Agency canvasses preservation of Nigeria’s rich biodiversity

As Nigeria joined others to celebrate the 2023 World Biodiversity Day, yesterday, the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has called for collective action to safeguard the country’s rich biodiversity.

The Director-General, Dr. Agnes Asagbra, in a statement in Abuja, to mark the event, with the theme “From Agreement to Action: Bring Back Biodiversity,” also canvassed concrete steps to restore and protect the planet.

She explained: “Human activities such as deforestation, oil and gas exploration, habitat destruction, pollution and climate change continue to pose significant threats to biodiversity worldwide.”

Asagbra continued: “Nigeria is a party to the Convention on Biodiversity and, will therefore, continue to uphold tenets of the pact. It is a timely reminder that we must move beyond agreements and translate commitments into tangible actions.

“Biodiversity, the variety of life on earth, supports functioning of ecosystems and provides essential resources for the well-being of humans. We emphasise implementing the “Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework: Protecting Land, Restoring Ecosystems.”

According to her,”we are regulating activities of modern biotechnology to ensure the nation’s biodiversity is preserved. We reaffirm our commitment to conservation and sustainable development.”

The NBMA boss added: “We recognise the urgency and interconnectedness of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, and we are ready to work collaboratively to build back biodiversity and secure a resilient future for all life on earth.

“We are part of the solution, and will continue to prioritise actions that protect biodiversity for the benefit of present and future generations, by ensuring that activities of modern biotechnology are safe for human health, animals, plants and the environment.”