The Social Media as a Platform for Creating Environmental Awareness in

the Niger Delta Region

By Idumange John1

iduagreen@yahoo.com; 07039103572

Being a paper presented at the 3rd Environment Outreach Magazine Public

Lecture & Environmental Awards

Theme: The Petroleum Industry in Nigeria and the Niger Delta Environment:

Blessing or Curse?

Venue: Conference Hall of Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) Effurun, Delta State

Date: Friday September 28th 2012

The environment and the economy are really both two sides of the same coin. You cannot sustain the economy if you don’t take care of the environment because we know that the resources that we use whether it is oil, energy, land … all of these are the basis in which development happens. And development is what we say generates a good economy and puts money in our pockets. If we cannot sustain the environment; we can’t not sustain

ourselves.” WANGARI MAATHAI2

Introduction:

The aphorism that man shall not live by bread alone appears to have gained wide acceptance, but the most fundamental reality is that man cannot live without bread. Therefore man’s economic activities in his immediate environment have brought about improved living conditions. There is an inextricable nexus between the environment and the economy, human development and happiness. God created the earth with unmatched infinite creative artistry designed the living and non-living components of the environment to exist in perfect

1 I dumange John is the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Bayelsa State on Research & Social Media. Idumange

is a Fellow of the following institutes: Association of Certified Commercial Diplomats, London, Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria, ICEN; Institute of Public Management, Nigeria & Certified Institute of Management, Nigeria. He is a ranking member of the following Professional bodies: Nigerian Institute of Management; Certified Institute of Business Analysis; Institute of Strategic Management of Nigeria, the Nigerian Union of Journalist, NUJ; International Law & Diplomacy Association and many others 2 The Kenyan environmentalist was the first African woman to win the coveted Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Sometimes described as the "Tree Lady," the 71-year-old was at the forefront in empowering rural women through her Green Belt Movement to plant trees to save the planet.

harmony. Man’s activities have negatively shifted this ecological balance thus threatening his own very existence on the planet. On a global scale, the universal environmental problems are threatening the human population are becoming worrisome. Practices such as improper disposal of household refuse, open-air disposal of sewage waste forming sewage lagoon, flooding brought about by poorly designed or blocked drainage, the frequent Discharge of untreated industrial effluent, including gas and oil spillage have assumed very frightening dimensions.

I believe there is no conference that is more fundamental than one which has direct bearing on our culture, our heritage and our environment without which human survival would not be possible. Only a couple of days ago, the Social media was awash with a litany of stories verging on flood cutting off Lokoja Road, disrupting the free flow of vehicular traffic for days; the not-too-distant flood disaster in Lagos which swept away humans and animals, property and habitations, and the 6 hour downpour in Port Harcourt- which led to the collapse of a flyover at the Elekahia- Air force axis. Now, a huge part of Bayelsa State was submerged only two days ago. Here and there, the flood disaster has become a national emergency. The list of such gory reports on flood, sitting, earth tremor largely occasioned by seismic activities of oil companies, the endless infernos of hell we call gas flares; the surging ocean waters , the savagery of endless discharge of sewage into marine life and frequent oil spillage-and its attendant depletion of biodiversity and degradation of the environment , one thing is sure: climate change is taking place because the ozone layer is being depleted and this is a catastrophic threat to our generation. We are indeed racing against time.

Let me most sincerely thank the organizer of this Conference and the publishers of The Envrronment Outtreach News Magazine for their resilience, focus and tenacity of purpose. The organizers deserve more than our thanks because they engage in an endeavour that seeks to address our present challenges but also aims at sustaining our collective survival as a people- our human race. It was against the background of the significance I personally attach to this event that I had to plead with my daughter to attend this event that event at the cost of celebrating her 8th birthday today. Indeed my daughter and I share 28th September as our birthday.

The theme of today’s Lecture “The petroleum industry in Nigeria and the Niger Delta Environment: Blessing or Curse” is an old wine put in a new bottle in the light of contemporary events in the Nigerian State? The theme is apt because in several permutation, the raging controversies related to onshore/ offshore dichotomy, derivation, the push for the abrogation of obnoxious laws such as the petroleum Acts of 1969- as amended; the Land Use Act of 1978 as amended; and other contentious issues like the Local Content Law, its scope and application; the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB; and Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative , NEITI, These issues touch the solar plexus of our national survival as 95% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange derives from crude oil. Successive administrations have not demonstrated robust political will to diversify the nation’s economy by investing in tourism development and agriculture to create jobs opportunities. There is hope that this aspiration may not be long in coming.

