Coordinator of the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), a foremost national human and environmental rights non-governmental organisation based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, is winner of the 2022 RUTH PATRICK AWARD by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO).
The award was presented to him on Wednesday May 18, 2022, at the Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
A statement signed by Chief Constance Meju, CEHRD BOT chairperson and Styvn Obodoekwe, project director, described Prof Nenibarini Zabbey as an accomplished professor of hydrology in the Department of Fisheries at the University of Port Harcourt.
The Board of Trustees (BOT), Management and Staff of the Centre congratulated Zabbey for winning the award and described him as, “a consummate researcher, a university lecturer, and a courageous and untiring environmental justice crusader whose commitment to using scientific methods in solving societal problems has remained unwavering over the years”.
The commended the award organization for recognizing the contributions of Prof Zabbey.
The statement said: “We thank the foremost research-based group, ASLO, for the choice of Zabbey for the prestigious award and commend them for their great efforts in advancing aquatic science for societal benefits.
“We consider the award a well-deserved honour and a reward for hard work. We trust that Zabbey will see the prestigious award as a stimulus to maintain the niche he has created for more wins and greater accomplishments and impacts.
We say we are proud of Zabbey and congratulate the amiable and energetic CEHRD Coordinator on this honour, which he has brought not only to CEHRD but to the entire Niger Delta and Nigeria.”
According to ASLO, “the 2022 Ruth Patrick Award was presented to Prof. Zabbey for his research and engagement with a critical impact on the recovery of the Niger Delta ecosystem from oil spills and environmental justice for affected communities.” It is an award for his enormous and sustained contribution to building limnological knowledge in the Niger Delta.
It was further noted that Zabbey’s pre-and post-oil spill impact ecological studies of Bodo Creek following the 2008 and 2009 major oil spillages that ravaged Bodo Creek have played a significant role in providing environmental justice for the affected communities. His work was also said to be crucial in resolving a landmark litigation case involving the effects of oil spills on the livelihoods of people who rely on Bodo Creek.
CEHRD stated hat with the award conferred on its coordinator, the organization is emboldened to continue on the chosen path of environmental justice for which it is known and respected.
CEHRD’s more than 20 years of intervention in Nigeria focuses on sustainable environmental management advocacy, community development, policy research and influence, human rights, and good governance.
