FG to raise sufficient awareness on endangered species

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

The federal government said its committed to raise sufficient awareness in all nooks and crannies of the country on the need to conserve our critically endangered species .

The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi made this known at the 2023 World Wildlife Day and the celebration of 50 years of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, CITES and the Official Launch of the Rapid Reference Guild to Combat Wildlife and Forest Crime held in Abuja, recently.

Abdullahi said those engendered species, are Pangolins, Ostrich, Elephant, Hippopotamus, Vultures, Chimpanzee, Gorilla, Rhinoceros, Giraffe, Giant Eland and among many others.

“We encourage sustainable management of the existing biodiversity for a more balanced ecosystem”.

He said biodiversity plays vital and diverse roles in our economy, ecology, and social lives.

“We use it as food, domestic and commercial products, and industrial processes. You will agree with me that our survival and overall well-being depend on how sustainably the environment and biodiversity are managed.“

He however, stated that there are serious environmental challenges that have led to the loss of biodiversity and threatened our existence.

He said, there are all forms of habitat change, over-exploitation, pollution, invasive alien species, and climate change.

“The alarming rate of over-exploitation of these natural resources calls for urgent and proactive actions to reverse the trend.

“Nigeria is actively in the spotlight of wildlife crime which includes poaching, hunting, trading supply and selling, consumption, and trafficking.

“We are on the brink of losing some endemic and iconic plant and animal species. Unless drastic action is taken as a country, trans-border trafficking is assuming a dangerous position as Nigeria has been tagged ‘’Transit Hub’’ for this illegality,”he said

He explained that, that phenomenon constitutes a high-security risk, socioeconomic impoverishment of local communities, and public health risk with the spread of zoonotic diseases such as Lassa fever, Ebola Virus, and the recent COVID-19.

The Minister said that the aims of the Launching are “to assist wildlife enforcement task force, launching of the national forest policy and timber legality standard and we also gather here today to launch the Rapid Reference Guide for Judges and Prosecutors to facilitate the prosecution of wildlife and forest criminals.

“The Rapid Reference Guide (RRG) is a collection of relevant and extant laws pertaining to wildlife crime in Nigeria and also includes an excerpt from the National Guidelines for prosecutors in the Federal crime, prosecutors and investigators in determining what is minimally required in terms of evidence to build a case against those accused of wildlife and forest lands and also tackling climate change problems.”

(NFIU), Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) Nigeria amongst others play key rolled as enforcement and regulatory agencies in our national efforts of combating wildlife and forest crime as well as enforcing the law, and effectively sanction offenders”.

He maintained that despite several challenges facing the country, Nigeria as a country remain focused on tackling illegal wildlife and forest crime at the National, Regional, and International Level.

He appreciated UNODC for the development of the guide with the support from the German Government and all other Development Partners for their relentless support towards a better and biodiversity-enriched Nigeria.

Similarly, Country Representative, of UNODC, Oliver Stolp said the UNDOC guide would equip investigators and prosecutors alike with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively develop and present cases with the appropriate potential to deter future offenders.

He said; “All these are notable achievements and I congratulate the Federal Minister of Environment for leading the charge in achieving these milestones and all stakeholders for their important contributions.

He stressed that the objectives would also strengthen international cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies to increase the knowledge of prosecutors and investigators on the handling of wildlife and forestry-related issues.

He emphasized that, the federal government of Nigeria has taken several groundbreaking strides to tackle illegal wildlife trade within the country. “This includes the launching and implementation of the national strategy to combat illegal wildlife trade, coordination of wildlife

Republic of Nigeria”.

The Minister noted that the Nigerian government was committed to the implementation and adherence to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora “CITES” laws and regulations as well as to honour global agreements, conventions and treaties.

He added that, the guide also provides a handy compendium of laws pertaining to wildlife crime in the country.

“The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), the National Park Service (NPS), prosecutors from the Federal Directorate of Public Prosecutions in the Federal Ministry of Justice, INTERPol, Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit

At the same time, we all know that a lot remains to be done. He said the work presents an opportunity and obligation for all of us to renew our commitments to protecting life on land and life on the water. It’s been a year since the national strategy was launched. So we must start to measure and monitor the implementation of the national strategy.”

According to him “Nigeria is not alone in this fight and can count on the partnership and financial support of the government of Germany, UK, and the US as well as the EU, all supporting a variety of projects and initiatives, including those implemented by UNODC.

We, therefore, are confident that together we can achieve that vision laid out to the national strategy of Nigeria free of wildlife crime.”