The Global Symposium on Soil Pollution #GSOP18 | 2 - 4 May 2018 | FAO Hq Mr. Nsalambi V. Nkongolo, Institut Facultaire des Sciences Agronomiques, Dem. Rep. Cong

2. Regional Status of Soil Pollution:
Sub-Sahara Africa
Nsalambi V. Nkongolo1
For
Gary Paterson1 and Victor Chude2
1Agricultural Research Council-Institute for Soil, Climate and
Water, Pretoria, South Africa
2Agric Productivity Enhancement, National Programme for
Food Security, Maitama, Abuja, Nigeria

3. Sources of Soil Pollution: Nigeria
• The major cause of soil pollution is oil
spillage
• The main causes of oil spillage are
• Lack of regular maintenance of the
pipelines and storage tanks.
• Another cause is sabotage which
involves bunkering by some
unpatriotic Nigerians

4. Most affected region: The Niger Delta
• The Niger Delta region of Nigeria is one of the world’s
largest wetlands and includes by far the largest
mangrove forest in Africa
• A region with a biological diversity is of global
significance
• Yet, oil exploration and activities have been
concentrated in this region which has over 1000
production oil-wells and over 47,000 km of oil and gas
flow lines

5. Impact of Oil Spillage (Nigeria)
• The negative impact of these oil
activities includes
• Destruction of wild life,
• Loss of fertile soil,
• Pollution of air and water and
• Damage to the ecosystem of the host
communities

6. Mitigation Strategies
• Master plan for the development of the Niger Delta
• The Nigerian Sat 1 Satellite launched is aimed at
helping to check the perennial problem of oil
pipeline vandalisation, and assist in combating and
managing oil spill incidents.
• Bioremediation has also been implemented in areas
of the delta to detoxify and restore ecosystems
damaged by oil spills using indigenous grass species
such as Hibiscus cannabinus and Vetiveria
zizanioides

7. Sources of Soil Pollution: South
Africa
• South Africa has a wide variety of soils, mainly due
to its wide range of geological parent materials as
well as the climatic range across the country.
• In most of South Africa, the level of soil pollution is
low, but there are exceptions, mainly associated
with mining and other industrial activities, as well as
(in places), pollution from agricultural sources

8. • Sources of pollution include
• Mining with coal, gold and platinum being identified as the main
commodities where pollution can result having different effects.
• Gold mine tailings and slimes dams, as well as ash disposal
facilities of power stations (a large percentage of South Africa’s
power needs are met by coal-fired power stations) are also a
source of pollution.
• Industrial where various industrial effluents and sludges, especially
where proper preventative measures have not been applied to
isolate such disposal sites from food and drink industries, paper mills
and tanneries, abattoirs, metal industries and chemical plants
(Kilani, 1993) are released into the environment.
• Agriculture in which excessive use of pesticides, fertilizers and other
organic soil ameliorants constitute sources of pollutants (Schoeman
and van Deventer, 2004).
• Urban The presence of landfills, excessive population growth
coupled with poverty and a combination of industrial and residential
land uses in close proximity, has led to many instances of pollution.

9. SUMMARY
• Land pollution is much more insidious and difficult
to quantify without hands-on investigation, such as
point sampling.
• Much of the pollution that affects the soil profile
subsequently finds its way through the groundwater
system to remote destinations, such as water
bodies and the scale and extent of this pollution is
very difficult to assess

10. Conclusion
• There is a need for capacity building, investment
into research and provision of equipment and tools
to assist in monitoring and evaluating the extent of
pollution and degradation to the environment.
• There is an urgent need for governments to
prioritise pollution and provide funds to support
initiatives and projects that would promote a safe
environment

11. Conclusion
• There is need for intense education and awareness
raising among all stakeholders particularly with local
people on the need to protect and safeguard their
environment.
• Regulating agencies need to be empowered or
supported to be more proactive and strict in
enforcing existing national regulations that govern
the environment.