available at a cheaper rate or via hiring will go a long way in helping but, what I consider the basic approach to stopping this is through massive awareness as most people here are yet to see the danger that lies ahead if nothing is done. I have started the awareness campaign on this and I am glad I have.
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4 Comments
Thanks everyone, I am encouraged by your support.
Posted 15-06-2014 00:38
Well reported. The development must be sustainable.
Posted 22-05-2014 18:56
sure christy, thanks a lot for this work
Posted 20-05-2014 22:47
Thank you for the vivid report Udeh, you made a great point. I heard the real asset boom in Nigeria and could see that massive amount of natural resources are going to be wasted. This can also cause more serious problem after 15~30 years, the demolition of buildings.
Posted 19-05-2014 11:45