In Kenya, a United States-led coalition of governments, conservation groups, industries and scientists Saturday launched a global initiative to fight the $1 billion illegal trade in wildlife. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.
The Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking aims to reduce the demand for endangered wildlife and wildlife parts and to prosecute the poaching and supply of this wildlife.
The U.S. assistant secretary of state for environmental affairs, Claudia McMurray, estimates that the wildlife trade is valued at anywhere from $10 to $20 billion a year.
She says that, in addition to bringing animals, such as tigers and rhinos, to near extinction, the illegal trade also hurts African economies. "It's still a tremendous problem across Africa and around the world. Because there are so many countries in Africa that rely on wildlife for their livelihoods, for tourism in particular, we consider this issue to be extremely significant," she said.
The illegal wildlife trade includes capturing and selling animals, such as cheetahs, for pets, and procuring and selling animal parts, such as tusks and tiger bone.
The group says the trade is often closely linked to organized crime, and follows the same routes as those used to smuggle drugs and people.
Internationally, there are two major conventions that apply to the wildlife trade: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, commonly known as CITES; and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
But, says McMurray, there are shortfalls in the conventions' implementation, particularly the CITES agreement. "It's been very, very strong on the protection side, but then the national governments don't necessarily either have the resources or the expertise to put the teeth in (enforce) those restrictions," she said.
The coalition includes the governments of the United States, Australia, India and the United Kingdom.
Other members include the World Conservation Union, Humane Society International and the World Wildlife Fund.
2007年9月21日星期五
Gray Wolf No Longer Endangered
The gray wolf once roamed from coast to coast and from Alaska to Mexico in North America. It is believed they are second only to humans in adapting to climate extremes. But a century of hunting brought them to near extinction. Now there are more than 5,000 in the United States, not counting a thriving population larger than that in Alaska. After three decades of federal protections, the gray wolf is back. Paul Sisco reports.
The U.S government has taken the gray wolf off the endangered species list.
After a century of shooting, trapping and poisoning by ranchers to protect livestock, wolves were placed under protection in 1974. Steve Norbit, of the National Wildlife Federation, says, "They are not the bad guy. They are not the savior of the wilderness. They are just an animal trying to figure out how to make a living."
Under protection and reintroduced to former habitats, the gray wolf population has come back. Breeding programs at Yellowstone National Park and elsewhere have proved successful. Now, 30 years later, wolf populations in the midwestern United States have recovered enough to end their protected status.
Without federal protections, it is up to individual states to manage populations. That worries environmentalists such as Bill Snade of the Center for Biodiversity. "Already we've seen the state of Idaho propose a $26 permit fee to hunt wolves. That is right out of the gate. I'm sure we'll see other states follow suit."
Alan Ferguson, from Wyoming, understands the problem. "These wolves don't kill first, they take the animal down and then they just go to feeding. You're running the risk of a lot of wolf derbies, and who knows, maybe extinction again. I don't know."
He has lost cattle to wolves, but still fears state management, allowing them to be hunted. Ferguson adds, "I don't think so. The good Lord meant them to be here."
The U.S government has taken the gray wolf off the endangered species list.
After a century of shooting, trapping and poisoning by ranchers to protect livestock, wolves were placed under protection in 1974. Steve Norbit, of the National Wildlife Federation, says, "They are not the bad guy. They are not the savior of the wilderness. They are just an animal trying to figure out how to make a living."
Under protection and reintroduced to former habitats, the gray wolf population has come back. Breeding programs at Yellowstone National Park and elsewhere have proved successful. Now, 30 years later, wolf populations in the midwestern United States have recovered enough to end their protected status.
Without federal protections, it is up to individual states to manage populations. That worries environmentalists such as Bill Snade of the Center for Biodiversity. "Already we've seen the state of Idaho propose a $26 permit fee to hunt wolves. That is right out of the gate. I'm sure we'll see other states follow suit."
Alan Ferguson, from Wyoming, understands the problem. "These wolves don't kill first, they take the animal down and then they just go to feeding. You're running the risk of a lot of wolf derbies, and who knows, maybe extinction again. I don't know."
