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We must take good care of the environment

To mark the 2026 World Environment Day (WED) with the theme, ‘Inspired by Nature: For Climate. For Our Future’, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has urged the government, communities, businesses, and citizens to turn global commitments into local actions. The Foundation has also called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently act on the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and immediately sign the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill into law. We endorse their position, even as we call on all authorities in the country and critical stakeholders to take the environment more seriously.

 The WED was established in 1972 to promote worldwide awareness and action on environmental issues such as climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and sustainable living. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), this year focuses on the urgent signals the earth is sending, and the signals humanity chooses to send back. Meanwhile, in terms of overall biodiversity richness, Nigeria ranks 36th globally, with particularly high diversity in birds, mammals, and vascular plants,” according to the NCF which expressed concern about the mounting threats to biodiversity in the country.

No fewer than 171 Nigerian plant species have been classified as endangered and vulnerable by the World Bank. These species of high medicinal and food value are stripped from our forests through commercial activities that cause rapid deforestation at about 400,000 hectares per annum. Experts have warned that their disappearance could disrupt the nation’s genetic resource with a resultant threat to our biodiversity. Therefore, signing the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2025 into law will provide the legal backbone needed to prosecute wildlife crimes, regulate trade, and deter the exploitation of threatened species.

Unfortunately, it would seem the nation is not paying attention to the fact that many plants and animals are going into extinction. Perhaps because there is so much preoccupation with today there is hardly a thought about tomorrow. Yet we need to stress the importance of the preservation of nature’s gifts for the future. Nigeria is located within the rainforest of tropical Africa, which extends from the coast of West Africa to the basin of River Congo. The area, as documented by conservationists, has about 8,000 species of which more than 80 per cent are endemic. Regardless, there is no recent record of the status of plants and animal species in the country.

The last known documentation of the nation’s plants and animal species was done in 1992 by the Federal Environment Protection Agency (FEPA). The document titled ‘Biological Diversity in Nigeria: A Country Study’ states that two species of animals and 20 species of plants had become extinct since 1950. Contemporary record documented in the study shows that 305 species of plants are endemic, 48 species of animals and 431 species of plants are endangered; 16 species of animals and 45 species of plants are categorised as rare; 30 species of animals and 20 species of plants are vulnerable. The study shows that plants that are gravely depleted are species exploited for natural medicine and food, timber, woodcarving, cane furniture, dyes, and cosmetics. The cause of the decrease in population is given in each case as over exploitation.

 This makes the call for the intervention of all critical stakeholders in conservation efforts very important. Government, at all levels, should also encourage the establishment of botanical gardens and horticultural centres where these endangered plants would be grown. These plant species usually grow in the wild, but there will be sustainability if they are cultivated deliberately. But much more importantly, as Nigeria joins other countries to mark the 2026 World Environment Day, we must control the trade in plant species, particularly through cross-border activities.