Environmental issues in the Niger Delta
Environmental issues in the Niger Delta are caused by
This incredibly well-endowed ecosystem contains one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet, in addition to supporting abundant flora and fauna, arable terrain that can sustain a wide variety of crops, lumber or agricultural trees, and more species of freshwater fish than any ecosystem in West Africa.[7]
The advent of
- We witnessed the slow poisoning of the waters of this country and the destruction of vegetation and agricultural land and good water source by oil spills which occur during petroleum operations. But since the inception of the oil industry in Nigeria, more than fifty years ago, there has been no concerned and effective effort on the part of the government, let alone the oil operators, to control environmental problems associated with the industry.[16]
The resultant
Oil spills
Extent of the problem
The
The
A catastrophic spill occurred on May 1, 2010 at an ExxonMobil offshore oil platform approximately 35 to 45 kilometres (20 to 25 nautical miles) from shore. The rupture spewed more than 3.8 megalitres (1 million US gallons) of crude into the Delta. Because the spill occurred just 10 days after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, people affected by repeated spills in the Niger Delta noted "massive differences" in international response to these disasters and relative lack of media coverage for such events in Nigeria.[27]
Causes
Most of the oil infrastructure is old and lacks regular inspection or maintenance.
A reason that corrosion accounts for such a high percentage of all spills is that as a result of the small size of the oilfields in the Niger Delta, there is an extensive network of pipelines between the fields, as well as numerous small networks of flowlines—the narrow diameter pipes that carry oil from wellheads to flowstations—allowing many opportunities for leaks. In onshore areas most pipelines and flowlines are laid above ground. Pipelines, which have an estimate life span of about fifteen years, are old and susceptible to corrosion. Many of the pipelines are as old as twenty to twenty-five years.[23]
Shell admits that "most of the facilities were constructed between the 1960s and early 1980s to the then prevailing standards. SPDC [Shell Petroleum and Development Company] would not build them that way today.”[29]
Sabotage and theft through oil siphoning has become a major issue in the Niger River Delta states as well, contributing to further environmental degradation.[31] Damaged lines may go unnoticed for days, and repair of the damaged pipes takes even longer. Oil siphoning has become a big business, with the stolen oil quickly making its way onto the black market.[23]
While the popularity of selling stolen oil increases, the number of deaths caused by explosion increase as well. In late December 2006 more than 200 people were killed in the Lagos region of Nigeria in an oil line explosion.[32][33]
Consequences
People in the affected areas complain about health issues including breathing problems and skin lesions; many have lost basic human rights such as health, access to food, clean water, and an ability to work.[25][39]
On January 30, 2013, a Dutch court ruled that Shell is liable for the pollution in the Niger Delta.
Cleanup
In 2011, Nigeria commissioned a report from the United Nations on the impact of oil extraction in the delta area of 'Ogoniland'.[45] The report found severe soil ground and tapwater contamination, destruction of mangroves, and "that institutional control measures in place both in the oil industry and the Government were not implemented adequately."[45][46] The UN concluded it would take over 30 years to reverse the damage.[45] Based on those recommendations,[1] in August 2017 Nigeria launched a $1 billion clean-up and restoration program.[45][47] In January 2019 engineers first arrived to begin the cleanup.[42]
In 2019, the Nigerian government came under
The federal government of Nigeria through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation disbursed the sum of $180m as the take off fee for the 21 selected companies out of the 400 companies that bid for the contract.[51]
Loss of mangrove forests
Vegetation in the Niger River Delta consists of extensive
Human impact from poor land management upstream coupled with the constant pollution of petroleum has caused five to ten percent of these mangrove forests to disappear. The
An area of mangroves that has been destroyed by petroleum may be susceptible to other problems. These areas may not be suitable for any native plant growth until bacteria and microorganisms can remediate the conditions. A particular species of mangrove, Rhizophora racemosa, lives higher in the delta system. As the soils supporting R. racemosa become too toxic, a non-native invasive species of palm, Nypa fruticans, quickly colonizes the area. This invasive species has a shallower root system that destabilizes the banks along the waterways, further affecting sediment distribution lower in the delta system. N. fruticans also impedes navigation and decreases overall biodiversity. In places where N. fruticans has invaded, communities are investigating how the palm can be used by local people.[54]
The loss of mangrove forests is not only degrading life for plants and animals, but for humans as well. These systems are highly valued by the indigenous people living in the affected areas. Mangrove forests have been a major source of wood for local people. They also are important to a variety of species vital to subsistence practices for local indigenous groups, who unfortunately see little to none of the economic benefits of petroleum. Mangroves also provide essential habitat for rare and endangered species like the manatee and pygmy hippopotamus. Poor policy decisions regarding the allocation of petroleum revenue has caused political unrest in Nigeria.[55] This clash among governing bodies, oil corporations, and the people of Nigeria has resulted in sabotage to petroleum pipelines, further exacerbating the threat to mangrove forests.