He has lost cattle to wolves, but still fears state management, allowing them to be hunted. Ferguson adds, "I don't think so. The good Lord meant them to be here."
Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal Population Continues to Decline
Monk seals are one of the most endangered mammals in the world. In the Caribbean, they already are extinct. Off the African coast of Mauritania, they are down to a few hundred. In the remote northwestern islands of Hawaii, their numbers are quickly dwindling. Producer Zulima Palacio went to Hawaii and examined the monk seals close up. Melinda Smith narrates the story.
A monk seal (background) swimming in the waters of Hawaii
We spot one of the dwindling number of Hawaiian monk seals. It is what marine biologists call a true seal -- meaning it has no external ears. It uses its hind flippers for propulsion and its front flippers as stabilizers. Some say the monk seal got its name because it likes to be alone. Monk seals are playful, they are great swimmers and very curious. This one took a long swim in order to see what a diver was doing.
Anthropologist Joe Heakock is one of a handful of dive masters who take small groups to the remote waters near Niihau Island to see the seals. "A true seal is perfectly made for water, totally hydrodynamic and you see their little flippers do this little side to side switch thing… they are fast and beautiful."
Joe Heakock
For the past three years, Heakock has taken more than 1,000 divers to see the seals in their natural habitat along dramatic lava formations and vertical rock walls running 90 meters straight down. A solitary monk seal often stays close to the divers.
"Monk seals are the most endangered marine mammal we have in the United States, so there is a lot of concern about making sure that they will be around for future generations to see,” said Heakock. “But from what biologists are saying we may only have 12 to 15 years to enjoy them."
There were three groups of monk seals. But one has been extinct for more than 50 years in the Caribbean. A second group in the Mediterranean is down to a few hundred. Here in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands the numbers are rapidly falling.
Public service campaigns promote protection of the Hawaiian monk seals
Mimi Olry is Hawaii's Marine Conservation Coordinator. "The Hawaiian monk seals are really on a crisis stage now,” she says. “Their numbers are in the lowest they have ever been. They numbered about 1200 this year and we have been losing about four percent of the population since about 2000."
Until the early 1900s hunting dramatically reduced the monk seal population. And despite laws protecting them since 1972, a number of factors, including human activity, still keep them on the endangered list.
"The majority of seal loss is within the juvenile age of the pups not making it through the first and second year of age,” explains Olry, “primarily being because of lack of food supply. Other factors are shark predations and marine debris. These seals are getting entangle in floating nets and ropes and drowning basically."
Local and national authorities are trying multiple approaches to protect the seals. One is posting signs on public beaches where the seals often rest and give birth.
"And here it informs people that seals may bite and cause serious injury,” says Olry, and that they are one of the most endangered species in the world and that they rest on the beach and we ask people not to disturb them."
Many scientists believe that the seals evolved from terrestrial mammals about 15 million years ago. But their time left could be numbered unless efforts to save them are successful.
A monk seal (background) swimming in the waters of Hawaii
We spot one of the dwindling number of Hawaiian monk seals. It is what marine biologists call a true seal -- meaning it has no external ears. It uses its hind flippers for propulsion and its front flippers as stabilizers. Some say the monk seal got its name because it likes to be alone. Monk seals are playful, they are great swimmers and very curious. This one took a long swim in order to see what a diver was doing.
Anthropologist Joe Heakock is one of a handful of dive masters who take small groups to the remote waters near Niihau Island to see the seals. "A true seal is perfectly made for water, totally hydrodynamic and you see their little flippers do this little side to side switch thing… they are fast and beautiful."
Joe Heakock
For the past three years, Heakock has taken more than 1,000 divers to see the seals in their natural habitat along dramatic lava formations and vertical rock walls running 90 meters straight down. A solitary monk seal often stays close to the divers.
"Monk seals are the most endangered marine mammal we have in the United States, so there is a lot of concern about making sure that they will be around for future generations to see,” said Heakock. “But from what biologists are saying we may only have 12 to 15 years to enjoy them."
