A massive clean-up operation has begun on the Pacific Island of Fiji after a powerful cyclone.
The cyclone caused widespread damage around the town of Rakiraki in Fiji’s Ra Province.
Cyclone Winston hit the island recently, with winds of over 200 miles per hour, torrential rain, and waves of up to 12 metres. Many homes were destroyed, several people died and electricity lines were cut.
It’s the first time that Fiji has been hit by a Category 5 storm – the strongest kind of storm found on earth.
Fiji is the first nation to ratify the Paris Agreement.
Indeed, Tropical Cyclone Winston became the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, wreaking havoc in Tonga and growing into an unpredictable and severe Category 5 system, leaving a trail of destruction across Fiji.
In the wake of the devastating cyclone, 350.org Pacific is urging global climate action.
“The relationship between climate change and more severe tropical storms is well understood, and extreme weather events like Cyclone Winston are a timely reminder as to what is on the line,” pointed out Koreti Tiumalu, 350.org Pacific Region Coordinator.
“Every year, people in the Pacific Islands are finding ourselves at the forefront of climate impacts. As the world continues to experience the escalation in the force of natural disasters, it’s imperative now more than ever, that all countries also escalate their efforts to keep climate changing fossil fuels in the ground in order to change the outlook of those who have done the least to create climate change but are experiencing firsthand its worst impacts,” Timalu added.
A new Greenpeace France investigations on Socfin, a company owned 38.75% by Bolloré group, has revealed the impact of the company’s plantations on forests, communities and wildlife in Africa. The revelation was made in a recent study.
The report, titled: “Africa’s forests under threats”,shows that Socfin’s expansion plans in a dozen countries, mostly in Africa, are threatening forests that are essential for the preservation of climate balances, biodiversity and communities livelihood and calls on CEO Vincent Bolloré to immediately commit against deforestation.
Cécile Leuba, campaigner for Greenpeace France
Africa, a new frontier for palm oil
According to Greenpeace, Africa may only represent a small proportion of global palm oil production, but there is currently a run on African forests. The group adds that an increasing number of investments are being made, with investors attracted by favourable climatic conditions and above all by soft regulations that are either not applied (in particular due to corruption) or that are particularly favourable to foreign investment.
The leading planter in Africa, the Société Financière des Caoutchoucs (Socfin) is little known to the general public but has been operating in the continent for over a century, reveals Greenpeace in a media statement. Heading up Socfin’s shareholdings are two figures of African business: Vincent Bolloré, France’s ninth-richest person who remains highly active in Africa, and the Belgian businessman Hubert Fabri.
Plantations that threaten the climate
In the report, Greenpeace France’s investigations in Democratic Republic of Congo and Sao Tome-Principe, show that Socfin’s plantations include primary and secondary forests, that store large quantities of carbon. Furthermore, Socfin is involved in many conflicts with forest communities.
“We found that some concessions border onto unique ecosystems, as in São Tomé where they are located next to a national park that is home to remarkable biodiversity. However, unlike its main competitors in the palm oil sector, Socfin has no policy to combat deforestation and end the land conflicts.” says Cécile Leuba, campaigner for Greenpeace France.
In Sao Tome, according to Greenpeace’s estimations, the total amount of carbon stored in these cleared forests exceeded 600,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent. This is the equivalent of annual emissions from a small coal-fired power station.
Bolloré group’s responsibility
The group wants Vincent Bolloré to use his influence to make Socfin immediately commit to a credible zero deforestation plantation policy that respects the rights of local communities. At the same time, the Bolloré Group must itself publish a zero deforestation policy that covers all of its investments in the sector, it adds.
“To prevent African forests from being subjected to the same fate as Indonesian or Malaysian forests, investors must immediately adopt zero deforestation policies, together with social safeguards. The Bolloré Group cannot clear itself of its responsibility with regard to Socfin’s practices,” concludes Leuba.
