MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES IN BAYELSA STATE Oil spill: Its Effects and Consequences An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, is a form of pollution. The term is usually applied to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel) and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil. Oil spill has occurred several times along the Nigerian coast as a result of upsurge in oil exploration and exploitation activities. The causes of oil spillage along our coast are corrosion of oil pipes and storage tanks, sabotage and carelessness during oil production operations. The impacts of spillage on our coastal areas are enormous. Lives have been lost, the coast habitant and ecology have also been destroyed. There have been numerous calls and agitations for resource control by oil producing states in the country. This call has made the Federal Government to give the states the rights to control minerals within 200m bathy lines and the coastlands (Badejo et al, 2004). Biseni Oil Spill Site (2012) Oil spillage has a major impact on the ecosystem into which it is released. Immense tracts of the mangrove forests, which are especially susceptible to oil is being destroyed. An estimated 5 to 10% of Nigerian mangrove ecosystems have wiped out by oil pollution. The rainforest which previously occupied some 7,400 km2 of land disappeared as well. Spills in populated areas often spread out over a wide area, destroying crops and aquacultures through contamination of the groundwater and soils. The consumption of dissolved oxygen by bacteria feeding on the spilled hydrocarbons also contributes to the death of fish. In agricultural communities, often a year’s supply of food can be destroyed instantaneously. Because of the careless nature of oil operations in the Delta, the environmental is growing increasingly uninhabitable. People in the affected areas complain about health including breathing problems and skin lesions; many have lost basic human rights such as health, access to food, clean water, and an ability to work. LOSS OF MANGROVE FORESTS Vegetation in the Niger Delta consists of extensive mangrove forests, brackish swamp forests, and rainforests. The large expanses of mangrove forests are estimated to cover approximately 5,000 to 8,580 km2 of land. Mangroves remain very important to the indigenous people of Nigeria as well as to the various organisms that inhabits these ecosystems. EFFECT OF OIL SPILL ON A RIVERINE COMMUNITY Human impact form poor land management upstream coupled with the constant pollution of petroleum has caused five to ten percent of these mangrove forests to disappear. The volatile, quickly penetrating, and viscous properties of petroleum have wiped out large of vegetation. When spills occur close to and within the drainage basin, the hydrologic force of both the river and tides force spilled petroleum to move up into areas of vegetation. Mangrove forests are included in a highly complex tropic system. If oil directly affects any organism within an ecosystem, it can indirectly affect a host of other organism. These floral communities rely on nutrient cycling, clean water, sunlight, and proper substrates. With ideal conditions they offer habitant structure, and input of energy via photosynthesis to the organisms they interact with. The effects of petroleum spills on mangroves are known to acidify the soils, half cellular respiration, and starve roots of vital oxygen. An area of mangroves that has been destroyed by petroleum may be susceptible to other problems. These areas may not be suitable for any native plant growth until bacteria and microorganisms can remediate the conditions. A particular species of mangrove, Rhizophora racemosa lives higher in the delta system. The loss of mangrove forests is not only degrading life for plants and animals, but for humans as well. These systems are highly valued by the indigenous people living in the affected areas. Mangrove forest has been a major source of wood for local people. They also are important to a variety of species vital to subsistence practices for local indigenous groups, who unfortunately see little to none of the economic benefits of petroleum. Mangroves also provide essential habitat for rare and endangered species like the manatee and pygmy hippopotamus. Courtesy: Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 09:22:12 +0000
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