September 23, 2021
President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that 10 new national parks will be established as part of moves to tackle biodiversity loss.
The Nigerian leader said this on Wednesday in a video message to the hybrid High-Level event tagged “Transformative Actions for Nature and People” on the margins of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 76) in New York.
In a statement by the presidential aide, Femi Adesina, Buhari explained that apart from regional and inter-regional cooperation to tackle the menace, other measures include: “Expansion of protected areas including the establishment of ten (10) new National Parks across the country as well as the creation of Marine Protected Areas pursuant to the 30X30 Agenda of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD); and domestication of relevant International Agreements, Conventions as well as Laws and Policies for the protection and conservation of biodiversity.”
“Leveraging the cooperation and partnerships of the Development Partners as well as International Organisations and Coalitions for concrete action against deforestation and biodiversity loss; and promotion and increased investments in climate-positive and nature-positive economy for sustainable environment and land use practices” were other areas being worked on to confront the challenge.
Buhari also said collaboration with development partners and organizations will be vital to reversing biodiversity loss and promote more investments in climate-positive economy.
He also thanked the Costa Rican President, Carlos Alvarado Quesada “whose country chairs the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People (HAC) of which Nigeria is also a member and co-chair for the opportunity to be part of “this great event.”
