The Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, has advocated for restoration, conservation and protection of biodiversity as key antidotes to COVID-19 recovery.
He disclosed this while briefing journalists in Abuja, adding that as we continue to battle with the crisis as environmentalists, “we must continue to contribute our quota in the collective efforts being made to contain the spread of the pandemic.
“It is for this reason that the United Nations deem it fit to address biodiversity with the theme “Time For Nature”, with a focus on its role in providing the essential infrastructure that supports life on earth and human development.
He said: the pandemic has impacted the traditional activities such as tree planting and public workshops which were undertaken to celebrate the day in the past and has necessitated new approaches in advocacy and communication.
“Biodiversity is the foundation for life and there are myriads of benefits amongst which are livelihoods and sustainable development, improvement and delivery of food security, growth, increase in job opportunity, strengthening of global healthcare support systems,” he stressed.
He further stated that human interaction with the ecosystem must therefore remain balanced, otherwise we risk disrupting nature with their consequence as we are seeing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abubakar reiterated that 1million seedlings will be handed over to the Kaduna government to mitigate the effect of biodiversity, climate change and improve on our natural habitats.
“We as a global community have to stay on track with our climate targets for us to recover a greener and better environment for the people on the planet.
According to him, biodiversity remains the answer to a number of sustainable development challenges that we all face, from nature based solutions to climate, food, water security, sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity remains the basis for a sustainable future.
The Minister urge that Nigeria remains committed to maintaining a healthy environment and safeguarding our ecosystems.