Cocoyam, a root crop, for many years served as a major source of revenue for rural women in the ancient town of Arochukwu in Abia State. But, of recent, the crop has disappeared, thus triggering off food insecurity concerns and threat to livelihood among the predominantly farming populace.
Tubers of cocoyam. Photo credit: southpawgroup.com
Though a remote town, with access roads in a poor state, Arochukwu parades such attributes as home to the popular deity “Long Juju,” the originator of the “Mazi title” used to qualify traditionally complete men, and a place where the African culture still waxes strong, despite the influence of modern civilisation.
But the people are facing hard times following the non-availability of different species of cocoyam, which used to be a major source of revenue for the women in the community.
Cocoyam cultivation is predominantly the business of women and, depending on the size of the farm, bigwig farmers among them could harvest numerous bags of the crop annually, making many of them breadwinners in their families.
But what started some 10 years ago, as the gradual decline in yield has led to the total disappearance of the crop and, as it is, locals cannot even produce enough for consumption, let alone for sale.
According to a woman leader, Mrs. Esther Obong from Ugwuakuma Village, which is the biggest farming village in Arochukwu Kingdom, the disappearance of cocoa has helped to increase famine in the land, while women suffer a lot to raise their children.
“Cocoyam has gone to extinction, and our people are suffering a lot. The impact is more on widows because they have to grapple with the task of raising their children with an empty pocket,” she cries out.
Following the disappearance of this important crop, many of the women have now taken to odd jobs, such as breaking of stone and cultivation of plantain, which require considerable amount of energy that a lot of them seem not to have.
A concerned husband, Mr. Philip Ikechi. explains, “Stone breaking has been an age long practice here with even children mastering the act of breaking large stones. But, in recent times, the number of people in the trade has increased tremendously because the farms are no longer productive. This time some years back, some of these women would be smiling to the bank with the sale of many bags of cocoyam.”
Cocoyam ranks third in importance after cassava and yam among the root crops cultivated and consumed in Nigeria, which used to be the world’s leading producer of the crop with about 3.7 million metric tons annually.
Nutritionally, it is said to be superior to cassava and yam, as it is a rich source of dietary fibre and starch that can speedily energise the body.
Cocoyam belongs to the family of Araceae and, in Arochukwu comprising towns such as Arochukwu Kingdom, Isu, Ututu, Ihechiowa, and Abam, three major varieties are mostly cultivated.
There are the Xanthosoma specie which the people call Ede Bekee or English Cocoayam, Panya believed to have been introduced to Arochukwu by ancient travelers from a town in Equatorial Guinea, and finally the Colocasia esculentum which they call Nkasi Mmamma, mostly used for cooking soup and is said to have high economic value.
In the good old days, cultivating cocoyam, especially Panya and Mmamma, used to be an interesting experience, as it required little effort, compared to yam, cassava and other root crops.
In fact, in some cases, they just grew without anyone planting them, as hundreds of them would sprout at the back yard, sites for dust bin and other open places, weeks after the first rain of the year.
During harvest, a single stand of cocoyam could produce up to 10 sizeable tubers and other smaller ones, enough to fill up a small basin.
But, these days, even when the farm is well taken care of, the crop looks stunted with tiny stands, and many of them barely yielding anything.
The disaster in cocoyam production is being felt nationally, as city dwellers who need it to prepare a special delicacy like the “white Soup” complain that the tiny tubers of the crop displayed for sale in the market are very expensive.
But what worries respondents the most is the unfavorable impact it has on the masses who depend on it for food and income.
“In Arochukwu, after the death of your husband, other men are scared of marrying you. How will the widows cope? Cocoyam is very valuable. Because it matures early, it sustains the people before yam starts coming out. With this development, the people should be ready for hunger,” laments an indigene.
The disappearance of cocoyam in Arochukwu is like history repeating itself. In 1983, species of a particularly high yielding cassava variety suddenly withered and died.
