From Seyi Tayese, Yenagoa
The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has called for an urgent environmental audit and remediation of polluted areas in Nembe, Bayelsa.
The group also demanded stronger community participation in environmental assessments, monitoring, remediation and other decisions affecting residents’ livelihoods and health.
HOMEF made the demands during a community capacity-sharing dialogue organised under its Justice Through Communities-Centred Policy Advocacy project.
The dialogue brought together traditional rulers, women, youths, farmers, fishers, local government officials and other stakeholders.
Participants reported declining fish stocks, disappearing aquatic species, concerns over water quality and changes in traditional resource use.
They attributed the reported changes largely to oil exploitation, pollution and other extractive activities, while expressing concern over weak environmental monitoring and enforcement.
HOMEF Executive Director, Rev. Nnimmo Bassey, said the environmental concerns posed threats to livelihoods, food security, health and cultural heritage.
“Communities cannot continue to bear the environmental and economic costs of extraction while being treated as spectators in decisions about their own environment,” Bassey said.
HOMEF called for a comprehensive and transparent environmental audit covering water, soil and air quality, aquatic organisms, heavy metals and other contaminants.
It also advocated regular food-safety and environmental health monitoring over concerns about pollutants entering the food chain.
Health concerns featured prominently during the dialogue, with participants expressing fears over pollution’s possible effects on women, children, newborns and future generations.
Participants also raised concerns about reproductive health and other health challenges allegedly associated with environmental degradation and disrupted livelihoods.
The Director of Primary Health Care, Nembe Local Government Area, Chief Jude Pulemote, linked oil exploration activities to health challenges among rural residents.
Pulemote specifically raised concerns about anaemia among pregnant women and the disruption of livelihoods caused by oil-related activities.
HOMEF said environmental monitoring should therefore be integrated with public health interventions, particularly for vulnerable groups.
Communities Demand Greater Role in Environmental Decisions
Participants expressed concern over what they described as limited community involvement in environmental assessments and Joint Investigation Visits (JIVs).
They demanded active participation in evidence gathering, JIVs, decision-making, remediation monitoring and evaluation of cleanup activities.
HOMEF said communities should not merely be consulted after environmental damage has occurred.
“Consultation is not participation,” the organisation said, stressing that affected communities must have a voice throughout environmental assessment and remediation processes.
It said meaningful participation should cover decisions on what is investigated and monitoring whether remediation actually restores affected environments.
Participants further called for traditional and indigenous knowledge to be recognised alongside scientific evidence in environmental governance.
They said traditional systems had historically helped regulate forests, rivers, fishing grounds and other natural resources.
HOMEF Calls for Action Beyond Environmental Reports
HOMEF said Nembe’s concerns should be considered alongside existing evidence of environmental degradation across the Niger Delta.
It referenced the UNEP Report on Ogoniland, the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission report and a Niger Delta women’s health audit.
The reports, it said, were documented in its publication, Disasters Foretold and Retold.
HOMEF said the region needed action beyond repeated environmental assessments, stressing that existing evidence must lead to remediation and restoration.
It also demanded accountability, livelihood protection and stronger enforcement of environmental regulations.
The organisation called on the Federal and Bayelsa governments, regulatory agencies and oil companies to conduct independent environmental and health assessments in Nembe.
It urged authorities to ensure meaningful community participation in JIVs, environmental assessments, remediation and monitoring.
HOMEF also demanded stronger enforcement of environmental laws and accountability for polluters.
It called for implementation of relevant BSOEC recommendations, including the proposed environmental recovery fund and environmental agency.
The group further urged authorities to decommission abandoned oil wells and address their environmental risks.
It also called for accelerated remediation and ecological restoration of degraded areas.
HOMEF demanded measures to protect and restore fishing, farming and other livelihoods, including appropriate compensation and livelihood recovery mechanisms.
It also advocated stronger environmental health monitoring, public health interventions and recognition of indigenous knowledge in environmental governance.
“The people of Nembe and Niger Delta are not asking to be heard after decisions have been made,” HOMEF said.
“They are demanding the right to participate in decisions that determine the health of their environment, livelihoods and future generations.”
