Conservation: The Nigerian Policy Perspective

Kashimana Ivo

University of Lagos

Ivo Kashimana is an Environmentalist and has worked for two years as a conservation officer and a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) expert with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF). Prior to NCF, Ms Ivo was with Afri-mapping Resources Nigeria Limited where she worked as a GIS Analyst. At NCF, Ms Ivo effectively managed a number of conservation projects and served as the GIS trainer, Project Development Officer and Climate Change Programme Coordinator. Currently, she is doctoral student at the University of Lagos, Nigeria and has academic backgrounds in Environmental Biology (Bsc), Geographic Information Systems (MGIS), and Climatology (MSc). Ms Ivo is a highly multidisciplinary and trained internationally in diverse aspects of the environment from social to technical aspects. She is a trained High Conservation Value (HCV) assessor, climate change governance and climate change risk analyst. Ms Ivo has taken part in a number of biodiversity assessments, Environmental and Social Impacts Assessments (ESIA) and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) assessments as a GIS Expert and Land Use Land Cover (LULC) Analyst. Ms Ivo enjoys training conservationists on the use of GIS and GPS in natural resource management. Her research interests includes conservation, carbon analysis, LULC change, climate change, natural resource policies and most recent is Intact Forests Landscapes (IFLs). She has collaborated with a number of researchers and has a few publications.Ms Ivo is indeed on her way to attaining leadership role in the understanding and appreciation of ecological systems and future environmental problems in a multicultural and global society.

Abstract

Situated between latitudes 4 16’N and 13 52’N and longitude 24 9’N and 14 37’N with a land area of 923,768 Km2 is Nigeria, richly endowed with biodiversity. Tropical forests contains biodiversity in abundance. Despite the fact that forests and biodiversity provide humans with several goods and services, these are highly misused in Nigeria. Nigeria with a highly reproductive population of 170 million places increased demands on the forests resulting to its dwindling. A 3.5% deforestation rate per annum over the last three decades has led to a 43% forest loss. Undisturbed natural vegetation needed to protect rare endemic species in danger of extinction represents only 2% of Nigerian forest thus the need to arrest deforestation. Nigeria, signatory to some biodiversity and forestry related treaties has biodiversity and forestry governing policies. The National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (2004) plans to conserve 25% of Nigeria as forest reserve. The National Forest Policy (1988) without an Act militates against sustainable forest management. Most of these policies are obsolete and lack legal backing and enforcement. Coupled with inadequate database, these policies are made less effective. Some agricultural policies conflict biodiversity and forest policies leading to biodiversity and forest loss. Programmes aimed at conserving biodiversity like REDD+ are still at infancy in Nigeria. The study reviewed biodiversity and forestry policies with suggestions on filling policy gaps based on indirect quantification of biodiversity loss using landuse/landcover change analysis of the Omo-Oluwa-Shasha forest in Southwest Nigeria over a 10 year period. Results revealed a loss in forest cover to agriculture and development causing forest fragmentation and degradation which translates to decline in biodiversity. Hence, effective and adoptable natural resource policies as well as enforcement that will take into consideration decentralization and community participation in forest governance, market valuation of environmental services, and forest certification are gravely needed to manage and conserve biodiversity critical for poverty reduction and achieving sustainable development in Nigeria.

Authors

Kashimana Ivo (University of Lagos)

Topic Areas

Topics: Wildlife in an Ecosystem Services Paradigm , Topics: Decentralization and Conservation , Topics: Community-Based Conservation

Session

OS-G3 » Wildlife Governance in Africa (16:30 - Tuesday, 12th January, Colobus)

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