ODI, Bayelsa State — As River Nun eats into Isonbiri and Ogboloma, residents say they no longer run for shelter when it rains, they run to save their homes
When rain starts to fall in Odi town, nobody in Isonbiri and Ogboloma compounds runs for shelter first. They run to the edge of the riverbank to check if their house will still be there in the morning.
The River Nun, which once fed them with fish and gave their children a place to swim, has turned against them. Every day, it takes a little more, a piece of a home, a corner of a shop, a foot of road.
This local disaster is a direct threat to the global 2030 Marine Conservation Target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which commits nations to protect and restore 30 percent of inland waters, coastal and marine ecosystems by 2030, the 30×30 target.
The framework recognises that rivers like the River Nun are not isolated. They are arteries that feed the marine ecosystem of the Niger Delta and the Atlantic.
Reverend Ayibatari John Ozi, an elder in Odi, said night is no longer for rest but for vigil when it rains. He pointed to a broken government embankment hanging like a loose tooth at the bank, lamenting that succour lasted a few months and collapsed.
This reflects a failure of Target 2 of the 2030 framework, which calls for effective restoration of at least 30 percent of degraded inland water ecosystems. Without proper restoration, communities like Odi continue to lose land and biodiversity.
Mr. Ken Bestman led the walk to what used to be an internal road in Ogboloma. There is no road anymore, just red earth that ends abruptly into water.
He noted that the road washed away by erosion was the shortcut to the market and school, warning that the community will be trapped if urgent action is not taken.
Environmental experts note that unchecked riverbank erosion in Odi increases sedimentation and pollution load into the lower Nun River, which empties into the Atlantic, damaging mangroves, fish breeding grounds and water quality downstream.
This directly undermines Target 3 of the 2030 agenda to conserve inland water and marine biodiversity.
For mothers in Isonbiri, the fear is their children walking to school along a remaining road that is now a death trap, a cliff that was once their playground.
They are not asking for temporary relief. They are calling on the Bayelsa State Government led by Governor Douye Diri, the Federal Government, the NDDC, and NGOs for sustainable engineering, proper shoreline assessment, effective erosion control, drainage management, and regular monitoring.
This is where the 2030 target becomes local. Protecting Odi’s riverbank is not just about saving houses, it is about building climate resilience, protecting freshwater biodiversity, and securing the health of marine ecosystems downstream as envisaged by the 2030 targets.
Editor’s Note: This story was produced with funding from The Colonist Report Africa as part of the 2030 Marine Conservation Target reporting initiative, supported by the Earth Journalism Network.
