With the sullied state of the Niger Delta region made worse by pollution and degradation of mangrove covers, calls are mounting for the establishment of a Mangrove Conservation Agency in Nigeria to ameliorate the situation.
These calls came to the fore as the world marked the International Day for Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem on Sunday, July 26, 2020.
A member of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Rt. Hon. Dumnamene Deekor, while speaking on the event in Abuja, tasked the federal government on the need for the creation of the agency to safeguard the lives and properties of people of the Niger Delta region.
“There has to be an agency to ensure that the coastal area of this country is preserved and not washed away. So, the only thing we can do is to ensure that we multiply the little that is left of the mangroves”, he told journalists.
Dumnamene Deekor who represents Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency said it would be apposite for the federal government to initiating mangrove restoration projects to mitigate coastal degradation and the associated impact on mangrove covers in the Niger Delta.
He noted that, like the Great Green Walls in northern Nigeria, establishing a Mangrove Conservation Agency is considered of utmost importance in the Niger Delta region to enhance a good livelihood.
The Ogoni federal lawmaker said the celebration of this year’s event with the theme,’Towards a sustainable use of mangrove wood resources’ is apt because as he put it, “Our solution to coastal erosion and loss of biodiversity for coastal communities is in mangrove restoration and that is what we are taking up now”.
According to him, Nigeria has the largest mangrove cover in Africa and the third or fourth largest in the world, adding regrettably that the country had neglected the mangrove over the years and is now suffering the consequences.
“We have every reason to ensure that our mangroves are protected because without them, there will be a collapse in the supply of fish in the world, and fish is the most accessible form of protein that ensures our health. So, the healthier the mangrove is, the healthier the population”, he said.
“Mangroves serve as buffer against ocean surge, coastal erosion as well as improve water quality by filtering pollutants and trapping sediments from the land. Pollution from hydrocarbon fuel and mangrove ecosystems are now receptacles for pollutants in the Niger Delta region”, he added.
The International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, celebrated each year on the 26th July, aims to raise awareness of the importance of mangrove ecosystems and to promote solutions for their sustainable management and conservation.
