World Environment Day And Coastal Challenges

Yesterday, June 5th was World Environ
ment Day. The theme for this year is
“Small Islands Developing States.” More than ever before, the effect of water on the human environment has become very critical and worthy of all the attention it can get.
According to the United Nations, the attention this year is on natural disasters arising from coastal challenges and how the various governments respond to this peculiar challenge. In fact, it was noted that for many people, environmental safety has been hampered by the incursion of water.
For some years now, scientists have sounded the alarm that the ice at the North Pole was melting and fast too. This they say would raise sea levels and even submerge some communities over time. Apparently, this fear is becoming real in some island communities across the world.
While the United Nations may be looking at how governments may be responding to this major ecological challenge, the matter calls for all hands to be on deck. It is a fact that water related problems can be difficult and expensive, often the water bodies are linked across borders and solving any one in isolation could as well be a problem for others.
For us in Nigeria, the challenge is already too real to ignore. Apart from the 2012 flood that took a heavy toll on the country, coastal erosion and the apparent indifference of the authorities have become rather heart-breaking. Its effect on the topography and by extension the economy and livelihood of the people should worry any responsible government.
In the Niger Delta, the aggression of the Atlantic Ocean is constant, but it has been worsened by oil pollution, lack of access and basic amenities. These have also given birth to security challenges and development nightmares. This is not to talk about the health challenges among many other ills.
In a bid to protect the environment, a lot of agencies have been established and it appears they only pay salaries to staff. Decades ago deadlines were given to end gas flaring and till date, the goal post has continued to shift, failures are being explained and the government does very little. On the remediation of polluted sites, the implementation default of the UNEP report on Ogoniland says it all.
The importance of the environment and its safety cannot be over-emphasised. In addition to providing the base for human habitation, it provides life support and food as well as the opportunity for survival and advancement. But for the coastal communities it means more. It is a delicate balance between living and dying every day.
It is, therefore, saddening that a nation that draws the bulk of its foreign earnings from the coastal communities would do very little to plough back something or at least make the people there recognise the humanity in themselves. According to reports, comments from the on-going National Conference suggest that people care very little about the plight of the Niger Delta.
Of course, tempers are beginning to rise, but if allegations by some of the oil firms that sometimes their pipelines are vandalised are factual, the people are also contributing to their slow but certain death. On no account should anyone be angry enough to sabotage oil activities and compromise the safety of the environment.
Even as the world draws attention to the water menace, very little is said of the hole being created by the drilling of millions of barrels of crude oil in the coastal areas. We are also not sure of any dependable emergency rescue plan or any safe fortress where people can run to for safety in case of emergencies. We will want to see a well equipped NEMA that is capable of mobilising within endurable time limit.
The United Nations must be commended for bringing small Islands and communities and their challenges to global attention, but the job requires a coordinated response under a global effort. The case of flooding in Nigeria that was traced to an over-flowing dam in the Camerouns some years ago, makes this point very clear.
We wish that we can truly say happy World Environment Day without suffering the fear that nothing would be done afterall.