30 September
2025 / current concerns
2-015
[This article
may be freely published provide the credit/authorship is retained. We’ll
appreciate receiving a reference/link to the publication]
BIODIVERSITY:
ADDRESSING THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE NIGERIAN
CRISES
-
by Dr.
Uzodinma Adirieje,
FAHOA
+2348034725905
(WhatsApp) / EMAIL: druzoadirieje2015@gmail.com
CEO/Programmes Director, Afrihealth Optonet Association
(AHOA) – CSOs Network and Think-tank
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BACKGROUND
Nigeria is a land of profound ecological richness. From the
freshwater swamps and mangroves of the Niger Delta to the rainforests of Cross
River, the savannas of the North, and the wetlands of Hadejia-Nguru, the
country is home to many unique species and ecosystems. But this living heritage
is under grave threat. Biodiversity loss in Nigeria is accelerating, with
serious consequences for food security, human health, climate resilience,
livelihoods, and national development. To effectively stem the tide, we must
look beyond surface symptoms and confront the root causes of this crisis.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT LIES BENEATH: KEY DRIVERS OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS
Through research and field observations, several interlinked social,
economic, political, and environmental causes emerge.
1. Population Pressure and Urban Expansion
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with rapid growth
exerting intense pressure on land and natural resources. Urban areas expand
into wetlands, forests, and other ecologically sensitive regions, often with
minimal planning or regulation. Rural communities, facing economic pressures,
also clear forests for farming and fuelwood, further fragmenting and degrading
habitats. The Eleyele wetland in Ibadan, for example, has seen marked
degradation linked to urbanization, agricultural encroachment, and changes in
land use. publications.funaab.edu.ng
2. Overexploitation and Unsustainable Resource Use
Overhunting (especially for bushmeat), unsustainable fishing
practices, excessive logging, and non-timber forest product extraction all
contribute substantially to biodiversity decline. Many species are threatened
because of overuse, both for subsistence and commercial trade. The demand for
high-value woods, endangered wildlife, medicinal plants, etc., is straining
ecosystems.
3. Poor Land Use Planning and Unclear Tenure Rights
Competing land uses—agribusiness, urban development, infrastructure,
grazing—compete with habitat conservation. When land tenure is insecure or
ambiguous, local communities have limited incentive to conserve natural
environments; instead, exploitation becomes a safer short-term strategy.
Policies often shift control upwards—state or federal—without involving
traditional or local stewards, exacerbating conflicts and degradation.
4. Weak Governance, Enforcement and Legal Frameworks
Nigeria has multiple laws, policies, and international commitments
addressing biodiversity, but many are outdated, poorly enforced, or suffer from
overlapping mandates among agencies. Corruption, insufficient funding, and lack
of technical capacity undermine implementation. As a result, illegal logging,
poaching, land encroachment, pollution, and habitat destruction persist.
Constructive
5. Pollution, Industrial and Oil Sector Damage
The Niger Delta stands out as one of the worst-hit areas. Oil
spills, gas flaring, pipeline leaks, and pollution of soil, water and air
degrade mangroves, freshwater swamps, and coastal ecosystems. These not only
destroy habitat but also disrupt local livelihoods—fishing and small-scale
agriculture—and poison human populations.
6. Climate Change and Environmental Degradation
Changing rainfall patterns, droughts, floods, rising temperatures,
desertification, and sea level rise are already altering Nigeria’s landscapes.
These forces stress ecosystems, especially those already weakened by habitat
loss or pollution, reducing their resilience. For instance, wetland loss is
aggravated both by human encroachment and shifts in hydrology linked to climate
change.
7. Lack of Data, Awareness, and Inclusion
Effective conservation depends on knowing what exists, where it
exists, how species are faring, and what pressures are increasing. In many
parts of Nigeria, data is sparse, outdated, or not shared. Local communities,
media, and grassroots actors often lack awareness of the value of biodiversity,
the threats, or ways to participate. Exclusion of indigenous knowledge and
community voices weakens conservation efforts.
PATHWAYS TO ADDRESSING THE ROOT CAUSES
To reverse the trends, the following multi-pronged, systemic strategies
are essential
1. Strengthen Legal Frameworks and Governance
a. Update and harmonize laws related to biodiversity, land use,
pollution, protected areas, and tenure rights.
b. Empower environmental agencies with adequate funding, technical
capacity, and independence to enforce laws.
c. Increase accountability, transparency, and address corruption
where it undermines enforcement.
