Nigerians are not wildlife conscious — Dr Morenikeji

Dr Olajumoke Morenikeji is the Director, Zoological Garden, University of Ibadan (UI). She speaks with DOYIN ADEOYE on Nigerians’ unimpressive attitude towards wildlife as well as animal rights, and how government can boost the economy through wildlife, among other issues.

Does wildlife truly exist in Nigeria?
We have wildlife in Nigeria; we have a very rich wildlife resource, but we are not wildlife conscious people. The country is not really interested in wildlife, as the government is not really doing anything to boost the sector of wildlife consciousness, wildlife management, as well as wildlife tourism. It is an area we have not fully developed as a country and I think it is something we should look into because if we continue to be over dependent on oil, as the case is now, it is failing us already.

There is a lot to gain as a country if money is invested in this sector, because there are many animals that are indigenous to the country; they will not be found anywhere else on the planet, except here in Nigeria. So if we can build tourism around our indigenous species, we will make a lot of money as a country.

What are those animals indigenous to us?

One that readily comes to mind is the Ibadan malimbe, which is a bird that is indigenous to our environment. And there are other animals like that which you can’t find in other places. So we need first, to have a data of what we have, to protect them and ensure that they continue to exist.

As a director of a zoological garden, what would you say it takes to run one?

It takes a lot. That is why most zoos all over the world depend heavily on donations. You have to feed the animals, cater for their health needs, and maintain their enclosure. To do all these, it takes a lot of money.

For instance, we have many lions here; and feeding one lion takes about N1 million annually. That doesn’t include the health needs and the enclosure maintenance. So it takes a lot of money to keep animals in the zoo. Enriching the enclosure and ensuring that it simulates the natural environment of the animal so that they can behave and breed normally is also important.

World Wildlife Day: Stepping up for endangered species

BY DOYIN ADEOYE
The international community is geared up to celebrate wildlife tomorrow, as well as channel a way forward, especially in the area of eradicating wildlife crimes.

With the theme: ‘The Future of Wildlife is in Our Hands” and African and Asian elephants being the main focus of the 2016 global campaigns, the World Wildlife Day (WWD) is an annual event marked every 3 March, and aimed at celebrating and raising awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora.

Speaking with Ecoscope, the Director, University of Ibadan (UI) Zoological Garden, Dr Olajumoke Morenikeji, noted that Nigeria has a very rich wildlife resource, but unfortunately we are not wildlife conscious.

“It is unfortunate that the country is not really interested in boosting the wildlife sector, wildlife management, wildlife consciousness and wildlife tourism. These are areas where we have not fully developed as a country and it is something we should look into.

“There are lots of animals that are indigenous to Nigeria; they will not be found in any other place in the planet. If we can build tourism around our indigenous animals, we will make a lot of money,” she said.

The WWD was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2013 and the theme of this year’s edition is a call to people around the world to play their roles in protecting the wild animals and plants who share the planet with us.

Illegal international trade of ivory and poaching has remained a major threat to African elephants. As at 1979, the population of African elephant was estimated to be around 1.3 million in 37 range states, but by 1989 only 600,000 remained. Around 100,000 African elephants are estimated to be slaughtered in three years to feed the demand for ivory.

In his message for the 2016 WWD, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said that global efforts to protect wildlife are gathering force.

Leonardo DiCaprio talks climate change at Oscar Awards

BY DOYIN ADEOYE

Hollywood star, Leonardo DiCaprio, for the first time, won in the Best Actor category at the Oscars on Sunday.

The United Nations (UN) Messenger of Peace seized the moment to talk about climate change, urging the audience to support leaders around the world who speak for all of humanity.

“Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world.

“Let us not take this planet for granted,” he said.

Leonardo is one of the many celebrity environmentalists, advocating for a greener planet.  The likes of Woody Harrelson, Julia Roberts, James Cameron, Arianna Huffington, George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt, among others, are actively involved in one environmental project or the other.

Climate change is a matter of life and death — Okali

Professor David Okali is a retired professor of Forest Ecology from the University of Ibadan (UI), and the Chairman, Nigeria Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST). He speaks with DOYIN ADEOYE on climate change issues, as well as other global environmental concerns.

