Colombia Meeting: Nigeria Pledges To Implement Multilateral Environmental Pacts

Colombia Meeting: Nigeria Pledges To Implement Multilateral Environmental Pacts

 

By Adetokunbo FAKEYE

The former Minister of State, Environment, Dr. Iziaq Kunle Salako has told the world, Nigeria will continue to honour all multilateral environmental agreements without compromising the sovereignty of the country.

Dr Salako, who is now Minister of State, Health, made this statement the opening of the high level plenary of the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties, CBD COP16, holding in Cali, Colombia.

According to Salako, “Nigeria is making progress towards the protection of our natural world since the adoption of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”.

“Nigerian government will not hesitate to implement decisions that will be adopted in the meeting.

“We are reaching the completion of the adoption of an updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans, NBSAP which provides a clear and ambitious roadmap towards the preservation and recovery of our natural resources. We are also strengthening our national capacity to protect nature through other policies, action plans and legislative framework”, he said.

Nigeria, Salako said, is leading the way with sister ECOWAS Nations to ensure the implementation of 30 by 30, stressing that Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub region are on a clear path to secure effective protection of 30% of the ECOWAS region by 2030.

“My country and the ECOWAS subregion is also united behind prompt ratification of the new high-seas treaty with 9 out of the 15 ECOWAS countries having signed this new treaty.

“Nigeria is coordinating to jointly seek the designation of the first generation of highly and fully protected marine protected areas in the high-seas. We are also uniting to launch a coordinated action to combat illegal and unsustainable exploitation of threatened wild species”.

He stressed further the ECOWAS subregion is ready to work with leaders around the world on the development of mechanisms to advance equitable accountability for truly global action on halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030.

“We need true partnership between Global North and Global South to meet these goals.

“We are doing everything we can because we are clearly running out of time. Our ecosystems are being drained of their ability to support us, and we can not be passive spectators as the crisis unfolds in front of us. This is why I am concerned that our efforts continue to be compromised by significant delays in the allocation of financial resources.

“Ambition for Nature cannot be dissociated from Ambition for Nature finance, the two go hand in hand. If we don’t deliver on nature finance, the commitments we made in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will remain empty aspirations”, he stated, adding, “Our global community committed in target 19 (a) of KMGBF to allocate at least USD20 billion per year by 2025 and USD30 billion per year by 2030 to developing countries for nature finance”.

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