Biodiversity businesses can boost conservation, create wealth—Experts

Stakeholders in biodiversity conservation say that establishing biodiversity businesses in Nigeria’s biosphere reserves will boost biodiversity conservation, support South-South cooperation, create wealth and preserve nature for sustainable development.

They said this at the on-going Biodiversity Business training for 12 selected communities within the Oban Biosphere Reserve, hosted in the Cross River National Park, Akamkpa.

Biodiversity business is any commercial enterprise that generates profits through activities which conserve biodiversity, use biological resources sustainably, and share the benefits from their equitably

The Biodiversity Business training was organised within the framework of Nigeria-UNESCO Biodiversity Project, supported by India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

The project is being implemented in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) and National Park Service.

Dr Zacharia Yaduma, Director-General, FRIN, said the programme was designed to help communities develop alternative livelihoods that reduce pressure on forest resources.

“These communities depend on the reserves for firewood, food and income and we cannot just stop them from using what sustains them without providing alternative means of livelihood.

“It is believed that once they begin to generate income, they will no longer cut down trees for firewood or hunt wildlife for food,” he said.

Yaduma said that conservation of the reserves would promote tourism and boost foreign exchange earnings.

“When visitors come they pay for accommodation, food and crafts and that bring income to the community and the country,” he said.

Prof. Morenike Ojo, Head of Elizabeth Ehi-Ebiewele Biodiversity Linkage Centre, FRIN, Ibadan, said biodiversity conservation was crucial to combating climate change and preserving natural resources.

According to Ojo, deforestation, industrialisation and waste mismanagement are key contributors to climate change, which in turn affects rainfall patterns, temperature and food security.

She stressed the importance of restoring degraded environments through tree planting, noting that trees provide cooling effect and help balance the ecosystem.

Dr Okeyoyin Agboola, a member of the project’s steering committee and resource person on environmental conservation, said biodiversity resources provide multiple benefits, including food, medicine and ecological stability.

“Local people rely on the forest for wild foods and medicinal plants; if we do not protect these resources, they will disappear.

“At the national level, biodiversity conservation will enhance ecotourism development, attract international tourists and generate foreign exchange,” Agboola said.

Also speaking, Prof. Raphael Offiong of the Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Calabar, described tropical rainforests as the lungs of the earth, which is essential for its survival.

Offiong said “the day we lose these forests is the day human extinction begins.

“You cannot quantify their value economically, ecologically or spiritually. They provide oxygen, food, employment, medicine and social cohesion,” Offiong said.

The biodiversity business project aims to reduce poverty, promote conservation-friendly businesses and strengthen Nigeria’s contribution to global biodiversity goals through community participation and sustainable ecosystem management.

The week-long training covers environmental education, biodiversity business management and practical modules on piggery, fish farming and poultry farming biodiversity businesses.