By Amos Odeh
Concerned stakeholders in the Niger Delta have called for sanctions against environmental offenders in Nigeria, saying that such offenders are becoming bolder by the day because they do not face the consequences of their actions, especially in the Niger Delta egion that has suffered adverse effects of oil spills and environmental degradation.
They expressed their concern in a communique issued after a one-day training workshop on the importance of environmental management and protection in the Niger Delta organised in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, by the Mac-Jim Foundation.
The participants were made up of traditional chiefs, community development committee chairmen, women leaders and youth presidents, among others, who were drawn from various communities.
They called on the Federal Government to always bring environmental offenders to book to serve as deterrent to others.
They also posited that environmental remediation and restoration should henceforth include climate change adaptation-based approaches.
The forum also warned that findings of the UNEP report on the devastated Ogoni land in Rivers State should serve as a lesson to communities in the Niger Delta.
According to the stakeholders, the communities have a duty to prevent further damage to their environments from the activities of artisanal refinery operators in the region.
“Communities should establish environmental clubs and environmental fora to generate community-based environmental solutions to environmental pollution from oil spills.
“The issues of environmental management and protection are a collective responsibility of all Niger Deltans, and should not be viewed as the responsibility of government , oil companies and development agencies alone.
“Community commitments and support to civil society organisations, community-based groups and non-governmental organisations towards stopping artisanal refineries and oil bunkering are still low,” the communique added.