Roles among federal, state, and local levels must be clarified to
ensure coherence.
2. Secure Land Tenure and Promote Community Stewardship
a. Recognize and formalize community and traditional land rights.
When people feel ownership and responsibility, they are more likely to protect
ecosystems.
b. Use participatory land-use planning that balances human needs
(housing, agriculture, infrastructure) with ecological protection (buffer
zones, corridors, protected areas).
c. Support community-based conservation and co-management schemes.
3. Promote Sustainable Livelihoods and Incentives for Conservation
a. Develop alternatives to destructive practices: agroforestry,
sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products, eco-tourism, regenerative
agriculture.
b. Support smallholders with training, inputs, and access to markets
that reward sustainability.
c. Introduce payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes or benefit
sharing so communities gain direct rewards for maintaining healthy ecosystems.
4. Address Pollution and Industrial Impacts
a. Ensure strict environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for all
industrial, agricultural, and oil sector projects.
b. Enforce standards and penalties for spills, pollutants, and
habitat destruction.
c. Promote clean technologies, better waste management, reduction of
gas flaring, restoration of degraded lands and mangroves.
5. Integrate Climate Change Strategies
a. Ecosystem restoration (mangroves, wetlands, forests) both to
recover biodiversity and serve as carbon sinks.
b. Adaptation planning that reduces vulnerability of both ecosystems
and human communities to climate-driven changes (e.g. flood control, resilient
agriculture).
c. Link biodiversity conservation with Nigeria’s commitments under
global climate and biodiversity frameworks (Paris Agreement, Kunming-Montreal,
etc.).
6. Enhance Data, Research, Education and Participation
a. Invest in biodiversity monitoring systems: mapping, species
inventories, population tracking.
b. Support research institutions, universities, NGOs, and citizen
science to fill knowledge gaps.
c. Promote environmental education from school level to community
awareness campaigns.
d. Involve indigenous peoples, local communities, women, and youth
in planning and implementation.
CONCLUSION: A CALL TO COLLECTIVE ACTION
Nigeria has made policy commitments—such as proclaiming “zero
biodiversity loss by 2030” and aligning national strategies with the
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. These are important milestones.
Yet the real test lies in how much we tackle the underlying causes: the
pressures of population, poverty, governance weaknesses, industrial pollution,
climate change, and the marginalization of local voices. At Afrihealth Optonet
Association, we believe that biodiversity is deeply connected to human health.
Clean water, healthy food, stable climate, disease regulation, and medicinal
plants all depend on functioning ecosystems. As we address public health in
Nigeria, we must also see biodiversity protection as a critical front of
intervention. Action must be long-term, well-funded, interdisciplinary, and
participatory. Government at all levels, civil society, private sector,
researchers, international partners, and communities must collaborate. If we
act decisively now to address the root causes, Nigeria can safeguard its
natural heritage, not simply to avoid extinction of species, but to ensure
well-being, stability, and prosperity for ourselves and generations to come.
Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje is an environmental health researcher with
Afrihealth Optonet Association (AHOA), focused on linking ecosystem health and
human well-being in Nigeria. He is a global health practitioner, development expert,
and civil society leader whose work sits at the critical nexus of biodiversity,
health, and climate change. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of AHOA, a
pan-African civil society network advancing sustainable development through
advocacy, policy dialogue, and grassroots interventions. With over two decades
of experience, Dr. Adirieje has championed the understanding that biodiversity
is essential for human health - supporting food security, disease regulation,
clean water, and resilient livelihoods. His leadership promotes integrated
approaches that address environmental degradation, climate change, and poverty
simultaneously. Through AHOA, he leads multi-country initiatives on climate
change, ecosystem restoration, renewable energy, universal health coverage, and
climate-smart agriculture, while advocating for stronger governance and
inclusive community participation. At national, regional, and global levels,
Dr. Adirieje engages with governments, international organizations, and civil
society to drive policies linking health and environment. His work underscores
that safeguarding biodiversity is not only an ecological necessity but also a
cornerstone of global health and sustainable development in Africa and the
Global South.
