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Environmental pollution and degradation in Nigeria Delta |
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As a child growing up in the grey-skied Nigerian village of Bonny island in Rivers State, I occasionally went to the river to swim when the river was in full tide, and go pick periwinkles, set the hook to catch fishes, as well as look out for crustaceans like crabs, lobsters, and others, when the river receded.Quite significantly, the smell of crude oil pervaded the entire environment of the river most of the time, and the crude oil floated on the surface of the water along with the tides. I was completely ignorant of what this meant, but was constantly warned not to go near an oil spill with a hurricane lantern because the environment was highly inflammable. Innocently, we obeyed those instructions to the letter without knowing that it was actually the result of the damage done to our environment. A few weeks ago, while in school I asked my uncle who lives, and works in Bonny island, in Rivers State, Nigeria, to send some seafood to me. She responded that the fishes had virtually left for elsewhere due to water pollution. This brings us to the subject matter of our discussion today "Environmental Degradation" Environmental degradation is the decline of the environment as a result of running down of the ecosystem (i.e. the air, water resources, and the soil), resulting in the destruction of ecosystems, and the gradual extinction of wildlife. Simply put, environmental degradation is defined as any harmful or undesirable change, or disturbance to the environment. This happens when the earth?s natural resources have been badly tampered with, thus compromising the environment to all sorts of hazards, ranging from the extinction of species, pollution of the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, and the soil we plant our agricultural products. Environmental degradation is one of the largest threats facing Nigeria today. This is because it occurs in several ways, with numerous impacts that could cost the country billions of naira to resolve. The Niger Delta region has suffered so much as a result of environmental degradation over the years. And as earlier indicated, the ecosystem of the region has been damaged massively by oil spills, including atmospheric, and noise pollution from natural gas flares. The effects and consequence of environmental degradation are usually long term. This article shall consider only the following impacts of the pollution on the environment of the Niger Delta. 1. Negative impact on human health Air pollution (e.g. gas flaring and other toxic air pollutants) causes asthma, pneumonia, and other respiratory diseases. Many people in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria have died over the five (5)decades due to the effects of air pollution, and yet the region is without adequate health care facilities. 2. Loss of biodiversity Biodiversity helps to maintain the balance of the ecosystem by restoring soil nutrients, protecting water sources, and stabilising the climate. Since there is little or no biodiversity in the region, the waters have become undrinkable, and marine life is progressively getting extinct. This is one of the reasons why the Niger Delta is currently experiencing the impact of global warming, and climate change. 3. Loss for tourism industry The Niger Delta region used to be the hub of tourism in Nigeria until recently. The change is as a result of the deterioration of the environment. Consequently, the Niger Delta region has also lost valuable foreign exchange that could have accrued to the states from tourism. 4. Economic impact The cost of cleaning up oil spillage, and stopping of gas flaring is usually high. In most cases, the cleanup period could exceed a decade, and it is very capital intensive. These have negative impacts on the economy of the Niger Delta. Pollution, including noise pollution, brings about the degradation of the environment as a result of the activities of oil and gas companies. It is interesting to note that the Niger Delta region provides over 70% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria, and yet, the people live with severe ecological problems, and suffer the impact of the degradation of their environment. At this juncture, it is pertinent to suggest that the Federal Government of Nigeria, in collaboration with the oil and gas exploration and production companies, as well as key stakeholders, particularly the host communities in the Niger Delta, should come together, and find a way forward on how these environmental risks should be mitigated, as well as provide a better lease of life for the people of the Niger Delta. Effective actions are also needed to provide appropriate environmental education to the local communities in order to help safeguard their environment for future generations.
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7 Comments
thanks sharing
Posted 03-02-2018 18:15
good report.
Posted 03-02-2018 18:14
Thanks. It's a well written report.
Posted 15-08-2017 18:27
Enjoyed reading it!
Posted 11-08-2017 12:30
Thanks Ndubuisi for sharing this detailed report with us. As mentioned in your report, environmental degradation is one of the largest threats facing Nigeria, and I would say that this applies for the rest of the world too. Unfortunately, the consequences are indeed long term, as also mentioned by you. I fully agree with your conclusion that all stakeholders should collaborate to find solutions to mitigate environmental risks and environmental education of the local communities can empower the people to safeguard the environment for generations to come.
Posted 10-08-2017 18:17
Thank you for touching on the issue of the Niger Delta, Ndubuisi.
Since I spent 20 years of my life there, I came face to face with some of these issues. I hope the government currently there works hand in hand with the private and non-profit sector to do something fast.
Posted 07-08-2017 22:24
Hmm:::::i really enjoy reading your article Nduuisi, ideed our rivers in west and central Africa oour fast drying, water shades destroyed and losss of biodiversity not being notice..this is an incovenient truth about about climate change in Africa...
Posted 06-08-2017 21:35