Tag: earthquake

Massive infrastructure development and boom in property business across the country over some decades have resulted in increased hunger for sand, an essential material in building, road and other construction works. There is hardly any road or housing project that does not require a huge volume of this item from foundation to finishing. Even some roofing materials contain sand in various forms.

To assuage the hunger, local and professional sand dredgers as well as multinational firms have devised various means of extracting this essential material from the ocean, streams, rivers and even ponds, mostly without recourse to best practices. Some go the extra mile bringing down mountains and burrowing deeper into the foot of the earth or any other place where sand can be found.

Gone are the days when sand excavation is done by locals who dive to the bottom of the ocean or stream to scoop up bucketful and offload same into canoes or riverbank. The huge appetite for sand means that the conventional method of sourcing it is no longer adequate. These days, dredgers use heavy equipment, which are able to suck sand and other materials from the riverbed in large quantity.

An investigation our correspondent conducted in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states, among others, revealed that sand miners are now found in every nook and cranny as sand dredging is now a multi-billion naira industry and a money spinner that spews millions of naira for operators, even at the long term risk of communities and villages.

Sand excavators are commonplace from the Central Senatorial District of Delta State, through Ox-Bow Lake and around Ecole Bridge (Bayelsa), Emohua and other parts of Rivers to Akwa Ibom states. Hundreds of sand dredgers litter rivers, streams and ponds in the area.

Our finding revealed that the business was given further fillip by the ongoing East-West Road construction project and others like it requiring immense sand-filling of the unfriendly terrain, particularly in Bayelsa and Delta states. The sheer volume of sand required for the 150-kilometre Warri-Port Harcourt axis of the East-West highway led the construction firm, Setraco Nigeria Limited, to award several contracts with irresistible incentives to local dredgers.

In spite of the contract, Setraco is also excavating from every available source along the road. Massive sand moving equipment are deployed by the Lebanese firm to areas that are inaccessible to local operators with limited resources and skill.

Unfortunately, our findings revealed that the activities of sand miners are not regulated despite the probable negative effects on the environment, economies of communities, infrastructure like roads, bridges and houses around the sites, as well as the long term future of the residents of the area. The lack of regulations has resulted in the ease with which every Dick, Tom and Harry is getting involved in the extraction of sand.

Experts express worries

Experts who spoke with our reporter said that although the activities of these operators pose grave dangers in most parts of the country, the Niger Delta region is the most susceptible to disasters and damage to its fragile environment which has been exposed over time to the effects of oil exploration and exploitation.

In Delta State, a former Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Frank Omare, banned unrestricted sand dredging in the state in 2012. The lead was followed by his Bayelsa State counterpart, Dr Sylvanus Abila, who read the riot act to dredgers in the state, following unmitigated dredging.

In Delta, Omare’s directive was part of the recommendations of an ad hoc committee of the Delta State Environment Protection Agency (DELSEPA), headed by a renowned geologist, professional dredger and former staff of the Nigerian Dredging Company, Chief Ken Iwhewhe. Sadly, compliance did not last long before it became business as usual again.

The Association of Sand Miners and Quarries in the state, Mr Adelabu Bodjor, claimed that “members of the union operated under strict ‘internal rules’ and with strict adherence to industry regulations to guard against unhealthy practices that could lead to damage to the environment.”

Iwhewhe, who spoke exclusively with our reporter on sand dredging, lamented the lack of compliance and implementation of the recommendations of the committee, which he led. He warned that continued utter dredging poses grave risks to the region. Explaining the processes of safe dredging, Iwhewhe says it is obligatory for an engineer to visit the site and obtain samples of the soil for laboratory analysis.

He said: “The engineer should be able to confirm the suitability of that burrow pit, depending on the volume of extraction. If you don’t do that, the bank could collapse, because when you dredge too deep, you have to be mindful of the angle of declination.

“The collapse of the bank can affect the vegetation. The houses and everything (around it) will be affected. When you dredge close to civil structures, you are also impairing the lifespan because what they are doing can undermine the integrity,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, an environmental activist at the Niger Delta-based Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice, decried the nonchalant attitude of the ministries of environment both at the federal and state levels.

Like Iwhewhe, Mulade remarked that there is need for comprehensive test of mining site before commencement of operation, adding that environmental impact assessments (EIAs) should be imperative before permits for large scale mining are given.

He said: “You cannot carry out the magnitude of dredging that is going on in some parts of the region without proper investigation of the land structure and texture, because when you continue to dredge the sand you are opening up gaps in the underbelly of the earth, and over a period of time it can lead to serious problems, including erosion and even earthquakes.

“The menace of this business, coupled with the attendant effect of crude oil exploration and exploitation in the region, poses a time bomb that could explode and bring with it a devastating effect not just for the next generation but the present generation. This is a clear and present danger, but unfortunately, nobody is doing anything about it.”

He particularly lamented the unbridled excavations going around the East/West highway by contractors working for Setraco and also by the Lebanese company.

He said: “You can see what is happening at the ongoing construction of East/West Road. Setraco is dredging everywhere and some (burrow pits) are very close to the road. This can lead to erosion that can easily cut off the road within a short time. Dredging activities are done within and without any responsible manner,” he noted.

Chief Iwhewhe and Mulade’s concerns are in tandem with an international report on the effects of unchecked sand mining on the environment by the Ojos Negros Research Group, San Diego State University, Southwest Centre for Environmental Research and Policy. It noted that “excessive instream sand-and-gravel mining causes the degradation of rivers.”

