Nigeria Appeals For Urgent Global Response To Biodiversity Crisis
By Stephanie Odiase
The Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Salako has appealed for urgent global response to biodiversity crisis while seeking more financial support for ECOWAS to realize the 30 by30 Vision.
The Minister stated this at the ECOWAS coordination meeting on expanding and strengthening ECOWAS Protected Area (Mapping out ECOWAS Contribution to 30 by30) holding in Abuja.
Salako disclosed that the vision of Nigeria and the rest of ECOWAS is to ensure that the world truly unites and responds as one on biodiversity crisis.
He said, “By launching the ECOWAS appeal for an ambitious global response to the biodiversity crisis, our region played a significant role in securing the adoption of this commitment in Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. For this I warmly congratulate you and invite you to please stand up and thumb up for West Africa.”
The minister stressed that Nigeria will continue to champion her leadership role in mobilizing and organizing West Africa to protect its regional biodiversity, adding that the meeting is aimed at planning the next steps and to turn Africa ambitions into concrete actions.
He reiterated that President Bola Tinubu, who is also the Chairman of ECOWAS is a committed environment advocate and climate hero who has prioritized sustainability as a core principle of his economic agenda.
“The 3 planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution is therefore receiving adequate attention in the Presidential deliverables of the Federal Ministry of Environment,” the minister stated.
He further stressed that the healthier our region’s biodiversity is, the better it will be in withstanding future climate and biodiversity shocks and the more resilient to continue to deliver for the people.
“The ECOWAS region is the only part of the world that is looking at its contribution to halting biodiversity loss through a regional lens, a template critical for global success and to securing nature for future generations.” he said.
In his presentation, ECOWAS representative, Benard Koffi, said that the ECOWAS countries have played a significant role in securing the adoption of the global commitment to expand protected areas to 30% of the Planet by 2030.
Koffi said the regional body have demonstrated collaboration, expertise, and strength in the advocacy for the protection of our natural heritage.
“We are matching good intentions with concrete actions to show the world that we are ready to expand our protected areas and strengthen their effectiveness. Today, we pave the way towards achieving a bold new vision to cooperate to protect 30% of our ecosystems so that we benefit now and so that our children and grandchildren will share in those benefits long into the future,” he stated.
He emphasized that the ECOWAS must commit to protect biodiverse areas effectively by ensuring no environmentally damaging activity is allowed.
“Through this meeting, you will work together on four major steps towards protecting 30% of the ECOWAS region. You will first develop a process to undertake an assessment of the gaps in our regional network of protected areas to identify where we may expand and improve them.
“Then you will launch the development of a short and medium term regional action plan to address these gaps. Next, you will propose mechanisms to monitor and fund the expansion and strengthening of our protected areas,” Koffi told participants at the meeting.
He further urged them to work together to provide targeted support and guidance for updating and harmonizing sections of countries’ National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans launching the development of an ECOWAS Biodiversity.
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