There were three groups of monk seals. But one has been extinct for more than 50 years in the Caribbean. A second group in the Mediterranean is down to a few hundred. Here in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands the numbers are rapidly falling.
Public service campaigns promote protection of the Hawaiian monk seals
Mimi Olry is Hawaii's Marine Conservation Coordinator. "The Hawaiian monk seals are really on a crisis stage now,” she says. “Their numbers are in the lowest they have ever been. They numbered about 1200 this year and we have been losing about four percent of the population since about 2000."
Until the early 1900s hunting dramatically reduced the monk seal population. And despite laws protecting them since 1972, a number of factors, including human activity, still keep them on the endangered list.
"The majority of seal loss is within the juvenile age of the pups not making it through the first and second year of age,” explains Olry, “primarily being because of lack of food supply. Other factors are shark predations and marine debris. These seals are getting entangle in floating nets and ropes and drowning basically."
Local and national authorities are trying multiple approaches to protect the seals. One is posting signs on public beaches where the seals often rest and give birth.
"And here it informs people that seals may bite and cause serious injury,” says Olry, and that they are one of the most endangered species in the world and that they rest on the beach and we ask people not to disturb them."
Many scientists believe that the seals evolved from terrestrial mammals about 15 million years ago. But their time left could be numbered unless efforts to save them are successful.
UN Sponsors Worldwide Environment Awareness Day
Every year since 1974, the United Nations has declared June 5th World Environment Day. The theme of this year's series of events is "Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?" VOA's Paul Sisco reports.
For International Polar Year, penguins are a reminder of the lifeforms dependent upon the frozen polar regions
The Earth's polar regions are frigid, forbidding environments, yet fascinating and exciting at the same time. They are also showing signs of stress.
The United Nations declared 2007 the "International Polar Year" to promote research at the North and South Poles and awareness about the effects of global warming on their ice packs. To support that, the theme of this year's World Environment Day is "Melting Ice - A Hot Topic?"
Brennan Van Dyke is with the United Nations Environment Program. "World Environmental Day is a celebration that was approved over 30 years ago by the general assembly of the United Nations, its purpose is to raise awareness about environmental issues, to encourage political attention to those issues, and to spark individual action."
In an accompanying report from the United Nations, scientists estimate the Arctic is warming at twice the global rate, with sea ice retreating a little each of the last several years due mainly to global warming.
The Executive Director of the U.N.'s Environment Program, Achim Steiner, says, "The latest data that we have is truly of great concern to all of us, not least because of the implications for sea level rise. Secondly, it's going to affect human beings. We need to understand how their lives, the basis of their lives are going to change fundamentally and in some cases disappear."
The polar ice sheets hold about 99 percent of the world's fresh water ice. The report says the annual shrinking of the Greenland ice sheet doubled in the 1990s and continues to melt at a dramatic pace. Melting ice sheets endanger hundreds of thousands of indigenous people and as well as plant and animal species.
Van Dyke says polar regions provide some of the earliest signs of climate change. "The collective actions of peoples all over the world have (a) tremendous impact on the Arctic regions. And everyone can play a role in reducing the problems of climate change. On our website, we call it WED for World Environment Day, we have the W.E.D. alphabet, 77 ways to celebrate, and it's 77 actions that an individual can take. And individual action matters, collective actions magnifies the impact and that's where the U.N. can come in."
A series of World Environment Day events are taking place around the world beginning June fifth. You can learn more about them and the critical role the Earth's Arctic regions play in the environment at the United Nations, World Environment Day website - www.unep.org.
For International Polar Year, penguins are a reminder of the lifeforms dependent upon the frozen polar regions
The Earth's polar regions are frigid, forbidding environments, yet fascinating and exciting at the same time. They are also showing signs of stress.
The United Nations declared 2007 the "International Polar Year" to promote research at the North and South Poles and awareness about the effects of global warming on their ice packs. To support that, the theme of this year's World Environment Day is "Melting Ice - A Hot Topic?"
