The Minister of State for Environment, Barr. Sharon Ikeazor has briefed global stakeholders on Nigeria’s numerous policies and interventions that aim to promote environmental conservation in the country.
Addressing delegates from different member countries at the resumed fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in Nairobi, Kenya, themed “Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals”, the minister, who led the Nigerian delegation, revealed that Nigeria has adopted various strategic approaches to achieve these objectives.
She listed these policies to include the National Forest Policy aimed at promoting sustainable forest management practices, National Policy on Plastic/Solid Waste Management which supports and promotes a circular economy and the Drought and Desertification Policy to actualise land degradation neutrality and increase community resilience.
Ikeazor also reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to global environmental sustainability and achievement of the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) with 20 per cent unconditional reduction in emissions and 47 per cent emission reduction conditionally by 2030.
She further stated that Nigeria has developed an Energy Transition Plan as a pathway to achieve net-zero by 2060, in addition to the enactment of a climate change law in November 2021 which provides a legal framework for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Also, the minister had some bilateral engagements with the director-general, World Wild Fund (WWF) for nature, Mr. Marco Lambertini on Nigeria’s commitment to the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the need to collaborate with WWF on the management of the 10 new national parks approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, especially the two designated marine protected areas in Bayelsa.
She also had an engagement with Sweden’s Minister of Environment on the preparation and areas of collaboration for the upcoming ‘Stockholm +50’ to commemorate 50 years since the first UN Conference on Human Environment was held in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. The conference is themed “Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all-our responsibility, our opportunity”. Nigeria has signed and ratified all the chemicals and waste-related treaties and is currently strengthening her legal and institutional infrastructures for the sound management of chemicals and waste.
Ikeazor further had another engagement with Egypt’s Minister of Environment and COP 27 President and discussed activities on the upcoming COP 27 at Egypt in November 2022.
A statement by the ministry’s director of press, Saghir el Mohammed, said both ministers also discussed the strengthening of both countries’ bilateral ties on environmental issues.