Convinced that it was a nemesis from the gods, the people held a strange ceremony to appease the gods of cassava, during which new wrappers were tied around cassava stands, while crowds of people danced around. chanting, “igburu bu eze”, which is translated to mean, “cassava is king”.
Whether that ceremony was the reason cassava started doing well again in the land is a story for another day.
Many believe that if Christianity had not been established in the land as before, another “strange” ceremony to also appease the gods of cocoyam may have been held.
But what could be responsible for the disappearance of cocoyam in Arochukwu?
Most experts blame it on land degradation due to factors such as over cultivation of a land, prevailing weather and the ravaging climate change, which has also caused drastic reduction in yield and loss of biodiversity in many places across the globe. Application of fertilizers could also cause a land to degrade as in the case of parts of northern Nigeria.
A food expert and National President Nigerian Institute of Food Science Technology, Dr. Chijioke Osuji, explains, “Cocoyam is among foods billed for extinction. Reason for this is because of the failure of research institutions to commercialise the crop. In Nigeria, cocoyam is only consumed either as cooked food or used as a seasoning in preparing soup (white soup). Research. should be done to find out products that can be manufactured with cocoyam. That way the crop would have more market value and institutions would produce new breeds that can adapt with prevailing climate and soil.”
Similarly, an environmentalist and climate change expert, Professor Olukayode Oladipo, links the development to the neglect of cocoyam among the people as well as environmental issues.
His words: “Cocoyam is a crop that most people take for granted. But generally, if you use a particular soil for a long period of time, after some time, the soil almost gets bad and the crop will stop doing well. So, If we want to make progress, it will require a kind of research. So if we are not getting cocoyam again, its either due to sociocultural factor or soil factor or other environmental factors of which climate change is a part of. There is high probability that possible changes in climatic condition have accelerated other factors that are responsible for non-availability or limited availability of cocoyam.”
Also, the National Root Crops Research Institute in Umudike, Abia State, which has undertaken a programme on cocoyam attribute the shortfall in cocoyam production to people’s ignorance of the nutritional value of the crop as they see it as a poor man’s food.
Another is that the recycling of the planting material results in accumulation of pathogens in them which declines yield, as Nigeria witnessed 11 percent drop in National Production between 2000 and 2004.
On the way forward, a holistic system of renewing degraded land through tree planting and other projects has been advocated.
A forester and the Desk officer for the Great Green Wall programme in Kano State, Alhaji Garba Sale, says basically land recovery involves two major processes, short time and long system, with the former involving planting of nitrogen fixing plants, and the later tree planting.
“The process of land recovery takes time, but it depends on the method applied. If you plant nitrogen fixing grasses and shrubs, you can recover the land quickly. And if you plant trees, you can recover the land gradually but it will protect it for a longer time,” Sale says.
According to observers, the authorities responsible should take swift action towards recovering degraded lands across the country to boost agricultural production and curb the threat of food insecurity. Economic empowerment initiatives for women in Arochukwu is also welcomed, apparently to enable them adapt to the loss of their means of livelihood.
The new President of the UN climate change process, French Minister of the Environment, Energy and the Sea, Ségolène Royal, on Monday February 22, 2016 visited the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany and underlined the need for continued momentum to build on the historic Paris Climate Change Agreement, which was reached in the French capital in December.
Ségolène Royal (left) and Christiana Figueres. Photo credit: newsroom.unfccc.int
Following a meeting with UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres and other senior UN staff in the German city, President Royal outlined three top priorities for the remainder of the French Presidency: to ensure the swift signing, ratification and implementation of the Paris agreement; to accelerate the climate action coalitions agreed in Paris between governments, cities, business and investors; and to strengthen the link between climate change and sustainable development.
“We now have a concrete action agenda. People all over the world want to do concrete things, immediately. The key is to accelerate the wonderful coalitions that we agreed on Paris and move forward with those,” she said.
