Esther Salifu
The Federal Government has officially validated the revised National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2025–2030, marking a significant step toward halting biodiversity loss and reducing the degradation of high-biodiversity areas to near zero.
The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2025-2030, is a comprehensive roadmap aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The validation was performed by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, who was represented by the Director of the Forestry Department, Dr. Amah Moses.
Speaking at the event, the Minister noted that the newly updated NBSAP is broad in scope, with ambitious and comprehensive targets that aim to transform Nigeria’s biodiversity landscape.
“Target 1 alone will have a massive impact,” he said, adding that the NBSAP outlines Nigeria’s unique biodiversity, including its rich ecosystems and endemic species, which are deeply integrated into the country’s economy, ecology, and culture.
“As is clearly articulated in the NBSAP, Nigeria is blessed with some of the richest biodiversity in Africa,” Lawal said. “This impressive biodiversity not only supports food security, healthcare, fresh water access, and agriculture, but is also essential to the overall wellbeing of Nigerians.”
He emphasized that preserving biodiversity is not just an environmental necessity but a national priority, with the plan designed to bring biodiversity loss in critical areas close to zero.
While acknowledging that implementing the NBSAP will be a challenging task, the Minister expressed confidence that with persistence, dedication, and collaboration among stakeholders, the goals of the strategy can be realized for the benefit of all Nigerians.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Kambari Mahmud, who was also represented at the event, described the validation workshop as a crucial milestone in Nigeria’s environmental conservation efforts.
He noted that, over the past months, experts, policymakers, and stakeholders had worked diligently to review and refine the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) to ensure it aligns with global best practices and national development priorities.
“As we come together today to validate this important document, we are reaffirming our collective commitment to transforming the NBSAP into actionable solutions,” he stated.
The Director-General of the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF), Joseph Ojo, highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in biodiversity conservation.
“Biodiversity affects all of us, and our actions or inactions affect biodiversity conservation in Nigeria,” he said.
Ojo emphasized that environmental conservation ultimately benefits humanity, stating, “Let us know that we are not doing the environment a favor, we are actually doing ourselves a favor. Because at the end of the day, the environment does not really need us, we need the environment.”
