By Josiah Egbilika
The Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) in its bid to restore mangrove in Rivers State, has created Community Mangrove Restoration Vanguard in Kono, Khana Local Government Area and Rumuolumeni in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria.
The community vanguard is an initiative of CEHRD aimed to Fasttrack mangrove restoration through community monitoring, security and protection. The Vanguards were created to safe guard mangroves in the target communities. They have the responsibility to ensure that mangrove seedlings, nurseries and matured mangroves are protected from destroyers.
The creation of the Community Mangrove Restoration Vanguards in the two communities becomes a roadmap and precepts for Rivers State, Niger Delta and the entire Nigeria. The initiative will help to ensure that Mangroves all over the nation are protected. This way, communities own their resources, seek for sustainability measures towards protecting the mangroves.
The advantages of protecting mangroves can never be over emphasized. Presently, biodiversity life in the Niger Delta has been on the decline. CEHRD in its engagement with community members and in a documentary on “Stilt Roots Stories” focusing on Fisherfolks in Kono and Bundu communities in Rivers State reveal that aquatic lives that could been seen in a close range are no longer in existence.
Community members complain of the difficulties in fishing these aquatic lives, a situation which was not the case past years. Underscoring a reason for the decline is the fact that the biodiversity habitats have been destroyed by oil spill, destruction of mangrove and invasive species like nipa-palms.
This therefore enhances the need to restore lives through restoring mangroves which will result towards restoring biodiversity, thus, enhancing the livelihood of communities and of course, the life expectations of Nigerians.
CEHRD therefore, calls on the government, Federal, State and Local Government to imbed this feat in their programmes to create Local Government, State and Federal Mangrove Restoration Vanguards through mandating communities to create Community Mangrove Restoration Vanguards. The feat foster growth and security towards restoring biodiversity in the nation.
#CEHRD
#GEF-SGP
#UNDP