Nneka Nwogwugwu
Mangrove conservation has been identified as one of the ways women from the Niger Delta can make a good source of living for themselves.
Mangroves at Kono, Rivers state
Mangroves are tropical plants that are adapted to loose, wet soils, salt water and being periodically submerged by tides. They are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone.
Known as ngala in Ijaw communities, the mangroves have great benefits to the environment which include, stabilisation of the coastline, reduction of erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides. The intricate root system of mangroves also makes these forests attractive to fish and other organisms seeking food and shelter from predators. As important as the benefits of mangroves are to the environment, mangroves are facing great threats to their existence.
The movement for mangrove conservation and its value
The World bank in a report revealed that 35% of the world’s mangroves have been lost since 1980.
Mangroves or ngala at Kono, Rivers state
The advocacy for mangrove conservation which started over a decade ago has resulted in decline in the intense degradation of the mangrove. Carbon stored in the plants and soil of coastal marine ecosystems is often referred to as “blue carbon,” and mangrove forests are some of the richest ecosystems for blue carbon on Earth. When mangroves are degraded or destroyed, their carbon is released as carbon dioxide and contributes to global climate change.
International organisations like the Conservation International, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO have set up the Blue Carbon Initiative (BCI), to focus on mitigating climate change by conserving and restoring the world’s coastal marine ecosystems, including mangroves.
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has joined global organisations to advocate the end to mangrove loss. The NCF has created awareness through its Green Recovery Nigeria Initiative, while focusing on restoration of the mangroves and reclaiming the desert. The Nigerian government has also kick-started a National Mangrove Restoration Project that will deliver environmental and sustainable livelihood benefits for people in the Niger Delta region.
Maintaining livelihood from Mangrove conservation in the Niger Delta
There is no doubt that the Niger Delta is the most hit when it comes to issues related to environmental degradation.
Kono Fishermen
The coastline communities over the years have suffered oil pollution, pipeline vandalism, oil theft and mangrove degradation. In an outreach carried out by renowned environmentalist Dr Nnimmo Bassey in 2021 at Kono Community in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, many fishermen lamented how the mangroves which usually aid fishing activities have been destroyed as a result of the activities of wood loggers.
The women also narrated how picking periwinkles made some money for them in the past but presently, they can’t even pick one full custard bucket in a day.
To intensify the advocacy in the Niger Delta, environmentalist, Dr Emem Okon, has identified numerous ways people in the Niger Delta can make money from mangrove conservation.
Dr Emem Okon
She focused her advocacy on Niger Delta women, whom she affirmed are vulnerable to the effects of climate change especially with regards to their means of livelihood. Highlighting these significant benefits of mangrove conservation, Dr Okon, who is the Executive Director of Kebektache Women Development and Resource Centre in an exclusive interview on 12th October in Port Harcourt, said that mangrove conservation generates means of livelihood for women.
She said that these means of livelihood include making money through picking periwinkles, fishing and getting other sea foods for sales. Others include, fuel generation, dying, serve as medicine, used for fencing and for building because termites hardly use it. She also added that mangroves protect the seashore, serve as a source of food and act as wind barrier.
She decried how felling mangroves for timber market has contributed a lot in affecting means of livelihood of women in the Niger Delta.
She said oil exploration in the Niger Delta has contributed to the destruction of the mangroves, hence affecting the livelihood of people. Further she noted that her organisation has embarked on serious advocacy on mangrove conservation which began with the training of communities on wildlife conservation and protection.
Speaking on what informed the training, she said, ‘the interest in mangrove conservation is essential to conserve the mangrove in the Niger Delta.
Speaking on more ways women can make money, she said international organisations are now paying rural dwellers for mangrove conservation.
She said, “we now have carbon footprints where you will be paid carbon credits if your forest is conserved. Further benefits of mangrove conservation according to Dr Okon is ‘These mangroves have been there and they contribute more to capturing carbon from the atmosphere. Conserving mangroves will help to address issues of climate change and make the environment cleaner.
