Says armed groups involved in illegal trade
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, (UNODC), has decried illegal trade in wildlife and forest product noting low enlightenment, weak legislation and implementation among other gaps as bane of effective prosecutions of offenders.
Country Representative, UNODC, Oliver, Stolpe, stated this at the presentation of the presentation of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime, (ICCWC), Toolkit Report for Nigeria in collaboration with the UNODC and the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, (FAO), to mark this year’s World Wildlife Day, (WWD), themed ‘Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Conservation’, yesterday in Abuja.
He said “While thanks to the good work of the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS), seizures at Nigeria’s land, sea and airport border points have been on the rise, two thirds of all seizures involving Nigeria were reported by the authorities of other countries.
“This suggests that interception capabilities still need to be strengthened, while enhanced information exchange and cooperation with relevant authorities in countries of origin, transit and destination offer opportunities for intelligence led operations and parallel or even joint investigations with the objective of detecting and dismantling trafficking networks.”
He adds that the 2023 UNODC Organized Crime Threat Assessment for Nigeria reveals that “Nigeria is a key transit hub and consolidation point for various forms of illegal trade in wildlife and forest products, especially for pangolin, ivory and rosewood.
“These products are sourced both from Nigeria as well as from other countries in the region including Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Benin Republic.
“According to UNODC’s World Wildlife Seizures Database, there are more than a 1000 records between 2011 and 2020 which indicate Nigeria as a source, transit or destination country, or where the offender was a Nigerian national.”
Stolpe notes that “Another finding of the research suggests that armed groups are increasingly involved in the illegal harvesting and trafficking of rosewood, with nine park rangers losing their lives in violent encounters with persons involved in illegal logging in the Gashaka-Gumti National Park. in general, it appears that illegal logging activities continue, despite the 2018 trade suspension of rosewood from Nigeria.”
The UN body called on religious and traditional leaders to partner with the government in enlightening Nigerians on the importance of preserving and protecting Nigeria’s rich biodiversity.
Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, said that digital tools empowers individuals to better understand, protect, and preserve our wildlife.
According to him, “From cutting-edge monitoring systems to innovative data analytics, digital conservation transcends geographical boundaries, fostering global collaboration and knowledge sharing among scientists, conservationists, and communities worldwide.
“By harnessing the collective power of technology, we can unite in our efforts to safeguard biodiversity and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.”
Stressing the importance of protecting wildlife and forest resources, Conservator General, National Parks Services, Ibrahim Goni, explained that “Some of our protected and conserved areas that houses a wide array of these unique wildlife resources are battling with insecurity challenges such as banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and other crime and criminality, as well as various anti-conservation activities including habitat destruction through illegal logging, hunting, communal agitation and quests for more farmlands, and of recent, illegal mining and exploration.
“Faced with this seeming ecological dislocation and its attendant toll they impinge on wildlife resources. This day will therefore remind us of the urgent need to scale up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts.”
