National Parks partners international coy to reposition Nigerian parks

The National Park Services has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Conservation International (CI) to reposition parks in the country.

The conservator general of the park, Ibrahim M. Goni, said the MoU is anchored on four cardinal points including supporting the park service and rolling robust, effective and efficient management and system plans.

He said the partnership will also unlock both private and public funding for national park and protected areas in Nigeria by leveraging on CI’s expertise in over 30 countries and a status as a fund raiser for both global environment facilities.

“It is for building the capacity of the officers and men of the park service to ensure that the service and its stakeholders are properly engaged,” he said, adding that partnership would lead to tangible projects in communities and improve peoples’ wellbeing.

The fourth cardinal point, he said, was to provide the park service with programme innovation grounded in speedy project implementation and long-time sustainable financing models for its key programme across Nigeria.

After signing the MoU, the Senior Vice President of Conversation International, Kenya, Michael O’Brien-Onyeka, said the partnership is a demand driven collaboration required to meet the interest of the national park services.

He said the MoU is for five years from which the park must have benefited greatly.