Obaseki seeks support for biodiversity sustenance, forest protection

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has said the government is strengthening partnerships with stakeholders, including multi-national organisations, on the implementation of programmes, policies and initiatives to regenerate forests and conserve biodiversity.

Obaseki said the effort to preserve flora and fauna in the state through effective regulation is codified in the bill on Edo State Forestry Commission before the state Assembly.

The governor said this in commemoration of International Mother Earth Day, marked across the world by the United Nations and its various organs.

According to him, the state government is working with reputable organisations and professionals for the concession of forests for regeneration.

“We will work with qualified groups and organisations with clear plans on sustainable regeneration action plans,” he said.

He added that the state was working with security agencies to prevent illegal exploitation of forest reserves, saying: “Stakeholders, including private investors and local communities, must support the government’s implementation of policies and guidelines to protect our forest belt.

“We are working with owners of oil palm plantations, saw millers, timber licensees and contractors, and corporate organisations in the state to keep to the international conventions on protecting the environment from degradation.”

According to the United Nations, “Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action. Nature is suffering. Oceans filling with plastic and turning more acidic, extreme heat, wildfires and floods, have affected millions of people. Even these days, we are still facing COVID-19, a worldwide health pandemic linked to the health of our ecosystem.

“Climate change, man-made changes to nature as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversities, such as deforestation, land-use change, intensified agriculture and livestock production or the growing illegal wildlife trade, can accelerate the speed of destruction of the planet.”