Today, June 5 is World Environmental Day. Senior Correspondent, ONYEWUCHI OJINNAKA, x-rays the environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region, its effect and measures to address it.
On Thursday, June 2, 2016, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was in Ogoniland, Rivers State, with a federal government delegation to flag-off the clean-up of oil spill as well as development of the area. Necessitating the clean-up and development project, which reports say will take up to 30 years, is the many years of oil exploration in the Niger Delta.
President Muhammadu Buhari would have performed the flag-off, but the threat by Niger Delta Avengers, a new militant group that specialises in the destruction of oil installations, to kill him if he dared step his foot on Ogoniland might have made him to stay back.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), years ago, ordered Anglo-Dutch Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to effect the clean-up, but the order was ignored until Buhari assumed power in 2015. In August, barely three months into his administration, Buhari approved several actions to fast-track the long-delayed implementation of the UNEP report on the environmental restoration of Ogoniland.
World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated annually on June 5 to raise global awareness on positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet. It is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations (UN) stimulates worldwide awareness on the environment and enhances political attention and action.
The day, established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, is globally observed to create awareness about environmental problems facing the world or a particular country.
Another resolution, adopted by UNGA the same day, led to the creation of UNEP.
The event is hosted annually by a selected country and commemorated with an international exposition through the week of June 5.
The theme of this year’s edition, which is being hosted by Angola, is ‘Fight Against the Illegal Trade in Wildlife’.
Objectives of WED
WED is celebrated to create awareness to the common public on environmental issues; encourage common people from different societies and communities to actively participate in the celebration as well as become active agents in developing environmental safety measures; to let them know that community people are very essential in the inhibition of negative changes towards the environment and to encourage people to make their surroundings safe and clean to enjoy safer, cleaner and more prosperous future.
Pollution in the Niger Delta
Joining Nigerians and the international community to mark the 2016 WED, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has expressed concern on the earth’s degradation, especially within the Niger Delta, and canvassed that urgent steps should be taken to save the region.
As part of the programmes marking the event, the commission sponsored a tree planting campaign in Port Harcourt. While launching the campaign, the Managing Director of NDDC, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said: “We all owe future generations a responsibility to preserve biodiversity of the Niger Delta by becoming agents of change, who will make positive impact on our environment.”
Making reference to the theme of 2016 WED, Semenitari said that illegal trade on wildlife had eroded earth’s precious biodiversity and robbed Nigerians of natural heritage and threatened species.
“Tackling the scourge of illegal trade in wildlife requires concerted action because illicit business of wildlife has damaged the environment, livelihood, communities and security,” she said.
“There is need for people to change their habits and behaviour because if we change our attitudes, demand for illegal wildlife products would fall.
“Killing and smuggling of wildlife were hazardous to the environment as they undermined economies and ecosystems, fuelled organised crime and encouraged corruption and insecurity across countries.”
Also speaking at the event, the president of Nigeria Environmental Society, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, disclosed that his organisation was committed to protection, development and sustenance of the environment.
Rights organisations’ concern
As the world celebrates WED, rights groups and activists have expressed worry over the continuous environmental problems in the Niger Delta. One of such organisations is Amnesty International (AI) which expressed concern over the failure of SPDC to accept responsibility for continuous environmental pollution in the Niger Delta.
AI business and human rights campaigner, Joe Westby, decried the massive pollution from Shell’s oil facilities, including at least 130 oil spills from 2015 alone which wreaked havoc in the environment that led to several emergencies.
“Scores of oil spills from Shell operations in Niger Delta have yet to be properly cleaned up and even sites the multinational company claims to have cleaned remain polluted. To make matters worse, there were at least 130 oil spills from Shell operations in 2015.
“The Niger Delta is one of the most oil-polluted places in the world because companies like Shell are failing to prevent or clean up spills years, sometimes decades, after they happen. Shell cannot rely on the Nigerian government to clean up its dirty work for it,” AI stressed.
The organisation regretted that Shell’s activities caused thousands of Niger Deltans their livelihood. But sadly, the oil giant continued to shift blame, “lie about fictitious clean-ups” instead of accepting responsibilities. AI noted that there were evidences showing Shell’s grave guilt in the environmental pollution of the region.
Westby said: “Whatever their cause, Nigerian law still says that the company which operates the pipeline has to clean up, that is something Shell has failed to do for decades.
“The start of the clean-up is a much needed, long-awaited step from people who have lived with polluted waters and farmlands for decades. They have a right to be sceptical. They have seen clean-ups promised and people paid to do the work in the past, only for little improvements to be delivered. This time, the rhetoric must translate into action on the ground.”