The Niger Delta Region

The Niger Delta Region (NDR) situated in the southern part of Nigeria and bordered to the south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the East by Cameroon, occupies a surface area of about 112,110 square kilometres. It is then third largest wetland in the world - the Mississippi Pantanal being the first and second respectively. The area represents about 12% of Nigeria’s total surface area. It is the third largest wetland in the world. (NDES, 2005)3. Since 1956 when crude oil was struck in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State, the Region has acquired increased economic and strategic significance.

The NDR is characterized by widespread poverty with about 70% of the population on or below the poverty line. The pervasive morass of poverty is partly attributable to low the level of industrialization and the activities of oil corporations, which have adversely affected subsistence fishing and farming. Infant mortality is estimated to be 20% which is among the highest in the world. Transportation is inadequate and being hampered by a poor road network and difficult conditions especially in the riverine areas. While there is absence of electricity supply in many riverine areas, telecommunication facilities are in acute short supply. A conspicuous feature of the NDR is the inadequate health and education facilities, poor waste management culture, compounded by the frequent environmental pollution exacerbated by the activities of oil companies. These harsh conditions provide a fertile ground for social unrest, conflict and instability.

In his “Economies of Violence: Governable and ungovernable spaces in an oil nation” Michael Watts4 chronicles how the vile trinity of naked aggression, genocide and the violent law of the corporate frontier conspired to bear out the fearsome dialectics of blood and oil. Earlier Anderson (2001) posits that the power of fossil fuel and the politics of the capitalist West when he said “blood may be thicker than water, but oil is thicker than either”5. The seemingly interminable violence and instability that characterize Nigeria’s treasure trove lends credence to the aforementioned assertion.

The oil producing Niger Delta Region (NDR) faces serious socio-economic and environmental challenges .Some of these challenges include:

Widespread poverty with about 70% of the population on or below the poverty line A very low level of industrial development Unemployment Poor health and 20% child mortality rate, amongst the highest in the world Inadequate transportation structure with movement and access to settlements being

hampered by a poor road network and difficult conditions especially in the riverine areas Absence of electricity supply in many riverine areas and regularly/frequently interrupted

supply in Urban Areas Poor telecommunications A shortage of land for development

3 Niger Delta Environmental Survey conducted in 2005. 4 ‘Michael Watts (2003). Economies of violence: Governable and ungovernable spaces in an oil Nation (Nigeria) a paper delivered to the comparative politics workshop, University of Chicago, Nov. 18 5Perry Anderson (2001). New York Times, 14 October, 111 p.1

Inadequate health and education facilities Ineffective waste management and inadequate sanitation facilities Social restiveness and conflict

Improper disposal of household refuse

Open –air disposal of sewage waste forming, sewage lagoon. Flooding brought about by poorly designed or blocked drainage

SOURCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLUTION

Household Solid Waste: This source of pollution appears to be the most physical manifestation of poor environmental control in this country. A survey of major cities in Nigeria shows that most municipal authorities have little or no dexterity in managing solid waste. The result is that cities are littered with bagged or heaps of refuse.

Flooding: Flooding is a direct result of lack of well-designed drainage system or blockage of

existing ones. The poor drainage system in our cities is a sharp indication of major shortcoming inherent in our urban planning system.

Sewage Lagoons: Open-air disposal of sewage results in sewage lagoons. Sewage lagoons are

meant to be treated, in most case gases and liquids derived from such treatment are recycled for use. Treatment and recycling of sewage is non-existent in this Country, thus sewage sites not only degrade the environment but constitute potential risk to community health.

Desert Encroachment: Desert encroachment to a certain extent is a natural phenomenon.

However, human perturbation of the environment by depletion of forest resources has contributed to a large extent in speeding up this natural process. The use of firewood by the rural populace is known to be a major factor to desertification. This means that any plan to conserve the natural forest must offer the rural populace an alternative source of fuel.

Oil – Field Brines and Oil Spillage: Production of Oil and gas is usually accompanied by

substantial discharge of wastewater in the form brines. Constituents of brines include sodium, calcium, ammonia, boron, trace metals, and high total dissolved solids (TDS). Oil spillage is a result of leakage of hydrocarbon from the pipes.

