In 2011, a ground-breaking report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on oil pollution in Ogoniland highlighted the devastating impact of the oil industry in the Niger Delta and made concrete recommendations for clean-up measures and immediate support for the region’s devastated communities.
Now, nearly ten years later, a new report published Thursday by Friends of the Earth Europe, Amnesty International, ERA and Milieudefensie, details Shell’s failure to implement the “emergency measures” laid out by UNEP and says only 11 percent of contaminated areas in the Niger Delta have begun the clean-up process.
Titled “No Clean-Up, No Justice,” the new report explains that for “more than five decades, the people of Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta, have struggled against oil pollution, destruction of the environment and human rights violations.”
According to estimates, Shell Oil has dumped an estimated nine to 13 million barrels of crude oil into the Niger Delta since 1958.
“Oil and gas extraction has caused large-scale, continued contamination of the water and soil in Ogoni communities,” said Friends of the Earth in a statement. “The continued and systematic failure of oil companies and government to clean up have left hundreds of thousands of Ogoni people facing serious health risks, struggling to access safe drinking water, and unable to earn a living.” Read more…