The future for mangrove forests and other floral communities is not all negative. Local and outside groups have provided funds and labor to remediate and restore the destroyed mangrove swamps. The federal government of Nigeria established the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2000 which aims to suppress the environmental and ecological impacts petroleum has had in the region. Governmental and nongovernmental organizations have also utilized technology to identify the source and movement of petroleum spills.[52]
Depletion of fish population
The fishing industry is an essential part of Nigeria's sustainability because it provides much needed protein and nutrients for people, but with the higher demand on fishing, fish populations are declining as they are being depleted faster than they are able to restore their number. Fishing needs to be limited along the Niger River and aquacultures should be created to provide for the growing demand on the fishing industry. Aquaculture allows for fish to be farmed for production and provide more jobs for the local people of Nigeria.
Overfishing is not the only impact on marine communities. Climate change, habitat loss, and pollution are all added pressures to these important ecosystems. The banks of the Niger River are desirable and ideal locations for people to settle. The river provides water for drinking, bathing, cleaning, and fishing for both the dinner table and trading to make a profit. As the people have settled along the shores of the rivers and coasts, marine and terrestrial habitats are being lost and ecosystems are being drastically changed. The shoreline along the Niger River is important in maintaining the temperature of the water because the slightest change in water temperature can be fatal to certain marine species. Trees and shrubs provide shade and habitat for marine species, while reducing fluctuation in water temperature.[56]
The Niger River is an important ecosystem that needs to be protected, for it is home to 36 families and nearly 250 species of fish, of which 20 are
Natural gas flaring
Nigeria flares more
Flaring is done as it is costly to separate commercially viable associated gas from the oil. Companies operating in Nigeria also harvest natural gas for commercial purposes but prefer to extract it from deposits where it is found in isolation as non-associated gas. Thus associated gas is burned off to decrease costs.
Gas flaring is generally discouraged as it releases toxic components into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. In western Europe 99% of associated gas is used or re-injected into the ground. Gas flaring in Nigeria began simultaneously with oil extraction in the 1960s by Shell-BP. Alternatives to flaring are gas re-injection or to store it for use as an energy source. If properly stored, the gas could be used for community projects.
Gas flaring releases of large amounts of methane, which has a high global warming potential. The methane is accompanied by the other major greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, of which Nigeria was estimated to have emitted more than 34.38 million metric tons of in 2002, accounting for about 50% of all industrial emissions in the country and 30% of the total CO2 emissions. While flaring in the west has been minimized, in Nigeria it has grown proportionally with oil production.[62]
The international community, the Nigerian government, and the oil corporations seem in agreement that gas flaring needs to be curtailed. Efforts to do so, however, have been limited although flaring has been declared illegal since 1984 under section 3 of the "Associated Gas Reinjection Act" of Nigeria.[63]
While
Gas flares have potentially harmful effects on the health and livelihood of nearby communities, as they release poisonous chemicals including
Gas flares are often close to communities and regularly lack fencing or protection for villagers who risk working near their heat. Many communities claim that nearby flares cause
Whether or not flares contribute to acid rain is debatable, as some independent studies conducted have found that the
Older flares are rarely relocated away from villages and are known to coat the land and communities with soot and to damage adjacent vegetation. Almost no vegetation can grow in the area directly surrounding the flares due to their heat.[23]
In November 2005 a judgment by the Federal High Court of Nigeria ordered that gas flaring must stop in a Niger Delta community as it violates guaranteed constitutional rights to life and dignity. In a case brought against the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (Shell), Justice C. V. Nwokorie ruled in Benin City that "the damaging and wasteful practice of flaring cannot lawfully continue." As of May 2011, Shell had not ceased gas flaring in Nigeria.[67][68]
Biological remediation
The use of
Movement for protection of the Niger Delta
The
Flooding
Several communities and states within the Niger Delta region of Nigeria has experienced flooding which has affected economic activities. In 2022, Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Cross River and Bayelsa states experienced different degrees of flooding which led to loss of lives and properties.[75] It was reported that in 2022 alone, about 603 lives were lost to flooding while over one million persons were displaced as a result of the flood.[76]
See also
- Conflict in the Niger Delta – Ongoing military conflict
- Deforestation in Nigeria
- Nigeria gully erosion crisis – ecological, environmental, economic, and humanitarian disaster resulting in land degradation, loss of lives, and properties worth millions of dollars
- Nigerian Gas Association – Industry professional body in Nigeria
- Petroleum in Nigeria– Largest oil and gas producer in Africa
- Niger Delta swamp forests – Ecoregion (WWF)
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