NCF: Nigeria’s Mangrove Under Severe Threat

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has raised the alarm over continuous threat to the country’s mangroves, emphasising the need for a sustainable approach to conserving it.

Speaking at a one-day stakeholder engagement on Mangrove Governance in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, held in Port Harcourt, the Director-General of NCF, Dr. Joseph Onoja, highlighted the importance of sustainable harvesting of mangroves as one of the ways of conserving the ecosystem.

Represented by the Director, Technical Programme, NCF, Adedamola Ogunsesan, the DG noted that Nigeria’s mangroves are moving from third to fourth position globally due to degradation, resulting in loss of ecosystem services such as fishing, coastal protection, and medicinal value.

He emphasised that unsustainable harvesting, pollution and other illegal activities in the creeks constitutes threats to the mangroves and ecosystem.

“If people cut a tree and remove it from the root, it does not re-germinate. But if you cut it in a way that it can regrow, that means you are sustainably harvesting it,” Onoja said through his representative.

The event, themed “Restoring and Managing Nigeria’s Mangrove for Environmental and Social Justice,” aimed to promote sustainable management of mangroves.

The NCF boss stressed that protecting mangroves is crucial not only for environmental reasons but also for the people who depend on them for their livelihoods.

 “It’s not just important that we just protect them, it’s important because of the ecosystem services that they provide and as time goes on, it becomes an issue for not just the environment but for the people and can lead to insecurity, both in terms of food insecurity and physical insecurity for the people living in those areas,” he said.

Onoja, however, stated that the challenge facing mangrove conservation is multifaceted, ranging from oil pollution to unsustainable harvest and climate change.

He noted that some mangrove pollution comes from failed infrastructure, while some demand for mangrove usage comes from urban areas, pointing out that environmental justice is also critical in mangrove conservation, ensuring that the benefits of mangroves are equitably distributed and accessible to vulnerable groups, including women and youth.

“What it (environmental justice) means is that it’s readily available because sometimes the demand for this mangrove is not localized, it comes externally and so people are deprived locally, despite the fact that it is available to them,” Onoja explained.

He also said the multi-stakeholder engagement focuses on establishing site support groups, such as Community-Based Organisations or smaller NGOs, to sustain activities after the conclusion of the engagement.

Participants expressed optimism that the approach will ensure that the efforts to conserve mangroves are sustained and beneficial to local communities.

In his keynote address titled “Building Climate Resilience in the Niger Delta through Nature-Based Solutions,” the Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, emphasised the importance of changing human behavior and attitude towards building climate resilience in the Niger Delta.

Zabbey noted that building resilience in the region is achievable through simple yet effective measures.

According to him, stopping the conversion of wetlands to other forms of development, preventing pollution, and sensitizing youths against artisanal oil refining are crucial steps towards achieving climate resilience.

He equally highlighted the importance of community participation in conservation and restoration efforts, emphasizing that projects designed without community input are unlikely to succeed.

He said: “HYPREP’s efforts in restoring oil-degraded mangroves in Ogoni have shown promising results. The project, which began in 2023, has planted approximately 1.4 million different mangrove species and is nearing completion.”

Zabbey noted the restoration effort is ecologically sound, with biodiversity recovery seamless due to the planting of different species in their natural zones.

“The project’s monitoring efforts have also shown encouraging signs of ecosystem recovery, with species such as periwinkle, oyster, crabs, and fishes beginning to return. Recently, a rare reptile, the Nile monitor, was sighted in the area, further indicating the project’s success.”

He also emphasisd the importance of sustaining the effort and community involvement in conservation and restoration initiatives.

He also highlighted the need for a template for sustainable mangrove management that can be replicated in the Niger Delta, noting that the publication of a user-friendly Niger Delta-based mangrove restoration manual is also expected to disseminate knowledge and sustainable approaches to mangrove restoration.