The stakeholders in Rivers State are advocating for the need for a general environmental audit of the state, urging the powers that be to expand the cleanup efforts beyond the ongoing cleanup of the Ogoni region.
This includes all the decades of environmental degradation experienced by other communities in Rivers State, according to the stakeholders.
This recommendation was put forward during celebrations of World Ocean Day carried out by the Energy and Maritime Reporters (EMR) of Nigeria within the Rivers State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Port Harcourt.
They pointed out that despite the ongoing efforts of Ogoni cleanup which is a worthy project, there are other environmental issues in Rivers State which ought to be assessed in order to know the extent of degradation and what should be done about it.
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The stakeholders were recommending that the government make use of the expertise and resources currently being used in the environmental assessment of Ogoni region to carry out the state wide audit since this would help to identify hotspots of pollution and attract funding from the Federal Government, oil companies and development partners.
By carrying out this project, a basis would be set for large scale environmental cleanup efforts.
They also added that the state could become the first to establish an environment assessment program, which could grow into an environmental cleanup protocol for all other states in the Niger Delta.
Addressing those gathered, an energy expert, Dr. Suka Monta, revealed that his organization had invented a unique nanotechnology-driven remedy aimed at cleaning up contaminated areas faster and cheaper compared to traditional approaches.
According to him, this invention had already been presented to the stakeholders and is only awaiting implementation during a particular project.
In addition, Executive Director of the Youth and Environment Advocacy Centre (YEAC) Nigeria, Dr. Fyneface Fyneface, stressed the importance of the total cleanup of the Niger Delta.
He argued that environmental restoration should always be among the priorities of both governments and industrialists.
Rivers State NUJ Chairman, Comrade Paul Bazia-Nsane, congratulated the Energy and Maritime Reporters on their continuing advocacy for environmental and maritime issues, whereas the NUJ’s Secretary, Dr. Ijeoma Tubosia, urged journalists to speak about the issues related to environmental pollution in their coverage.
According to Ignatius Chukwu, an EMR leader, there is a danger that plastic pollution is becoming a greater problem than ever before, especially in terms of micro and nanoplastics, which have been contaminating aquatic environments and food resources.
However, Comrade Martins Giadom, the national chairman of EMR, highlighted the significance of providing ongoing education for journalists working in the environment, energy, and maritime fields, stressing the need to create synergies in order to help in such efforts.
