Environmental and farming complaints from the oil basin regions
LIBYA – Speaker of the House of Representatives Salehin Abdulnabi has discussed problems of environmental pollution and crop pests facing residents with representatives of the Supreme Council of the Oil, Gas and Water Basin Regions, at a meeting in his office at the House headquarters in Benghazi, attended by MPs Youssef Al-Agouri and Mohamed Douma.
Seven areas present their needs
The delegation included representatives of Jalu, Awjila, Ijkharra, Zella, Marada, Tazerbo and Kufra. The Speaker welcomed the delegation, which thanked him for receiving them and discussing the issues they raised.
Gas emissions from wells and health concerns
The delegation outlined the problem of pollution which, it said, is caused by gases emitted from some oil and gas wells, and the environmental damage that accompanies it. Members voiced concern that it may be linked to rising rates of respiratory and skin diseases and birth defects among children in some areas.
The council’s members called for measures to deal with the sources of pollution and limit the risks to citizens’ health and safety, without asserting a causal medical link, which the material presented did not establish.
Palm weevil and green scale insect
The meeting also covered the spread of crop pests, chiefly the palm weevil and the green scale insect, and the losses they could cause to agricultural production, particularly dates, with calls for urgent action to curb their spread and protect crops.
Legislation to protect residents and respond to demands
Abdulnabi expressed his support for the demands of the areas concerned and pledged to work to meet their needs and ease residents’ hardship, stressing the need to enforce existing laws and issue any legislation required to protect citizens and guarantee their rights.
The delegation concluded the meeting by thanking the Speaker and the two MPs for their attention to the basin areas’ concerns and their readiness to support their demands.
