The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), a non-governmental organisation, has empowered communities in the Wakrike axis of Rivers State to monitor their environment and report cases of pollution.
The training, held in Koniju Ama, Okrika Local Government Area (LGA), brought together representatives from 11 communities across Okrika, Ogu/Bolo, and Port Harcourt City LGAs.
According to HOMEF, the initiative aims to sensitise fishermen and locals on the importance of environmental monitoring and prompt reporting of degradation cases.
Stephen Oduware, Lead, Fossil Politics Desk of HOMEF, stressed the urgency of environmental protection, warning that inaction could lead to the extinction of communities.
“The environmental pollution caused by oil exploration activities in this area is alarming,” Oduware said. “If we don’t take action to safeguard our environment, our communities risk disappearing.”
The training is part of HOMEF’s efforts to promote environmental sustainability and community resilience in the face of oil exploration-related pollution.
Oduware noted that the aim was to enhance community capacity for environmental monitoring and to promote prompt reporting of pollution cases.
He also stated that the training targets fostering community-led environmental protection initiatives, saying that HOMEF’s intervention was timely, as communities in the Niger Delta region continue to bear the brunt of environmental degradation caused by oil exploration activities.
“We know that the community is sandwiched on one hand by the impacts of climate change, coastal erosion, and others, and on the other hand by the impact of oil spills in the community; that alone is a huge challenge, and the route to recovery is actually problematic because everyday things are getting more difficult because the communities are not being heard in spite of the impacts that they are facing.
“So we have come here to strengthen ourselves to tell them that we are with them to ensure that their rights are preserved, protected, and that they have a right to a healthy and pollution-free environment.
“We have also agreed that it is possible for our communities to become mere geographical expressions without the people there, so monitoring is very important because if we don’t monitor, we give room for all the anomalies to continue,” he added.
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Oduware stressed the need for the communities to advocate for what they want through their reports, saying, “It’s also very important what we do with the reports. It’s not only about monitoring; we have to learn to report and advocate for what we want as community people because community people deserve all the best that they can be.”
A facilitator at the event, Kentebe Ebiaridor, charged the communities to be united and work in solidarity to achieve their aim of attaining environmental justice.
Ebiaridor, who is also the Programme Manager at Environmental Rights Action-Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Port Harcourt Office, while stressing the importance of oneness among communities, urged them to downplay classification and speak with one voice against environmental degradation.
“The most important thing is how communities can leverage solidarity to achieve things for themselves and their environment.
“They should keep being together as one; they should forget all issues around culture, social inclusiveness or exclusiveness, economic barriers, gender, and religion and be together to speak with one voice at all times,” he said.
Meanwhile, participants at the training have hailed HOMEF for giving them the opportunity to benefit from the sensitization.
They also lamented the impact of pollution and environmental degradation on their source of livelihoods.
Gbakaye Tamunosiki Donald said they have lost a lot of their fishing settlements because of environmental challenges.
He added, “We have suffered greatly from pollution. Because of environmental challenges, we have lost a lot of our fishing settlements, but with this sensitization, we are taking it home.
“We are also facing the challenge of flooding. A lot of houses around here are flooded due to climate change.”
On her part, Mrs. Taribo Lawrence, an octogenarian fisherwoman, said they can no longer harvest fish from their rivers as oil pollution has driven them away.
“There are no fish in the river; we are struggling. Even crayfish we can’t get anymore. Even when we go deep into the mangroves, it’s still difficult to get fish.
“We can’t even pay our children’s school fees because of hardship. There is too much oil in the river, and it’s giving us a great challenge,” she lamented.
She also called on the government to look into the issue of sea pirates and to provide them with fishing gear and other incentives to make their trade profitable.
