Leading environmental activist and professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Olanrewaju Fagbohun, has called for government change of attitude in driving the enforcement of extant environmental regulations and laws in Nigeria.
The Vice-Chancellor of the Lagos State University, who spoke at the 16th Chief S. L. Edu Memorial Lecture, organised by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation in Lagos, averred that lack of seriousness against poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking has put Nigerian environmental at the brink of collapse.
He said wanton destruction of wildlife has reached unprecedented levels, thus, robbing local communities of their livelihoods and eroding the global commons.
According to him, crimes committed on wildlife crime and associated poaching of endangered and other species, are rising exponentially in Nigeria forest communities.
Fagbohun said “Given the large volume of illegal trade in wildlife, criminals use these sources to fund other illegal activities such as drug smuggling, money laundering and armed conflicts. There are wide-ranging efforts to combat illegal trade in wildlife involving actions at the international and national levels”.
“Actions have continued to focus on the need to deepen international collaboration and cooperation, eradicate the market for illegal wildlife products, ensure effective legal frameworks and deterrents, build capacity, strengthen law enforcement, and link communities and conservation in ways that will ensure sustainable livelihoods and economic developments.
“What is clear is that to meet the complexity of the challenge posed by illegal wildlife trade requires a multi-pronged approach to wildlife management. Law reform is critical. Real and effective reform will not come cheap, while implementation expectedly will encounter opposition of the well-resourced criminal networks.”
Giving insights on his paper; ‘Combating illegal wildlife trade in West Africa: The role of environmental law and governance’, the founder of ELRI Group observed that “Every year, hundreds of millions of plants and animals were being removed or poached from the wild and then sold as ornamental plants, food, pets, for zoos and breeding, or to be used as works of art, decorations, jewelleries, fashion, cosmetics and perfumes, tourists curios and medicine”.
“Wildlife species targeted range from elephants for their ivory tusks, rhinoceroses and hippo for their horns, leopards and tigers for their beautiful skins, black bear for its bile, endangered birds and their eggs, reptiles such as pythons and crocodiles for their skins used for leather products, wild caviar, corals for aquaria, shark fins, sea turtles, gorillas and pangolins.
“Illegal wildlife trade is believed to be the world’s fourth most valuable illicit commerce after drugs, human trafficking and the arms trade. In financial terms, some estimates put the worth of illicit wildlife and plant trade at between €8bn and €20bn annually, while some have placed the estimate at between $15bn and $20bn or $10bn and $23bn per year,” he added.
In his keynote speck, the President, Board of Trustees of NCF, Chief Philip Asiodu, upon the existence of the Endangered Species Act in 1985 and Nigeria’s adherence to all the international treaties and protocols for the protection of the environment, enforcement has been unimpressive till date.
He therefore called for action in driving environmental conservation in the country for the interest of future generations.
