Nigeria: Environmentalist Flays Low Penalty for Gas Flaring 
At a two day training programme for members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the Role of Legislators on Natural Resources Governance,

Business and Human Rights organised by Centre for Human Rights and the Environment in the Niger Delta, CEHRD, the , Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation , Mr Nnimmo Bassey,  said that the penalty for gas flaring in the country was too low to stop defaulting companies from polluting the environment in the Niger Delta, and  it was pathetic that about $1.1 bn flare penalties were also not collected annually, money he said could have been used to redress pollution problems in the Niger Delta region
He also said “The penalty for gas flaring remains low and does not offer real incentives to defaulting oil companies to stop the practice. Also, about $1.1 bn gas flare penalties are reportedly not collected annually. This is more than the amount required to commence the full implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme,UNEP, report on the cleanup of Ogoni environment. It simply goes up in smoke annually by way of uncollected fines for gas flaring,”   He called for serious efforts to end gas flaring in the region, and also urged lawmakers to call for re-modelling of the new Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, after the Minerals and Mining Act, “Or indeed, a wholesale adoption of the environmental and communities provisions in the Minerals Act.” He charged lawmakers to come up with laws to protect the environment from pollution, adding that they should actively campaign for implementation of the laws.

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