Summary of Environmental Challenges in the NDR

S/N Environmental Challenges Recommendations

1 Frequent Oil Spillages Environmental Impact Assessment and sustainability appraisals of all programmes and projects. Inventorisation of impacted sites and appropriate remediation

2 Exploration activities have contributed to the loss of biodiversity. The challenge is to protect the biodiversity and ecosystems and preserve the natural heritage of the Niger Delta Region. To give priority to the protection of areas that are of international importance or

Preserving indigenous, rare, exoticand endangered species and enhanced management of Non-Timber Forest Products.

To ensure sustainable use and conservation of land, forest, wildlife, fisheries and water resources.

designated at the national level

3 Gas Flaring. The NDR holds unenviable position of the highest gas flaring zone in the world.

Air Quality Management; Subscribe to the Kyoto Protocol

4 Erosion and loss of useful land To incorporate environmental considerations in all policies and programmes for the Niger Delta

5 Lack of clear understanding of the delicate Niger Delta ecosystems

To support environmental research and monitor environmental quality and the use of natural resources and report regularly on regional environmental conditions and trends

6 Weak Law Enforcement Agencies To enforce all relevant laws and regulations pertaining to the natural environment and involve all stakeholders in the enforcement of regulations and strengthen their enforcement capabilities

7 Rising sea levels and seasonal flood regimes

To guide or encourage others to guide development away from areas at risk from rising sea levels and serious flood damage. Put in place an effective coastal zone management and shore protection programme

8 Lack of capacity and appropriate technology to manage the environment

Flood and Erosion management through appropriate capacity building programme, to strengthen the decision making, legal, institutional and technological capacities of the public, private and NGO sectors for achieving sustainable development and to promote and engage in international, national and regional cooperation on environmental and natural resources management and sustainable development

9. Low level of awareness on environmental issues

To increase public information, education and participation on environment and development issues

10 Illegal lumbering, felling of trees and dredging during oil exploration activities

To ensure equitable and sustainable use of the environment and natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations

11. Contamination of water quality as a result of frequent discharge of industrial effluents and sewage into rivers, creeks and streams

Water Quality Management and Environmental Education at all levels re-stocking of fish population in rivers and streams

12. The abundance of water hyacinth and spread of nypa palm

Priority will be given to programmes for the clearance of water hyacinth and other aquatic weeds and limiting the spread of Nypa Palm. The management of opportunistic species in general should be given priority

The general perception is that the federal government is deliberately opportunistic in matters concerning the development of the oil rich region. The leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force: Dokubo Melford Goodhead aptly captured the situation thus:

The Niger Delta is a conquered territory. It is a place of ruthless internal colonization; it is

a place where the gun, the tanker, the battleship, and the marauding war planes of the

nation are always at the ready to deal destruction and death. The Niger Delta ware

planes of the nation are always at the ready to deal destruction and death. The Niger

Delta is the festering sore of the nation…The Niger Delta is a beggar by the road side. The

Niger Delta is a person raped and left for dead in a dark alley. It is a place of deepest

sorrow6

Global Efforts at Environmental Sustainability:

In September 2000, 189 countries gathered at the United Nations in New York to conceive and sign the Millennium Declaration, a consensus agreement built around eight development targets to be met worldwide by 2015. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member States and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. These targets, or Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), include the elimination of extreme poverty and hunger; universal primary education; reduced maternal and child mortality; gender equity; increased access to healthcare, water, and sanitation; protection of the environment; and global partnerships. Many countries, like Nigeria, fully embraced the MDGs as operational targets around which to mobilize and focus their development agendas7

The goal that of environmental sustainability can be achieved by establishing a synergy at all levels of government in order to create necessary regulations for business developments and create a concern in the general population by educating them on the benefits of going green and staying green. Environmental sustainability is critical to the success of other programs in Bayelsa State.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources

Target 7B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss

Proportion of land area covered by forest

CO2 emissions, total, per capita and per $1 GDP (PPP)

Consumption of ozone-depleting substances

Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits

Proportion of total water resources used

Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected

Proportion of species threatened with extinction

The U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), commonly known as the Earth Summit, was held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. It was attended by Government representatives from 178 countries were present. Efforts during UNCED to negotiate an Earth Charter - an environmental bill of rights delineating the principles for economic and

