The Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) has urged the federal government to provide targeted support for Niger Delta communities facing worsening poverty and insecurity due to environmental pollution.

The Executive Director of EDEN, Chima Williams, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that affected residents required urgent government interventions to cushion the impacts of pollution.

He stated the government’s failure to protect citizens through cushioning measures, facilities, or programmes for those harmed by methane, carbon dioxide emissions and other polluting activities fuelled insecurity and triggered a rise in self-help incidents.

He noted that the situation often resulted in vandalism, with citizens attacking suspected vandals and saboteurs before being proven under the law to be economic saboteurs.

According to him, environmental degradation has impoverished many residents, weakened traditional livelihoods and exposed communities to rising insecurity as farming and fishing become increasingly difficult to sustain.

“Weak regulation and inadequate enforcement against polluting operators have allowed environmental degradation to persist, leaving affected communities to bear the consequences with little government protection.

“Our governments are not living up to their responsibility to protect lives and properties of citizens,” he said.

He said that some polluting companies received security protection in spite of environmental concerns, while illegal extractive activities continued with insufficient oversight and accountability from relevant authorities.

“Environmental crisis has destroyed farmlands, reduced agricultural yields, damaged fishing activities and increased anxiety among residents dependent on natural resources for survival,” he stated.

Mr Williams said that the predominantly agrarian Niger-Delta remained especially vulnerable because farming and fisheries provided livelihoods for thousands of households across the oil-producing region.

On methane emissions, he added that gas flaring and other extractive activities released methane, carbon dioxide and harmful pollutants that accelerated climate change and environmental degradation.

“All these particulates released into the atmosphere help or contribute to increasing the rapid incidence of climate change.

“Methane emissions contribute to flooding, erosion and destruction of farmlands, further threatening livelihoods and worsening the environmental challenges confronting Niger Delta communities,” he said. 

(NAN)