Ogiame Atuwase III, the Olu of Warri Kingdom, has demanded that the Niger Delta mangroves be shielded from outsiders who want to take advantage of them by passing them off as carbon credit offsets.
The call was made by the traditional ruler on Wednesday in Lagos at an ongoing art exhibition featuring the creations of Dr. John DeBebs, an environmentalist and art expert.
With the theme “The Intersecting Worlds of Climate Change, the Mangrove and Art,” the solo exhibition organised by Crimson Fusion Curators will run from March 5 to March 13.
According to the traditional ruler, “They are more than just ecosystems; they are the lungs of our heritage.” The Olu of Warri stated that indigenous communities urgently needed to protect their land and legacy because forests absorb and store carbon at an incredible rate, providing a natural solution to the climate crisis.
“They sustain our life, they protect our shores, they preserve our identity.
“While we have looked upon them for generations, others from far have begun to look at them differently through satellite images, through the lens of economic speculation and with intentions that threaten the collective sovereignty of the people of Niger Delta.
The world now acknowledges what we have always known about, that mangroves are among the most efficient carbon sources on this planet.”
He noted that the Itsekiri’s, and the entire Niger Delta would not allow their heritage to be exploited by those who neither understood its significance nor bear the cost of its destruction.
The Curator of the works, Oriiz Onuwaje, said the exhibition was aimed at celebrating the beauty of the Niger Delta, and the beauty of the mangroves.
Onuwaje said, despite the disaster and underdevelopment used in describing the Niger Delta, there is beauty in the region, one of which is the mangroves.
The curator, however, said that climate change was affecting the mangroves, such that there was a need to protect, conserve and regenerate them.
“Everywhere you turn, they’re talking about the crisis in the Amazon in South America.
“The mangroves of the Niger Delta hold more value to the world than the Amazon,” Onuwaje said.
Describing a mangrove, Oriiz said: “This is a piece of engineering because as it grows, it brings out more roots from the top into the ground to secure the ground itself.
“So, that is why it is the barrier between the water, the ocean, the sea, and the land.
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“You can see how strong the wood becomes because it takes in water in high tide and it releases water in low tide.”
Dr DeBeb said that the role of the mangroves in the ecosystem, which takes carbon from the atmosphere to provide a cleaner atmosphere, inspired his works.
He expressed hope that the exhibition of his works would generate interest, and raise awareness of the vital importance the mangroves play in the extraction of carbon from the atmosphere, and provide a cleaner environment.
“Once the awareness grows, then the mangroves will thrive more because people will now be more interested in ensuring that they are not just destroyed,” he said.
