In 2006, UN Environment received a formal request from the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to carry out a comprehensive environmental assessment of oil-impacted sites in the region of Ogoniland, and to recommend suitable remediation actions based on the findings.
Recognizing the human and environmental tragedy associated with oil contamination in the Ogoni region – where oil exploration and production began in the 1950s – UN Environment responded to the Government’s request and conducted an independent assessment of the environmental and public health impacts of oil contamination in Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta, with the agreement and support of Ogoni communities, the Rivers State Government and other partners.
In 2018, building on its 2011 Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland, UN Environment began a new project that aims to strengthen the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) and its Governing Council, so that they can discharge their responsibilities better and clean up oil contamination in Ogoniland. The project is designed in response to a request from the Government and the agreement has already been signed with the Government of Nigeria. This project comes as an integral part of UN Environment’s continuing support to the Government of Nigeria to clean up the environmental contamination in Nigeria and achieve lasting peace in the region.
