Biodiversity conservation is crucial for a nation’s development and can play roles in poverty alleviation by boosting several sectors of the economy among other possibilities but its success depend on human cooperation as we have the moral obligation to go natural in the utilization of resources for the sake of man’s future.
Let us briefly take a look at what we mean by biodiversity.
Have you ever tried to wonder about the different varieties of animals, plants and microorganisms that can be found around you? There are numerous species spread across that it would only be possible for most of us to name only but a few. Scientists have estimated that there are about one trillion species of living things on earth, of which only about 10 million have been described.
All of these are collectively called biodiversity and many of them have been in existence for millions of years, even before the emergence of human beings.
These plethora of living organisms have provided humans with goods such as foods, timber, medicine and fiber, and services such as climate regulation, air and water purification, control of erosion and nutrient cycling but since the emergence of humans, there has been an ongoing reduction in biodiversity, particularly by the destruction of various habitats and yearly, numerous species of organisms are threatened to extinction due to human activities, exposing future generations to possible dangers.
As it stand, “we no longer inherit the earth from our ancestors but instead, we borrow from our children” due to shortcomings in conserving biodiversity. You could imagine the effects of losing various plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms which are highly valued to extinction.
Biodiversity is the variability among living things on earth including plants, animals and microorganisms at the genetic, species and ecosystem level while biodiversity conservation is the protection and management of biodiversity in order to obtain resources for improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. This conservation can be crucial for improving the quality of life of Nigerians by maintaining balance in different aspects of the nation usually social, political, economic, scientific and cultural.
Nigeria’s economy is branded the largest economy in Africa and she is also one of the leading oil producers in the world but still, has been struggling with development and has a greater percentage of poor citizens among her populace in spite of all the natural, material and human resources in her possession.
She is blessed with numerous biodiversity but many of them are being threatened to extinction due to overexploitation in some agricultural practices such as overgrazing and bush burning as well as other activities such as illegal logging of trees, environmental pollution, poaching of animals and mining activities.
Take the Niger Delta region for example; an area incredibly endowed with one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet, in addition to supporting abundant flora and fauna, arable grounds that can sustain wide varieties of crops, timber or agricultural trees, and more species of freshwater fish than any ecosystem in West Africa.
Sadly, the Niger Delta region have been negatively impacted by the exploitations of oil production due to the unprecedented oil spillage which has been ongoing for decades, slowly poisoning the aquatic life to extinction and destroying crops. Huge area of the mangrove forests, which are susceptible to oil have been destroyed and the rainforest which previously occupied 7,400Km2 of land has disappeared as well in that area.
In agricultural communities, food supply which can serve for a whole year can be destroyed instantaneously because of the careless activities in the delta. People in the affected areas have complained about health issues such as breathing problems (of course since 70% of oxygen we breathe is produced by the ocean and marine plants), loss of access to food and clean water.
Communities in Cross River state have also protested the plans to build major highways that would cut through farmlands and forest that is home to threatened species such as the Cross river gorilla which shows that reduction in biodiversity will affect ecotourism which is one of the fastest developing sectors of the tourism industry which ranks as one of the largest sector of global economy after oil.
Having seen the need for conservation of biodiversity across levels, is biodiversity conservation in Nigeria a mere talk show or are actions taken? What are the potentials amid the challenges encountered and how can it help in alleviating poverty thus, leading to development in Nigeria?
“The distractions of our dysfunctional society, mostly immured by poverty and encumbered with institutional weakness, have distorted our vision and undermined professionalism” ___ Prof. Jonathan Ombo Amakri
I came across the quote above in an article from a biodiversity conservation conference in Nigeria and this seems to be so true. This is the case even to the extent that most Nigerians would show a dumbfounded look if the term biodiversity conservation were to be mentioned to them. Nigeria has been represented in many conferences and summits on how to conserve biodiversity over the years but despite this, little actions have been taken.
WAY FORWARD TO CONSERVING OUR BIODIVERSITY FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
The introduction of a national legislation on biodiversity conservation, ecological civilization, creation of more conservation areas, professionalism, effective participation in United Nations conventions on biodiversity conservation and climate change, would place action in our to-do-list and thus help in poverty alleviation by protecting our biodiversity which are resources for food production, agriculture, ecotourism and ecosystem functions such as nutrient recycling.
When we conserve our precious biodiversity, it will also help in reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and as well in conserving mangroves and other ecosystems in order to lessen the disastrous effects of climate change.
Helping communities and individuals secure rights to use natural resources, and involving local communities in responsibly managing them, can prevent or minimize conflict and provide opportunities for economic growth whereas conservation of natural reserve areas would help in generating financial support and creating employment opportunities.
Forests can also be conserved by focusing on the extraction of non-timber products such as rubber which can be marketed widely instead of regular felling of trees for timber. This will conserve forests and improve the incomes of the poor who live close to forests.
WHAT COULD GET IN THE WAY?
Biodiversity conservation in Nigeria can also experience some challenges on the course of action such as limited financial resources, weak coordination and monitoring among relevant institutions, limited number of trained manpower and lack of basic knowledge on biodiversity conservation as well as corruption and bribery by people who only care about their selfish interest.
CONCLUSION
In 2012, the governor of central bank confirmed that unless deliberate efforts to create other sources of revenue apart from crude oil are made, the level of poverty in Nigeria will continue to rise.
If this is the case, biodiversity conservation provide hope by reducing the high dependence on the oil sector into boosting other sectors of the economy such as agriculture because the protection and conservation of plants and trees, microorganisms, terrestrial and sea animals from extinction will lead to the achievement of self-sufficiency in basic food supply and the attainment of food security, increased production of agricultural raw materials for industries, increased production and processing of export crops, and finally the generation of employment.
Biodiversity conservation in Nigeria need action now more than ever because a richer diversity of life means greater opportunities for economic development, medical discoveries and a better climate.
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