Nigeria and other African countries are reported to be annually losing as much as $3.8 billion to erosion, pollution and other environmental and health threatening issues.
A new research document just published by Nature and the International Support Network for African Development (ISNAD-Africa) in partnership with World Wildlife Fund raised concerns over the alarming rate of nature degradation due to unsustainable approaches to anthropogenic activities.
The researchers reported that the menace of endangered species had been growing rapidly while the rate of ecosystem degradation has continued unabated over the past two decades, raising concerns that warming rate of the ecosystem challenges may lead to the extinction of over one million plants and animal species across the world, especially in Africa
In his comments on the research document findings, Executive Director, ISNAD-Africa, Adedoyin Adeleke, pointed out that with minimal contribution and focus on the youth in policy formulation and decisions-making process in countries like Nigeria, the gains of United Nations Convention for Biological Diversity, especially the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (2011-2030) could remain a mirage.
Lamenting the over $4 trillion loss in the tourism sector for years 2020 and 2021 and the over $125 Billion spent by the World Bank to combat the impact of the health, economic and social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Adeleke said the roles of the youths in addressing some of the challenges faced by nature could be a game changer.
He said: “The inherent and associated losses that accrue to nature are indeed undermining the increasing investment for sustainable development in the run-up to 2030. Therefore, the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) need to acknowledge the urgency to stop and reverse the nature and biodiversity losses if the aspirations of the United Nations 2030 Agenda must be achieved.”
Considering that more than 40 percent of African population youths, the experts reported that lack of recognition through meaningful climate and environmental education limited the capacity of young people to acquire knowledge and skills they require for active and effective participation and contribution to policies and decision-making process at the international, national, and sub-national levels.
According to the ISNAD-Africa’s Executive Director, this worrisome trend undermines the rights of the youth, who represent the share of the African populace with the most active, enthusiasm, resilience, and exploratory spirit to take action to protect themselves, their children, and the health of the planet, hence hampering the progress towards a nature positive planet.”
To researchers stated that to ensure the empowerment of youth in the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), there was need effective youth engagements in the implementation of the framework, beyond awareness creation.
In addition, the policy brief also advocated that strategies for resource mobilisation should be conceptualized and operated based on intergenerational equity as well as ensure adequate resources allocated towards capacity-building and empowerment of youth and youth-led organisations.
Adeleke said improvement in the availability, accessibility, and dissemination of information resources with special attention on the youth at all levels and initiatives on intergenerational knowledge, language learning and transmission, especially by indigenous peoples and local communities, remained important to mitigate the socio-economic deprivation of the youths.
He expatiated: “The rates of biodiversity loss and nature degradation are alarming due to unsustainable production and consumption by human beings. The catastrophic loss of species, not only negatively impact biodiversity but also exacerbate climate change. Hence, Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) should provide and set the pace clear pathways for mitigating as well as reversing the biodiversity losses towards the realisation of a nature positive planet.”
