degradation, no policy has been enacted in Nigeria with the sole purpose to conserve endangered mangrove forests. Although neither federal or state institutions have ratified protection efforts, citizens of the Niger Delta states have banded together in attempt to defend the depreciating mangrove populations. One coalition, the Mangrove Forest Conservation Society of Nigeria, established in 1995, has spread its vision of establishing peaceful and sustainable coexistence between regional rural development and mangrove ecosystems across numerous Niger Delta cities (such as Asaba, Benin, Calabar, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Uyo, and Yenegoa). Unintentionally affecting mangrove conservation, in 1989, the National Policy on Environment was developed in Nigeria. This policy resulted in 14.2% of Nigeria's land mass qualifying as protected area, securing 988 nationally protected reserves and 12 protected areas under international conventions. According to the Nigerian Department of National Parks, the reserves collectively represent a variety of Nigeria's most essential ecological zones; among these signified zones are tropical and wetland forests. Despite federally declaring these 1,000 sites protected, under-regulation and mismanagement has resulted in anthropogenic exploitation of reserve resources. Deforestation has been propelled by demand for bushmeat, timber, and vegetation. Although mangrove conservation policy has yet to be established in Nigeria, published studies have demonstrated the affirmative prospective impact human intervention can have on remediating and protecting mangrove forests. A 2013 GIS study conducted by Oluwagbenga Ol Orimoogunje and Opeyemi Ajibola- James analyzed the recovery capability of oil exposed mangroves in two polluted Niger Delta sites. Both sites contained contaminated areas greater than 20 km 2 in size, but one site was remediated whereas the other was not. Mangrove health was monitored for four time periods via RENA and GPS imagery spanning 1986 to 2007. In 1986 (pre-spill), both locations contained a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) value of .32. NDVI, which measures the amount of infrared energy produced by a plant, allowed researchers to determine the health of the mangrove study population based on the infrared levels reflected off the canopy surface. This number served as starting point to determine the quantitative impact oil pollution had on mangrove health. In 2000, six years after the spill, NDVI values had changed. The remediated site contained a NDVI of .30 where the non-remediated site was evaluated at .27. After 2000, NDVI values began to increase in both fields, but the remediated site's NDVI remained higher than the non-remediated site (2007 remediated site had a