6 Dokubo Melford Goodhead (2005). “The condition of the Niger Delta: The Battle for social justice and the soul of a Nation” godhead@u.washington.edu. June 16th Thursday, 2005 p. 7 Hulme, D. and Scott, J., 2010, "The Political Economy of the MDGs: Retrospect and Prospect fro the World's Biggest Promise", New Political Economy, 15(2), pp.293-306

environmental behavior of peoples and nations - ultimately produced the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Other major documents resulting from UNCED were Agenda 21, a statement on Forest Principles, and two conventions: one on Climate and another on Biodiversity.

The Rio Declaration is a statement of 27 principles upon which the nations have agreed to base their actions in dealing with environment and development issues. While they are non-binding, these agreements do express the concern that progress on environment and development issues will not be made at the government level alone but through collective efforts and partnerships.

The first Principle of the Earth Summit stipulates that “Human beings are at the centre of concern for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature”. The 7th Principle which bothers on State Cooperation to protect the eco system further savers that States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial

resources they command”

The next effort by the global community is The Kyoto Protocol, which is an is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty intended to bring countries together to reduce global warming and to cope with the effects of temperature increases that are unavoidable after 150 years of industrialization. The provisions of the Kyoto Protocol are legally binding on the ratifying nations, and stronger than those of the UNFCCC.

The goal of the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Compared to the emissions levels that would occur by 2010 without the Kyoto Protocol, however, this target actually represents a 29 percent cut. The Kyoto Protocol sets specific emissions reduction targets for each industrialized nation, but excludes developing countries. To meet their targets, most ratifying nations would have to combine several strategies, some of which include:

place restrictions on their biggest polluters

manage transportation to slow or reduce emissions from automobiles make better use of renewable energy sources—such as solar power, wind power, and

biodiesel—in place of fossil fuels

Countries that ratify the Kyoto Protocol agree to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs and PFCs. The countries are allowed to use emissions trading to meet their

obligations if they maintain or increase their greenhouse gas emissions.8 One of the reasons the KYOTO PROTOCOL has been rubbished is because the highly industrialized nations are the worst offenders.

The topic of global warming inspires heated debates among world leaders, industry representatives, and environmentalists. While there is a strong consensus in the scientific community that the greenhouse effect is a real phenomenon, and that humans are adding to concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, much remains unknown about the long-term consequences of anthropogenic activity on the climate.

AL GORE had warned long ago that “

Global warming, along with the cutting and burning of forests and other critical habitats is causing the loss of living species at a level comparable to the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. That event was believed to have been caused by a giant asteroid. This time it is not an asteroid colliding with the Earth and wreaking havoc: it is us.9

Conceptual Framework:

The Resource Curse model adopted in this investigation is the Karl Terry Lynn’s Model. The Resource Curse Concept asserts that when states are oil dependent, they inadvertently create a “rent seeking class”, which feasts on the oil – the “honey pot”. As more and more people depend on the “honey pot for its sustenance, there would be internal cracks because each of the rent seeking mafia would protect its own interest either by way of raising a militia or instigating crisis. The rent seeker would continue the onslaught on the honey pot until they create an “oil trap”. The oil trap once firmly established kills all other sectors of the economy. This situation leads to crisis both within the local “comprador class” and international competitors who would push for favourable investment climate to secure cheap energy.

The oil trap slows down economic growth; creates inequality and high unemployment; high corruption index, governance deficit, weak rule of law, emasculate existing democratic institutions, reinforces a culture of rent-seeking, with severe human rights violations, environmental degradation and greater risks of conflict and war.

It is not the crude oil itself that threatens the economic and political stability of Petro-states, rather it is the political and institutional arrangements that have developed around its

8 In 1990 the U.S. emitted about 6.2 billion tons of greenhouse gases and the goal was to emit 7 percent less than that by 2012. The

actual commitment period ran five years from 2008 through 2012. In order to get some idea of how much the U.S. emitted, let’s add the actual emissions as reported by 2008 and 2009. The figures for the final three years are not yet available, but in 2010 U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide increased 200 million tons. So let’s add that to the 2009 figure and assume that overall greenhouse gas emissions stabilized at that level for the duration.

