Oil spillages

This report presents the main findings and recommendations of the IUCN-Niger Delta Panel, regarding the sustainable remediation and rehabilitation of oil spill impacted sites in the Niger Delta. It has been prepared for the Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd of Nigeria (SPDC) and represents the Panel’s first year of work.

This report is the second in a series that describes IUCN’s work with independent scientific and technical advisory panels.

In 2013, the IUCN Niger Delta Panel published the report Sustainable remediation and rehabilitation of biodiversity and habitats of oil spill sites in the Niger Delta. In this report, it was recognised that the critical step in the sustainable rehabilitation of biodiversity and habitats of oil spill sites in the Niger Delta is the prevention and/or quick and efficient clean-up of the oil spill in the first place.

This report is intended as a compendium to describe the tools available for use by industry for response to an oil spill in the Arctic.

This guidance document provides an overview of concepts important for understanding oil spill response planning and implementation for marine and coastal environments; however, much of the information can be applied to land-based operations as well. This guidance discusses the development of oil spill response efforts and identifies the key factors that might be important for reviewing a response system to determine if it is appropriate for the risks it seeks to address.

This report represents the best available understanding as to what has happened to the environment of Ogoniland – and the corresponding implications for affected populations – over many years of oil industry operations. It provides the government, stakeholders and the international community with invaluable, baseline information on the scale of the challenge and priorities for action in terms of clean-up and remediation.