By Ngozi Nwankwo
In line with its strategic sustainability framework for the
Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, CEER, Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project,HYPREP, has continued to foster partnership with highly reputable stakeholders both with and outside Nigeria in a bid to make the Centre one that would earn global reckoning while actualizing the cardinal purpose of providing fit for purpose solutions to the environmental and socio-economic issues in Ogoni and Nigeria.
In its overarching vision of making CEER a centre of global repute and reckoning for multidisciplinary, innovative and cutting-edge research and training in environmental remediation, HYPREP has said its engagement with crcCARE University of Newcastle, Australia, one of the world’s leading environmental remediation research centres is a critical step toward actualizing this.
Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, made this assertion during the visit of the Distinguished Laureate Professor Ravi Naidu, CEO & Managing Director, crcCARE, University of Newcastle, Australia, to the Centre of Excellence in Wiiyaakaara, Khana LGA, over the weekend.
According to Zabbey, the importance of a collaboration with crcCARE, one of the world’s leading environmental remediation centres is borne out of the fact that the Ogoni Clean-up is novel in the region and the Project is developing a template for the cleanup of the Niger Delta and Nigeria and as such requires partnership with highly reputable key global industry players for its sustainability.
The Project Coordinator further stressed that the partnership with crcCARE, Laureate Professor Ravi’s visit to the Project’s CEER and complex site in Nsisionke, Ogale, Eleme were strategic, motivating and deserving of celebration given the towering pedigree of the visitor and the Centre.
Speaking more on the partnership, Professor Zabbey said, ” They(crcCARE) have a centre that is functional and we want to replicate that same functional centre here in (CEER) Ogoniland, that will serve as a hub for multidisciplinary cutting-edge innovative research in environmental remediation and also serve as a functional centre for the training of youths-building their capacity in different demand driven skill areas and that will help create jobs for the youths and women of this region . It will also help to reduce conflict and agitation in the region”
Zabbey described the partnership with crcCARE as broad, spanning into the high-risk complex site remediation project, where they will be helping to characterize and drive the site remediation accordingly. He acknowledged the contributions of Professor Ravi to the development of remediation technologies, including the Permeable Reactive Barriers-one of the technologies that would be deployed in the remediation of high-risk complex sites which was developed by one of his mentees. This, he maintained, speaks to HYPRREP’s commitment to deploying the best technology in the cleanup of high risk complex sites in Ogoni.
In the same vein, Prof. Ravi said the crcCARE is delighted to be identified with vision of HYPREP under Prof. Zabbey to set up the CEER to address environmental and health concerns associated with exposure to pollution, while emphasizing the need to put in resources to train people and build capacity to make the Centre outstanding.
” I see this as an excellent innovation, i see investment of resources, absolutely outstanding and as Chair of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) International Network for Soil Pollution, this is our vision as well to train and build capacity in as many countries as we can and this Centre of Excellence will not just be centre for Nigeria, it could be an international centre where you have people from different countries trained and then could take back what they learn to train others as well” he enthused.
Prof. Ravi specifically mentioned that crcCARE will be partnering with HYPREP and CEER in the areas of assessment, site characterization, cleanup and trainings.