Environment experts have stressed the need to protect the oceans and inland waterways.
Coordinator of Centre for Environment at Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, noted that the two systems were interconnected, saying one relied on the other for different environmental provisions.
“We need to protect both systems, hence the need for effective coastal zone management that connects inland waterways to oceanic waters,” he said.
He spoke at a Media Roundtable: Strengthening Maritime Policies, Human and Ocean Rights in Nigeria, in Ikeja, Lagos, organised by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).
Zabbey, a professor of Bio-monitoring & Restoration Ecology at University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), said “most environmental impact on waterways are land-based, starting with plastics we use on land and discard indiscriminately into ocean, to pesticides, insecticides, release of toxicants hydrocarbons…
“If there is similar disturbance in the ocean, it also brings back those things into inland areas.”
Media/Communication Lead of HOMEF, Kome Odhomor, said the conference was to enlighten the media on need to protect the environment.
The ocean, according to Director of Programmes, Corporate Accountability & Public Participation (CAPPA), Philip Jakpor, does the following: feeds us; connects us; entertains us, hence our well-being depends on a healthy ocean.”
Advising the government on need to prioritise the Fishing Act, National Programme Officer in United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr. Francis Ominu, said it should strengthen the capacity of National Oil Spill Detection & Response Agency (NOSDRA) through training and funding to monitor and coordinate offshore oil spill response.