Center of Excellence
HYPREP in addressing one of the key recommendations as contained in the UNEP Ogoniland Assessment Report of 2011 and to enshrine environmental restoration repository and knowledge incubation hub, is establishing the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration (CEER), and an Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre (ICSMC).
In response to UNEP’s 2011 recommendations, and in line with global best practices, where organisations set up research, development and innovation (RDI) units for the purpose of advancing their operations, HYPREP is currently developing the blueprint and physical infrastructure to accommodate CEER and ICSMC. The contract for the construction of the physical infrastructure was awarded in favour of CCECC Nigeria Limited with the expected completion period of 24months. The contractor commenced activity in June 2023 and expected to be completed in September, 2025.
Considerable progress has been made with the development of the physical infrastructure for CEER. CEER will bring together a cohort of experts in environmental and socio-economic sciences to promote practices that safeguard the environment and people’s social, economic, and physical health and wellbeing. CEER will serve as a focal point for knowledge management, with the overall goal being the ability to capture new knowledge, standardize existing and emerging scientific processes, and deploy best practices from inside and outside of the business area. The centre will partner with relevant bodies to facilitate technology incubation and innovation for advancing the positive RDI results in environmental remediation and restoration.
The specific objectives of CEER
CEER shall amongst others:
Serve as a repository of new knowledge in environmental protection, remediation and restoration including standardized scientific processes to effect desired positive changes in environmental remediation and restoration, and integrated contaminated soil management.
Conduct innovative, applied and transformative researches for solving societal problems in environment sustainability and serve as a model for environmental remediation and restoration to attract high quality visiting scholars.
Support entrepreneurial and business development efforts of participants by disseminating transformative research results through policy briefs and mainstream international publications.
Promote learning in environmental restoration by organizing courses including degree programmes, workshops, seminars and colloquia related to environmental remediation and restoration, ecosystem and ecosystems services, environmental management, environmental economics and eco philosophy, and other related courses.
Maintain an inclusive multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary outlook, identify skills shortages and gaps, and undertake holistic capacity development projects to address identified gaps and support efforts to restore sustainable livelihood sources like safe food production and dignified job creation particularly in communities impacted by oil spill-related soil degradation.
Community Workers
To improve and bridge the skill gaps in the construction industry, over 700 artisans drawn from Ogoni communities across the four LGAs has been engaged, provided with hand-on-training and earning livelihood from the construction of Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration Project. The workers of Ogoni extraction are sourced through HYPREP’s Community Development Officers (CDOs) to ensure adequate distribution.
The compliant of wages were raised by the workers through agitations and protest. The Honorable Minister of Environment graciously approved the payment of additional allowance to community workers of Ogoni Extraction. This payment commenced in November 2023
Graduate Internship Scheme
Man-power needs is critical to any society and the construction industry is one of the areas in needs of qualified persons. 40 Ogoni graduates were carefully selected from the four LGAs and are having hands-on-experience at the centre. The programme commenced in February 2024 and ongoing.
Establishment and Operationalisation of CEER
As a recommendation of UNEP and contained in the assessment report, the centre will serve for research, development and incubation.
Deliberate attempts are been made to establish and operationalize CEER. The Project Coordinator inaugurated the Technical Planning Committee to provide advisories on the establishment of CEER. The advisories are shown below.
- Advisory Document on Bill for CEER, Core Curricula, and Governing Council Recommendations.
- Advisory Document on Co-financing, Collaborations with Institutions, and Sustainability.
- Staffing and Recruitment Strategy.
- Advisory document on its internationalization policy, strategy, and implementation plans
The 13 member committee led by Prof. Don Baridam has since submitted its report to the management of HYPREP.
Some Members of TPC
Construction of Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration
The construction of CEER is at advance state. Click on the link below for status of completion.