ERA/FoEN take credit for 3000 global reports on ‘field monitoring’

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

The Environmental Rights Action (ERA) and Friends of the Earth (FoEN) has taken credit for over 3000 Environmental field monitoring reports on global Environmental safety and regulations 27 years after the Organization was founded.
The Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo disclosed this during the training Environmental Field Monitoring and Reporting on Thursday in Benin City, Edo State Capital.
He boasted that non of the evidence based findings and recommendations of ERA/FoEN including oil spills and gas flaring has never been controverted by any prescribed authority or the Government, a development which has earned the Organization a global reputation.
Ojo lamented however identified “the absence of Environmental reporting as one of the reasons why there is low level of awareness on Environmental issues in Nigeria.
He further stated that “most oil Companies are not willing to develop areas where they have either explored or finished exploration of natural resources, citing the famous Oloibiri well in Bayelsa State where crude oil was first discovered in Nigeria as a bad example.
The resource person at the event, Mr John Isah who gave a talk on waste Management in Edo State, said only 5 per cent of waste generated in the State.
He said the Government had also encouraged the private sector in waste Management for improved service delivery.
He said the State Government has also reclaimed some gully sites through land fills while most of the dump sites have been remodelled with well paved roads across the Metropolitan Areas.
Isah who is also the Managing Director, Comp-Pros systems Limited, said the State Government made much progress in reclaiming gully sites.
He stated further that Edo State Government still rely on Scavengers in separation of waste unlike other developed climes where colour sorting of waste is practised with the use of advanced technology.
“We have people who are scavenging. They pick out things that are considered useful for recycling in.
“Less than 5 per cent of the waste generated here today are recycled “
“Dump site management is challenging in Edo State especially during the wet season. So, what we did was to open up the system for the private sector to come in”, he said.
A guided tour by a cross session of the participants at the Workshop to a dump site in Utekon Village, Ovia North East Local Government of the State revealed an unpleasant sight.
Some Scavengers were seen at the sand fill which was adopted as a case study, labouring to create a pathway for dump trucks.
Over 200 youths attended the Workshop which is aimed at building the capacity of Nigerian youths on Environmental Field Monitoring and Reporting.
Our Correspondent reports that a similar training worship would hold in Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta States soon.