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In commemoration of this year’s World Environment Day, with the theme ‘Solutions to Plastic Pollution: #BeatPlasticPollution,’ civil society groups in Rivers State, led by Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, on Monday embarked on a road walk, as well as sensitized market women and traders at Mile 1 Abali Park, to raise awareness on the impact of plastic pollution.
The walk, which started from Isaac Boro Park and terminated at the D/Line axis of Port Harcourt, witnessed the participation of other CSOs, such as the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) Rivers State, Pius Dukor Foundation and League of Queens International Empowerment.
In a statement read by Patience Ekong, senior programmes officer at Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, the CSOs said this year’s theme, #BeatPlasticPollution: Solutions to Plastic Pollution, “is a reminder that people’s actions on plastic pollution matter,” adding that “it is time to accelerate actions to address plastic pollution and transition to a circular economy.”
Ekong noted that while solutions to plastic pollution must engage every sector, “the government and local authorities need to drive the change, formulate policies to reduce the production of harmful and unnecessary plastics, incentivize sustainable business practices and invest in better waste management infrastructure. In order to transition enterprises and sectors away from the manufacturing of harmful plastics and toward circular economies on plastics, investors have to play critical roles in raising funds and establishing standards.”
She said that while non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations, and community groups are potent agents of change in society, “We can all influence change by speaking out against plastic pollution and taking actions.
“When plastic is dumped in the environment and interacts with water, very dangerous chemicals are formed. The chemicals affect the quality of underground water. The wind carries and deposits plastic from one place to another, increasing the land litter. When plastics are used, recycled, or disposed of, or left in the environment as litter, they break down and release harmful chemicals. The pollutants are heavy metals and chemicals such as lead, benzene among others that release harmful toxins into our air, water, and bodies.
“Kebetkache particularly calls on the new administration at all levels in Nigeria to prioritize environmental sanitation in public policy and development interventions. We also call on government to mitigate the climate crisis by implementing sustainable solutions to the environmental problems in Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta where the impact of fossil fuel extraction has impacted negatively on the people and their environment,” she said.
Pius Dukor of Pius Dukor Foundation and Sebastian Kpalap, coordinator of Citizens Voice Initiative, representatives of CSOs involved in the walk and sensitization campaign, stressed the harmful impact of plastic pollution on man and the environment.
Echoing the sentiments contained in statement read by Ekong, Dukor and Kpalap expressed belief that the sensitization campaign will help revolutionize the way Mile 1 traders view and relate with plastics and their disposal.
They joined the call on “governments of all states in the Niger Delta to show accountability in the utilization of the 13% Derivation Fund and to prioritize recycling of waste, as critical investments that advances the rights of Niger Delta people and communities, especially women, children, and the elderly. It also calls on the national assembly, relevant ministries and regulatory agencies to hold all international and local oil companies in Nigeria to account for all acts of environmental pollution that foster ecosystem destruction in the Niger Delta.” Two motorists at the Abali Park, Mr Lucky Ihunwo and Akuta Vinima, commended Kebetkache and the other CSOs for embarking on the campaign. They however pointed out that the level of plastic pollution and the blockage of the drains at the market might not be unconnected with the lack of receptacles for refuse. They urged the government to consider channeling the drains from the area (Sangana) towards the Ntawogbe creek.
