By Nneka Nwogwugwu
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of 10 new national parks in Nigeria.
The Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, said this on Thursday while giving her keynote speech at the official launch of the largest wildlife conservation campaign in Africa by WildAid.
The campaign tagged ‘Keep them wild, keep us safe’ is aimed at reducing the demand for illegal bushmeat, support enforcement activities to tackle illegal wildlife trade and raise awareness of wildlife conservation.
Speaking at the event held at Lagos, the Minister said due to the threat faced by the 309 threatened wildlife species like the pangolins, lions, elephants, manatees and others, the President has approved the creation of 10 national parks from the existing forest reserves in Nigeria.
Ikeazor called for urgent proactive actions to reverse the trend of over exploitation of these natural resources, stating that “poaching, possessing, taking, trading and consumption of these animals have put Nigeria on the spotlight of wildlife crime.”
Ikeazor commended the collaborative effort of WildAid in tackling illegal wildlife trade in Nigeria, stating that efforts such as theirs would help curb the menace.
The Minister lamented the rate at which bush meat is consumed in Nigeria, stressing that it poses environmental risks and is a threat to public health.
She also noted with dismay that Nigeria has been tagged a transit hub for illegal wildlife activities.
“We are all culprits of bushmeat consumption as it is a phenomenon in both rural and urban communities, posing environmental risks and extinction of threatened species.
“In-country and transborder trafficking is quite alarming, and Nigeria has been tagged a ‘transit hub’ for this illegality.
“The phenomenon also constitutes high security risk, public health risk with the spread of zoonotic diseases such as Lassa Fever, Ebola Virus, and recently COVID-19,” she said as quoted by the Punch.
