http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/16405/2012/02/15/al-makura_seeks_fg%E2%80%99s_intervention_environmental_problems.html
This article highlights many concepts we have discussed recently including overpopulation, mining, pollution, flooding, and other environmental problems. In the beginning of the article, it referenced events which occurred in Zamfara State. In order to gain a better perspective on this article, here is some background knowledge on the aforementioned events in Zamfara I found on http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/67329:
"The discovery of natural resources worldwide ought to be a blessing. This is because when such natural resources are exploited, it is expected to bring in revenue to contribute to the development of local communities. However, in these communities in developing countries, the reverse is usually the case.
No single event illustrates this more than the recent tragic events in Zamfara State in northwestern Nigeria. It was supposed to be the World Environmental Day celebration on 5 June 2010 but the inhabitants of gold-bearing communities Anka and Bukkuyum and local governments in Zamfara State had a different fate in stock for them.
About 335 suspected cases of strange ailments were reported in several hospitals in the locality. It turned out that 163 lives were lost out of which 111 of them were children between the ages of five to ten years old.
Further investigations conducted by Doctors Without Borders, a French aid agency, led to the discovery of an epidemic due to lead poisoning. The epidemic wrought havoc among the communities involved in small-scale mining. Several questions remain unanswered as one examines what appears to have been an avoidable tragedy."
The tragedy in Zamfara parallels similar tragedies that have been covered in class readings where indigenous people face environmental and health problems brought on by large industries that exploit land and natural resources for money. In Nasarawa there are abandoned mining sites which pollute the water supply, cause erosion, and pose health risks to the surrounding communities. The governor Umaru is asking the federal government for support in combating these environmental problems. Do you think it is the Federal Government's responsibility to help Nasarawa? Who should bear the financial responsibility of protecting the environment? I welcome any comments on this article and comparisons to class readings.
This article highlights many concepts we have discussed recently including overpopulation, mining, pollution, flooding, and other environmental problems. In the beginning of the article, it referenced events which occurred in Zamfara State. In order to gain a better perspective on this article, here is some background knowledge on the aforementioned events in Zamfara I found on http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/67329:
"The discovery of natural resources worldwide ought to be a blessing. This is because when such natural resources are exploited, it is expected to bring in revenue to contribute to the development of local communities. However, in these communities in developing countries, the reverse is usually the case.
No single event illustrates this more than the recent tragic events in Zamfara State in northwestern Nigeria. It was supposed to be the World Environmental Day celebration on 5 June 2010 but the inhabitants of gold-bearing communities Anka and Bukkuyum and local governments in Zamfara State had a different fate in stock for them.
About 335 suspected cases of strange ailments were reported in several hospitals in the locality. It turned out that 163 lives were lost out of which 111 of them were children between the ages of five to ten years old.
Further investigations conducted by Doctors Without Borders, a French aid agency, led to the discovery of an epidemic due to lead poisoning. The epidemic wrought havoc among the communities involved in small-scale mining. Several questions remain unanswered as one examines what appears to have been an avoidable tragedy."
The tragedy in Zamfara parallels similar tragedies that have been covered in class readings where indigenous people face environmental and health problems brought on by large industries that exploit land and natural resources for money. In Nasarawa there are abandoned mining sites which pollute the water supply, cause erosion, and pose health risks to the surrounding communities. The governor Umaru is asking the federal government for support in combating these environmental problems. Do you think it is the Federal Government's responsibility to help Nasarawa? Who should bear the financial responsibility of protecting the environment? I welcome any comments on this article and comparisons to class readings.
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