Brennan Van Dyke is with the United Nations Environment Program. "World Environmental Day is a celebration that was approved over 30 years ago by the general assembly of the United Nations, its purpose is to raise awareness about environmental issues, to encourage political attention to those issues, and to spark individual action."
In an accompanying report from the United Nations, scientists estimate the Arctic is warming at twice the global rate, with sea ice retreating a little each of the last several years due mainly to global warming.
The Executive Director of the U.N.'s Environment Program, Achim Steiner, says, "The latest data that we have is truly of great concern to all of us, not least because of the implications for sea level rise. Secondly, it's going to affect human beings. We need to understand how their lives, the basis of their lives are going to change fundamentally and in some cases disappear."
The polar ice sheets hold about 99 percent of the world's fresh water ice. The report says the annual shrinking of the Greenland ice sheet doubled in the 1990s and continues to melt at a dramatic pace. Melting ice sheets endanger hundreds of thousands of indigenous people and as well as plant and animal species.
Van Dyke says polar regions provide some of the earliest signs of climate change. "The collective actions of peoples all over the world have (a) tremendous impact on the Arctic regions. And everyone can play a role in reducing the problems of climate change. On our website, we call it WED for World Environment Day, we have the W.E.D. alphabet, 77 ways to celebrate, and it's 77 actions that an individual can take. And individual action matters, collective actions magnifies the impact and that's where the U.N. can come in."
A series of World Environment Day events are taking place around the world beginning June fifth. You can learn more about them and the critical role the Earth's Arctic regions play in the environment at the United Nations, World Environment Day website - www.unep.org.
‘Extinct’ Bird Species Lives
A North American bird believed to have become extinct in 1944 has apparently re-appeared. The Ivory Billed Woodpecker was rediscovered in February 2004 when it was reportedly spotted twice by witnesses that many bird experts consider highly reliable. But other wildlife professionals are not so sure. And now – as VOA's George Dwyer reports – a new film is under production that examines the controversy surrounding the mysterious creature known as "The Lord God Bird."
Rare film footage – shot in 1935 – shows two Ivory Billed Woodpeckers, a species that was thought to have gone extinct.
"This is, of course, the iconic endangered species in North America. There is no more famous endangered species than this bird," says John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology in New York. Back in 2005 he addressed reporters at a U.S. government sponsored news conference announcing the re-discovery of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.
John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology in New York
"The ivory billed woodpecker has been rediscovered,” he said. “It lives in the big woods region of Eastern Arkansas, and perhaps other places around the Southeast still as well."
No confirmed sighting of the bird had been reported for decades, when suddenly in February 2004 two sightings were reported in a remote area of the southeastern United States.
In April of that same year an amateur naturalist shot images of a bird believed to be an "Ivory Billed." But opinions vary on whether the bird caught on tape is really the elusive woodpecker.
"This is a bird that ornithologists and birdwatchers have been searching for over a century,” explains Fitzpatrick. “It went through several periods of time where it was declared extinct, then re-discovered again, then disappeared again."
Photographer Bob Harrison says he has no doubt the bird exists. "The controversy over whether this bird is out there or not – it is no controversy. I have seen the bird. I have seen the bird five times. I know it is there."
Whether it actually is – or not – is the subject of a recently previewed documentary by noted America film director George Butler.
"The film is about the tension between the people who love the bird and believe it exists and the coolly objective ornithologists who say it can not possibly exist –- it is extinct,” says Butler. "Any way you look at the story it has got interesting angles."
Butler's film, titled "The Lord God Bird," is still in production. But the filmmaker provided VOA with scenes of the work in progress.
"And it is called, amongst other names, 'The Lord God Bird,' because when someone sighted the bird they would shriek out, 'Lord God, what was that that flew by?’ "
All of a sudden it seems a lot of people are asking that question once again.
Rare film footage – shot in 1935 – shows two Ivory Billed Woodpeckers, a species that was thought to have gone extinct.
"This is, of course, the iconic endangered species in North America. There is no more famous endangered species than this bird," says John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology in New York. Back in 2005 he addressed reporters at a U.S. government sponsored news conference announcing the re-discovery of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.
