The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), in collaboration with Natural Eco Capital, has called on Nigerian businesses to play their part in preserving the natural environment.
The call was made during the inauguration of the “Nigeria Business Action Plan for Biodiversity (BAP)” on Wednesday in Abuja. The event’s theme was “Strengthening Business Engagement in Nigeria’s Biodiversity Agenda”.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of NCF, Dr Joseph Onoja, said preserving biodiversity was important because nature is the number one capital sustaining every business, regardless of sector.
“It is important for businesses to get involved in nature preservation because it ultimately determines the eventual profitability of any business.
“A typical example is what happened in Nepal. When nature is neglected over time and decides to act back, it destroys whatever is in its way,” he said.
He noted that biodiversity had become a priority worldwide, adding that Nigeria had not been left behind as the country had adopted and domesticated the cause to serve its unique needs through Nigeria’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2025-2030.
He also noted that adopting the framework alone was not enough; implementation was just as important. According to him, this prompted the formulation of the implementation action plan.
“The idea is to have an action plan, co-created with businesses, to see how businesses can ensure that their processes, actions and policies do not harm the environment.”
It was reported that this is the first biodiversity business implementation action plan inaugurated in Nigeria.
Onoja urged businesses to use the drafted action plan as a toolkit and manual to integrate the protection of nature and biodiversity into their operations.
Also speaking, the Director-General of Natural Eco Capital, Dr Eugene Itua, said involving businesses in the preservation of nature was beneficial to them.
Itua noted that the private sector was not particularly nature-conservative in the conduct of its businesses, adding that this observation led to the foundation developing the biodiversity action plan for the private sector.
“This plan will support the private sector to protect nature and the environment that they themselves depend on for their raw materials.
“It has also been tailored in a way that makes it easy for integration into their business decisions and will ultimately help them understand how their activities impact and depend on nature,” he said.
He said that going forward, the action plan sought to avoid avoidable damage to the environment, fix existing problems and prevent upcoming threats from reaching a stage where they become major problems.
Similarly, the Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Charles Odii, said the agency was ready to partner with the foundations to ensure successful implementation of the action plan.
Odii, represented by the Assistant Director, Engineering, Technology and Infrastructure in SMEDAN, David Aiyenigba, also highlighted the importance of aligning economic growth with stewardship of natural heritage.
“For a long time, the dialogue between economic development and environmental conservation was too often framed as a trade-off. Today, we are turning the page on that outdated view.
“By inaugurating this action plan, the business community demonstrates that sustainable enterprise that is SME-inclusive and has a robust ecosystem are not opposing forces but mutually dependent.
“By integrating concrete biodiversity targets into corporate strategy, it is no longer just a corporate social responsibility initiative, but smart risk management, sound economics and essential leadership,” he said.
He noted that the action plan provided a strategic roadmap for businesses and enterprises of all sizes to assess and reduce environmental footprints across their value chains, invest in nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration.
Odii also noted that realising the vision of the framework would require continuous ambition, accountability and bold innovation.
“May this action plan serve as a catalyst for new cross-sector partnerships, transformative business practices and long-term commitment to our shared natural capital development.
“SMEDAN will put in the work to turn these strategic commitments into lasting impacts for the economy, the community and the planet,” he assured.
The event, organised in partnership with the Business for Nature Foundation, brought together stakeholders from the Ministry of Environment, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), lawmakers, partner foundations and other relevant stakeholders.
