Don Seeks Collaborative Efforts To Check Oil Pollution

As part of efforts to effectively tackle the issues of environmental pollution in the Niger Delta region, a university teacher, Dr Steve Wodu has called for collaborative efforts on the part of all relevant stakeholders.
Wodu, an environmental sociologist and senior lecturer in the University of Port Harcourt disclosed this while speaking with The Tide in an interview in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
He pointed out that environmental pollution remains the greatest challenge of the Niger Delta, noting that the people of the region has lost their means of livelihood as a result of unguarded oil exploration and illegal bunker activities”.
He said oil producing companies operating in the Niger Delta, should make issues of addressing environmental pollution their cardinal operational policy.
Dr Wodu also called for a synergy between, the oil companies, regulatory agencies, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders in addressing issues of environmental pollution.
The university don also cautioned against deforestation of forest reserves and the use of mangrove as fuel and noted that such practices has led to the destruction of the ecosystem.
“It is unfortunate, that people now depend on mangrove reserved for cooking. The mangrove is very important in building the ecosystem. It homes a lot of sea food and protects the environment against erosion, today with the depletion of the mangrove reserves, the natural seafood has gone extinct and the environment is prone to erosion, the activities of oil bunkering and spillages has also rendered the environment desolate”.
He also called for sensitisation and public enlightenment campaign against anti-environmental practices.
Dr Wodu also advocated for greater funding of related departments in tertiary institutions to carry out research on how to tackle issues of environmental pollution.

Taneh Beemene