LAGOS WATERFRONT CLEAN UP EXERCISE: TOGETHER WE CAN GET IT DONE.

       

“Lagosians litter the waterways with empty plastic bottles, nylon and various kinds of filth. Another practice is open defecation on the waterways, littering it with human waste in the form of urine and even faeces. This is totally unacceptable. We have organizations emptying their waste water and various chemical pollution in the waterways.” – Damilola Famakinwa; Secretary, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), May 2016

The above quote is a clear indication of the state of our waterways and waterfront in Lagos State. Today, marine debris has become one of the challenges the city of Lagos has to face. Our waterbodies are presently being turned into a “dumping site”. Mostly affected is the Lagos Lagoon.     

Lagos Lagoon is a lagoon sharing its name with the city of Lagos, Nigeria, the largest city in Africa, which lies on its south-western side. The name is Portuguese, and means 'lakes' in the Portuguese language so 'Lagos Lagoon' is an example of a tautological place name. The Lagoon is more than 50 km long and 3 to 13 km wide, separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a long sand spit 2 to 5 km wide, which has swampy margins on the lagoon side. Its surface area is approximately 6,354.7 km². The lagoon is fairly shallow and is not plied by ocean-going ships, but by smaller barges and boats.

Lagos Lagoon empties into the Atlantic via Lagos Harbour, a main channel through the heart of the city, 0.5 km to 1 km wide and 10 km long. The city spreads along more than 30 km of the lagoon's south-western and western shoreline. The long stretch of the Lagoon has brought the growth of many communities. Presently, several communities are along the Lagos Lagoon and the influence affects the Lagoon. Today, pollution into the Lagoon is one of the major concerns to environmentalist and the general people. Presently. The water body is presently turned into a waste dump of various kind. It is important to note that that most of the waste often find themselves along the waterfront making it untidy and unsightly.  

Marine debris is a global crisis for our waterways and oceans and an imminent concern for communities and industries. By 2050, it is estimated that there will be more marine debris than fish in our ocean and 80 percent of marine debris comes from land-based sources. According to a publication of The San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority (2016), 86 percent of water bodies debris is plastic. This figure is applicable to Lagos a significant volume of trash goes into our waterbodies. The menace of plastics is a visible problem which can be seen across Lagos shorelines. It is the most common substance that washes up with the waves. It is light and floats easily so it can travel enormous distances. They are not biodegradable, which means that things like plastic bottles and their tops can survive in the marine environment for a long time.

The Lagos Waterfront Clean-up exercise is a project designed to clean the dirty waterfronts of communities in Lagos State. About 5.25 trillion pieces of trash and litter are clogging up our oceans, rivers and other water bodies. To put that in perspective, that’s about 14 billion pounds of garbage dumped into our water body annually, or about 1.5 million pounds of trash dumped in the water body every hour. Even more disturbing is the fact that about 269 tons of that trash are floating on our water surfaces. For example, Lagos, Nigeria produces about 600,000 metric tons of plastic trash annually, and approximately 20% of that ends up in the water.

The impact of marine debris on the water body is huge. The environment and the flora and fauna is affected by marine debris in several ways: by entanglement in or ingestion of debris, transport of contaminants over long distances, new habitat for colonisation, dispersal via rafting and effects at an ecosystem level. Notwithstanding, half of the interactions between organisms and debris were related with entanglement or ingestion. Accordingly, to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel – (GEF, 2012) the “impacts of marine debris have been reported for 663 species”

Also, another growing concern is the accumulation along the food web. Microplastics (fragments less than 5 mm in diameter) are of particular concern due to their susceptibility to be eaten by a wide range of organisms. They come from either the direct release or through the fragmentation of larger units.  These particles, when ingested, may cause adverse physical and toxicological effects on organisms. Moreover, these small pieces are susceptible of bio-accumulation throughout the food web. In addition, marine litter can serve as a means of transport for many species, with the potential risk to facilitate transport of exotic and invasive species.

Marine debris can have a negative effect on economy because of economic losses to commercial fishing and shipping, in addition to recreation and tourism. Removing debris from harbours and beaches also reduces the revenue. In the UK, removing litter from harbours amounts to US $3 million per year (Mourat et al., 2010). Tourism is also affected by marine debris, since it reduces the attractiveness of the coastline and beaches. Thus, activities such as sport fishing, whale watching and diving are reliant on healthy ecosystems.

So why is clean up important?

The removal of contaminants not only improves the water itself, but also helps to foster a healthier ecosystem. Clearer water allows light to penetrate deeper, encouraging the growth of various aquatic plants, which produce oxygen and become part of the food chain, supporting larger populations of fish and other animals. Also, a clean water system and water front helps to promote tourism and builds economy base of waterfront communities. So, it’s time for us to come together and make our waterfront clean. We Do Not Inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors; We Borrow It from Our Children.

LAGOS WATERFRONT CLEAN UP EXERCISE: TOGETHER WE CAN GET IT DONE. !!!!!!