Why should Nigerians be concerned about climate change?
It is not just about Nigerians, anybody who lives on planet earth should be concerned about climate change because it is a change that is affecting the whole planet. Climate change is a matter of life and death, a matter of survival and non-survival.

Taking Ibadan’s temperature for instance, by now, we should have had rainfall so that the high temperature would go down. All of this is happening because of climate change; the climate is not behaving as it is supposed to. The things that we have adapted to are changing and we have not been able to change fast enough to keep up with it. The consequence of that would be termination of existence in the environment and Nigeria is a part of the planet earth.

So Nigeria, like many other developing parts of the world should be very concerned about the changing climate. Our livelihood, the way we get our resources, depends almost 80 per cent on the environment, which includes the land on which we farm and the rainfall on which we depend on for farming. So if we don’t have an environment that allows agriculture, food insecurity will arise. Also we don’t have the technology yet to be able to react when the environment is changing beyond the natural form. And even if the technology is available, we don’t have the money and economic power.

So we are very vulnerable to climate change. Climate change is also causing the sea to rise, which is affecting our coastline. Taking the Nigerian coastline for instance, all our economic activities is from the coastline, so if the coastline is affected, that would affect our economic activities in a very bad way. So we must be very concerned and we should be doing something about it.

Bill Gates charges teenagers on climate change

BY DOYIN ADEOYE

Annually, Bill and Melinda Gates publish a letter where they outline the goals of their philanthropic organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In its recent letter released online last week, the billionaire urged high school students, who are the next generation of world leaders, to think about how they can be a force for good in the world.

The letter outlines the environmental and economic quandary that the world faces: a growing population, growing demand for services and increased energy use, with each of these factors contributing to the rising carbon dioxide emissions, a major driver behind climate change.

“In short, we need an energy miracle. When I say ‘miracle,’ I don’t mean something that’s impossible. I’ve seen miracles happen before. The personal computer; the Internet; the polio vaccine, none of them happened by chance. They are the result of research and development and the human capacity to innovate.

“In this case, however, time is not on our side. Every day we are releasing more and more CO2 into our atmosphere and making our climate change problem even worse. We need a massive amount of research into thousands of new ideas, even ones that might sound a little crazy if we want to get to zero emissions by the end of this century,” he said.

In an interview, Gates expounds on his energy ideas and faith in the world’s youth, noting why the year’s edition of the annual letter is targeted at the teenage audience.

“I think this younger group has a lot of advantages. They will tend to take a long-term view of things. They’re more scientific oriented and more interested in opportunities they can dream about where our generation hasn’t solved the problem, and therefore, they can take up and surprise everybody by what they are able to do.

“With scientific innovation, you see that people in their 20s get a depth of knowledge and a willingness to look at things in a different way. So, I would say it’s likely that if an energy miracle comes in the next 15 years, key participants will be the teenagers of today.”

UN-Habitat key in shaping SDGs—Minister

BY DOYIN ADEOYE

The Minister of Environment, Amina J. Mohammed, on Wednesday lauded the efforts of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), saying that it was key in shaping the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially on the cities.

In a Tweetmeet, the minster alongside the Assistant Secretary General and Executive Deputy Director, UN-Habitat, Dr Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, spoke extensively on the opportunities offered by the UN-Habitat in an era of sustainable development.

Speaking on the connection between environment and habitat development, the minister said: “I see UN-Habitat as a platform that creates the space for knowledge, innovation and partnerships that ensure sustainable development. It is about one ecosystem where people, the environment, our abode, workplace all interact in harmony.”

Reacting to the same question, Dr Kacyira noted that we have the responsibility to plan and develop our habitats and cities to the benefit of our environment, adding that UN-Habitat goes beyond housing and human settlement.

“UN-Habitat goes beyond housing to integrated urban planning, equitable access to basic infrastructure, as well as safe and resilient environment,” Dr Kacyira said.

“UN-Habitat offers the policy and technical support to leaders especially to harness the benefits of urbanisation and human settlements,” she added.

Climate change is a major challenge for many nations, as both women highlighted ways by which it can be tackled through human settlement and housing development.

According to Kacyira, “Climate change can be addressed by better urban planning and housing policies for efficient energy use, better water and waste management and job creation, especially for youth.”