Nigeria pledges to implement multilateral environmental pacts

Nigeria Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Salako

Nigeria has reiterated its readiness to implement decisions that will be adopted at the Conference of Parties (COP) 29, as the administration is determined to ensure that it continues to honour multilateral environmental agreements without compromise.

Minister of Environment, Dr. Iziaq Salako, stated this at the 16th Meeting of the COP 29 to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cali, Colombia, saying the government will adopt an updated NBSAP, which provides a clear roadmap for the preservation and recovery of our natural resources.

Salako added, “We intend to work with world leaders 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 the Global North and Global South to meet these goals.”

He explained that they are strengthening national capacity to protect nature through other policies and legislative frameworks, and Nigeria is leading ECOWAS to ensure the implementation of 30 by 30, as “we are on a clear path to secure effective protection of 30 per cent of the ECOWAS region by 2030.”

The minister, therefore, said that the Subregion is also uniting for prompt ratification of the new high-seas treaty, with 9 out of the 15 countries having signed the new treaty, and Nigeria is coordinating the designation of the first generation of highly and fully protected marine protected areas.

“We are also uniting to launch a coordinated action to combat illegal and unsustainable exploitation of threatened wild species for the protection of our natural world since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework many years ago,” he remarked.

“Our ecosystems are being drained of their ability to support us, and we cannot 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.”

Salako stressed that the global community is committed to targeting 19(a) of KMGBF to allocate at least $20 billion per year by 2025 and $30 billion per year by 2030 to developing countries for nature finance, adding that delivering $20 billion in biodiversity finance to the global south is a modest step in the right direction.