9 Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It

exploitation for the entire gamut of panoply to “resource curse” to appear, petroleum must be sold in the international market. It is the international character of oil regime and the interaction between the MNCs and their host governments, and foreign financial institution.

The resource course today is not limited to world’s hotspots like Iraq, Indonesia, Sudan, Chad, Colombia and the Niger Delta but also other Countries like Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia. This is precisely the dilemma of oil-exporters, Petro-States suffer from a double perverse effect; their states, formed during the period of oil running, are usually skewed by the imperatives of resource exploitation, but the intensification of the resource dependence accompanying state-building. Again, whatever type of government that is in power are sustained by the oil resources hence such states are either unstable or the leaders spend unnecessarily long tenure of office.

Figure 1: Karl Terry Lynn’s Resource Curse Model

Nigeria is a crude oil mono-culture and a rentier state 10par excellence because it relies exclusively on foreign exchange on crude oil. A rentier state and rentier economy lead to a rentier mentality, which dooms a country’s economy and long-term prospects. The implication is that there is exceptionally high value for oil and a corresponding usually high level of external interventions in shaping the affairs of the country. Essentially, Nigeria has less subject to the internal countervailing pressures. This explains why the conflict in the NDR snowballed into a mini-form of insurgency.

Therefore, the protest we see in the Niger Delta is the external dominance and control of capital and technology in oil exploitation and the connivance with the Nigerian State with the foreign companies instead of bargaining with the local population. The local population suffers from economic exclusion – they do not participate in the ownership, production and enjoyment of their own resources because of an unfair legal regime.

10 The theory of the “rentier state” says that countries that receive substantial amounts of oil revenues from the outside world on a regular basis tend to become autonomous from their societies, unaccountable to their citizens, and autocratic. The theory is used to help explain why Iran, the Gulf States, many African states (Nigeria, Gabon) and other countries (e.g., Netherlands) with abundant resource wealth perform less well than their resource-poor counterparts. The short answer, according to Yates (1), is that a rentier state and rentier economy lead to a rentier mentality, which dooms a country’s economy and long-term prospects.

Petroleum

State

Rent

Seeker

Rent

Seeker

Honey

Pot

Nation & Global

Instability

Collier and Hoeffler (2005) recommended that the resource curse can only abate if oil states take the following steps:

Economic diversification: that is investing the oil revenues in industry, manufacturing and agriculture. This policy option seems to be yielding dividend in Venezuela and Iran but it has not worked in Nigeria.

Establish a Trust Fund with the revenues through natural resource funds. In Norway, there exists the Norway’s State Petroleum Fund or the Alaska Permanent Fund such that these funds are deployed for the development of infrastructure in a transparent manner. In Nigeria, monies accruing to the state above projected revenue are declared as “excess crude oil “funds” and shared among the three organs of government without spilt-over effect on the real sectors of the economy. Only recently, a Sovereign Trust Fund has been established, but whether it will be effective or not is yet another matter

Entrenchment of transparency in government expenditure. The Nigerian hydrocarbon industry is not transparent at all, although Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe; Trinidad – Tobago, Chad, Garbon, Azerbaijan and 51 governments have subscribed to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) template, with domestic civil society and international involvement, Nigeria lacks the political will to implement transparency related issues in the oil industry. However, this could be realized if:

(1). Both host communities and government remove all obstacles to the transparent disclosure and monitoring of the oil sector.

(2). Oil revenues are included in the budget and allocations are made public through the internet, electronic and press and through a variety of consultative fora.

(3). Companies disclose at periodic intervals, all net taxes, fees, royalties and other payments made to oil producing states, including compensation payments and community development funding.

(4). For the International Financial Institutions, there is need to use the transparency criterion as conditionality for the granting of loans and technical assistance to oil states such as Nigeria.

(5) The issue of transparency is so critical that NGO’s and other Civil Society Organizations should assist in building the capacity of major stakeholders to collect and disseminate information, develop a monitoring and evaluation template for the entrenchment of transparency and accountability.

(6) Above all, stakeholders should renounce the tactics of the use of violence as a means of extracting concession from the MNCs.

The Resource Curse may endure for a while because crude oil remains the world’s most valuable commodity. The big players in the oil industry at the global level should reverse the Resource Curse by creating an enabling environment to save the NDR from sliding into the slippery slope of violence and war.

