Climate adaptation: CSO stresses need for accurate information on air pollution, gas flaring
As pollution and gas flaring in the Niger Delta continues to escalate, a civil society organisation, Media Awareness and Justice Initiative, MAJI, says it has developed an environmental portal, datacab.io, that houses information about air quality and oil exploration activities causing air pollution in the environment.
The civic organization urged relevant government agencies to explore the opportunity by gathering information from the portal on the level of air pollution in their environment to enable them make informed policies on climate adaptation.
The Executive Director of MAJI, Emmanuel Onyekachi Okoro made the call during an Environmental Portal Validation Meeting/Press Briefing held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and supported by United Nations Democracy Fund, UNDEF.
Okoro who spoke through the Project Manager, Ikechukwu Ohaka, urged the people to also arm themselves with the knowledge of pollution level in their environment for their advocacy engagements.
He said, “It’s important for stakeholders to navigate through the portal, gather information that they need for environmental policies and actions that are capable of making positive impacts on climate adaptation.
“So we are very particular about how information gathered from real time data collections are used for engagement.”
Speaking on the authenticity of the data from the portal, the ED said, “We deploy our gadgets, Air quality monitors in strategic areas where these activities take place. The information that are gathered are real time as regards to air pollution and oil spills within the environment where particulate matters are being emitted.
“So these devices forward the data to a portal known as Data Cab. The Data Cab portal aggregates those data collected by the devices for a period of one year and analyze it for even a layman’s understanding.”
He said the organisation using the technological tools has identified communities with spike in air pollution and called on authorities concerned to act as fast as possible to mitigate the surge.
“We have also published these reports, we have used that to engage not only with communities, we have engaged with governments, agencies, and made sure that regulations across companies operating in communities comply with those laws.
“We will do as much as possible to engage with more stakeholders to popularise this campaign and ensure that data collection and use using technology becomes part of legalised framework for government and other agencies that are working within the environment,” Okoro added.
Also speaking, a consultant with MAJI, Dr Prince Eze, harped on the need for data sharing saying the organisation has been proactive in sharing information about air quality and pollution.
Eze explained that the effective deployment of the information would help communities make informed advocacies and hold the explorative companies accountable even help government take decisive climate actions.