Important elements of the action agenda summed up by President Royal include the new solar alliance led by India and France, the geothermal alliance led by Iceland, a coalition to improve the energy efficiency of buildings; along with coalitions on risk prevention, agriculture, forests, water, oceans and putting a price on carbon.
It was her first visit to the UNFCCC secretariat since being appointed COP21 President by French President François Hollande. She replaces the former French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius, who recently assumed the new post of Presidency of the French Constitutional Court.
In a message to governments, President Royal pledged to build on the momentum of the Paris Agreement in conjunction with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, and to hand the Presidency to Morocco this November “under the best possible circumstances.”
Madame Royal praised the effort of government negotiators in securing the Paris Agreement and added: “I am also aware of the unprecedented momentum coming from civil society in the broadest sense to contribute to this mobilisation and provide practical solutions to address the challenge.”
Ms Figueres said: “I thank Minister Fabius again for his outstanding diplomacy and leadership as COP 21 President and I warmly welcome Minister Royal to the post. Her championship of climate action around the world is especially important this year as governments work to implement the full scope of the Paris Agreement as fast as possible.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited governments to formally sign the Paris Climate Change Agreement in New York on 22 April. “The world now has a universal, fair, flexible and durable climate agreement,” Mr. Ban said last week. “Our task is not over. In fact, it has just begun. In 2016, we must go from words to deeds. The 22 April signature ceremony is an essential step.”
The next major UN Climate Change Conference will take place in Bonn 16 – 26 May this year, and the next Conference of the Parties (COP22) will be held in Marrakech, Morocco 7 -18 Nov 2016.
The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has called on the Lagos State Government to come up with a more realistic allocation to the water sector in the 2016 budget, noting that the current allocation to the sector appears inadequate towards ensuring equitable access to water by residents.
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State. Photo credit: ecomium.org
According to government, budgetary allocation to water in 2016 is N17.6 billion out of a total of N662.6 billion covering all sectors, and representing 2.7% of the total. Environment received 8.1% totaling N53,043,599,505, Housing and Community Amenities got N62,713,091,867 representing 9.46%, while Health received N64,677,679,096 representing 9.76%. Recreation, Culture and Religion got N4,636,917, 054 which is 0.70%.
The budget is recorded as an improvement of 26% over that of 2014 and 2015 respectively which stood at N489.6 billion individually.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday, the ERA/FoEN said that, in spite of the budget improvement compared with previous years, the allocation to water is “a pittance” and does not reflect the governor’s description of the entire package as “the People’s Budget”.
ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: “We have said it time and again that the Lagos State government is not using the maximum available resources in the state to realise the human right to water. The allocation to water is not impressive and does not reflect the yearnings of the people for more allocation to the sector.
ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi
“With a daily internally-generated revenue hitting about N1 billion, we find it disappointing that the allocation to water is a pittance paling in significance when viewed from the prism that safe and potable water guarantees the wellness of the people and overall security once people have access.”
He said that recent revelations that only eight of the 18 suction pumps at the Akute plant, which is Lagos’ main raw water production facility, are functioning added to the reported shortage of necessary chemicals to purify water indicate that the water sector in Lagos is not given the priority it deserves.
The ERA/FoEN boss insisted that the solution to lack of access “is not and will never be handing of infrastructure built with public funds to privatisers who are only interested in profits, but a sustained investment in the water sector over time and recovery of funds that may have been misappropriated or outrightly stolen by managers of our water works in the past”.
He added: “Our recommendation for improving access to water includes integrating broad public participation in developing plans to achieve universal access to clean water and building the political will to prioritise water for the people. These will lead to a comprehensive plan that invests in the water infrastructure necessary to provide universal water access, create jobs, improve public health, and invigorate the Lagos economy.
“While the state government is yet to appreciate the benefits of a democratic system of controlling our water resources, we reiterate our rejection of water privatisation under any guise including the failed PPP being promoted by the World Bank. We insist that the people must determine how our water resources must be managed. Upping the annual budgetary allocation to water will be one good step in this direction. Unfortunately, the state government has not realised this.”
