To this end, NIMASA said it has put in place
measures to address the worrisome situation.
Director-General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, who
disclosed this in Lagos today at the launch of the Maritime Action Plan on
Marine Litter and Plastic Management, said that the issue of Marine Litter and
Plastics in the Seas and Oceans has been a global concern following the
increased awareness about the Blue Economy and its derivable benefits.
He noted that the challenges of
Marine Litter and Plastic pollution are multiple and include threat to food
security, a threat to economic activities, navigational hazard, water safety,
threat to the ecosystem, harmful effects on marine life and bio-diversity among
others.
He further noted that it is a known fact that our
oceans and seas sustain lives but when the threats to ocean health are
numerous, it also affects human beings. A report of the World Economic Forum
Projects show that by the year 2050, plastics in the oceans will outweigh the
fishes if mitigated.
In his words, “The overall implications for the
Nigerian economy are enormous and the presence of Marine Litter and Plastics in
the water is impacting negatively on the drive to make Nigeria a greener, safer
and a healthier nation.
“Recognizing that NIMASA has a responsibility of
ensuring that Nigeria has Clean Seas and Oceans, NIMASA, have decided to take
action in partnership with others to combat the menace of Marine Litter and
Plastics.
“The result of that coordinated effort is the
Maritime Action Plan on Marine Litter and Plastics which we are here to
present. Therefore the Marine Litter and Plastics Action Plan is to: Engage
Marine Litter Officials coastal communities and littoral areas as a pilot scheme, to Pilot Cleanup Identified Marine Litter Hotspots in Nigeria’s Coastal
states of Bayelsa, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Ondo and Lagos, to
also have a Marine Litter Sensitization Campaign in 500 littoral communities,
to provide necessary waste receptacles to some coastal communities and also to
develop Marine Litter Campaign materials.
“As NIMASA set to launch the Action Plan, we
are taking a stand with the Coastal Communities, Industry, other stakeholders
communities, States, our National Government and the International Communities
to pledge that Nigerians shall no longer ignore the effects of Marine Litter
and Plastics on Marine life and Human Health neither shall we continue to
ignore the negative impacts of marine activities like fishing, oil and gas drilling,
shipping and ecotourism,” He concluded.
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