Nigeria to implement UNEP report on Wetlands – Minister

The Federal Ministry of Environment said there were plans to implement the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the designation of Niger-Delta as Wetlands.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina Mohammed in Abuja on Tuesday, on the occasion of the 2016 Wetlands Day.

A wetland is an area of land where water covers the soil – even for only part of the year.

Wetlands can be natural or artificial. The water in them can be still or flowing, fresh, salty or in-between (brackish).

World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on Feb. 2 which marks the date on which the Convention on Wetlands was adopted in 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

The minister said that some the efforts being made to manage wetlands in the country included preparation of National Wetlands Management Policy.

She also said that there were plans to designate more wetland sites of international importance for conservation and sustainable use as well as sensitising the public to sustainable use of wetlands.

Others, she said are promotion of international cooperation on wetland management and development of wetlands poverty reduction initiatives towards improving the livelihoods of wetland communities.

The minister said this was in line with government’s development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Ramsar Convention had designated 11 wetlands of international importance for Nigeria

They are Apoi Creek Forests, Bayelsa, Baturiya Wetland, Kano, Dagona Sanctuary Lake, Yobe, Foge Islands, Kebbi, Lake Chad Wetlands, Borno and Lower Kaduna-Middle, Niger Floodplain, Kwara, Niger.

Others are Maladumba Lake, Bauchi, Nguru Lake (and Marma Channel) complex, Jigawa, Yobe, Oguta Lake, Imo, Pandam and Wase Lakes, Plateau and Upper Orashi Forests, Rivers.

The theme of the 2016 World Wetlands Day celebration, which is selected to demonstrate the vital role of wetlands to humanity and the new sustainable development goals, is “Wetlands for our Future: Sustainable Livelihoods.’’