February 22nd is the annual day to celebrate the Nile River, an essential force of life for millions. In this celebration, 350.org called for the preservation and protection of the Nile in order to protect the lives of over 200 million people living in the basin that are increasingly threatened by desertification and other natural disasters aggravated by climate change.
The Nile River meandering through Juba, South Sudan. Believed to be the longest in the world at 6,650 km long and encompassing an area of 3,349,000 square kilometers, the Nile’s basin is shared by Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania. Photo credit: oddizzi.com
350Africa and Arab world hosted art exhibitions, cultural entertainment, educational talks and live concerts across national and regional commemorations of the Nile Day. Local communities already feeling the impacts of droughts caused by climate change, which is no longer a threat but a clear and present danger, participated in these activities and joined the movement to save and protect the Nile River.
In Egypt, 350 Egypt and Benha Puppetry Troupe have collaborated on an evening of short performances that capture a snapshot of the lives of those who experience the effects of climate change in Egypt’s Nile Delta. In forms as varied as monologue, shadow puppetry and improvisational music, these pieces use live performance to encourage dialogue for social change.
“Nile day celebrations are important to the region given our challenges of water scarcity, drought and severe climate impacts,’’ said Sarah Rifaat, 350.org Arab World Field Coordinator. Many of the poorest Africans, women and children are already facing more drought, floods and extreme weather that threaten their livelihoods and push food prices up. “Climate change will hit Africa hardest so this fight is about climate justice,” added Rifaat.
The Nile River is the longest in the world, at 6,650 km long and encompassing an area of 3,349,000 square kilometers. Its basin is shared by 10 countries: Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania.
Currently, the Nile is unable to cope with shared water demands. Effects of climate change such as unpredictable river flow and precipitation are adding to human-induced land degradation, deforestation, water pollution and the construction of competing hydropower dams in Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. All these challenges combined are aggravating the water crisis throughout the region.
Recent droughts in Ethiopia left more than 10 million people desperate for water and food. Prolonged and severe droughts in January 2016 saw 640,000 Ugandans in Karamoja face food shortages as a direct result of water shortages. Egypt, dependent mainly on the Nile for water supply, could be without water by 2025.
All the basin countries are susceptible to famine, droughts and prolonged El Niño effects. “The drought and recurrent food crisis experienced in the Horn of Africa, make water a very precious and scarce resource, and remind us of our common responsibility to protect the Nile River, which has provided life to people in the Nile basin for thousands of years,” added Landry Ninteretse, 350Africa.org mobiliser.
In celebrating the Nile Day, the region apparently focused on reversing the impacts of climate change.
Governments along the Nile River basin were urged to include climate change adaptation policies into national development plans and base the future of their economies on clean, renewable energy. Such measures, adds 350Africa, can contribute to the global efforts to stop the climate crisis from worsening and lift millions of people in the region out of poverty.
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has declared force majeure on Forcados liftings effective 1500hrs (Nigerian time) February 21 2016, following the disruption in production caused by the spill on the Forcados Terminal subsea crude export pipeline.
The outcome of the spill
The firm disclosed in a statement on Monday that it is intensifying efforts on containment and oil recovery from the February 14, 2016 spill, while also finalising repair plans.
The SPDC is the operator of the SPDC Joint Venture comprising NNPC, Shell, Total and NAOC.
Lake Victoria farmers cite Bidco land-grabbing, environmental destruction and human rights violationsin Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania
The petition was addressed to Helen Clark, Administrator UNDP. Photo credit: twitter.com
The Bugala Farmers Association in Uganda has called on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to sever its ties with Bidco Africa, a Kenya-based edible oil producer accused of land-grabbing, human rights violations and environmental disasters in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Over 100 farmers lost their land to Bidco when, in partnership with the local government, the company deforested more than 7,500 hectares (18,500 acres) of rain forest and smallholder farms on Bugala Island on Lake Victoria to make way for one of the largest palm oil plantations in Africa.
