From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

As world leaders gather in Busan, South Korea, for the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5), the Managing Director of Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), Prince Ebitimi Amgbare has advocated for zero plastic pollution in rivers and coastal areas of the Niger Delta region in southern Nigeria.

Speaking while inaugurating a special departmental implementation committee on “Adopt a River Initiative,” chaired by the Head, Department of Hydrology & Blue Economy, Odes Solomon Sakawi at the NDBDA headquarters in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Prince Amgbare noted that the Department of

Hydrology & Blue Economy remains the core department of the Authority because of its key role in the implementation of the authority’s water resources management and sanitation mandate.

“In the Niger Delta region, our rivers are the lifeblood of our communities, providing water, food, and livelihoods for millions. However, decades of unchecked oil and gas exploration and exploitation have severely degraded our environment, posing significant threats to marine resources, which is the blue economy. Pollution from oil spills, chemicals, and heavy metals has destroyed mangroves, contaminated soil, and harmed human health in the region.

According to Prince Amgbare, the call to action was in support of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting in Busan, South Korea to finalize the text of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, adding that the Niger Delta region, with its rich biodiversity and economic significance, must be protected from the harmful effects of plastic pollution.

Also speaking, the Inter-governmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) Ocean Ambassador and project technical partner on the “Adopt a River Initiative, Ms. Rita Solari Inko-Tariah, Founder/CEO of Solari Skills And Entrepreneurship Development Centre, informed the Managing Director of NDBDA that the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5), opened on November 25 in Busan, Republic of Korea to conclude negotiations and finalize the text of the agreement.

Solari Inko-Tariah lamented that the excessive reliance of humanity on the convenience of plastics has resulted in an exponential increase in plastic waste which accumulate in oceans and rivers, jeopardising the lives of future generations, informing that INC-5 follows four earlier rounds of negotiations: INC-1, which took place in Punta del Este in November 2022, INC-2, which was held in Paris in June 2023, INC-3, which happened in Nairobi in November 2023, and INC-4, held in Ottawa in April 2024.

Earlier, the chairman of the departmental implementation committee on “Adopt a River” Initiative and Head, Department of Hydrology & Blue Economy, Engr. Odes Solomon Sakawi had briefed the Managing Director of the activities of the committee which include, visits to traditional rulers, local government chairmen, schools, roadshows and media briefings, culminating in the official launch of specific rivers in Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta States.

Other members of the committee include Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr. Victor Berezi (rtd), Choice Bekanwa and Nwode Ifeanyi Nwali. The high point of the visit was the presentation of the appointment letter to Rita Solari Inko-Tariah as Project Technical Partner to the NDBDA on “Adopt a River Initiative” by the Managing Director, Prince Ebitimi Amgbare.