Founder and president of Crusade for Justice (CJ), Richard Nwankwo, who spoke to TheNiche on pollution in the Niger Delta, described WED as a day set aside to have a global overview of the planet; a day to take stock on how much damage “we have done to planet earth”, the extent and its effect on the people.
He said: “One radical thing is that Nigeria is tactfully asleep when environmental views are being addressed. We have attended various environmental conferences but not been able to implement the decisions reached.” Nigeria, he said, is incapable of dealing with environmental issues, and that what is happening in the Niger Delta is in a tragic and catastrophic dimension.
Nwankwo cited the issue of non-biodegradables like plastics which is not being addressed.
“The big oil companies are not living up to expectation. They only pay lip service to environmental remedial issues. “We are very much heading for more disaster. No capacity, political will and technology to replenish environmental degradation and forestation.”
He tasked the government to be proactive and put in place aggressive programmes that will alleviate the suffering of the inhabitants of the region who have lost aquatic food and water due to pollution.
The CJ president recalled the killings in Ogoniland, saying that it is still subject for discussion. He enjoined the government to appoint a minister for environment who is really out to tackle environmental issues.
“We shall cage the oil giants. They should be responsible for clean-up for spillages. He however said that Nigerians should appreciate that fact that government would not be involved in keeping our environment, adding that the citizens should also participate.
A non-governmental and civil rights organisation, African Network on Environmental and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), while commenting on environmental situation in the Niger Delta, drew the attention of the President to other areas of the Niger Delta region yelling for clean-up.
Executive director of ANEEJ, David Ugolor, mentioned such areas as Isoko, Olomoro and other communities that are affected within the region.
“Mr President should pay attention to the following areas; extension of the clean-up exercise to other parts of the region like the Isoko, Olomoro and communities in Bayelsa and Cross River states which have equally been polluted by crude oil spill. Rather than a military approach, innovative and scientific ways should be employed to protect oil and gas facilities to check the obnoxious trend of pipeline vandalism and oil theft.” Ugolor said.
Legal Defence and Advocacy Project (LEDAP) executive director, Chino Obiagwu, recalled that around 2011, UNEP, in one of its reports assessing the level of environmental pollution in Niger Delta, recommended the government to clean up Ogoniland.
PIB
Obiagwu also mentioned the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the National Assembly, which contains provisions that would improve the lots of the Niger Deltans when signed into law.
Some of the provisions in the bill which sought to control environmental pollution, involvement of multinational oil companies and provision of succour to the inhabitants of the region include:
Emissions
The federal government shall, to the extent practicable, honour international environmental obligations and shall promote energy efficiency, the provision of reliable energy, and a taxation policy that encourages fuel efficiency by producers and consumers.
In accordance with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the federal government shall introduce and enforce integrated health, safety and environmental quality management systems with specific quality, effluent and emission targets for oil and gas-related pollutants, without regard for fuel type such as gas, liquid or solid, to ensure compliance with international standards.
Community development
The federal government shall, in co-operation with the state and local governments and communities, encourage and ensure the peace and development of the petroleum-producing areas of the federation through the implementation of specific projects aimed at ameliorating the negative impact of petroleum activities.
Nigerian content
The federal government shall at all times promote the involvement of indigenous companies and manpower and the use of locally-produced goods and services in all areas of the petroleum industry in accordance with existing laws and policies.
Where any contract for work or service is considered to be within the capabilities of Nigerian companies, in accordance with any law relating to Nigerian content, the tender list shall be restricted to Nigerian companies.
All companies involved in any area of the upstream or downstream petroleum industry shall, as a condition of their licence, lease, contract or permit, as the case may be, comply with the terms and conditions of any law relating to the Nigerian content law in force at the time.
Failure to comply with the terms of any local content law as determined by the Inspectorate shall be a ground for revocation of a licence, lease, contract or permit that may have been previously granted to the company that failed to comply with the said terms.
Effect of pollution
For decades, oil extraction in the Niger Delta has led to wide-scale contamination of the environment. However the full extent and intensity of this contamination was never clear to authorities and the public. To address this, Nigeria asked UNEP to conduct an independent assessment of the environmental and public health impact of oil pollution in a particularly strongly affected part of the Delta called Ogoniland.
The assessment was carried out by the Post-conflicts and Disasters Management branch of UNEP and covered the contamination level of land, groundwater, surface water and sediments. UNEP also looked at impact on vegetation, air quality, and public health, as well as issues having to do with oil industry practices and local institutions.