In a petition delivered to the UNDP Kampala office on 28 January, the Bugala Farmers Association called on the UNDP to investigate the organisation’s recent announcement that Business Call to Action (BCtA), a UNDP offshoot, concluded an agreement with Bidco Africa.
“For those who know the real business practices of Bidco Africa and its CEO Vimal Shah, the embrace by BCtA of Bidco Africa is a tragedy for smallholder farmers and a major stain on the reputation of UNDP,” the petition says.
The petition cites Bidco Africa’s failure to comply with court orders to compensate the farmers for their land; the company’s labour practices in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya; alleged tax evasion in Kenya; and the deforestation of land for its palm oil production in Uganda. The deforestation has become so bad that the World Bank, originally a sponsor of the project, had to withdraw its support.
“The Bugala Farmers Association calls on UNDP and its senior leadership to examine the morally questionable association of such a distinguished U.N. organisation with such a blatant violator of human rights that is Bidco Africa,” the petition says. “The evidence of Bidco Africa’s poor business practices is well documented, and UNDP must immediately disassociate itself with such a company.”
The petition continues: “Bidco Africa, which claims to adhere to the U.N. Global Compact, is in fact in violation of all U.N. Global Compact principals, from human rights to protection of the environment. Against the backdrop of such repeated violations, the UNDP/BCtA’s partnership with Bidco Africa is a violation of UNDP’s core mission and principals.”
When the farmers presented their petition at the UNDP office in Kampala, security officers blocked them at the compound gate and confiscated video filmed by accompanying media. UNDP officials refused to meet the farmers, and suggested that the petition – which is addressed to UNDP Administrator Helen Clark – could only be delivered at the organisation’s headquarters in New York City. Only after a four-hour wait was the petition officially received by a UNDP receptionist in Kampala.
In addition to Administrator Clark, the petition is addressed to Peter Liria, Chief Ethics Officer, Director of the Ethics Office; Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Director Regional Bureau for Africa; and Mila Rosenthal, Director of Communications; among others.
The UNDP has not responded to the farmers’ petition since it was presented on 28 January.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is seeking long-term solutions to disasters such as drought and floods that are affecting communities all over the world.
Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD. Photo credit: www.iisd.ca
Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, who made the submission recently when announcing the plans for this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification, noted that the droughts and floods beating down on communities in many parts of the world are linked to the current El Niño, which is expected to affect up 60 million people by July.
This year’s World Day to Combat Desertification will take place on 17 June.
“Protect Earth. Restore Land. Engage People. This is the slogan for this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification to be held on 17 June. I am calling for solidarity from the international community with the people who are battling the ravages of drought and flood. Let us find long‐term solutions, not just quick fixes, to disasters that are destroying communities,” she urged.
According to her, in some areas, including in North Eastern Brazil, Somali, Ethiopia, Kenya and Namibia, the El Niño effects are coming on the back of years of severe and recurrent droughts. It is impossible for households that rely on the land for food and farm labor to recover, especially when the land is degraded.
She stated that these conditions do not just devastate families and destabilise communities as, according to her, when they are not attended to urgently, they can become a push factor for migration, and end with gross human rights abuses and long‐term security threats.
“We have seen this before – in Darfur following four decades of droughts and desertification and, more recently, in Syria, following the long drought of 2007‐2010. It is tragic to see a society breaking down when we can reduce the vulnerability of communities through simple and affordable acts such as restoring the degraded lands they live on, and helping countries to set up better systems for drought early warning and to prepare for and manage drought and floods,” Barbut said.
“I hope that World Day to Combat Desertification this year marks a turning point for every country. We need to show, through practical action and cooperation, how every country is tacking or supporting these challenges at the front‐end to preempt or minimize the potential impacts of the disasters, not just at the back‐end after the disasters happen,” she stated.