It is estimated that Nigerian Natural Gas produces 35 million tons of Carbon dioxide (C02), and 12 million tons of methane, the highest gas flaring in the world and the biggest single cause of global warming. In 1985 alone, Ogoni land suffered 111 spills and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) document showed that between 1976 and 1999, 2,676 spills were documented.

From 1982 to 1992, shell alone accounted for 1.6 million gallons of spilled oil which constitutes 37% of the company’s spills worldwide11. Indeed, the activities of the oil companies have negatively affected the traditional sources of livelihood of the inhabitants. 12

Table I: Oil spills in the petroleum industry (1976-1996) in Barrels

Year Number of

spills

Qua1ntity s

pilled

Quantity

recovered

Net quantity lost of

Environment

Percentage of

Quantity

lost to

Environment

1976 128 26157.00 7135.05 19021.50 72.72

1977 104 32879.25 1703.01 31176.24 94.82

1978 154 489294.75 391445.00 97849.75 20.00

1979 157 694117.13 63481.20 630635.93 90.85

1980 241 600511.02 42416.83 558094.19 92.94

1981 238 42722.50 5470.20 37252.30 87.72

1982 257 42841.00 2171.40 40669.60 94.03

1983 173 48351.30 6355.90 41995.40 86.85

1984 151 40209.00 1644.80 38564.20 95.91

1985 187 11876.60 1719.30 10157.30 85.52

1986 155 12905.00 552.00 12353.00 95.72

1987 129 31866.00 6109.00 25757.00 80.83

1988 208 9172.00 1955.00 7217.00 78.69

1989 228 5956.00 2153.00 3803.00 63.85

1990 166 14150.35 2092.55 12057.80 85.21

1991 258 108367.01 2785.96 105581.05 97.43

1992 378 51187.90 1476.70 49711.20 97.43

1993 453 8105.32 2937.08 5168.24 63.76

1994 495 35123.71 2335.93 32787.78 93.35

11 Michael Watts (2003). “Economics of Violence: Governable and Ungovernable Space in an oil nation (Nigeria)” op. cit p. 17

12 Greenhouse gases--water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons and ozone--trap heat in

the atmosphere instead of allowing it to radiate back into space, the way glass traps heat in a greenhouse. Except for chlorofluorocarbons, greenhouse gases are natural components of the atmosphere, and the greenhouse effect itself is a

natural phenomenon.

1995 417 36677.17 3110.02 33567.15 91.52

1996 158 39903.67 1183.81 38719.86 97.03

Total 4835 2382373.7 550234.19 1832189.49

Source: Niger Delta Environmental Survey, Phase 1 Report (1997), Vol. NNPC (1997) – Annual Statistical Bulletin

Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. 13

The promotion of environmental awareness is essential, and citizens have a responsibility to take part in improving the environment’s sustainability for the future. A sustainable environment means harmony between humans and nature while not jeopardizing the lives and opportunities of future generations. A focus on environmental sustainability has been increasingly present in the social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

Social media, or new media, refers to the publication and dissemination of media content such as text, images and videos, through online social interactions via highly accessible and scalable publishing platforms such as websites, social networking sites, blogs and media aggregators.

Social media and blogs are important components of journalism. In fact it is a phenomenon that has assumed the momentum of a revolution in Journalism. They narrow the distance between journalists and the public. They encourage lively, immediate and spirited discussion. They can be vital news-gathering and news-delivery tools. It is assumed that most actors and bloggers are journalists who should uphold the same professional and ethical standards of fairness, accuracy, truthfulness, transparency and independence when using social media. Practitioners must always remember that social media postings linger on as online archives. Correct and clarify mistakes, whether they are factual mistakes or mistakes of omission.

A media revolution on the social media sphere is transforming, fundamentally and irrevocably, the nature of journalism and its ethics. This implies that publishing is now in the hands of citizens, while the internet encourages new forms of journalism that are interactive and immediate. Our media ecology is a chaotic landscape evolving at a furious pace. Professional journalists share the journalistic sphere with tweeters, bloggers, citizen journalists, and social media users.

13 Scharl, Arno. Environmental Online Communication. New York: Springer, 2004. Print.

The rapid and pervasive growth of social media technologies and their relative ease of use and availability have made social media a popular form of communication. The world over, a certain trend is emerging. 14

Why the Social Media is Different

Social Media is suitable for creating environmental awareness because it has the advantage of wider reach, easy accessibility, speed, immediacy and usability.

