The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has played host to two high-profile visitors, further underscoring the growing national and global interest in the project.
The visitors, who were received by HYPREP Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, were the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Pieter Leenknegt, and Emeritus Professor Olof Linden, a renowned mangrove expert.
Professor Linden, who joined the HYPREP team on a trip to inspect the project’s mangrove site in Bomu, Gokana LGA, expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far in restoring the degraded shoreline and mangrove areas. Over 1.3 million mangroves have been planted, and shoreline works have reached 38% completion.
The Belgian Ambassador, who was accompanied by the First Secretary of the Embassy of Belgium, Dorien Laewnen, commended HYPREP’s efforts in addressing livelihood and environmental restoration in the Niger Delta.
He described the project as “a contemporary approach to caring for biodiversity while also caring for the communities that live with those and making them also custodians of the environment.”
Zabbey, however, emphasised the importance of partnerships in achieving sustainable development goals, noting that HYPREP is mobilising stakeholders to achieve sustainable cleanup, leveraging their expertise, funding, and community support.
The visit comes on the heels of a recent visit by the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, His Excellency Mohamed Malik Fall, and other UN agencies to HYPREP.
With several new projects set to be commissioned this year, including the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration (CEER), Buan and Ogoni Specialist Hospitals, and potable water schemes, HYPREP is poised to make significant strides in restoring the environment and improving livelihoods in the Niger Delta.