A Pyrrhic victory for the indigenous peoples, as Shell’s retreat will not stop environmental degradation – Nigeria's government fails to act

According to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), the announcement of the Shell Group to pay compensation to 15,600 indigenous fishermen in Nigeria because of the oil-pollution of their fishing grounds is only a "Pyrrhic victory". On Wednesday, Ulrich Delius, the STP's Africa-consultant, criticized in Göttingen: "Shell's concession will in no way stop the environmental damage caused by oil production, of which the indigenous communities in the Niger Delta have now been suffering for more than 50 years." So as not be confronted with any further claims for damages, Shell has already withdrawn from the Niger Delta and has sold twelve drill holes to local investors since 2010.

"The company's strategy is clear: in order to avoid further image problems, local firms are to take over the oil production while Shell will continue to take care of the international marketing. These local companies will feel even less bound by international environmental standards – and the Nigerian government is simply watching," said Delius. "The Shell Group is thus trying to escape from its responsibility for the massive environmental damage, which was caused during the past decades and which can only be reversed with great effort and in the long term. For the 31 million inhabitants of the Niger Delta, the change in strategy is bad news."

In an out-of-court settlement last Tuesday, the Shell Group agreed to pay around 70 million Euros in damages to the fishermen of the village of Bodo in Ogoniland. The 15,600 fishermen will each receive € 2,700 as a compensation for their loss of earnings. More than 26 million Euros will be used for the ecological restoration of oil-contaminated water and soil around two pipelines that had sprung a leak in 2008. The settlement marks the end of a lawsuit that had lasted for three-years.

In August 2011, the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) had published an incriminating report about the dramatic extent of the environmental, medical and social consequences in connection with oil production. "More than three years after the publication of the UNEP report, the Nigerian government and the oil companies have still not managed to implement the recommendations of the UN experts," said Delius. Thus, the contamination of the drinking water of the Ogoni and other indigenous people in the delta exceeds the limits of the World Health Organization (WHO) by 900-fold. Cancer and respiratory diseases are widespread. According to expert estimates, a comprehensive ecological restoration of the Delta would take at least 25 years and cost billions of Euros.

In the years 2008 to 2012 alone, Nigeria's government earned about 67 billion US dollars from the oil companies that are involved in the oil production in the Delta. Nearly 80 percent of all government revenues come from Nigeria's oil and natural gas industry.

Ulrich Delius, head of STP's Africa department, is available for further questions: +49 551 49906 27 or afrika@gfbv.de.

Header Photo: Sosialistisk Ungdom (SU)/Flickr