Bodo Cleanup

The first plenary session of the Bodo Mediation Initiative for 2018 took place recently. Discussions centered round update on the just concluded Phase 1 of clean-up, details regarding bidding for Phase 2, the on-going challenge of re-pollution among other pertinent issues.

Flushing of oil from soft mud in Bodo creek- Low pressure water is pumped beneath the surface of the mud. The force of the water raises the embedded oil to the surface where it is captured by an oil containment boom and recovered by hand.

The mangrove replanting and monitoring initiative of the Bodo cleanup is a test of the viability of mangroves in oil contaminated soil. So far, the results have been promising with a 90% survival rate.

In phase 1 of the Bodo cleanup, to get the community involved some 400 Bodo community members were recruited, trained before commencing cleanup operations in the creeks. It's an achievement to bring together community members often on opposing views in a harmonious fashion.

The UK High court subsequently awarded a GBP 55million compensation and a directive for SPDC to clean up the Bodo environment. Phase 1 of the clean up kicked off on the 1st of September 2017 and has so far recorded significant progress.

Two major oils spills occurred in Bodo creek in 2008 along SPDC’s trans Niger pipelines spilling large volumes of crude into the creek. The Bodo community sought redress for the spills in a Nigerian court and later in a UK High court.

The Bodo remediation exercise seeks to clean up oil impacted sites throughout the Bodo creeks and to restore the area into a healthy functioning ecosystem.