The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on Wednesday welcomed the Nigerian government's recent decision to clean up some major oil contamination in the Ogoniland region of the African nation.
The Nigeria government's decision comes twelve months after the UNEP scientific assessment of oil pollution in Ogoniland, underlining the serious impacts the contamination could have on public health and environment.
"On the anniversary of the Ogoniland assessment there are now clear and encouraging signals that the Government is keen to move on the recommendations - this is a welcome development for the people and the environment of this region who have suffered, and continue to suffer, the legacy of some 50 years of unsustainable oil exploration and production," UNEP's Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said in a news release.
The UNEP's independent scientific assessment of the oil contamination in Ogoniland region was carried out over a 14-month period. It is indicated as greater and deeper pollution than previously thought after an agency team examined more than 200 locations and surveyed 122 kilometers of pipeline.
The independent agency team also analyzed 4,000 soil as well as water samples and reviewed more than 5,000 medical records. The team also interviewed more than 23,000 people at local community meetings.
The assessment emphasized the need for swift action to prevent the pollution footprint from spreading further and exacerbating the situation for the Ogoni people. It note also proposes an initial sum of $1 billion to cover the first five years of clean-up operations. It noted that some on-the-ground results could be immediate, while a fully sustainable recovery of Ogoniland could take 25 to 30 years and would require long-term financing.
Subsequently, the Nigerian Government announced last month that it would soon establish the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project, a government initiative that would fully implement UNEP's recommendations to clean-up the area.
In recent weeks, the UNEP has held discussions with Nigerian environment officials on how to implement the recommendations made in the agency's assessment of the situation in Ogoniland region.
"The immediate need is for the necessary funds to be mobilized and to be deployed to take the Project forward at a scale and speed commensurate with the challenge," said Ibrahim Thiaw, the Director of UNEP's Division of Environmental Policy Implementation who presented the UN agency's report to the Government last year.
"Everyone has a part to play in realizing significant and positive results from the Government of Nigeria, local authorities and the oil industry to NGOs and local communities," he added in the news release.
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