President Muhammadu Buhari Monday outlined some of the efforts his administration is making to combat threats to the ecosystem and preserve biodiversity resources across the country.
Speaking at the 33rd session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB-ICC) programme at the State House in Abuja, Buhari said Nigeria is renowned for its environmental resources like forestry, wildlife and wetlands resources spread across all the geo-political zones of the country.
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Represented by the Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) Boss Mustapha, the president said in terms of biodiversity, Nigeria possesses more than 5,000 documented species of plants and 22,090 species of animals and others.
He, however, noted that “A good number of problems we face today can be traced to our destructive use of the environment, especially its biodiverse resources and we are regrettably living with the consequences of our actions.”
He said, “Nigeria has taken certain measures to make sure it manages its environment and this includes the development of policies on the environment, solid waste management, plastic waste management, biosafety policy, gender and climate change.
“Through the aforementioned policies and programmes, the following mitigation efforts are being carefully implemented, like the accelerated implementation of the Ogoni cleanup for the restoration of polluted and degraded land, effective implementation of the Great Green Wall (GGW), and promotion of set targets for tree planting among others.”
In her remarks, the Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, said the world is facing a planetary crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss.
She, however, said it was not late to reverse the current trends if conservation efforts were scaled up and protected areas are expanded.
She reiterated the commitment of the federal government to taking bold steps to reverse biodiversity loss and mitigate climate change.
