By Ehichioya Steve Odion
The need for a State of Environmental Emergency for Ecosystem Restoration (SEEER) to preserve ecosystem and its services has been emphasised.
This assertion was made by the Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, ERA/FoEN, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo to mark the World Environmental Day, 2021. with theme : “A State of Environmental Emergency for Ecosystem Restoration”
According to him, SEEER was informed by the need for national environmental emergency to raise awareness and restore living in harmony with nature.
Dr Ojo underscored the need to embark on some radical and deep transformation in global production and consumption patterns.
He futher said that it requires concerted actions at local, national, and international levels to focused on a pragmatic shift towards a sustainable development pathway before it is too late.
“For decades, scientific evidence show that the impacts and pressures of our productive activities related to our addictive dependence on mining and fossil fuels extraction, extensive livestock farming, industrial agriculture, gigantic infrastructure, fisheries, forestry, hence these harmful activities require a roll back".
While enumerating the benefits of ecosystem restoration, he emphasised that restoring the ecosystem protects and improves the livelihoods of millions of people and maintains the earth’s biological diversity.
He added that healthier ecosystems enhance richer biodiversity, yielding greater benefits such as more fertile soils, bigger yields of timber and fish.
“Humans depend on the rich biodiversity for food, water, energy, medicine, clothes, building and construction materials and an enhanced capacity to store greenhouse gases from the atmosphere,”
He also said that roadmap toward identifying and setting targets and indicators to measuring Nigeria’s commitment to the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration is urgently required.
He wants Nigeria to focus on restoring the major ecosystems facing collapse by
quickly developing a national 10-year Ecosystem Restoration Roadmap, set targets and timelines in consonance with the United Nations plans.
Dr. Ojo was also of the opinion that Government, corporations and relevant agencies should show in clear terms their SEER goal and how they intend to slow down the rate of deforestation in the next 10 years.
"Setting up an ecosystem restoration fund or using a substantial part of the existing Ecological Fund to enable the decommissioning of oil and gas wells and infrastructures as well as ecosystems destroyed by mining and extractive activities. Government should ensure that Shell and other oil multinationals that have been divesting from their ruinous onshore operations are made to pay for any damage caused by their operations to the ecosystem before they are allowed to operate the offshore facilities".
He called for setting up of Community Resource Centers, train communities to manage ecosystem resources and share local best practices on living in harmony with nature through community-based forests management systems that ensures environmental sustainability.
Dr Ojo observed that UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration provides the opportunity to plan and take action for ecosystem restoration.
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