“The research findings are compelling,” said Chiagozie Udeh, a representative from UNFPA Geneva, during the training. “They demonstrate a clear link between SRHR and climate change, with the specific intersectionality varying significantly across different countries. Climate change and SRHR are undeniably intertwined, with the specific challenges women face varying greatly depending on where they live.”

This “intersectionality,” as Udeh termed it, was further emphasized by Emmanuel Lekishon, one of the Directors of the Centre for Climate Action, who pointed to the plight of young girls and women in Narok County, Kenya.

“Girls and young women, particularly those from Narok County face unique challenges due to the interplay of climate change and gender inequality,” noted Lekishon while presenting the disproportionality of climate shocks.

Additionally, Dr. Samwel Wakibi a public health researcher and regional expert from the University of Nairobi highlighted that the recent climate shocks in Kenya have made it challenging for women to access reproductive health services.
Dr. Wakibi said that pre-existing gender norms coupled with unfavorable climate change further tilted the  socio-economic marginalization imbalances  while exacerbating gender inequalities.

Speaking on the same issue, Angela Baschiera said, “Women are disproportionately impacted by climate change. There is a rich body of resources that women have poorer access to resources that could help with the adaptation such as land title, irrigation, and financial assets.”

Currently, only 37% of 160 countries recognize that women and men have equal rights to own and control land. The most impacted population should be the cost involved in creating solutions.

The training further underscored the critical role of gender equality in achieving the vision of human-centered sustainable development outlined by the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action (ICPD PoA).

The training also identified specific “hotspots” within Kenya, areas most vulnerable to the combined threats of climate change and gender inequality. Armed with this knowledge, future efforts to adapt could be designed to ensure no woman or girl is left behind in the fight for a brighter tomorrow.

Speaking to Liberal News Network, Olumide Idowu, the Executive Director for African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) said, “The widespread destruction of the natural environment, poses a significant threat to life for m sisters and brothers  from Port Harcourt.”

“It’s time for action, our previous land is literally  is crying out for help,” said Idowu, “The widespread destruction of the natural environment, has impacted Port Harcourt’s environment, health, and economy.”

Idowu also noted with concern that the contaminated soil and water harm plant and animal life, disrupting the food chain and making it difficult for people to grow food or catch fish. For decades, Nigeria has been plagued by ecocide, sacrificing its environment for economic gains.

Worse still, weak regulations have created a free-for-all for multinational corporations which act in impunity, leaving a path of destruction – toxic air, barren farmlands, and a dying ecosystem. The government’s history of silencing dissent, like the Ogoni massacre in 1993, has weakened its regulatory power.

This notwithstanding, stakeholders in the Niger Delta, including those in Port Harcourt, are urging the federal government to criminalize multinationals actions and legislate it as an environmental offense.

Accordingly, veteran Nigerian journalist Vivian Chime from Nigeria confirmed that that Port Harcourt land and water have been choked by life threatening pollution.

Chime also noted that farmers and fishing communities, who had for generations relied on the land and water for their sustenance, now find themselves facing a harsh realities.

Despite this, there seems to be a glimmer of hope. Nigeria’s commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals could ignite the long awaited change, if ecocide is recognized as an international crime against humanity.

Paradoxically, environmental damage is currently not considered a crime in Nigeria, hence big polluters have escaped punishment. Pollution has devastated farming and fishing communities, pushing some towards illegal oil bunkering, further endangering the environment.

Criminalizing ecocide could be a powerful deterrent, forcing polluters to prioritize environmental responsibility. However, true progress in Port Harcourt requires a delicate balance between economic development and environmental protection. Prioritizing one over the other is not progress, but a transgression against Nigeria’s collective future.  For now, the burden of this imbalance falls on the shoulders of Port Harcourt’s residents, who face the daily struggle for a healthier and more sustainable future.

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