United Nations General Assembly: FG to build 10 new national parks
…as Buhari expresses worry over species extinction
By Uthman Salami
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday assured the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and its members that Nigeria is working assidously create ten new national parks
The President gave this assurance on Wednesday while delivering message via a video message to an hybrid High-Level conference of the 76th United Nations General Assembly on the theme, tagged “Transformative Actions for Nature and People.”
The President reeled out list expansion of protected areas which include the establishment of 10 new National Parks across Nigeria; and creation of Marine Protected Areas pursuant to the 30X30 Agenda of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).
Recall that the Federal Government had identified parks’ degradation and poaching of wildlife as some of the challenges bedeviling the development of National Parks and sustainability of wildlife in Nigeria.
Former Minister of Environment, under previous administration, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, stated that the National Park had been upgraded to full status of a paramilitary organisation, noting that with the new status, the National Park Service would be able to curtail incidents of poaching and sporadic attacks on park personnel.
While explaining some of the threats facing the national parks in the country, the then Minister listed degradation of parks, poaching of wildlife as some of the factors leading to threats of extinction of some of the wildlife species in the country.
According to her, while these affect various wildlife species, attacks on parks protection officers, habitat destructions and infrastructure decay were also identified as some of the gnawing challenges facing the nation’s parks.
Various experts had urged the government to step up efforts to address some of the challenges, especially in areas of government’s collaboration with the private sector to overcome some of these challenges.
Several sensitization had been done to stakeholders at all levels to commit themselves to the protection and conservation of the environment and its natural resources for sustainable development.
However, since 2014 nothing has been seen happening to the National park until the President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent commitment to build ten new parks in the country.
Meanwhile, during the president presentation, Buhari outlined other measures to include “Expansion of protected areas including the establishment of ten (10) new National Parks across the country as well as the creation of Marine Protected Areas pursuant to the 30X30 Agenda of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD); and domestication of relevant International Agreements, Conventions as well as Laws and Policies for the protection and conservation of biodiversity.”
President also listed the domestication of relevant international agreements, and laws/policies for the protection and conservation of biodiversity.
Muhammadu Buhari further added that partnerships with development partners, and increased investments in a climate-positive economy for sustainable environment and land use practices are also at the bedrock of the Federal Government agenda.
Besides all these, the President also champion other regional and inter-regional cooperation towards addressing the scourge of the severe trend of biodiversity loss which affects the global community.
According to the media aide to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina who was quoted in a statement that, “leveraging the cooperation and partnerships of the Development Partners as well as International Organisations and Coalitions for concrete action against deforestation and Coalitions for concrete action against deforestation and biodiversity loss; and promotion and increased investments in climate-positive and nature-positive economy for sustainable environment and land use practices,” were other areas being worked on to confront the challenge.
