The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has called for support and actions from government and individuals to preserve the nation’s biodiversity and natural heritage for socio-economic benefits and posterity.
Philip Asiodu, the president of the foundation’s Board of Trustees, who made the call, explained that government and the people owe future generation of Nigerians the responsibility of continuous conservation of natural heritage and biodiversity.
“Nigeria is littered with an overwhelming number of architectural heritage sites spanning the country’s history, and many of these intangible pieces of cultural history have been lost over the years”, Asiodu noted at the 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the foundation held at the Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC) in Lagos recently.
He noted further that the relationship between humans and nature is an intimate one that must be taken seriously, urging members of the foundation to renew their commitment to its cause.
“Nigeria’s population is expected to hit 400 million by 2050; do we have enough forest cover to preserve beautiful places, yes, but it will require a careful management to prevent the giving away of beautiful fun centre for residential buildings, for instance, the Ikoyi Park, now Parkview Estate,”, he said.
At about 4,000, Asiodu decried the membership of NCF, saying, “in a population of about 200 million, we should be numbered in hundreds of thousands, because the environmental challenges in Nigeria are enormous and there is so much to do.”
Adeniyi Karunwi, the director-general of NCF, faulted the decision by the Cross River State government to destroy Cross River Tropical Rainforest, the largest remaining rainforest ecosystem in Nigeria and one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world in order to construct a Superhighway.
He noted that the move will not only be damaging to the environment, but also threatened species including 1,568 plant species of which 77 are endangered medicinal plants and orchids, 22 primate species such as the Cross River gorilla (with only about 300 individuals remaining in the wild), Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee, drill monkeys, and a range of other wildlife species.
On the stride of the foundation in the year, Karunwi revealed that the foundation’s membership figure marginally rose by over 15 percent with the entrance of more corporate organisations. “The membership unit established the online registration platforms and made use of social media platforms to reach out to the public. But a lot more still needs to be done to attract more members to register with NCF, with particular emphasis on children and youth population,” he said.
He disclosed that the foundation collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Environment and the National Park Service on environment issues, adding that it also strengthened its collaboration with partners and sponsors, translating to institutional strengthening.
Ede Dafinone, the chairman of the foundation’s National Executive Council (NEC), disclosed that the foundation partnered with First Bank to carry out tree planting exercises in select schools in Lagos, Ogun and Edo states, as a further demonstration of its commitment to enhancing Nigeria’s forest cover.
“This was part of the foundation’s efforts at stimulating and promoting local actions in response to the global call by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that each country should strive to have 25 per cent of its total land area under forest cover,” Dafinone said.
Continuing, he said, “we are convinced of the need to do more for nature, for our people and for Nigeria. But we equally realise that we cannot do it alone. I therefore seize this opportunity to call for your continued support and I assure you that we are determined not to rest on our accomplishments as we collectively address the environmental challenges that confront us and our nation.”
CHUKA UROKO & DAVID IBEMERE
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