HOMEF Identifies Danger in Implementation of Blue Economy
By Ekemini Simon
A Non Governmental Organisation, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has identified the implementation of blue economy as a possibility to riverine communities.
Blue economy refers to an integrated approach based on sustainable use of the oceans and coastal areas to deal with environmental degradation and resource depletion.
Speaking in Uyo on Monday, September 26, 2022 during a two-day School of Ecology session on “Blue Economy, Divestment and the end of fossil age”, the Director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey noted that the notion that the ocean is limitless hence plans of the extension of extractivism, grabbing of territories and resources to offset the human tendency for excessive consumption without considering inter-generational responsibility spells doom.
He said with lax policing of the ocean, it is certain that there is a high likelihood that official delineation of economic zones in the maritime areas especially the Niger Delta will see reckless activities that would not only ruin local economies but damage aquatic ecosystems beyond remedy.
While noting that the reality calls for the strict protection of waters by checking the industrial activities onshore and offshore, Bassey insisted that with some international oil companies divesting and moving into deep waters after 64 years of onshore exploitation of oil and gas, which he described as ruinous, it does not require a seer to see that their activities away from the watchful eyes of community eco-defenders will be atrocious.
The HOMEF Director added ” Sadly, the pollution will get to citizens through sea foods and the delivery of pollutants by the waves to the shorelines. It should be alarming that by relying on satellite images alone, researchers identified 18,063 oil slicks in the period 2002-2012 covered by the images, mostly caused by spills from shipping vessels and offshore drilling platforms.
“More reason to worry is the fact that economic activities envisioned within the blue economy prism include seabed extractive activities including the extraction of oil, gas, and other minerals.
” Other activities include marine biotechnology and bioprospecting which will pose particularly difficult regulatory oversight, seeing that basic modern agricultural biotechnology is poorly regulated in our nation.”
Bassey who stressed that building a blue economy for the purpose of economic growth may actually be running off the mark offered insight to the fact that the School of Ecology is aimed at building understanding around the issues and at the same time advancing proposal for a people-to-policy approach as regards the use of aquatic resources.
He stated ” We aim to promote a reflection on our socio-cultural approaches to the use of our water bodies by which we ensured the well-being of our peoples while defending the integrity of the ecosystems.
“We are doing this against the backdrop of the projections that the fossil fuels age is running to an end whether we are ready or not and whether we like it or not. The meaning of the end of the fossil fuels civilization is that Nigeria must assiduously prepare for the imminent transition. That plan must include a setting aside of resources to clean up the entire Niger Delta as well as other coastline communities.
“Without a plan, and a redefinition of development and progress, we may end up in a cemetery of junk technologies and bequeath to our children stranded assets in equally stranded communities. A mindless implementation of a Blue Economy may birth sea grab, beyond the coastal land grab and make ocean-dependent communities see red.”