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Environmentalists urge private sectors’ involvement in conservation

By Victor Gbonegun
06 January 2020   |   4:04 am
To mitigate further loss of the ecosystem, the Director-General of Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Dr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano, has called on the private sectors...

To mitigate further loss of the ecosystem, the Director-General of Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Dr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano, has called on the private sectors to invest in nature conservation business to halt global loss of biodiversity and its impacts on human survival.

Aminu-Kano made the call at a two-day Stakeholders Forum titled “naijabiz4nature” organised by NCF, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), Birdlife International and the Federal Ministry of Environment recently in Lagos.

The DG’s call was contained in a statement by NCF’s spokesman, Mr. Dapo Soneye.

He said, “The global loss of biodiversity is on the increase with devastating consequences and not enough is being done to stem the tide,”

Aminu-Kano said that the private sector played a critical role in determining how biodiversity was used and conserved stressing that the sector serves as a major stakeholder in biodiversity conservation.

“In Nigeria, the need to have the private sector involved in the protection and conservation of nature cannot be over-emphasised. Currently, Nigeria ranks as one of the countries with the highest rate of deforestation with 350,000 to 400,000 hectares lost yearly. The loss of such habitat is not only detrimental to the wellbeing of species but to people and businesses,’’ Aminu-Kano said.

He said that the forum would advise governments on what should be done to foster rapid protection and conservation of the environment.

According to him, the private economic sectors of the country – mining, agriculture, fishing, finance and banking, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing – all depend either directly or indirectly on nature. “Or the services provided by nature which therefore makes business sense for the private sector to invest in the conservation and protection of the ecosystem,” he said.

For the president, Board of Trustees of NCF, Chief Philip Asiodu, business products, practices, supply chains and models had great impacts on biodiversity conservation.

Asiodu, who was represented by a Board Member of NCF, Dame Marie Fatayi-Williams, urged the private sectors’ participation in conservation.

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