REACH: Both industrial and social media technologies are capable of reaching a global audience. Industrial media, however, typically use a centralized framework for organization, production, and dissemination, whereas social media are by their very nature more decentralized, less hierarchical, and distinguished by multiple points of production and utility.

ACCESSIBILITY: The means of production for industrial media are typically government and/or privately owned; social media tools are generally available to the public at little or no cost.

USABILITY: Industrial media production typically requires specialized skills and training. Conversely, most social media production does not require specialized skills and training, or requires only modest reinterpretation of existing skills; in theory, anyone with access can operate the means of social media production. If anyone can, then most people cannot. This is why the social media is subject to horrendous abuses.

IMMEDIACY: The time lag between communications produced by industrial media can be long (days, weeks, or even months) compared to social media, which is capable of virtually instantaneous responses; only the participants determine any delay in response.

PERMANENCE: Industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is printed and distributed changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas social media can be altered almost instantaneously by comments or editing.

With the popularization of the social media, collaborative efforts at encouraging partnerships in respect of environmental awareness 15

Creating Blogs: The first and the most plausible of the ways to give rise to environmental consciousness amongst the residents of a particular area by creating a blog about the various issues. To begin with the blog posts can be written with regards to the fact as to how water can be conserved in the region.

Facebook: The second Social Media platform that can be utilized up to the zenith is Facebook. This is one social media platform that can be collectively used to discuss numerous environmental issues on a single platform. Not only would this platform garner the opinions of 14 Nicole B Ellison, C. Lampe and N. Steinfield. (2007). The benefit of facebook friends; Exploringthe relationship between college students use of online social networks and social capital.Journal of Computer-mediated comunication , 12 (3), 449-452.OReilly, T. (2005b, 10 10). Web 15 http://www.whitehouse.gov/open/documents/open-government-directive

the people with regards to certain environmental issues being faced by the region, but would also be able to communicate the ways the ways and means in which the people can lend a hand in preserving the environmental vicinity.

This is one platform that not only utilizes the power of words but also that of the various interactive and communicative mediums such as pictures, videos, link sharing etc.This platform can easily be used to spread awareness about issues such as problems of waste management and pollution concerns that are rising, especially at the proximity of new industrial complexes.

Twitter: Is a social media platform can be regarded as the third and the most insightful of the resources that can be tapped to invigorate environmental consciousness. This can be done firstly having a panel of environmentalists residing in Nigeria carry out a twitter discussion on the various environmental issues being faced by the region, and the prospective solutions to those problems.

Youtube: This is another one of the most interactive platforms, available at our disposal to exploit in a variety of ways. This social media platform can be used to address issues such as high ecological footprints which are due largely to the high carbon dioxide emissions. The technicalities associated with the environment can be explained to the people by means of certain videos, where the visual explanation would appeal to the people more than the written theoretical explanations.

Social Book Marking Sites: The social book marking sites can be used to create environmental awareness in a variety of ways. All of the content that is published with reference to the environmental conservation in the use can be posted on to these sites.

The principal categories of social media include but are not limited to:

Blogs: The word “blog” is a composite of “web log”; a website or part of a website that is updated regularly and features commentary and updates on a topic. Example: WordPress, Blogger.

Micro-blogs: A web application that allows micro bursts of text that may also include images and links to other sites and content. Example: Twitter.

Social Networking Sites: An online environment in which you can connect, share and interact

with other users who are typically known to you offline. Example: Facebook.

Media Aggregators: Websites that provide a media publishing platform, wherein images and video can be uploaded and stored. Content may be viewed, shared and commented on by others. Example: YouTube (video) and Flickr (images).

Social Calendars and Events: This refers to the use of social calendaring networks that facilitate the real life (offline) meeting of online networks and communities. Examples: Facebook Events, Tweetups (a meet up of Twitter users).

Social Bookmarking Sites: A website that allows the user to bookmark content of interest

and share it across the social graph. Example: Digg. StumbleUpon.

