Partnerships key to protecting wildlife in Nigeria, says Wild Africa Fund

The Wild Africa Fund says there needs to be partnerships among stakeholders to protect wildlife in Nigeria.

In a statement on Friday by Kelechukwu Iruoma, Nigeria representative for Wild Africa Fund, to mark World Wildlife Day, an annual event dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of wildlife, the organisation urged the government and conservation organisations to partner in order to combat forest and wildlife crime to protect Nigeria’s biodiversity.

According to Wild Africa Fund, Nigeria is home to some of the world’s most iconic wildlife such as elephants, lions and gorillas, but illegal activities such as poaching, deforestation and illegal wildlife trade have put these animals in danger.

The organisation said this has threatened their existence as Nigeria has become the transit hub for the illegal trade in ivory and pangolin scales.

According to Peter Knights, founder of Wild Africa Fund, everyone has a role to play in preserving Nigeria’s wildlife.

“By partnering with the government, international and local NGOs, media, and local communities, we can achieve greater impact and ensure a brighter future for wildlife in Africa and beyond,” Knight said.

“Collaboration is the best hope that we have of ensuring that Nigeria’s natural resources are protected for future generations.

“Through our work with local communities, governments, and other conservation organisations, we are making strides towards a future where humans and wildlife can thrive together.

“We applaud the progress being made in Nigeria and urge everyone to join us in the fight to protect and preserve Nigeria’s natural heritage.”

Wild Africa Fund is collaborating with organisations such as the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Africa Nature Investors Foundation (ANI) with support from the UK Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund and the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to support the Nigerian government to update its wildlife laws and combat illegal wildlife trade.

There has been progress with this as the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill passed its first reading in the house of representatives in February, demonstrating the organisations and government’s commitment to wildlife conservation.

“Nigeria is taking decisive steps to improve its law enforcement and criminal justice response to wildlife crime which, if sustained, will have a lasting impact across the continent, ensuring a future for all species affected by wildlife and forest crime,” Justin Gosling, EIA’s senior project coordinator – Securing Criminal Justice, said.

ANI is working to protect Nigeria’s national parks and forest reserves but protection in the field is not enough without addressing the wider legislative context of the country.

According to Tunde Morakinyo, ANI’s executive director, “This new legislation will be critical to enabling Nigeria to decisively tackle the illegal trade in wildlife and will demonstrate to the world that the country can be a leader on the African continent for an issue that affects all Nigerians and indeed all of us as human beings.”