A Non-Governmental Organisation, World Igbo Environmental Foundation (WIEF), has lamented the activities of gully erosion in the South-East zone of the country, lamenting that a substantial part of the zone’s landmass has been lost to erosion.
The group said there were over 2,800 active erosion sites threatening to sack most communities in the South-East of Nigeria from their ancestral land.
Chairman of the Foundation, Dr Odili Ojukwu who raised the alarm while speaking with newsmen in Awka on Wednesday, called for community participation in the management and protection of the environment from erosion.
He blamed the prevalence of gully erosion on faulty road construction and drainage systems, adding that people must ensure that development activities in their areas do not result to erosion.
Ojukwu said, “We tried to establish baselines of the causes of erosion and gully issues within the South-East and South-South regions, these are the areas that are most exposed to erosion.
“As we speak, in Anambra alone, there are over 1,000 active erosion sites. In Imo there are about 300, Abia has 500, Enugu, 500 and Ebonyi, 500. So if you aggregate it, you will discover that the entire region is at risk of losing its ancestral land.”
Ojukwu, an environment consultant, added that, “WIEF is saying that every community has their right to protecting their environment; nobody should come into your land to destroy it unless you allow them.
“Communities need to take ownership of their environment that is what will enable them see potential erosion and check it to prevent them from becoming gullies. Climate change is also a factor, but that is after all the anthropogenic issues have been taken care of.”
He blamed government for not having done enough to check erosion as institutions and policies that guarantee sustainable environment were non-functional or lacking.
He said, “Historically, governments have not been able to do much to ensure environmental sustainability; this is also made worse by the I-don’t-care attitude of the people. Our institutions do not work, that is why there are no technocrats who act on issues of environment on constant basis.”
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