By Hauwa Ali
At the just concluded UN Ocean Conference, Nigeria pledged its commitment to reducing he menace of marine plastic pollution, while reassuring that the country had created a Presidential Committee on Sustainable Blue Economy to checkmate the activities of people around oceans.
Buhari gave the assurance in a statement by his representative, the Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference,held in Lisbon, Portugal.
The president said that while Nigeria is conscious that its maritime and aquatic resources are critical for the livelihoods of its people, it is committed to Africa Union 2063 Agenda which based on Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development of Blue/ ocean economy for accelerated economic growth.
‘The entire Southern border of Nigeria is the Atlantic Ocean with a coastline of about 853km being the longest in the West African region.
‘‘It is endowed with enormous biodiversity resources such as the freshwater and mangrove forest ecosystems with diverse species of fauna and flora.
‘‘We acknowledge the fact that a healthy ocean and coastal environment is key to sustainable development. We must therefore conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources.
‘‘The ocean is key to the global economy, with an estimated 40 million people projected to be employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.
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‘‘Our oceans and seas are repositories of tremendous wealth, in terms of natural capital, ecosystem services, living and non-living resources. We are conscious of the fact that our maritime and aquatic resources are critical for the livelihoods of our people.
‘‘Hence, our commitment to the Africa Union 2063 Agenda and the attainment of United Nations SDG 14,’’ he said.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President also stressed the need for more scientific partnerships and knowledge sharing to protect humanity’s common ocean heritage.
‘‘The science tells us that in order to stop the downward spiral we are witnessing in the ocean, we must fully and highly protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030, and dramatically strengthen the management of human activities in the other 70%.
‘‘This must be reflected in the text we negotiate here as well as in upcoming negotiations planned in December 2022 at the upcoming Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of the Conference of Parties (COP).
‘‘Nigeria is a member of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and the Blue Leaders Campaign.
‘‘The global community needs to agree to the effective protection of 30% of the global ocean by 2030 at the CBD COP in December, and a robust high seas treaty that doesn’t simply endorse the status quo, but the one that ensures all nations manage their activities in the high seas to prevent significant effects on the ocean.
‘‘These two steps will go a long way in restoring the health and resilience of our oceans”, the statement said
