Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa, has advocated for a collaborative governance model to address the threats posed by ocean rise and coastal erosion to communities in the state and the Niger Delta region.
The governor made the call on Saturday at the Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Summit preceding the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) 2025 in Nice, France.
The governor said he was at the conference, which is being co-hosted by the governments of France and Costa Rica, in furtherance of his administration’s commitment to bringing global attention the environmental challenges of his region, and particularly Bayelsa State.
Diri in a statement issued on Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah
emphasised the need for collaboration among global, national, and sub-national stakeholders to address the challenges of global warming, climate change, and ocean rise.
In his presentation during the panel session themed: “Multi-Level Governance of Coastal Cities and Regions,” Diri emphasised the primacy of collaboration among stakeholders if the challenges of global warming, climate change and ocean rise would be adequately addressed.
He highlighted that Bayelsa State is particularly vulnerable to ocean rise and coastal erosion due to its geographical location, with about 70 per cent of its land area occupied by rivers and bordering the Atlantic Ocean on three senatorial flanks.
”As a coastal state, Bayelsa lies below the sea level and consequently faces the risks associated with ocean rise.
”About 70 per cent of its land area is occupied by rivers and it borders the Atlantic Ocean on its three senatorial flanks, ” he said.
The governor noted that his administration has initiated innovative policies to address these issues, including creating a Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in 2024.
“Bayelsa is the first and the only sub-national in Nigeria to create a Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in 2024 after President Bola Tinubu’s pioneering initiative in 2023.
” We have done a lot of policy innovation in the state in line with what the federal ministry has done.
“We are equally promoting mangrove restoration as a state with a lot of mangroves, rivers and rivulets.
”As a state bordering the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Guinea, Bayelsa communities face the threat of ocean rise and are either being destroyed or at the verge of being wiped out.
“I believe this is not the time to be looking at competitiveness but rather on some form of multi-governmental approach to address this challenge.
”This approach should look at collaborative and synergistic governance at the national, sub-national and international levels with all the stakeholders involved.”
Diri advocated for global funding support for affected states and communities, emphasising the need for collaborative governance and access to climate funds.
The summit brought together global stakeholders, scientists, and policymakers to address the challenges of rising sea levels, coastal erosion, climate adaptation, and sustainable development.
The summit, which had in attendance a former United States Secretary of State and Special Envoy on Climate, Mr John Kerry, attracted other global stakeholders,
the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, and delegates from Lagos and Cross River states.
The Bayelsa governor was accompanied by Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba, and the Commissioner for Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Faith Zibs-Godwin among others.
