HYPREP Empowers 2,000 Ogoni Youths Through Shoreline Remediation Training
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP has commenced the training of over 2,000 Ogoni youths on shoreline remediation, mangrove restoration, and oil spill response, who will serve as community workers and support staff to 34 shoreline contractors handling the complex polluted sites in Ogoniland.
The training which is facilitated by the International Maritime Organisation, and IMO-certified companies, is a prerequisite for workers in marine environments and it is bothering on oil spill response, safety, and equipment handling, among others.
Addressing the beneficiaries in Kpor, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, assured that the ongoing cleanup will follow international best practices, even if it will be a lengthy process.
Zabbey said training was also a part of sustainable livelihood because the certificate and the clean-up experience the trainees would get, will empower them for life as they can work in any shoreline oil spill site anywhere in the world since the training was IMO-certified, while urging the beneficiaries to take the training seriously.
He noted that HYPREP project sites were scattered all over Ogoniland such as the Ogoni Environment and Restoration Centre, Ogoni Specialist Hospital, 39 remediation sites, and 40 water project sites which were also promoting sustainable livelihood for the people of Ogoni.
He said, “The clean-up we are doing in Ogoni is people-centered, it’s inclusive and following international best practices. Despite the lengthy process, we will stick to international best practices.
“For you to qualify to work in wetland, creek, and shoreline, you need IMO certification I and II, and because this is an international training, it’s only organizations that have IMO accreditation that can facilitate this training, so I want to urge you to take the training very seriously, you have to participate actively in every bit of this training from the classroom to the components in the field, by the time you finish this training stage and you are deployed to the field to support our 34 shoreline contractors, then you will further deepen your understanding and experience on shoreline clean up so that when you combine the experience you have acquired and the certificate that you would be awarded, it will prepare you for not just our clean up but for the cleanup of this entire country.
“The clean-up is sustainable; it’s going to be people’s people-centred and that’s why we have men and women here. We are promoting women’s participation, and social inclusion and we are adopting international best practices in our clean-up of Ogoniland. We are also currently training 5,000 youths in 20 different skill areas to empower them to earn their livelihood and be productive because one of the key objectives of HYPREP is to promote and restore sustainable livelihood.”
Zabbey also visited the Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori where he met with the Rector and urged the management of the institution to leverage HYPREP project sites to train and strengthen their students’ capacity in engineering, geosciences, environmental sciences, civil works, etc.
The HYPREP boss further interacted with seven shoreline communities and stakeholders in Gokana, within the mangrove value chain which includes those who fish and harvest mangroves as a source of energy, to understand their expectations and include them in HYPREP planning towards a successful mangrove restoration project.
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“This is a kind of pilot over an area of over 460 hectares and in every sustainable mangrove restoration, a precondition is for the initiator to speak with the local people especially those who rely on the mangrove for their livelihoods.
“We are doing this because when we are done with the restoration, it will take many years to monitor the return on ecosystem goods and services by the mangrove we have planted and HYPREP’s role in Ogoni is not indefinite, so it’s the community people that will join us to plant the mangroves, join us in monitoring the performance of the mangroves even when we have left Ogoni.”
