MICRO and nano plastics penetrated seafoods are escalating health and ecological risks to Africa’s oceans with the continent’s exposure potentially double the global rate, a UNESCO-linked NGO, Youth Orientation for Development (YOD) has warned.
At the launch of the National Ocean Microplastics Monitoring Initiative (NOMMI) Emmanuel Ejiogu, President YOD, said Africa’s marine ecosystems face mounting pressure.
Ejiogu noted, “Africa’s oceans and coastal ecosystems were among the continent’s most valuable environmental and economic assets. They support fisheries, transportation, tourism, biodiversity, climate regulation, and livelihoods for millions of people across coastal communities.
“One of the major environmental realities confronting Africa today is that while the threats to this ecosystem continue to grow, systems required to properly monitor, understand and respond to them remain limited across many parts of the continent.”
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Launched by youth-led climate tech startup Re-Cycleme Solutions in collaboration with YOD-UNESCO, the NOMMI project will deploy field sampling, data collection and public engagement to build “African data for African realities.”
Stressing the role of youth in closing the research gap, Ejioku said, “The future of Africa’s ocean depends on creating practical systems that allow young people to actively participate in environmental science and solution-building.
“Science must move beyond theory and become something young Africans experience directly through research, field activities, environmental observation, data collection, innovation programmes and scientific collaboration.
“When young people are given opportunities to participate in real scientific processes, they begin to see selves not simply as students, but as contributors to national and continental development.”
The initiative unites the Living Green Club of Pan-Atlantic University, Anchor University Lagos, Caleb-British International Secondary School Lekki, OceanHUB Africa, Ocean Diagnostics and Fedrok AG.
Re-Cycleme Solutions CEO, Chukwuleta Chukwuemeka, 19, briefed 60 students and faculty on microplastics’ impact on public health, coastal ecosystems and economic activity.
He cited Western research showing humans ingest 550-880 microplastics daily, adding, “That the data and seeming effect in Africa would be double.”
Ejiogu concluded, “The future of Africa’s ocean will not only be determined by governments or international institutions. It will also be shaped by whether this generation of Africans chooses to build the scientific culture, environmental systems, and innovation capacity necessary to protect and sustain our ecosystems for decades to come.
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“Ultimately, the future of Africa’s ocean must be researched by Africans, monitored by Africans, and protected by Africans.”