MUSA SHUBOMI TIMILEYHIN
The Federal Government of Nigeria on Tuesday called for urgent change in the biodiversity narrative of the entire West Africa sub-region to arrest the dangerous threat of a rising population of climate migrants and environmentally displaced people across the region.
Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Salako made the call on Tuesday during the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) coordination meeting at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
He also said there is a need for immediate action to preserve life-giving ecosystems and to halt the human-induced extinction of wild species in the sub-region.
His words: “It is clear that there is inequity in the ways countries are impacted by the biodiversity and climate crises. For us In West Africa, a lack of solutions means that our communities will become poorer, our food security jeopardized, and our rural populations forced to relocate as is already happening in many of our countries. It is a fact that the population of climate migrants and environmentally displaced people is rising in our sub-region.”
The minister told the stakeholders present at the meeting that they have an important mandate to produce a regional 30 by 30 implementation plan which seeks to secure the effective protection of at least 30% of the ECOWAS region to preserve our life-giving ecosystems and to halt immediately the human-induced extinction of wild species
“ECOWAS sub-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.
“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 l want to trust that through your work in the coming days, ECOWAS will take the lead in ambition for biodiversity once again,“ he said.
According to him, the sub-region will work through the difficult technical aspects and conceive new paths forward because the eyes of the world are upon the sub-region.
He stressed further saying, “Our hard work to expand and strengthen our protected areas will serve not only as a sign of our commitment but also as a wake-up call to the rest of the world.
He noted, “When we support one another, we all do better. Over half of global GDP relies on rich biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. Our investment in biodiversity conservation and the 30by30 agenda is a long-term investment in our economies and the future of our different countries and indeed the world which will yield return in multiple folds.”
He implored the authorities in the member nations to be ready to secure the livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities saying, “ I strongly believe that we are ready to act together to protect the lands and oceans that provide our generous ecosystem services and give rise to our utterly unique environments.”
During the meeting, the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture of the ECOWAS Commission, Mrs Massandje Toure-Litse who was represented by the Head of the Environment and Climate Change Division of the ECOWAS, Mr Bernard Koffi said that it is expedient to ensure that the region is protected through a collective effort by member countries.
She said, “ECOWAS countries have played a significant role in securing the adoption of global commitment to expand protected areas to 30% of the planet by 2030.
“We have a shared responsibility to act by expanding and strengthening our protected areas because degraded ecosystem threatens the physical, economic and food security both of local communities and multinational businesses.”
