Some environmental experts have decried worsening environmental degradation in the South-South region and urged strict enforcement of laws to protect the environment from further damage.

The stakeholders stated this during a survey on the state of the environment, saying environmental challenges in the region were caused by both natural and human activities.

They identified environmental degradation in the region, including erosion, carbon emissions, water pollution, tree felling, and ocean encroachment, among others, and urged governments to do more with their ecological funds to save the environment.

In Rivers, some environmental experts urged authorities to enforce existing laws to safeguard the earth as they decried the increasing pollution resulting from human activities and called for adequate utilisation of ecological funds.

Chibuogwu Eze, the director of the Institute of Pollution Studies at Rivers State University, criticised the level of underground water pollution in the Niger Delta, saying that poisonous substances, including lead, infiltrate underground water.

Mr Eze attributed the pollution of underground waters to the neglect of fuel station operators in maintaining their underground storage tanks, which sometimes leaked fuel into underground waters, which, in turn, seeped into the boreholes.

According to his research, sponsored by the university on groundwater pollution, such pollution affects everyone, as households now depend on boreholes.

“In Rivers, for instance, you don’t need to dredge too deep into the ground before getting water,” said Mr Eze. “This, on the other hand, is a risk factor; sadly, boiling water only kills pathogens and not lead.”

Mr Eze added that extant laws guiding the maintenance of underground fuel storage tanks, including confirmatory tests and certification of fuel tanks, are safety measures that should not be undermined by fuel station operators.

“The law also stipulates an interval of five-years test for corrosion or possible leakage as a result of wear and tear and allows for a maximum of 20 years lifespan for underground fuel storage tanks.

“We should be more careful and abide by these regulatory guidelines because of our low topography so that petroleum products don’t find their way into our underground water,” he added.

Fyneface Dumnamene, executive director of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), analysed the ecological funds disbursements and faulted states, particularly Rivers, for inadequate spending of the fund.

He noted that the ecological funds were about two per cent of the federal budget allocated to states in varying degrees to address environmental challenges across the country.

”These funds are not given separately but added to the federal allocation that goes to each state of the federation at the end of every 30 days,” he said.

Mr Dumnamene explained that while some states utilised their ecological funds to address ecological issues, others had yet to do so.

He claimed that the state received its ecological allocation, which runs into hundreds of millions of naira from 2023 to 2025, but the ecological issue had remained unaddressed.

“Rivers is one of the states in Nigeria that has suffered a lot of environmental challenges, including erosion, flood, oil spills, and ocean encroachments, among others. Sadly, the state is not maximising these funds to address these challenges,’ he alleged.

Mr Dumnamene urged the government to set up a special committee on disaster management through which the ecological funds would be utilised to tackle the environmental challenges confronting the state.

In Cross River, Francis Bissong, a professor of Conservation and Biogeography at the University of Calabar, said large-scale logging had been going on around the key forest corridors in the state.

He said the illegal activities were threatening the biodiversity and livelihoods of local communities and the state as a whole. He warned that the uncoordinated activities around the Mbe Mountains and other areas would endanger critical habitats, including gorilla conservation areas, and could lead to long-term ecological and economic losses.

Mr Bissong said, “Cross River falls within one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, making reckless logging a major environmental threat. Unsustainable logging practices destroy non-timber forest products, displace wildlife, and increase risks of flooding and erosion.”

Cross River has one of Africa’s last remaining high-biodiversity tropical forests. Its richest biodiversity is characterised by tropical rainforests, mangroves, and a diverse ecosystem, making it a global biodiversity hotspot.

It also hosts immense flora and fauna, rare species like the Calabar angwantibo, and threatened fisheries; however, deforestation, occasioned by the felling of trees, is threatening the critical ecosystem.

He stressed that involving local communities in forest management would enhance protection and create alternative livelihoods through ecosystem-based enterprises.

Mr Bissong advocated land-use zoning and stronger enforcement of existing forestry regulations.

George Oben-Etchi, the director-general of the Cross River Forestry Commission, said efforts were underway to curb illegal logging, which had adversely impacted the environment.

Mr Oben-Etchi said the commission planned to introduce a “permiteeship” system to regulate logging activities and reduce unauthorised operations, adding that illegal loggers were being arrested while designated courts had been established to prosecute offenders.

Ken Henshaw of We the People called for the inclusion of communities and experts in decision-making and for stronger laws, as well as for their recognition in climate finance opportunities to ensure sustainable forest management.

In Akwa Ibom, Sunday Nditoi, an environmental consultant in Uyo, urged the government to enact strong regulations to protect the forests and guard against environmental degradation.

Mr Nditoi, a former director of environment at the Federal Ministry of Environment, condemned the felling of trees in the forest, saying, “Deforestation has affected the environment in no small ways. We have lost our forest by indiscriminate felling of trees. For every tree we cut, two trees should be planted to protect the environment; we should not cut trees and burn bushes unnecessarily. We should have some forest reserve that could help the areas that have less oxygen production.”

Mr Nditoi added that spraying of chemicals on crops and herbicides also affected the environment and were injurious to health, calling for sensitisation of farmers on the side effects of chemicals.

Umo Isua-Ikoh, the coordinator of Peace Point Development Foundation in Uyo, said environmental degradation in the state was mainly caused by human activities, including oil spills and gas flares.

Mr Isua-Ikoh said in the Niger Delta, many issues, such as oil spills, gas flaring, deforestation, and ocean encroachment, threaten human existence, food safety, and food security.

He said the level of fish extinction due to human activities had forced fishermen to travel long distances for weeks at sea, only to return with little or no fish.

Isua-Ikoh, an environmental justice advocate, urged the state government to update and enforce environmental laws to protect the environment and human life.

He commended the environment ministry for consistently raising awareness of environmental issues in the country.

Aniekan Umanah, information commissioner, said that the state government had done much work to address the menace of erosion and other environmental degradation.

Mr Umanah said the government had reclaimed over 75 hectares of land along Brooks Street near the government house, which had been completely gully-ravaged.

He said that the government also built an Akwa Ibom resort on the reclaimed land, adding that, due to the dualism of Uyo villages, the gullies are being cleared.

“Also reclaimed are the Mandala area along Ikot Ekpene road, which is ongoing; the groundwater that almost brought down the area has been stopped, and several ecological interventions have been done to check environmental degradation,” Mr Umanah said.

Mr Umanah acknowledged that the state government had been benefiting from the federal government’s ecological funds, but could not specify the amount collected to date.

He assured that the government would continue to invest in ecological management and urged citizens to be part of the process of mitigating environmental hazards by protecting the environment.

He said that the state government had made it mandatory for construction companies in the state to return their borrow pit to their original state after construction to avoid environmental challenges.

(NAN)