Jos — Civil society organisations, representatives of tin mine-impacted communities met recently in Jos, Plateau State to review the state of environment and living in the region.

The meeting organised by Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) in conjunction with the League of Human Rights according to the lead NGO was to strengthen local communities' ability to monitor, record changes in their environment, prevent violation of the environment and seek redress whenever in any violation.

Project Director of ERA/FoEN, Mr. Philip Jakpor in an interview, told Daily Champion that "unmitigated tin mining has been identified with devastating impacts on water, agriculture and dislocation of host communities hence the need for impacted people to mobilize and take appropriate actions that will lead to remediation".

Answering questions from newsmen, Acting Director of the League for Human Rights Shamaki Gad Peter said the issue of environment is a human rights issue and "over the years there has been little or no attention given to the issue by government and other stakeholders in Jos, the Plateau State capital".

In a communiqué issued at the end of the stakeholders' meeting, participants observed among other things, that unregulated mining activity in the Jos Plateau has created environmental problems with grave impacts on the health and local livelihoods in host communities; There is low public awareness on the environmental challenges and plight of tin mine-impacted communities in the Jos Plateau; Laws regulating mining activity in the country are either obsolete or poorly enforced; and Ecology Funds meant for remediation in tin mine-impacted communities have not been used for the purpose to the detriment of the impacted communities.

Against these background, stakeholders' therefore demanded among other things; A comprehensive environmental audit of tin mine-impacted communities in the Jos Plateau; A repeal of the Land Use Act which has disenfranchised community people and made demands for compensation impossible; The prosecution of government officials found to have misappropriated Ecological Funds meant for Plateau State; All stakeholders-communities, civil society groups, government agencies, the media, among others work collaboratively to expose unsound environmental practices; and Awareness creation on the environmental degradation in communities that host tin mines.

Other demands of the forum include building of the capacity of impacted communities to take lawful actions to obtain ecological justice and compensation where need be, freedom of Information Bill as originally conceived should be passed into law by the National Assembly to ensure access to information, and full implementation of the NEITI Bill and close monitoring of the extractive industry.