HYPREP Seeks CSOs’ Support To Stop Fresh Pollution, Protect Ogoni Cleanup Gains

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has called on civil society organisations (CSOs) to intensify community mobilisation against illegal artisanal refining, destructive exploitation of natural resources and other activities threatening to reverse the gains of the ongoing Ogoni environmental cleanup.

The Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, said sustaining the restoration of Ogoniland would require stronger community participation and a coordinated effort by government, civil society groups and other stakeholders to prevent fresh pollution.

Zabbey, who made the call while receiving a coalition of civil society organisations that visited HYPREP project sites in Rivers State, identified sustainable fishing, responsible mangrove harvesting, environmental protection and ecotourism as critical areas requiring urgent public sensitisation.

He warned that the benefits of the cleanup could be undermined if communities continued practices capable of damaging restored ecosystems, stressing that environmental remediation must go beyond removing existing pollution to preventing new contamination.

According to him, the return of aquatic organisms, including different species of crabs, to restored water bodies indicates improving ecological conditions, but maintaining such progress requires collective responsibility.

The HYPREP coordinator also urged civil society organisations to support the development of alternative livelihood opportunities that would reduce communities’ dependence on activities that degrade the environment.

He specifically identified ecotourism, carbon stock assessment and climate finance as emerging opportunities that could generate economic benefits for residents while strengthening environmental conservation.

Zabbey further stressed that the designation of Ogoni’s mangrove wetlands as a Ramsar Site of international importance had increased the responsibility of stakeholders to protect the area’s ecological integrity.

He said HYPREP was developing restoration approaches that combined international remediation technologies with solutions adapted to the sociocultural and environmental realities of Ogoniland.

The Project Coordinator maintained that the institutional structures and remediation models being developed could serve as a reference for tackling oil pollution in other parts of the Niger Delta and oil-impacted communities across Nigeria.

Earlier, a coalition of civil society organisations under the CORDAID Strategic Partnership commended HYPREP for progress recorded in the cleanup programme, pledging renewed advocacy and stronger collaboration to sustain the interventions.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, CORDAID Consultant, Tolese Olatinwo, said the visit was significant because the partnership had spent about five years advocating improved environmental restoration, alternative livelihoods and greater community participation in the Ogoni cleanup.

He said the delegation was particularly encouraged by the progress observed at the K-Dere Water Facility, Ogoni Specialist Hospital and other project locations, noting that it was gratifying to witness the implementation of interventions it had previously advocated.

Olatinwo said the coalition would review its earlier advocacy scorecard and establish fresh targets to support HYPREP, particularly in community sensitisation, environmental protection and sustainable livelihoods.

Also speaking, Executive Director of the Kabetkache Centre for Women Development, Dr Emem Okon, expressed satisfaction with the inclusion of women in the cleanup programme and progress in livelihood interventions.

Okon said her organisation had previously conducted a livelihood needs assessment for women in Ogoniland and would build on the findings to identify new areas of intervention.

She disclosed that the coalition would engage its partners, including the Dutch Embassy, to present its observations and develop a renewed advocacy framework for sustaining the cleanup programme.

The delegation’s visit included inspections of the K-Dere Water Facility, Ogoni Specialist Hospital and the mangrove restoration site at Bomu, where members also participated in symbolic mangrove planting.

The CORDAID Strategic Partnership comprises civil society organisations working on environmental advocacy, good governance and institutional development, with a longstanding interest in ensuring the full implementation of the Ogoni cleanup and improving community access to its benefits.