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Nigeria: Niger Delta Risks Being Lost, Submerged - Foreign Experts
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Leadership (Abuja)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 27 March 2008
Osa Okhomina
Yenagoa
Foreign experts and other specialised agencies on Tuesday concluded,after a three-day deliberation on the large scale environmental degradation taking place in the Niger Delta, that the region stood the risk of being lost except a stop was put to further destruction of the mangrove forests.
According to the experts drawn from the United States and the United Kingdom, development agencies, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Research Institutes, National Space Research Development Agency (NARSDA), National Universities Commission (NUC), Alliance for Earth Science, Engineering and Development in Africa (AESEDA), Pennsylvania State University, U. S.A; Center for Applied Environmental Research, (CAER) University of Missouri-Kansas, U.S.A, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, community based organisations (CBOs), non governmental organisations, and the Bayelsa State government, as well as scholars from over 45 universities in Nigeria, the Niger Delta region, the third largest wetland in the world, stood the risk of being lost unless all stake holders wake up to their responsibilities.
Their position was made known in Yenagoa after the just concluded three-day international conference tagged "The Nigerian State, Oil Industry and the Niger Delta," held in Bayelsa State. They warned that the Niger Delta region cannot boast of commensurate benefits from the activities of the oil multinationals, while its mangrove forests which provide life support system are on the throes of extinction.
The participants, however, blamed the leaders of the region over what they described as dereliction of duty, as well as the lack of political will by the Nigerian state to develop the Niger Delta. They stressed that corruption a all tiers of government was partly responsible for the escalating crisis in the region.
The conference warned that if the fragile region is to be preserved for generations yet unborn, then the oil multinationals, federal and state governments should stop further destruction of the mangrove forests in the Delta. It called on stakeholders to embark on joint implementation of environmental accounting on a regular basis.
In a communiqué signed by Dr. Ambily Etekpe and Dr. Samuel Ibaba, Chairman, Communiqué Committee and Secretary, Local Conference Organising Committee respectively, the conference also decried the low level of infrastructural development in the Niger Delta.
The federal government, the forum noted, should properly enforce all laws concerning oil, gas and environmental management to ensure compliance with internationally acceptable environmental standards, adding that "the transfer of ownership rights on environment to the people is a sure way to guarantee compliance with environmental protection regulations while the gas laws should be reviewed to eliminate the flaring of gas."
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"The ending of gas flaring is predicated on the provision of the necessary infrastructure and policy framework that will facilitate the utilisation of gas.
"The policy on ending gas flaring in the Niger Delta should, therefore, note this point of fact; Early warning systems should be established in the Region to detect impending environmental disasters.
"A documentary on the impact of oil exploration and exploitation on the Niger Delta should be produced and made available to local and international media organisations. In corollary, there should be concerted efforts to place issues of the Niger Delta in the front burner of world environmental movements, including the United Nations General Ledger on development, and International Heritage Sites", it stated.
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