FEDERAL MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT
HYDROCARBON POLLUTION REMEDIATION PROJECT (HYPREP)
OFFICE OF THE PROJECT COORDINATOR
Twitter: @HYPREP Nigeria. Email: info@hyprep.gov.ng
www.hyprep.gov.ng
PRESS STATEMENT
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2026: OGONI ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION IS A RESULTS-DRIVEN CLIMATE ACTION
- The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) joins the global community in commemorating World Environment Day 2026, themed “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For our Future.”
- As this year’s global campaign highlights the urgent signals our Earth is sending and calls for immediate, accelerated action to address climate change and environmental degradation, HYPREP reaffirms its commitment to best practices and to the full implementation of the Ogoni cleanup, as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It also pledges to advance its ambition for citizen-led sustainable climate action in the Niger Delta.
- For HYPREP, this day holds profound significance as we continue our mandate to restore the integrity of Ogoniland’s socio-ecological landscape and revitalise communities affected by decades of hydrocarbon pollution. Our ongoing shoreline cleanup, mangrove restoration, remediation of polluted soil and groundwater, provision of potable water, livelihood support initiatives, health interventions, and the Ogoni Power Project are direct responses to the call for environmental healing and sustainable development.
- As we scale up our mangrove restoration project and revive the world’s largest oil-degraded mangrove area, HYPREP is planting millions of native mangroves. Our restoration teams are systematically mitigating invasive nipa palms to allow native mangrove species and other biodiversity to thrive.
- Our mangrove restoration effort is restoring vital fish breeding and nursery grounds and expanding mangrove canopies, which has triggered the gradual return of fish, crabs, oysters, and periwinkles. The restored mangroves are sequestering large quantities of carbon, thereby helping mitigate global climate change. These carbon assets are being positioned to secure carbon credits, ensuring long-term funding for the communities to continue conserving the restored mangrove.
- It is also worth noting that thousands of Ogoni youth and women are directly employed as mangrove planters, nursery operators, and environmental shoreline monitors, known as Mangrove Vanguards, who are helping to protect restored zones from re-pollution and to eliminate the threat of artisanal refining, in addition to our continued engagement with ex-artisanal refiners.
- The Project has secured collective community ownership, with local surveillance teams and traditional rulers actively co-managing the newly restored shorelines and facilities built in their respective communities to prevent vandalism.
- On this occasion, HYPREP reaffirms its commitment to accelerate remediation actions, working alongside our technical partners and local stakeholders to ensure the highest standards of environmental remediation across impacted communities. We would also continue to empower communities through robust investment in sustainable livelihood programmes, including agricultural support and vocational training, to ensure the economic resilience of the people. This is in addition to our environmental advocacy, where we continue to engage the youth and local populations through established environmental clubs in schools and grassroots sensitisation campaigns to foster a culture of conservation, even as the Ogoni wetlands have been designated as a Ramsar Site of international importance by the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands.
- As we observe World Environment Day 2026, we call on all stakeholders, community leaders, the people of the Niger Delta, and the international community to partner with HYPREP to restore and safeguard our shared environment.. HYPREP remains resolute in its mission and inspired, particularly by the sustained community support for bringing lasting environmental restoration to Ogoniland and its environs, ensuring that the Ogoni people live in a safe, healthy, and economically vibrant environment.
- Happy World Environment Day!
Signed:
Professor Nenibarini Zabbey
Project Coordinator
Friday, June 5, 2026