The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has reiterated its commitment to conserving Nigeria’s biosphere reserves to ensure environmental preservation and discourage human activities that contribute to climate change.
Dr Jean-Paul Abiaga, Head of Office of UNESCO Abuja and the organizations representative in Nigeria, stated this in an interview with reporters on Monday in Abuja.
He said UNESCO is actively supporting the conservation of key biosphere reserves in Nigeria, including the Oban Biosphere Reserve in Cross River State, the Omo Biosphere Reserve in Ogun State and the Shere Hills Biosphere Reserve in Plateau State.
Abiaga explained that the biosphere refers to the global sum of all ecosystems, encompassing all living organisms and their interactions with the environment.
According to him, UNESCO has engaged communities in the Oban, Omo and Shere Hills biosphere reserves through biodiversity business training programmes aimed at promoting conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
“The training, titled Biodiversity Business in Oban Biosphere Reserve, Omo Biosphere Reserve and Shere Hills Reserve, Nigeria: A Means to Poverty Reduction, Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in Nigeria, is supported by the India-UN Development Partnership Fund,” he said.
Abiaga disclosed that UNESCO received one million dollars from the India-UN Partnership Fund to implement the Biodiversity Business Project across the three sites in Nigeria.
“The objective of the project is to support youths, women and local communities to develop biodiversity-related businesses that generate income while protecting the environment,” he said.
Speaking on activities in Ogun State, Abiaga said 10 communities around the Omo Biosphere Reserve were selected and trained in piggery and fish farming as biodiversity-friendly business ventures.
According to him, the initiative aims to provide alternative sources of livelihood for host communities while reducing pressure on natural resources.
He added that the biodiversity business training aligns with UNESCO’s global priority of balancing biodiversity protection with sustainable livelihoods.
“This project combines environmental protection with income generation and supports the United Nations target of protecting 30 per cent of global biodiversity on land and at sea,” Abiaga said.
He expressed UNESCO’s desire to scale up the project and strengthen collaboration with the Ogun State Government, other states and private sector partners with shared interests.
Abiaga noted that the training programme, held between Nov. 10 and Nov. 15 in Ogun State, was implemented in collaboration with the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, the National Park Service and the Nigerian National Committee for Man and the Biosphere.
The biodiversity business training is part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, an intergovernmental scientific initiative designed to improve the relationship between people and their environment.
The programme integrates natural and social sciences to enhance human livelihoods while safeguarding natural and managed ecosystems, and promotes innovative, socially appropriate and environmentally sustainable approaches to economic development.