John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology in New York
"The ivory billed woodpecker has been rediscovered,” he said. “It lives in the big woods region of Eastern Arkansas, and perhaps other places around the Southeast still as well."
No confirmed sighting of the bird had been reported for decades, when suddenly in February 2004 two sightings were reported in a remote area of the southeastern United States.
In April of that same year an amateur naturalist shot images of a bird believed to be an "Ivory Billed." But opinions vary on whether the bird caught on tape is really the elusive woodpecker.
"This is a bird that ornithologists and birdwatchers have been searching for over a century,” explains Fitzpatrick. “It went through several periods of time where it was declared extinct, then re-discovered again, then disappeared again."
Photographer Bob Harrison says he has no doubt the bird exists. "The controversy over whether this bird is out there or not – it is no controversy. I have seen the bird. I have seen the bird five times. I know it is there."
Whether it actually is – or not – is the subject of a recently previewed documentary by noted America film director George Butler.
"The film is about the tension between the people who love the bird and believe it exists and the coolly objective ornithologists who say it can not possibly exist –- it is extinct,” says Butler. "Any way you look at the story it has got interesting angles."
Butler's film, titled "The Lord God Bird," is still in production. But the filmmaker provided VOA with scenes of the work in progress.
"And it is called, amongst other names, 'The Lord God Bird,' because when someone sighted the bird they would shriek out, 'Lord God, what was that that flew by?’ "
All of a sudden it seems a lot of people are asking that question once again.
India's National Symbol Becoming More Difficult to Spot
The tiger is India's national symbol, but it is getting more difficult to spot the animal in its native habitat. The country now finds itself in the embarrassing position of having tiger reserves without any tigers. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from New Delhi on the state of the Indian tiger and a controversial plan to relocate some of the big cats.
It is a sighting that is becoming more infrequent in India – tigers in their natural habitat. Ranthambore National Park in the state of Rajasthan is one of the best places to see the tigers.
And that has made it a popular tourist attraction bringing much-needed revenue to the rural area.
Other tiger reserves are not so lucky. In the Sariska reserve, also in Rajasthan, the tourists have vanished because no tigers have been spotted there since November 2004. Humans are blamed for wiping out Sarika's tiger population.
In response, the Ministry of Environment and Forests plans to take some of these tigers from Ranthambhore to repopulate Sariska.
The head of the Ministry's Project Tiger, Rajesh Gopal, endorses the idea. "We can very well afford to trans-locate a few spillover tiger cubs in the prime age group from geographically distant areas within the tiger reserve itself, Ranthambhore itself, for Sariska. We can do that."
But many conservationists oppose the plan.
Tiger skins and other body parts are sold on the black market
They argue that 10,000 people live inside the Sariska Park. And they include villagers who see the tiger as a threat, and poachers who sell tiger skins and other body parts on the thriving black market across the border in Nepal. Tiger products are believed to have medicinal and aphrodisiac powers.
One of India's best known tiger lovers, conservationist Valmik Thapar, says the plan to relocate a few of the park's villages will not save the endangered animal. "If they don't want to go and none of them leave then you cannot relocate tigers because tigers and people don't co-exist. The tiger salivates when it looks at the four-legged creatures that people in villages have, which are cows and buffaloes. There is conflict then between man and tigers – always has been for centuries."
Tiger conservationists lament that no one in India's government seems to have the fierce commitment to saving the animal, as did former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
She cracked down on tiger hunting and the fur trade and initiated the first nine reserves under Project Tiger. The current overseer of Project Tiger refutes the critics. He says Mrs. Gandhi's legacy lives and is cherished by the current prime minister.
India's tiger
"The Tiger Task Force came up with a set of urgent recommendations which are being implemented upon, says Gopal. “These are being monitored at the highest level of the government. So I don't see in any manner that the interest has diminished or the efforts have been reduced."
But the numbers demonstrate otherwise. When Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, there were an estimated 4,000 tigers across India.
Now the official number is about 3500, and some conservationists claim the actual total may be half that.
