Environmental group trains community members on pollution monitoring in Bayelsa

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), an environmental rights group, trained 80 residents of Ogboibiri, an oil-bearing community in Bayelsa, on environmental pollution monitoring and reporting.

The Programme Manager, HOMEF, Mr Stephen Oduware, said during the training in Ogboibiri, that the community was largely impacted by the activities of oil and gas industries in the area.

According to him, the people of the community, located at Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa, were in a better position to protect their environment and report any form of pollution affecting them.

He explained that the goal of the training was to bring the people together to highlight and document their environmental challenges caused by pollution.

The programme manager added, that the skills would enable them to document their experiences and how environmental pollution was affecting their daily lives.

He noted that the activities of international oil companies in the area were polluting the environment, with recorded oil spills and gas leakages in 2015, 2021 and 2022.

This, according to him, has resulted in environmental pollution and degradation, adding that many of the farmers and fishermen in the community have lost their means of livelihood.

“Fishermen and women can no longer go to the river to fish, because the water is highly polluted, and you know you cannot find fish in the soup of oil.

“The people are also concerned that a particular species called Mama Coco, a cherished specie of cocoyam, is extinct in the community and other crops and tubers are experiencing low yield,” he said.

He said that the training was also organised to stand in solidarity with the people, and to assure them that together, we can push and fight for a healthy environment.

According to him, the capacity building training will enable the community members to advocate for sustainable environmental practices and speak up on what they want in their community.

“It may take time, but we will make progress at the end of the day.

“The training covers sessions on community governance to enable them to partner with relevant stakeholders including civil society organisations to amplify their voices.

“This will make their voices heard by government officials and policy makers and eventually create the change that they want to see in their community.”

On his part, Mr Morris Alagoa, Programme Manager, Head Environmental Right Action (ERA), Niger Delta Resource Centre, said that the training would enlighten the people on environmental pollution and mitigation procedures.

Alagoa argued that oil spill was among environmental pollution that affects the healthy living of rural dwellers.

“We are here to empower the community members on how to reach out to the government, the oil firms, and the media with concerns relating to environmental pollution.

“This will equip them with the needed skills to deal with their issues,” he said.