Observatory to detect pollution to open in Pointe-Noire

An observatory to detect pollution and other health and environmental dangers is to be set up in Pointe-Noire on the Atlantic coast of the Republic of Congo, an initiative that will integrate a policy adopted by the Economic Community of Central African States.

The observatory will monitor the risks to the population caused by polluting gases produced by factories in the town, reported Agence d’Information d’Afrique Centrale, or Adiac.

Dr Alain Gamassa said the observatory would “serve to identify the health and environmental risks. It is an organisation that will alert the public authorities and help them better manage all the risks linked to industrial activities that have an impact on the health of the population”.

Gamassa was presenting a feasibility study on the observatory at a workshop convened by Michel Brigitte Ickonga Somboko, chair of the cultural commission of the economic and social committee. The workshop was also attended by the Association for the Protection of the Environment of the Gulf of Guinea.

Adiac said the meeting had several objectives, including preparing documents which would present evidence to a UNESCO commission and stakeholders on the environmental and health risks linked to pollution; and to define the next stages of the project and develop a partnership for the future.

This pilot scheme would integrate the policy of the Economic Community of Central African States concerning management of the environment and natural resources which was adopted by government leaders in Libreville, Gabon, in 2007, reported Adiac. This policy concerned initiatives aimed at improving health problems of populations linked to environmental deterioration.

* This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.