"There's a complete failure of governance,” conservationist Thapar says. “The key is nobody wants to govern the sector efficiently. They're allowing it to fade away and the tiger will end up being, in another three to four years, it'll be down to a population of maybe 500 to 600. And then the world will start to shout - a bit late in the day."
Those who are supposed to protect the tiger find themselves literally outgunned by poachers. The guards are not in a position to threaten the poachers; there are too few of them to adequately patrol the vast expanses and they do not carry guns.
A former forestry official, Sujoy Banerjee, directs the species conservation program in India for the WWF. He says policy should focus on apprehending the kingpins of the organized tiger trade.
"There is a need for more concerted action against the big poachers rather than actually the small ones because the small ones will eventually die out themselves because they won't have a market, they won't be able to sell."
India is a major source for the trade, with Interpol estimating that illegal wildlife products generate $12 billion a year worldwide.
With that sort of money in play, conservationists say India's tigers remain in serious danger.
It is a sighting that is becoming more infrequent in India – tigers in their natural habitat. Ranthambore National Park in the state of Rajasthan is one of the best places to see the tigers.
And that has made it a popular tourist attraction bringing much-needed revenue to the rural area.
Other tiger reserves are not so lucky. In the Sariska reserve, also in Rajasthan, the tourists have vanished because no tigers have been spotted there since November 2004. Humans are blamed for wiping out Sarika's tiger population.
In response, the Ministry of Environment and Forests plans to take some of these tigers from Ranthambhore to repopulate Sariska.
The head of the Ministry's Project Tiger, Rajesh Gopal, endorses the idea. "We can very well afford to trans-locate a few spillover tiger cubs in the prime age group from geographically distant areas within the tiger reserve itself, Ranthambhore itself, for Sariska. We can do that."
But many conservationists oppose the plan.
Tiger skins and other body parts are sold on the black market
They argue that 10,000 people live inside the Sariska Park. And they include villagers who see the tiger as a threat, and poachers who sell tiger skins and other body parts on the thriving black market across the border in Nepal. Tiger products are believed to have medicinal and aphrodisiac powers.
One of India's best known tiger lovers, conservationist Valmik Thapar, says the plan to relocate a few of the park's villages will not save the endangered animal. "If they don't want to go and none of them leave then you cannot relocate tigers because tigers and people don't co-exist. The tiger salivates when it looks at the four-legged creatures that people in villages have, which are cows and buffaloes. There is conflict then between man and tigers – always has been for centuries."
Tiger conservationists lament that no one in India's government seems to have the fierce commitment to saving the animal, as did former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
She cracked down on tiger hunting and the fur trade and initiated the first nine reserves under Project Tiger. The current overseer of Project Tiger refutes the critics. He says Mrs. Gandhi's legacy lives and is cherished by the current prime minister.
India's tiger
"The Tiger Task Force came up with a set of urgent recommendations which are being implemented upon, says Gopal. “These are being monitored at the highest level of the government. So I don't see in any manner that the interest has diminished or the efforts have been reduced."
But the numbers demonstrate otherwise. When Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, there were an estimated 4,000 tigers across India.
Now the official number is about 3500, and some conservationists claim the actual total may be half that.
"There's a complete failure of governance,” conservationist Thapar says. “The key is nobody wants to govern the sector efficiently. They're allowing it to fade away and the tiger will end up being, in another three to four years, it'll be down to a population of maybe 500 to 600. And then the world will start to shout - a bit late in the day."
Those who are supposed to protect the tiger find themselves literally outgunned by poachers. The guards are not in a position to threaten the poachers; there are too few of them to adequately patrol the vast expanses and they do not carry guns.
A former forestry official, Sujoy Banerjee, directs the species conservation program in India for the WWF. He says policy should focus on apprehending the kingpins of the organized tiger trade.
"There is a need for more concerted action against the big poachers rather than actually the small ones because the small ones will eventually die out themselves because they won't have a market, they won't be able to sell."
India is a major source for the trade, with Interpol estimating that illegal wildlife products generate $12 billion a year worldwide.
With that sort of money in play, conservationists say India's tigers remain in serious danger.
