The Federal Government has recently reaffirmed its commitment to achieving zero biodiversity loss in Nigeria by the year 2030, and fulfilling its global obligations under the Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The Minister of Environment, Malam Balarabe Lawal, made this known at the Validation Workshop in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Environment Programme, on the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) in Abuja.
Lawal, represented by Dr Moses Amah, Director of the Forestry Department at the Ministry of Environment, said Nigeria and the wider ECOWAS region played a pivotal role in shaping the GBF between 2020 and 2022, acting as key negotiators in international discussions.
“It is now strongly incumbent on us to demonstrate our full commitment towards comprehensive national implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
“We need to demonstrate that we took that framework back to Nigeria and developed a robust National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan that will result in Nigeria meeting the framework’s global goals and targets.
“I am proud to say that we have strived tirelessly to achieve our aims and we have succeeded. Nigeria’s revised and updated NBSAP is broad in its ambition and contains all-embracing targets that, when implemented, will truly make a difference to Nigeria’s biodiversity landscape,” he stated.
The minister highlighted Target 1 as a standout component of the plan, which commits to ensuring that by 2030, all areas of high biodiversity are effectively managed and their loss brought close to zero.
“Target 1 alone will have a massive impact. This target reads: ‘By 2030, all areas are effectively managed to bring loss of areas of high biodiversity importance close to zero.’
“As is clearly articulated in the NBSAP, Nigeria is blessed with some of the richest biodiversity in Africa, with diverse ecosystems and magnificent wild fauna and flora, including many endemic species. This impressive biodiversity is not only interwoven into our economy, ecology, and culture, it also delivers a plethora of ecosystem services. It ensures we have food to eat, medicine when we are sick, fresh water to drink, and healthy soils in which to grow our crops.
“The well-being of all Nigerians is strongly reliant on the health of the environment around us. It therefore gives me great pleasure today to formally validate this NBSAP 2025–2030. Implementing the NBSAP will be a big task, but I feel confident that with perseverance, persistence and dedication from all stakeholders, we can implement this NBSAP for the benefit of us all,” he noted.
The updated NBSAP has been adopted as a whole-of-government policy. The 23 national targets are each in alignment with the corresponding global biodiversity targets and goals.
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary at the ministry, Mahmud Kambari, said the plan will help safeguard Nigeria’s rich biodiversity and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.
Kambari, also represented by Dr Amah, said, “Biodiversity is not just about conservation, it is the foundation of our ecosystems, economies, and livelihoods. As a country blessed with diverse flora and fauna, it is our duty to develop strategic frameworks that promote the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of these invaluable resources.”
He reaffirmed the government’s dedication to translating the strategies into actionable solutions.
The Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency, Dr Agnes Asagbra, urged integrating the action plan into policies, programmes, and budgets, while also stressing collaboration with donors, development partners, the private sector, and academia.
“We recognise the value of collaboration and we’re eager to explore new partnerships, especially with platforms on environmental facilities. The private sector also has an important role to play and we’re working to bring in key partners from biotech and agribusiness industries to support biodiversity conservation through corporate social responsibility.
“Furthermore, we are investing in the capacity of our people because no strategy can succeed without skilled and committed personnel. From technical training to institutional strengthening, NBMA is committed to building a strong foundation for NBSAP,” she emphasised.
The National Coordinator of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, Ibironke Olubamise, explained that GEF is the largest funder of environmental projects in developing countries, with three components—full-size, medium-size, and small grants—active in Nigeria.
She said the small grants focus on mobilising community efforts for environmental management, operating in 30 states across Nigeria.
She highlighted that GEF has five key focus areas, including biodiversity and climate change.
“Biodiversity has always taken the front line, and the majority of our projects that we have supported, especially in our hotspots in Nigeria. We now have climate change taking centre stage because we know that climate change is a bigger issue that people are talking about. But I always say that there is no way you can talk about even climate change without referring to biodiversity.
“So biodiversity is very important, and to date, I think we have supported not less than 60 or 70 biodiversity projects in Nigeria, and we have worked in almost all of the national parks, and we have supported non-governmental organisations,” she highlighted.