The United Nations General Assembly designated 17 June as the observance Day to raise public awareness about international efforts to combat desertification and the effects of drought.
Ms Barbut thanked the Government and People of China, for offering to host the global observance event, which will take place at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
“China has vast experience in nursing degraded lands and man‐made deserts back to health. This knowledge can and should benefit initiatives such as Africa’s Great Green Wall, the re‐ greening in southern Africa and the 20 X 20 Initiative in Latin America. We can create a better, more equal and climate change‐resilient world,” she noted.
“I also call on countries, the private sector, foundations and people of goodwill to support Africa when the countries meet later in the year to develop concrete plans and policies to pre‐ empt, monitor and manage droughts,” Ms Barbut stated.
The 2016 World Day campaign is also advancing the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September last year. The Goals include a target to achieve a land degradation‐neutral world by 2030. That is, a world where the land restored back to health equals to, or is more than, the amount degraded every year.
February 14, 2016 was celebrated as Lover’s Day across the world but, in parts of the creeks of the Niger Delta, it turned out to be a tragic day. While lovers dressed with a touch of red, Forcados communities were braced for the unknown with the threat of having their water ways coated with crude oil rose by the hour. On that day, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC or Shell) announced that there was an oil spill from their 1.2 metres (48 inches) export line and that they were investigating the cause. The point of leak lies under 4.5 metres of water.
Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed, at the scene of the spill
To be sure that the right thing was done, that the environment was protected and that communities were not left in limbo, the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, visited the Forcados Terminal to see things for themselves. They forsook the luxury of getting there on a chopper and took to the boats to get there through the choppy, and at times, treacherous waves. Their move sent a strong signal that the business of ecological defence in these parts was taking a necessary curve.
We should also say here that since taking office, these ministers have toured the environmental crisis hotspots in Nigeria – including those polluted by oil and industrial activities, those impacted by desertification and loss of wetlands and those facing the menace of gully erosion. They have also been in constant consultations to ensure that the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoni environment is not only implemented but that other parts of the Niger Delta would not be left on the lurch.
Polluted water body
The trip to Forcados was all business. Forcados in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State in Nigeria hosts the second oil export terminal in Nigeria besides the one at Bonny in Rivers State. There was no media announcement and no paparazzi. Government officials on the visit were John Nani – the Commissioner for Environment, Delta State and Dan Yingi – Chairman of the Environment Committee of the Delta State House of Assembly.
The other officials were Mrs Akutu, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, and Idris Musa of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). And then there were three of us from the environmental justice constituency: Emem Okon, Monday Itoghor and yours truly.
Arrival at Forcados Terminal was an hour’s bounce on the waves in a convoy of military boats. On the way we passed solitary boats with stoic fisher women and men hoping for a catch and obviously at home with the boisterous waves around them.
On arrival at the Terminal, the visiting team was given a presentation on the incident by Shell officials. Before zeroing in on the incident, they went on a history tour of developments on the Terminal as well as on past incidents.
Spills remembered
The terminal commenced operations 1971, that is 45 years ago and had a major upgrade in 1998.
Shell noted that the incident of 14th February 2016 was almost on the 10th anniversary of an 18th February 2006 militant attack on the pipeline. They also mentioned an attack on their 36 inches produced water pipelines in 2006. Produced water is dumped into the creeks and rivers of the Niger Delta after treatment by the production companies.
The company provides constant electricity from gas turbines to the two major communities in Forcados, Ogulagha and Odimodi. Shell has 36 power generating turbines here and only needs 2 to power their operations at the Terminal. Since the shutdown power is supplied from diesel run electricity generators. This may soon be rationed as supply runs low.
Shell also informed that on 4th March 2014 there was a third party interference on their export line at a depth of 8 metres and that this was a through asophisticated theft point that only professionals could have done.
The current spill happened 5km off the coast and led to a shut in of 300,000 barrels a day of crude oil from government owned Shell, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and a Nigerian company, Seplat Petroleum Development Company.