Green Awareness Grows in Oily Niger Delta
Environmental awareness is growing in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, as well as anger over spills and drastic changes to the region's ecosystem. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from the towns of Ikarama and Odi in the Niger Delta.
Idoukumo stands in front of spill
Abila Idoukumo walks in tall grass just a few meters away from the Ikarama community in Bayelsa State, onto a knee-deep oily swamp the size of several football fields.
"Since January, the crude was spilled here and it has not been cleaned until this present date. It has not been awarded to any contractor," he said. "All the grasses, everything here has been damaged, fish that were still living within the water cycle are all dead and there is no way to utilize this place for our own farming system again."
Villagers say the oil seeped from underground pipelines operated by Dutch-based oil conglomerate Shell.
Nearby Shell pipelines blamed for spill
Shell officials in Nigeria refused to comment, saying they were too busy dealing with threats by militants who blow up oil installations and kidnap foreign workers.
Idoukumo, a plumber and father of seven, says children initially got skin infections, measles, and coughs, while adults got headaches.
"In the evening, you cannot get a very good breath of air," he said. "Children because of this have been getting sick from time to time and these are things we have been crying to find an avenue to be rescued from this problem. And so presently, you see with your eyes, that the community is always in hazard."
Lambert Miebi is trained as a chemical safety engineer, but he says the oil companies will not hire him, even though he believes he would be a better choice than outsiders who care little about local concerns.
"When I see this every day, I cry," he said.
He adds that Shell often blames oil spills on sabotage to steal oil, but he denies that took place here.
Bathing in foul waters
"They will always see that it is a sabotage. But sometimes let us take a good analysis of what is going on if really this is a sabotage," he said. "This pipe has been here for so long and none of these things have been restructured. So if any spillage [occurs], they say it is sabotage, but it is not all sabotage. So this thing has become a nuisance to this community and even the entire Niger Delta. We are talking about toxic substances that have degraded this environment. And if you have talk about compensation about all these things, no it has not been given to us."
Ibiba Don Pedro is the author of a book called Out of a Bleak Landscape. It details violence and environmental degradation that coincided with oil production in the Niger Delta.
"They used to have large bodies of fresh water," he said.
Don Pedro accuses oil companies of causing other problems that are less apparent, but sometimes even more troublesome in a context of poverty.
Villagers in canoes look for fresh water
"In the course of bringing in equipment and all that, they had to do dredging projects, they dredged into areas that used to be fresh water," he said. "Today, those areas have been inundated by salt water so the people that had depended on the fresh water sources in those areas, you can imagine how bad it is. You have to travel in canoes, you see canoes in the Niger Delta, with women, men and children, carrying plastic drums and so on, you know how slow the canoes are, several-hundred kilometers away from their communities every day. That is how bad it is."
Some activists are slowly trying to reverse the negative effects of living in an oil-rich but impoverished region.
On a patch of jungle land with chirping birds near the town of Odi, economist Gordon Abiama has a dream to build an eco-village.
Odi was razed by government forces in 1999 following the killing of a dozen policemen. It was also here that violent militants first rose against oil production in the 1960s, by blowing up an oil pipeline.
Abiama says he prefers constructive methods that empower people.
"The purpose of an eco-village is to encourage people to live a life in terms of sustainable lifestyle, not ostentatious lifestyle like is lived in developed countries, and that we are now trying to imitate," he said. "They are trying to come back to us, to have a sort of community life where you know your next neighbor. That life, that typical African tradition we want to keep it, but while embracing modern technology, we do not want to draw away from our deep well of traditional creativity, we want to fuse it together."
Abiama demonstrates how he has been making bricks to build houses in the eco-village he wants to build.
One brick at a time for Abiama's eco-village
"This brick is made of cement, just about 10 percent cement, water and then this red soil and it is manually produced using a brick machine and with this we could build an ecological eco-house so to speak, to make the room very, very cool. We are drawing this from our traditional house building system, but this is using modern techniques as well," he said.
Roof tiles are being made with cement and coconut fiber.
