The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the European Union (EU) and the Nigerian federal government have highlighted the need for a strategic approach to effectively combat wildlife and forest crime.
UNODC National Representative Oliver Stolpe addressed the launch event of the International Consortium to Fight Crimes Against Wildlife (ICCWC): Analytical Toolkit Nigeria, Tuesday 18 April 2023, in Abuja.
Stolpe denounced the high level of environmental degradation and stated that Nigeria had one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, stating that the country lost 141 kha of primary wetland forest, or 14% of its total, between 2002 and 2020. tree cover.
“Excessive, unsustainable and mostly illegal mining threatens the lives of local communities and the species that inhabit these forests.
“Wildlife is threatened not only by ongoing habitat loss, but also by professional poachers and local hunters.
“Organized criminal trafficking of wildlife and forest products through Nigerian ports has created a threat to biodiversity across the region.
“None of these events have gone unnoticed by either the Nigerian government or the international community,” Stolpe said.
He welcomed the adoption of the first national strategy to fight crime, the recent establishment of a working group on wildlife law enforcement, and efforts to revise the legal framework and strengthen the criminal justice system as strategic steps.
Stolpe also revealed that these efforts are paying off in terms of Nigerian law enforcement’s ability to apprehend illegal traffickers in wildlife and forest products.
“These efforts have yet to reverse the trend of ending Nigeria’s role as a regional hub for the illicit trade in wildlife and forest products.”
Delegates at the inaugural ceremony of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC): Analytical Toolkit Nigeria, in Abuja
Abdullahi, represented by Malam Stanley Jonah, Director of Planning Research and Statistics, explained the toolkit would ensure a world free of wildlife crime, a safer planet and a global vision of living in harmony with nature.
“We hope to continue to welcome and work closely with our Development Partners to sustain and heighten the tempo as necessary as we can.
“We have resolved to leave no stone unturned in protecting and conserving our valued natural endowments for national development and for the sake of our planet.
“The responsibility is not for one entity to shoulder, it calls for strategic involvement of a broad range of stakeholders and partners, to build a sense of ownership and responsibility for quantitative and qualitative results,” he stated.
