By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa

Stakeholders in the Niger Delta have raised fresh concerns over worsening environmental degradation in the region, calling for urgent action to protect coastal communities from the effects of unchecked mining, logging, and sand dredging.

They made the appeal during the Reclaiming Ecological Integrity Project held in Yenagoa, tagged “Frontline Community Partnership and Ecological Healing Dialogue,” organised by Oilwatch.

Speaking at the event, Alagoa Morris, Chief Operating Officer of Environmental Conservation, Agriculture and Rural Development (ECARD), warned that indiscriminate extraction activities, particularly “black sand” mining, were worsening an already fragile ecosystem.

He said repeated calls for shoreline protection had yielded limited response from relevant authorities, urging communities to avoid actions that further damage the environment.

“We have been crying out. It has not been easy to get federal or state intervention agencies to respond,” he said.

Morris cautioned that without proper Environmental Impact Assessments, such activities could destroy shoreline infrastructure, bridgeheads, and livelihoods dependent on the ecosystem.

He described the situation as “self-inflicted damage” when short-term economic gains are prioritised over long-term environmental survival, urging residents to act as environmental watchdogs in their communities.

Quoting Martin Luther King Jr., he stressed the importance of speaking out against environmental harm, adding that silence enables continued degradation.

He also renewed calls for the cleanup and restoration of oil spill–impacted sites in Bayelsa State, referencing recommendations of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission, as well as ongoing remediation efforts in Ogoniland.

Morris further alleged that some oil spill sites were still being set ablaze instead of being properly cleaned, citing recent incidents in the Farzido Lake area of Biseni.

Also speaking, Oilwatch Project Coordinator, Kentebe Ebiariador, lamented what he described as the long-term consequences of oil exploitation in the region, saying future generations have been left with environmental and economic burdens.

He criticised past practices of resource extraction and borrowing against future production, which he said have left many communities without clean air, fertile land, or aquatic life.

According to him, the Niger Delta faces a deep environmental identity crisis, questioning what remains of the region beyond pollution and ecological damage.

A panel discussion chaired by Akpotu Ziworitin of ECARD and the Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) highlighted the severe pollution challenges facing communities in Southern Ijaw, Yenagoa, and Ogbia Local Government Areas.

The dialogue ended with renewed calls for collective action among stakeholders, government, and communities to address decades of environmental damage and begin long-term ecological restoration.

Participants emphasised that immediate action was necessary to prevent further degradation, noting that meaningful recovery would require sustained commitment from all stakeholders.