Amid unprecedented economic hardship that has left millions of its citizens struggling to make ends meet, professionals have stressed the need for the government to urgently unlock the natural resources in the nation’s Blue Economy worth over $140 trillion to boost economic growth.
The professionals who spoke at the 38th general annual general meeting and Investiture of the 15th Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Lagos State branch with the theme, ” Unlocking the potential of Lagos State Blue Economy through Surveying Innovation .” held in Lagos emphasised that the country could optimise its potential in the blue economy through hydrography.
The chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Lagos State branch Olukolade Kasim said the move by the federal government to harness the economic potential in the country’s blue economy was a right step in the right direction, saying Lagos State which is 25 per cent surrounded by water will derive great benefits.
“Lagos is a marine area and we Surveyors believe we can actually unlock the potential in the Blue economic sphere. That is why we are addressing it and we are going to look at the issues and at the end of the day we want to showcase to the government areas we can contribute our quota as professionals in that sector.
The guest speaker and managing director of Starfix Geosolution Services Ltd, Bankole Falaye said surveying innovations can be used to enhance and boost the Lagos economy.
“This is because whatever you want to do around the Blue economy you need data. So surveying underpins how the data are derived. Then you talk about hydrography, remote sensing, data analysis, without data it will be difficult to harness potential in the Blue economy. You cannot really see landmarks in the ocean, you need to see positions, you need to understand where you are, you need to understand the behaviour of the ocean, all these the Surveyors are responsible for.
“Tourism can be improved and aquaculture can be developed, the gold deposit alone on the seabed of the ocean is estimated to be about $140 trillion . The largest oil deposits too are offshore. The resources are there.
The resources human beings are living on in the earth surface is just 30 percent, while others are in the water bodies occupying 70 per cent. “
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