• Shell in Nigeria

  Wednesday, 25th April 2012

  AMNESTY INTL - SPAIN NMIMMO BASSEY INTERVIEW

  1. The volume of oil discharged by the two major oil spills in August and December 2008 in the Niger Delta was as large as the volume of oil spilt by the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in Alaska in 1989. This accident is considered as one of the worst environmental disasters of all time. Why has the environmental disaster in the Niger Delta never reached the same level of relevance?

  The global neglect of the environmental disasters that oil companies continue to wreak on the Niger Delta is a big scandal. The deafening silence over this level of ecological assault makes some of us reach the conclusion that human and environmental rights are only important when abridged in rich, powerful countries. Where these abuses occur in less powerful nations, especially in far off places, the offending companies earn accolades at home when they haul in their plunder to feed high consumption requirements. No questions asked. It is a replay of the abuses entrenched from colonial past, the  ugly face of imperialism.

• Press Release: BATN investment is no gain to Nigeria, says ERA/FoEN

  Friday, 2nd March 2012

  The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has described as outright lies, claims by British America Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) that its investment in the Nigerian market has beneficial impacts on the Nigerian nation.
  ERA/FoEN said it was necessary to put the facts right following remarks by Managing Director of BATN, Beverley Spencer-Obatoyinbo, at an investment forum on Thursday (March 1, 2012) where she said  the company’s investment initiative in Nigeria had turned out to be a win-win situation for the company and Nigeria as a nation.
  
  BATN had in 2001 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Government to establish a $150 million tobacco factory in Ibadan. Since then, the company has been targeting young Nigerians in a bid to recruit them as replacement smokers. Some of the ways it has successfully done this include: musical concerts, fashion shows and other promotional events like the Secret Smoking Parties that ERA/FoEN alerted the nation to when the events held in Ajegunle and Victoria Island, both in Lagos. 

• New Report Exposes Land Grabbing by the Extractive Industries & the Devastating Impact on Earth

  Wednesday, 29th February 2012

  The rapid global expansion and acceleration of the extractive industries presents an unprecedented & devastating land grabbing threat, claims a new report being launched in Westminster today.  The Gaia Foundation’s report, “Opening Pandora’s Box – A New Wave of Land Grabbing by the Extractive Industries and the Devastating Impact on Earth” has been produced in collaboration with GRAIN, the London Mining Network (LMN) and others. It looks at the global trends, dynamics and impacts of the extractive industries on the planets ecosystems and communities.

  “This report shows clearly how the game has changed over the last decade: the grabbing of land and resources is penetrating ever more deeply into the body of the Earth.  Governments are becoming the shoe-shine boys for the extractive industries. We urgently need to set up an international system that holds those ravaging the planet to account.  This is not Nigeria’s problem, or the Gulf of Mexico’s problem: this is everyone’s problem.  The devastating impact being inflicted on ecosystems and communities must be recognised as international crimes and punished accordingly.  Directors of corporations need to be held accountable for the damage they inflict on the planet.” ...Nnimmo Bassey, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria

• Koluama Pollution: Go Beyond Cosmetic Visit, ERA/FoEN Tells Jonathan

  Monday, 27th February 2012

  The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to demonstrate genuine commitment to tackling the environmental problems in the Niger Delta by going beyond theplanned visit to Koluama community in Bayelsa, impacted by Chevron’s North Apoi inferno,to actually coming up with a comprehensive blueprint on how to salvage and safeguard the environment.
  President Jonathan’s planned visit to Koluama comes after more than a month of outrage from the community and civil society groups over the Federal Government’s strange silence since the Chevron facility fire started raging, polluting the waters and killing aquatic animals including whales and dolphins.

  Koluama community is in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State at the tip of the Atlantic Ocean and the people are mostly fisher-folks who derive their livelihood from the ocean. ERA/FoEN field monitors who have visited the community several times also documented dead fish and testimonies from the community people.The community had in an eight-page address to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Siriake Dickson, on February 20, 2012 demanded Chevron clean up the environment, send relief materials and compensate them for loss of livelihoods, among others.

• Nnimmo Bassey's interview with Democracy Now!

  Wednesday, 7th December 2011

  At Durban Summit, Leading African Activist Calls U.S. Emissions Stance "A Death Sentence for Africa"

  click here to view the interview

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Global and National Resistance to Genetically Modified Organisms :THE PRECAUTIONARY PATH

Our focus in this presentation is on modern biotechnology in crops and animal species. Traditional biotechnology is as old as agriculture and quite harmless. We are not also looking at hybridisation of crops or animals.
A cardinal principle to consider whenever there is to be an intervention that would have impacts on the planet’s biodiversity is what is termed the Precautionary Principle enshrined in the Cartagena Protocol (adopted in 2000) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It requires that at a minimum every nation should exercise a precautionary principle when it comes to the introduction of GE crops or organisms into the environment. In simple terms, this principle requires that we tread the path of caution whenever there is doubt about genetically engineered organisms or products. This protocol deals with living modified organisms (LMOs) that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, It takes “into account risks to human health, and specifically focusing on transboundary movements”. The term "living modified organisms" is what is usually termed genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

With regard to genetically engineered foods and organisms, proponents claim that there is substantial equivalence between the genetically engineered crops and the natural counterparts. Substantial equivalence as the term implies suggests that there is no serious differences between the two groups.
However, this claim is not supported by fact. If the substantial equivalence concept were to be substantiated in fact, there would be no need for patenting of the engineered crops or organisms.

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