….blames mangrove degradation on oil bunkering, urbanisation
The people of Rumuolumeni in Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State have called on the state government to stop selling their land at their waterfronts.
They made the call during a stakeholders’ workshop on accelerating community-led mangrove restoration in Rumuolumeni organized by the Centre for Environment Human Rights and Development, CEHRD.
The workshop, which took place on October 10, discussed ways of helping to restore the mangrove forest in the community.
The community called on the Ministry of Environment to stop encroachment on the waterfront lands, and called for a government reserved area for mangrove.
The people decried a situation where residents in the area dumped waste in the drains which flow into the river and destroy the mangrove, a major source of livelihood for the community.
They urged the government to put in more effort into securing the mangrove forest, as they alerted that kidnappers had made it their hideout.
The youth president of Rumuolumeni community, Felix Chinda, revealed that it was illegal oil bunkering activities and urbanization that were degrading the mangroves in Rumuolumeni community. They have combined to kill aquatic life.
“Our mangrove have been diminished and those creatures living within the mangrove we don’t see them anymore; periwinkles, crabs and fishes that lives under the mangrove are no more because there is no place to stay,” he lamented.
The youth president hinted that the community had tried to restore and protect the mangrove but have been impeded by invading urbanization. He expressed hope that with the help of CEHRD, the community would be empowered to protect and secure the mangrove.
He appealed to the Rivers State government and the Rivers State House of Assembly to enact laws to protect the mangrove and put measures in place to stop the cutting and destroying of the mangrove.
The youth leader equally called on the women and youths to come out en mass to join in sensitizing people to protect the mangrove and ensure a cleaner environment and food sufficiency.
Earlier, Dr. Tammy Cookey, Head of Environment, CEHRD had urged government to enact laws to regulate mangrove degradation given negative impact of mangrove degradation in the Niger Delta.
He said, “The issue of mangrove degradation in Kono in Ogoni axis is more of oil pollution while in Iwofe it is human activities. And we are trying to see how we can restore the mangrove in the community.
“The government should enact laws that can probably regulate mangrove degradation in the Niger Delta.”
The stakeholder dialogue is part of activities mapped out for a mangrove restoration project being carried out in some communities in Rivers State with support from the United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility, GEF-SGF-UNDP.
