RDI Trains Female Journalists, Demands Gender-sensitive Reporting of Oil Pollution in N’Delta

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt 

The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) has called on female journalists to adopt gender-sensitive reporting of extractive activities in the Niger Delta, warning that the devastating effects of oil pollution, gas flaring and climate change on women remain largely underreported.

The organisation made the call during a training programme for female journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, themed, ‘Empowering Women Journalists for Effective Reporting of Extractive Impacts in Nigeria’.

Speaking at the event, gender rights advocate, Chief Constance Meju, said women bore disproportionate consequences of environmental degradation and climate change but were often excluded from media narratives, policy discussions and government interventions.

According to her, the training was designed to bridge the gap in reporting by equipping female journalists with the skills to investigate and document how extractive activities affect women in host communities.

“Women suffer more from extraction and climate change impacts, but their stories are not told. They are not seen, and their needs are not addressed,” Meju said.

She urged journalists to incorporate a gender perspective into environmental reporting, stressing that coverage of oil spills, flooding and other ecological disasters must examine their specific consequences for women.

Meju who is also Director, Centre for Environment Media and Development Commissions, expressed concern over the recurring flooding in the region, noting that annual disasters deepen poverty as affected households struggle to recover before another incident occurs.

She called for investigative reporting into the region’s declining health conditions, questioning why communities in oil-producing areas lack functional healthcare facilities.

“The average life expectancy in the Niger Delta is between 39 and 43 years, compared with the national average of 51 to 53 years. We need to investigate why people are dying young and follow the hospitals to understand the trends and causes of these deaths,” she said.

The gender advocate further challenged journalists to investigate the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), particularly the extent to which women benefit from the three per cent allocation to host communities.

Similarly, an environmental health researcher and consultant affiliated with the University of Port Harcourt, Dr. Chioma Okonkwo, warned that oil pollution poses serious risks to women’s reproductive health, food security and livelihoods.

Okonkwo explained that beyond the visible destruction of ecosystems, oil spills expose women and children to harmful hydrocarbons through contaminated water and food.

“Whatever happens to the environment affects women’s means of livelihood and food security. Women bear a disproportionate burden when these ecosystems are affected because of their caregiving and nutritional responsibilities,” she said.

She noted that some hydrocarbons found in crude oil are known carcinogens capable of disrupting hormonal balance and potentially contributing to fertility problems and other reproductive health complications.

Citing research findings, Okonkwo said studies had established a strong correlation between oil spills and increased newborn deaths in affected communities, as well as heightened maternal health risks.

She called for stronger enforcement of existing environmental regulations, particularly the polluter-pays principle, which places responsibility for environmental remediation on operators responsible for pollution.

“We already have policies in place. What we need is effective implementation and enforcement to ensure that those who default are held accountable,” she said.

In a similar presentation, human rights and international development professional, Rachel Greenwood, highlighted the connection between women’s agitation in extractive communities and international human rights instruments.

She explained that environmental degradation affects women’s health, livelihoods, access to land, family relationships and participation in society, stressing the need to use international human rights frameworks to demand accountability and protect affected communities.

Earlier, RDI Project Officer, Tracy Ohovwore, said Rivers State was selected as the second location for the engagement because of its significant exposure to extractive activities and environmental pollution.

She identified oil spills, gas flaring, soot pollution and the discharge of sludge into community rivers as persistent environmental challenges confronting communities across the state.

Ohovwore recalled the environmental crisis in Ogoniland, which prompted the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) assessment report in 2011, as well as the Bille community disaster and other incidents that have attracted national and international attention.

She observed that although journalists had made efforts to highlight environmental degradation, displacement, loss of productive land and disruption of traditional livelihoods, the specific experiences of women remained largely missing from such reports.

“Women often carry the heaviest burden of these impacts because, as caregivers, providers and users of natural resources, they depend on land and water to sustain their families,” she said.

She urged female journalists to move beyond conventional environmental reporting by documenting women’s lived experiences and amplifying their voices in public policy conversations.