Wikis: Wikis are websites that can be created and edited collaboratively with others. Example: Wikipedia

Conclusion and Recommendations

According to UNEP, environmental awareness campaigns are most successful when targeted to specific groups or populations. Many people don't pay much attention to environmental problems because they don't understand how the problem would affect them or their lifestyle. In developed countries and urban areas, the use of print, broadcast, and social media can be a great way to increase education and awareness. 16

Information centers can be useful tools to educate both the public and journalists about environmental concerns. Many media outlets may want to increase their coverage of environmental issues, but don't know where to find accurate information. Having a central information clearinghouse that is accessible to social media practitioners will be very useful.

Environmental literacy is also and the Government, NGOs and CBOs can educate the people on environmental issues. Community leaders can help ease communication problems and bridge the cultural divide that often stands in the way of outreach efforts. This is particularly

efficacious when the youthful population is targeted. Thirty percent of the world's population is under the age of eighteen, according to UNEP, which is why educating children and young adults about environmental problems is crucial to long-term success.17 Environmental education can be incorporated into our school curriculum.

As environmental awareness becomes increasingly present in the media, people need reliable

sources to turn to for information about the issues, as well as ideas for how to live a greener

lifestyle. While television is still a very popular news source, the number of people going

online for their news is growing. Now that more than 75 percent of North Americans have

access to go online, the Internet has become an effective tool for disseminating information.

The Internet also allows the public to get news almost instantaneously, often as it is happening. With smart phones and other web-enabled devices, many people are able to take their news with them wherever they go. Quality environmental information should be available to as many people as possible. The social media’s ability to disseminate information can create greater environmental awareness, encourage a free exchange of views, and promote participation and change.

The following recommendations may be taken into consideration.

16 Read more: Ways to Increase Public Awareness About Environmental Problems | eHow.com

http://www.ehow.com/info_8030969_ways-public-awareness-environmental-problems.html#ixzz27j1Ll7Ci 17 Read more: Ways to Increase Public Awareness About Environmental Problems | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8030969_ways-public-awareness-environmental-problems.html#ixzz27j18lBsL

Empower a core group of members of environmental NGOs who will then transfer this knowledge to other environmental associations;

Empower NGOs with skills in public outreach and advocacy for the issues they identify as crucial for environmental issues.

Environmental awareness can be a part of the school curriculum

Specialized training can be given to youths in the use of Social Media tools to do environmental reporting as this will improve our understanding of the environmental.

Strengthen domestic and regional networks among NGOs for mutual support and developing common positions about environmental issues;

Policy making at all levels must factor in environmental awareness and sustainability. This should also imply making ICT a compulsory course in our schools.

Opportunity should be provided for individuals to be actively participating towards the resolution of environmental problems;

to support the development of capacity of African NGOs and associations to respond to environmental issues through improved environmental education processes and training activities;

Nigerians; government and other stakeholders can create blogs, environmental websites and facebook pages that will create more awareness on environmental issues.

Stakeholders can make deliberate efforts to train youths and empower them with starter packs to spend dedicated time to disseminate environment related information and interface with the Space centre, the meteorological centre and the Ministries related to Science and Technology.

There are so many Agencies: Federal and State but there is no proper coordination of these MDAs. While the implementation agencies are weak, the repertoires of laws are often ubiquitous and difficult to enforce. There is also corruption of implementing agencies. When corruption is checked in the oil industry and environmental regulations are enforced including corporate social responsibility, we may have some respite as a nation.

AL Gore delivered a speech at the National Sierra Club Convention, Sept. 9, 2005 and sounded a note

of warning that time is running. He said: “We have many advantages in the fight against global warming, but time is not one of them. Instead of idly debating the precise extent of global warming, or the precise timeline of global warming, we need to deal with the central facts of rising temperatures, rising waters, and all the endless troubles that global warming will bring. We stand warned by serious and credible scientists across the world that time is short and the dangers are great. The most relevant question now is whether our own government is equal to the challenge”

I share the sentiments of AL Gore that on the issues of tackling our environmental challenges in the Niger Delta, time is indeed running out. As a region, we are approaching the precipice of

environmental holocaust. This is fast becoming a reality as evidenced by the loss of bio diversity, oceanification, desertification, deforestation, silting, land erosion and flood. We are fast losing our environment, our heritage and our future. As a nation, we seem to be making concerted efforts but time is actually running out. Today, this moment and now is the time.

You have been most indulgent and I thank you listening.

Idumange John

September 28th, 2012