The Conservator-General, Nigerian Parks Service (NPS), Ibrahim Goni, has called for substantial climate finance to address the challenges posed by climate change by countries in West Africa.
The Conservator-General made the call in his presentation titled, “The Impact of Climate Change in Nigeria” at the UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai, UAE, which was contained in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP.
The Conservator-General, who was represented at the side event in the Zimbabwe Pavilion by ACG Oladipo Ojo Cornelius, said climate finance plays a crucial role in closing the biodiversity financing gap by funding biodiversity conservation.
Goni, who is the Co-Chair, African Protected Area Directors (APAD) Sustainable Financing Working Group, said climate finance can support the development and implementation of renewable energy projects, sustainable agriculture practices, and climate-resilient infrastructure.
“These interventions can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance climate resilience, and promote sustainable development in the region,” he stated.
He said closing the biodiversity financing gap requires increased international cooperation and financial commitments from developed countries.
“The international community should honour existing commitments, such as the Green Climate Fund, and further increase climate finance flows to the West African region.
“The Loss and Damage Fund can also tackle the gaps that current climate finance institutions such as the Green Climate Fund do not fill.
“This would enable some of these countries to implement long-term climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies effectively,” he added.
Goni noted that climate change poses severe challenges to Nigeria, ECOWAS countries, and the broader West African region.
“It impacts key sectors such as agriculture, water resources, health, infrastructure, and energy, resulting in economic losses and social instability,” he stated.
Goni identified common causes of climate change in Nigeria to include natural hazards, human activities, emission of greenhouse gases from vehicles, deforestation, etc.
Some vehicles emit greenhouse gases such as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide from their exhaust.
He said climate change has led to low crop yield, food shortage, reduced livestock production, loss of income, public health crisis, decreased hydroelectric power supply and loss of shelter and road networks.
He said Nigeria’s Climate Change Policy aims to tackle the human causes of climate change in a multifaceted way.
“The policy contains a set of rules, regulations and standards for agencies and individuals to abide by to achieve the policy goals,” he added.
He identified the policies to include National Policy on Climate Change, National Environmental Policy, National Drought and Desertification Policy, National Forest Policy, National Erosion and Flood Control Policy and Development of the National Strategy on Combatting Wildlife Crime, a policy document developed with the UNODC to fight illegal wildlife trafficking.
The representative of the NPS during the global event engaged international donors and participated in many side events on Biological Conservation and Carbon Trading, where he showcased the various activities of the Service.
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