Adopting Sustainable Property Management Practice as Effective StrategyFor Mitigating Climate Change

By ESV Clara Lemene Ebere

By the year 2030, if the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), must be achieved as envisaged by the United Nations (UN), the SGDs that speak to housing and urban development must be evenly addressed in both the developing and developed nations of the world.

The desire to own or lease a property for housing purpose is recognized all over the world as the second most important need of human aside food. In recent times, the demand for affordable housing and infrastructure services has been on the increase following the growing trend in urbanization.

While the challenge of providing affordable housing remains a common issues for most countries, the need for decent and eco-friendly housing have remained acute in developing countries. Available statistics has it that, the rapid growth of cities around the world particularly the developing nations have spurred the creation of megacities, accommodating over 450 million inhabitants which accounts for 3% of land area in urban spaces comprising various uses resulting to high energy consumption and global carbon emissions of nearly 70% and 75% respectively.

About nearly a third of global final energy use and CO2 are generated from buildings, with approximately 75% emanating from residential properties. Cities are thus playing a significant role in the emission of Greenhouse gases (GHGs) both directly as the generators of such emissions and indirectly as an outcome of high fossil fuel consumption from end-users producing goods and services. A good number of people and infrastructure in urban areas are concentrated in areas with vulnerability to climatic changes and emerging natural occurrences mostly suffered by the poorer and disadvantaged population.

In West Africa, Nigeria in particular, the existing stock of housing have been to a large extent inadequate and unsustainable due to the poor quality of construction and maintenance standard which have been worsened by the unregulated and unplanned growth of urban settlements making housing unfit for human occupation.

The environment has been subjected to pressure from the continuous struggle to meet the insatiable need for shelter, food, energy, air, water and raw materials. Despite the growing concerns on the effect of human activities on the natural eco-system and global climate, professionals that are tasked with the role of shaping the built environment in Nigeria seem to have been oblivious about the demands for sustainability agenda. The need for sustainable housing development and management is imperative now more than ever considering the adverse consequence of construction activities on the natural environment. Housing concept relates closely to the concept of sustainability in terms of socio-cultural, economic and environmental concerns. The concept of sustainability is premised on the principle that seeks to attain balance between human activities and nature without compromising the social and economic systems for posterity unborn. In order to alleviate the impact of climate change, it is important to have a deep understanding and clear perception of the level of vulnerability relating to ecological, economic and social systems within the country.

On the way forward in addressing the aforementioned issues, property managers undertaking the responsibility of carrying out building maintenance across the entire lifecycle of buildings should be engaged in the initial planning and design phases of housing or real estate construction. Trained professionals such as Estate Surveyors and Valuers are capable of providing nature-based solutions that are efficient and eco-friendly such as green housing.

Incorporating the principles of sustainable development and management which promotes the utilization of clean and renewable energy for construction and property maintenance would minimize the harsh effects of climate change which have created urban problems such as flooding and high surface temperature.

The level of pollution generated from construction and general building maintenance work involving repairs, renovations or modifications will be drastically reduced when eco-friendly products and materials are utilized. Housing should be recognized not only as a unit of accommodation but as a tool to combat climate change.

The government at all levels should work towards the implementation of policies that are environmental inclusive like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially to the SDGs that speak directly to housing and urban development.

ESV Clara Lemene Ebere, a registered Estate Surveyor and Valuer, writes from Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.