The Federal Government has inaugurated a committee on wildlife in major airports for the preservation and promotion of the country’s natural heritage.
Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Salako, who inaugurated the body in Abuja, said the Inter-ministerial committee would work towards dispalying Nigeria’s iconic landscape in all the major public places of interest.
Salako said, “Nigeria is home to diverse and unique wildlife, hence the initiative is intended to safeguard biodiversity, boost tourism resources to ensure improved revenue generation and national development.”
He thanked the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Wild Africa Fund (WAF) for the collaboration and partnership to achieve the goal, and urged the committee to work tirelessly to achieve the task of promoting a beautiful Nigeria through wildlife protection at the airports.
Responding, the Committee Chairman and Conservator General of National Parks Service, Dr Ibrahim Goni, appreciated the minister for the vision, especially coming at the time that the country’s rich biodiversity is facing threats.
He said the promotion of National Parks at the country’s airports will in no small measure aid ecotourism development and other sectors of economy.
In a remark, the West Africa Lead, Wild Fund Africa, Linus Unah, said Nigeria’s acclaimed wildlife and landscape deserves prominence in the airports as it is the practice in other parts of the world.
IN a related development, Conservator General of National Parks Service has said that zoos and conservatories are important to biodiversity conservation in the country.
Goni, who said this at the commissioning ceremony of the Federal University of Lokoja Zoo and Conservatory, stated that Park Service serves as living laboratories of natural history, hence, fostering deep understanding of the natural world.
He said the conservatory will provide safe habitat for endangered species, promote their survival and potential reintroduction into the wild, adding, the two projects will create awareness about biodiversity conservation, and enhance ecotourism, as well as facilitate wildlife research.
Earlier, Vice Chancellor, Prof Olayemi Akinwumi, appealed for support from nature enthusiasts and government to make the zoo and Conservatory in the University a centre of excellence in biodiversity conservation in the country.