The scale of the pollution
Chronology of a Spill and Response
The loading of a vessel, MT Yamuna Spirit, commenced from 10:00 am on 12th February 2016. Loading was suspended at 0:20 am on 14th February when the spill was noticed. Seplat and NPDC were informed to stop pumping crude oil to the Terminal at 5:41 pm on 14th February.
Shell deployed booms at 9:35 am on 15th February to curtail the spread of the crude and a specialised surveillance aircraft arrived from Ghana at 10:30 am on 17th February to join the effort. By the time of the visit, they had deployed 27 skimmers and plastic tanks for collection of recovered crude. They also stated that community people were recruited to join the clean up effort.
When the Minister asked what actions had been taken to protect and assist the impacted communities, Shell officials informed that so far they had recovered 25 barrels of crude and had mobilised relief materials such as rice, beans, vegetable oil and water to the major communities.
Tellingly, Shell would not disclose how many barrels of crude oil has been dumped into the sea, creeks and the lands from this incident.
Cause of Incident
Although investigations by the Joint Inspection Team – made up of company and government officials, as well as community representatives – have not been concluded, Shell insisted that the spill was caused by a third party interference. How are they so sure of this? They displayed thick concrete pieces collected from the sea bed at the point of leakage. The pipe is protected by being encased in concrete reinforced with wire mesh. The second point that they claimed provided irrefutable proof was that some communities people informed them that they heard a big bang at a time that coincided with when the spill occurred.
On being questioned by the Minister of Environment, they agreed that they would have to wait for the conclusion of the investigations and further expert examination, before drawing any conclusions about the cause of the spill.
My note here was that even if the exact time of the rupture of the pipe was known, hearing a loud notice from the community could not rigidly prove that a third party interference had occurred on the pipeline at a point 5 km out at sea. That sounds like one “hearsay” taken too far!
The Minister of Environment appreciated the fact that Shell notified her ministry of the spill on 15th February. She told them that President Buhari is determined to ensure a clean up of Ogoniland as well as the entire Niger Delta. She noted that whether the present incident was caused by equipment failure or by third party action, the government was concerned that the communities, the environment and the economy should not suffer.
They Don’t Care if We Exist
After the official presentation it was time to visit some of the impacted communities. We headed towards the open sea, but after about 15 minutes in choppy waves and heavy salt water sprays, it was obvious that it was not the right time to proceed in that direction using the boats we had. So back to the Terminal we returned. From here we went to Oseigbene village (also called Okutu) right at the edge of the Terminal to see things for ourselves.
Shell had tried to say that the spill was being contained and kept from hitting the shoreline, but the visit to this village showed very extensive crude oil pollution of the community, especially their creek, the major source of potable water. There were booms and skimmers deployed by Shell here, but these were clearly rudimentary and ineffective. The crude oil simply coursed beyond the feeble booms while the skimmers whirled and skimmed what they could.
The mangrove forests were heavily impacted. Dead crabs and fish littered the shoreline at the village. It was a river of oil as far as we could see. The effort to put up a clean-up show for the visiting Minister did not quite pan out as they may have expected.
Community women spoke up. The told the Minister that Shell does not appear to care whether they existed or not. That no one cared if they were humans. They had no road, no electricity and no water. They had no jobs and were not engaged in the clean up processes. They had also not received any relief materials. Their children were sick as a result of the spill and some were in hospitals receiving treatment. After the visit the oil company officials said they were not aware of any illnesses arising from the spill.
The Minister assured the community that her visit was to ensure that their situation was handled properly and that their environment would be cleaned up. She also noted that the women and children bore special impacts from incidents like the present one and that something would be done to assist them.
A short helicopter overflight of the spill point showed efforts being made to curtail the spread of the spill. Again the booms deployed out there did not appear to far any better than the ones seen at Oseigbene.
By Nnimmo Bassey (Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation)
