From Blessing Ibunge, Port Harcourt
The Health of Mother Earth foundation (HOMEF) at the weekend trained fishers in coastal ecosystems monitoring at Uta Ewua in Ikot Abasi LGA of Akwa Ibom State.
The session exposed the challenges facing fishers around the country.
Speaking at the training session, the Executive Director HOMEF, Dr Nnimmo Bassey urged fishers and the community people in general to protect the coast line from degradation.
He stated that “The Niger Delta coast line is specifically impacted by oil spills, pollution, and the waste been dumped into the river which affects the livelihood of the fisher folk, it affects the quality water and the species in the water. Fisher folk will lose their livelihood which in turn affect the availability of food for Nigeria.”
According to Bassey, the essence of the meeting with fishers in Uta Ewa, was to equip them with tools to be the first line monitors of what is happening in their environment.
He disclosed “We have engaged different coastal communities such as Makoko in Lagos, Gbarain in Bayelsa, Ogoni in Rivers, Ibeno in Akwa Ibom State and we are now here in Uta Ewua in Akwa Ibom. The objective is to have our fisher folks defend their ecosystems, defend their livelihoods, advocate for change and live in dignity. We are doing this by equipping them to monitor their environment and report incidents that they see, including oil pollution in our water. We also noticed the mangrove ecosystems have been invaded by the nipa palm. The mangrove forests help to protect the shoreline, and also provide breeding grounds for fishes. The costal ecosystem is of great value to not only the fishers but to everyone.”
However, the fishers in their resolution at the meeting resolved to share experiences on how oil spills and environmental pollution affects their community. Use the knowledge acquired from the training in advocacy, dialogue with the operating companies on safe fishing methods under the FishNet Alliance.
They also resolved to engage government to provide facilities for storage and processing of their catches, adopt community conservation methods to ensure sustainable reforestation and dialogue with the ministry of agriculture and natural development to ensure adequate support for fisheries in the community and the state in general.
They further demanded that oil companies and the government should clean up their rivers and estuaries and pay adequate compensation for losses due to oil pollution. They also called for security agencies to safe them from ravages of sea pirates who are a serious threat to lives and property in the area.