Funding for this project has dried up though, and two years into construction, little has been built, while Nigeria's oil production climbs, and ecologists say environmental problems in the Niger Delta worsen.
Idoukumo stands in front of spill
Abila Idoukumo walks in tall grass just a few meters away from the Ikarama community in Bayelsa State, onto a knee-deep oily swamp the size of several football fields.
"Since January, the crude was spilled here and it has not been cleaned until this present date. It has not been awarded to any contractor," he said. "All the grasses, everything here has been damaged, fish that were still living within the water cycle are all dead and there is no way to utilize this place for our own farming system again."
Villagers say the oil seeped from underground pipelines operated by Dutch-based oil conglomerate Shell.
Nearby Shell pipelines blamed for spill
Shell officials in Nigeria refused to comment, saying they were too busy dealing with threats by militants who blow up oil installations and kidnap foreign workers.
Idoukumo, a plumber and father of seven, says children initially got skin infections, measles, and coughs, while adults got headaches.
"In the evening, you cannot get a very good breath of air," he said. "Children because of this have been getting sick from time to time and these are things we have been crying to find an avenue to be rescued from this problem. And so presently, you see with your eyes, that the community is always in hazard."
Lambert Miebi is trained as a chemical safety engineer, but he says the oil companies will not hire him, even though he believes he would be a better choice than outsiders who care little about local concerns.
"When I see this every day, I cry," he said.
He adds that Shell often blames oil spills on sabotage to steal oil, but he denies that took place here.
Bathing in foul waters
"They will always see that it is a sabotage. But sometimes let us take a good analysis of what is going on if really this is a sabotage," he said. "This pipe has been here for so long and none of these things have been restructured. So if any spillage [occurs], they say it is sabotage, but it is not all sabotage. So this thing has become a nuisance to this community and even the entire Niger Delta. We are talking about toxic substances that have degraded this environment. And if you have talk about compensation about all these things, no it has not been given to us."
Ibiba Don Pedro is the author of a book called Out of a Bleak Landscape. It details violence and environmental degradation that coincided with oil production in the Niger Delta.
"They used to have large bodies of fresh water," he said.
Don Pedro accuses oil companies of causing other problems that are less apparent, but sometimes even more troublesome in a context of poverty.
Villagers in canoes look for fresh water
"In the course of bringing in equipment and all that, they had to do dredging projects, they dredged into areas that used to be fresh water," he said. "Today, those areas have been inundated by salt water so the people that had depended on the fresh water sources in those areas, you can imagine how bad it is. You have to travel in canoes, you see canoes in the Niger Delta, with women, men and children, carrying plastic drums and so on, you know how slow the canoes are, several-hundred kilometers away from their communities every day. That is how bad it is."
Some activists are slowly trying to reverse the negative effects of living in an oil-rich but impoverished region.
On a patch of jungle land with chirping birds near the town of Odi, economist Gordon Abiama has a dream to build an eco-village.
Odi was razed by government forces in 1999 following the killing of a dozen policemen. It was also here that violent militants first rose against oil production in the 1960s, by blowing up an oil pipeline.
Abiama says he prefers constructive methods that empower people.
"The purpose of an eco-village is to encourage people to live a life in terms of sustainable lifestyle, not ostentatious lifestyle like is lived in developed countries, and that we are now trying to imitate," he said. "They are trying to come back to us, to have a sort of community life where you know your next neighbor. That life, that typical African tradition we want to keep it, but while embracing modern technology, we do not want to draw away from our deep well of traditional creativity, we want to fuse it together."
Abiama demonstrates how he has been making bricks to build houses in the eco-village he wants to build.
One brick at a time for Abiama's eco-village
"This brick is made of cement, just about 10 percent cement, water and then this red soil and it is manually produced using a brick machine and with this we could build an ecological eco-house so to speak, to make the room very, very cool. We are drawing this from our traditional house building system, but this is using modern techniques as well," he said.
Roof tiles are being made with cement and coconut fiber.
Funding for this project has dried up though, and two years into construction, little has been built, while Nigeria's oil production climbs, and ecologists say environmental problems in the Niger Delta worsen.
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