Niger Delta women, others task state govts on ecological funds

As the cases of flooding, erosion, shrinking yields, decreasing farm lands, polluted water ways, deforestation, coastal sea rise, lost of livelihood as a result of unregulated oil and gas exploration and the impact of climate change continued to persist in communities, the Women Climate Assembly has called on the various sate governments to deploy the ecological funds judiciously to tackle and ameliorate the impact of climate change, especially on communities across the Niger Delta and beyond.

The Women Climate Assembly dropped the hint in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, after a 3-day conference with the theme: ” Promoting Women Critical Role In Climate Mitigation Initiative.

The event, facilitated by Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, the Amazon Forest Community Women Brazil and Women Africa Alliance among others explained that state governments should use the ecological funds for the citizens especially now that there are numerous hazards from climate change and the women both farmers and fisher folks are suffering from the hash conditions arising from the environmental degradation from fossil fuel exploitation and exploration over 70 decades.

In an interview with journalists shortly after the event, the Executive Director of Kebekache Women Development and Resource Centre, Emem Okon said that the Women Climate Assembly was a forum to share experience and exchange ideas on the upcoming event of Conference of Parties ( COP) 30 on how they can negotiate with authorities, noting that the effect of crude oil on women is devastating and investigation have revealed that many women from Otuabagi have oil in their veins.

She further explained that the report from Bayelsa State government also showed that many people are living with oil in their blood, saying that the group will soon conduct another research in Ibeno in Bayelsa State.

“We are suffering from food security, due to climate change, flooding is affecting our farms and there is no assistance from government,” she said.

The Executive Director told journalists that the gathering of the women brought about local solutions to tackle climate change since the women were trained on renewable energy, agroecology but warned against GMO crops.

“We need support from government and the corporations that polluted the environment; let them bring the money to us, because we are not benefiting from oil proceeds,” she stated.

In her contributions, Carolina de Mavia from the Amazon, Coidillivia Institute, Brazil said that they were part of the global Alliance with Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, noting that the conference is to build solidarity, collaboration and common strategy and to share experience from the women of Niger Delta.

“We are seeing some similarities, the exploitations that happens in the communities are same but we have different situation,” she said.

On the outcome of the visit to the Niger Delta, she stated that the women were preparing to attend COP30 in Brazil soon, saying that the women will unite to fight for feminist climate justice all over the World.

“We want to stop the companies that are causing climate change and climate crisis all over the world; we need remediation in our various communities, government continue to get more money while the communities get more pollution, all these monies don’t get to the communities,” she said.

In her speech, one of the Board members of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Bridget Osakwe said that the women gathered together to prepare for COP30 since all the women can not attend and they also discussed about food security, insecurity on the farms, climate change impact and mitigation, debt recovery, reparation in relation to climate and remediation in the various polluted communities and by next year, they will ask what each and everyone have done, so everybody should take responsibility.

Representative of person living with disabilities, Blessing Chimemere said they fall on vulnerable side of the climate change. She stressed that those with disabilities must build resilience despite the challenge of climate change facing them and they will strive hard to live because they need to live with the vulnerability and seek for new livelihood to survive the hash condition.

In a communique presented at the event, the women made the following demands: that government should provide concrete solution to climate change, government should promote re-forestation and protect coastal communities from sea rise, women should be included in climate policy, government should create funds for women, oil companies should end pollution and gas flares, communities should benefit from renewable energy, while communities should be encourage on traditional conservation practices, states should use ecological funds for citizens during hazards, and farmers should be protected from bandit, among others.