Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has issued a strong appeal for coordinated action—at both federal and global levels—to confront the escalating threat posed by ocean surge and rising sea levels along the state’s coastline.
Speaking in Dubai during the COP28 Climate Summit at the United Nations Convention for Conserving River Deltas, Governor Diri highlighted the urgent plight of Bayelsa’s coastal settlements. He revealed that over 20 communities—including Agge, Akassa, Brass, Odioama, and Okpoama—have suffered significant land loss or are now submerged due to tidal incursions .
Referring to scientific assessments conducted between 1991 and 2018, Diri noted substantial shoreline retreat: Bayelsa lost approximately 81,532 m, while neighbouring Rivers and Akwa Ibom lost about 17,519 m and 8,590 m respectively. These figures translate into annual shoreline erosion rates of 11.1 m/year in Bayelsa, 7.2 m/year in Rivers, and 5.5 m/year in Akwa Ibom .
Emphasising the existential dimension of this crisis, Diri called on international stakeholders, donor agencies, multilateral institutions, and national governments to adopt a Global Deltas Action Plan. Such a plan, he suggested, would include greater community empowerment, nature-based restoration (like mangrove planting and riverbank reinforcement), and a dedicated fund to hold polluters accountable and compensate affected communities .
During a separate visit to Odioama community in Brass LGA, the governor drew attention to the local impact, with around 250 buildings reportedly submerged over the last decade. He disclosed Bayelsa’s plan to implement a 1.5 km shoreline protection initiative in an attempt to curb further ocean incursion .
Highlighting Bayelsa’s vulnerability to flooding—given its 203 km Atlantic coastline—residents from coastal areas such as Nembe, Brass, Southern Ijaw, and Ekeremor are already displaced as their homes, ancestral graves, and farmland give way to the rising sea .
As the world’s deltas face mounting pressure, Governor Diri urged prompt intervention, arguing that concerted measures are essential to preserve livelihoods, protect cultural heritage, and avert environmental extinction in Bayelsa and similar regions worldwide.