CONCEPT NTE Earth Charter Youth Group Wiki观注地球宪章青年组维基.docVIP

CONCEPT NOTE Project Title “UNDERSTANDING AND DISCOVERING THE PURPOSE OF EARTH CHARTER IN ACHIEVING THE MDGs: TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND PEACE BUILDING IN THE NIGER DELTA” Submitted by: Esther Kelechi Agbarakwe Coordinator Earth Charter Youth Group Calabar, Nigeria, Email: ecygcalabar@ Submitted to: Dominic Stucker International Youth Coordinator Earth Charter Youth Initiative E-mail: youthcoordinator@ Rationale for the Proposed Program Earth Charter Youth Group Calabar, Nigeria was established as a member of the Earth Charter Youth Initiative in October 2007 and strongly believes that “urgent action is required to bring about a just, sustainable, and peaceful world” especially in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The Niger Delta is an area of dense mangrove rainforest in the southern tip of Nigeria, comprises nine of Nigerias thirty-six states: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers. The regions oil accounts for approximately 90 percent of the value of Nigerias exports, but the Niger Delta remains one of Nigerias least developed regions. Conflict, present in the region for many years, began to surge appreciably in the late 1990s. In 2000, the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo created the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to help end the violence and spur socio-economic development. Still, during and after the run-up to the 2003 presidential election, violence between rival militia groups and against the oil corporations increased considerably. Facilitated by poverty, political disenfranchisement, and the easy availability of firearms, armed groups fought each other over the control of illegally acquired oil (so-called bunkering) and engaged in violent acts against oil companies, such as kidnapping officials The long period of military rule in Nigeria contributed to bad governance and corruption; and the burden for the provision of government services fell to oil and gas companies, which were