The report circulated at http://threeissues.sdsu.edu/ further declared that “Instream mining lowers the stream bottom, which may lead to bank erosion. Depletion of sand in the streambed and along coastal areas causes the deepening of rivers and estuaries, and the enlargement of river mouths and coastal inlets. It may also lead to saline-water intrusion from the nearby sea. The effect of mining is compounded by the effect of sea level rise. Any volume of sand exported from streambeds and coastal areas is a loss to the system.”

For Mulade, the risks highlighted in the above report are much higher in the Niger Delta region because of lack of initial examination of mining sites before mining operations.

He remarked that “relevant information on the topography of the site, hydrologic and hydraulic materials obtained from the location are needed to know how much sand can be safely removed from the stream or site with very minimal effect on the environment of the area. Without that information, what we have at best is a jump in the dark and because those mining are doing it for profit, they can continue to mine until there is nothing left to extract. They cannot be allowed to regulate themselves as claimed by the union in Delta.

“Some of the effects can be serious erosion, washing away of the riverbank, and even earthquake because coupled with the oil exploitation and exploration activities, the risk is there.

“What is an earthquake really? Earthquake is caused by tremor from underneath the earth and it is also caused by a sudden shift when there is a void. As they are dredging, they are creating space, which needs to be filled by something. When it gets to the extent that the upper crust cannot hold due to the void underneath, it would have to cave in to fill that void and you will have an earthquake.”

Nevertheless, Iwhewhe played down fear of possible earthquake, describing the threat as “remote”. He said: “If you ask me if dredging can lead to earthquake, I will say yes and no. Yes, if you are in a seismic area. There are certain regions where the earth structure is not very stable, so the earth is still likely to slide on each other. So when that tendency is there, you have to be careful. When you dredge in these kinds of area, you are enhancing the possibility of plate tectonics to occur.

“Extraction of oil from the bowels of the earth, yeah, that is a very interesting study because of the earth structure. It is interesting to know that underneath this ground, there is liquid molding, hot liquid under the earth. Before then you have layers. Your oil is in a kitchen that is protected by stratigraphic traps.

“Aquifer are widespread; they don’t have that kind of trap or else oil will flow all over the world. It is the evidence of underground oil traps that leads to oil in some parts of the world. When you extract, there is the possibility that what you are extracting from a particular horizon, you are causing depletion of the composition and components therein and it could lead to collapse. And if it collapses, of course, it leads to land mass movement and that is where there is possibility.

“But it is very remote because as you are extracting, it is being replaced because nature does not allow vacuum. That is the beauty of it. The filling is naturally from the bowel of the earth. All the water, peculations and dirty waters go into the earth; they fill the voids,” he added.

Nevertheless, the renowned geologist conceded that the absence of regulatory bodies and agencies, which have led to sand dredging being done with careless abandon, could unleash serious environmental degradation and flooding.

“The indiscriminate siting of burrow pits is leading to land loss; land that could have been used for some other things are converted to burrow pits, which could become isolated lakes because they have taken away the lands and it could take millions of years for the land to come. In our lifespan it is not possible for the land to come back.

“The ecosystem is destroyed and this is not good for the environment. We can talk on and on but not until government comes up with stiff penalties, guidelines and principles to guide operations of dredging people, we will keep on degrading the environment. In (looking at) the pros and cons, the negative aspect is far more debilitating,” he added.

Taking up the analysis, Mulade called for a probe into how Setraco and others chose burrow pits where oodles of sands were extracted. He said the company should be sanctioned if it is discovered that they did not carry out EIAs.

“If you travel along the road from Warri, Yenagoa to Port Harcourt, you will see that dredging has affected ecosystem, farmlands are destroyed. There will be flood in the area and it will affect communities there. You will see buildings will be affected and their livelihoods damaged and destroyed.

“The life span of the road cannot be guaranteed. I believe within the shortest time there will be erosion on that road and it will not be a durable project. On the long run it will affect the road users and there are instances where there will be loss of lives because of the craters they are opening by the roadside.”

Mulade’s claim could not be independently ascertained and our reporter’s efforts to get the company’s reaction were futile. A request for clarification sent through the company’s website and email was yet to be answered two weeks afterwards.

However, our findings revealed that fishing around the Agbarho River in Ughelli, Delta State is now no longer as profitable as it used to be since dredgers have taken over the area. Fishermen who spoke with our reporter said the humming of the dredgers and the force of dredging probably killed the fishes or drove them out of the area.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, Dr Moses Beckley, recently listed Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa among states that could experience coastal flooding in 2015. He was quoted by NAN as advocating attitudinal changes and measures to help reduce flooding hazards in the states.

But environmentalists and other experts who offered professional advice on the development, said the government must take proactive measures to address the trend of risk putting the entire region and other parts of the country where illegal bunkering are carried out at risk.

Mulade cautioned that apart from flooding and ecological degradation, intra and inter-communal crises could erupt in the future due to land shortage owing to sand dredging.

He said: “There are economic and social effects too. For instance, with farm lands gradually eroding, there could be shortage of land for farm and even building. The cost of refilling lost land would be enormous when it is time for development.

“Look at the land around Osubi Airport near Warri. The land was excavated some years ago, today the land is now a river. It is a choice land and people would eventual need to develop it. But the cost of the land would reduce because of the enormous amount of money needed to reclaim it.”