NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN NIGERIA

A number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are involved in conservation of biodiversity in Nigeria. Briefs of some of these NGOs are presented below.

1.      FIELD SOCIETY (NFS)

This Society was established in 1930 by Mr. A.F.B. (Frank) Bridges, B.E.M. (1895-1994). The mission was to explore the flora, fauna, culture and environment of Nigeria. The NFS is Nigeria's oldest volunteer group responsible for biodiversity conservation. The NGO carries out its mandate by organizing trips, talks and publications through its membership. The trips relate to traditional and contemporary culture, nature, the environment, sports and science. Recent trips have been to Yankari Game Reserve, Kano and Katsina Durbars, Omo Forest, Argungu and Benin Republic. Membership is drawn from the regions of Nigeria and United Kingdom (UK). Although it is a national association, It has branches in Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Benin City, Abuja, Ile Ife and UK  In a bid to actualize its set mandate, the NFS publishes a periodical journal named “The Nigeria Field. This publication chronicles activities of the NFS and  is an important source of scientifically recorded field observations on West Africa. The journal also covers culture, history and art of the Nigerian environment.

 

2. MURTALA MOHAMMED (FOUNDATION) MEMMORIAL BOTANICAL GARDENS

Murtala Muhammed Memorial Botanical Gardens (3MBG) is located along the Lekki – Epe Expressway. It was established by Mrs. Ajoke Muhammed, a Dental Therapist and widow of Late General Murtala Muhammed who devotes most of her time to environmental sustainability and preservation issues. Through this and other related efforts, she also co-ordinates the Green Belt Movement of Nigeria which is currently involved in tree planting and poverty alleviation programmes in some parts of Lagos State.

3. NIGERIA ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY/ACTION TEAM (NEST)

As a membership organization, Nigeria Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST) has the overall goal of acting in concert with an active nationwide membership to sensitize and empower Nigerians on issues of the environment and sustainable development, through the dissemination of factual information, training on skills acquisition and promotion of sustainable livelihoods.

4. PANDRILLUS FOUNDATION

Pandrillus was founded in the 1980s by Liza Gadsby The name Pandrillus comes from the genus for the species Mandrillus, and the Latin word for “all”, Pan. The mission of Pandrillus covers all drills both in captivity and the wild. The mission was to face the challenge of preventing the extinction of the highly endangered drill monkey Mandrillus leucophaeus. The mission of the foundation has since been expanded to include chimpanzees, and other wildlife that share the drill’s habitat.

Pandrillus employs a multi-faceted approach which combines in situ and ex situ activities, including: habitat protection, captive care and breeding, research, training, small scale development schemes, education and positive advocacy. The foundation works in collaboration with state and national governments, communities, traditional rulers, other international and local NGOs, zoos, advisory groups, and the private sector to achieve meet its mandate.

Pandrillus works in Nigeria and Cameroon as a Nigerian-registered non-profit trust. It is also registered in the USA as non-profit organization

 

5. CERCOPAN - Centre for Education, Research and Conservation of Primates and Nature

The mission of CERCOPAN is to conserve Nigeria’s primates through sustainable rainforest conservation, community partnerships, education, primate rehabilitation and research. Its two education and primate rehabilitation centres are the focal points for the organization. The education arm is located in Calabar (since 1995) and the rehab is in Rhoko near Iko Esai (since 2003). To fulfill its mandate CERCOPAN recovers primates through donations or by rescueing them from captors. In this wise, over 100 primates have been donated or rescued from hunters or pet keepers, their parents having been felled for illegal bush meat consumption. Iko Esai is actively conserving approximately 12,000 hectares of community rainforest, including 400 hectares of core protected land within the Akamkpa Local Government Area (LGA) adjacent to Cross River National Park in Akampa. The foundation has involved communities in managing their forests to protect wildlife and habitat. This has led to a community-wide ban on hunting of all primates in Iko Esai where community members are employed in patrolling habitat areas to protect animals such as monkeys, pangolins and forest elephants from poachers. CERCOPAN is also involved in student projects at the research centre at Rhoko Camp, including international research projects.

6. NIGERIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION (NCF)

Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) is a foremost Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) dedicated to nature conservation and sustainable development in Nigeria. IT was established by Chief S. L Edu in 1980 and registered in 1982 as a Charitable Trust under the Land (Perpetual Succession) Act of 1961 which was replaced by the Company and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

The vision of NCF is to have “a Nigeria where people prosper while living in harmony with nature”. Her mission is tp preserve the full range of Nigeria’s biodiversity which includes species, ecosystems and genetic biodiversity;  promote the sustainable use of natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations; and advocate actions that minimise pollution and wasteful utilisation of renewable resources. Consequent upon this mission, NCF is a veritable frontier for the conservation of biodiversity in Nigeria. This NGO focuses on environmental education, biodiversity conservation, policy advocacy, public sensitization on environmental issues, mitigating environmental pollution and poverty reduction.

To drive her mission, NCF embarks on various projects which include

1.      Lekki Conservation Centre

2.      Paricipatory Forest Management System

3.      Edo Biodiversity Action Plan

4.      Finima Nature Park

5.      Osse River Park

6.      Omo-Oluwa-Shasha Forest Reserve.

Among these NCF projects, Lekki conservation Centre stands out.

Lekki Conservation Centre  (LCC)

Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC) is located on Lekki Peninsula Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, where it occupies a land area of 78 hectares.. The LCC is a conservation initiative meant to protect wildlife found in southwest coastal environment of Nigeria amidst sprawling urban development. Over the years, LCC has served, as an education and resource centre for several groups. .

The project has promoted environmental protection and worked against poaching by surrounding communities as well as serve as a tourist centre for local and international visitors. Continuous environmental education, awareness creation and research activities are carried out in the Reserve.

In terms of operations, LCC was established to serve as a conservation outpost of Nigeria’s southwest coastal mangrove resources and an information centre for environmental education and public awareness. Over the years, visiting students from various academic cadres have been able to learn through their visit to LCC practical steps to conserving our God given natural resources. LCC is also an environmental education resource centre to non-educated and semi literate visitors.

.LCC 78 hectare land area is divided into two sections: LCC Complex and the nature reserve.  The LCC Complex comprises of an attractive multi-purpose Rotunda surrounded by four office blocks. The office blocks contain project staff offices, gift shop, canteen and the drivers’ office. The facilities of the LCC Complex area were expanded in 1998 with the construction of the National Secretariat at the rear of LCC Complex. The nature reserve cuts across several vegetation types namely: secondary forest, swamp forest and Savanna grassland.

The swamp outlook affords tourists, especially nature lovers’ mouth watering opportunity of sitting back to beyond aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem interaction. On the other hand, there is a bird hide that enables bird watchers to view avifauna that are wading through the pool overlooked by the hide or foraging within the vicinity.  There is also a tree house. The tree house is one of the most fascinating features one can ever come across in an ecotourism zone. The tree house, is located on a stout Dawadawa tree (Pakia biglobossa) that towers above 25m. Enthusiasts climb to the top of the tree using the stout and well protected ladder. The rest stops as the name implies serve as rest points and picnic site for small groups of visitors. After the trail boardwalk is the nature station which is a recreation island in the middle of a forest. The foregoing captures the attraction of Lekki Conservation Centre as a tourist attraction in Lagos, Nigeria. For insect diversity of LCC follow this link http://t.co/etVNG4AOtw

 

FOCUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE: LAGOS HOSTS SEVENTH CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT

VENTURE CAREER: NEW APP TO DOUSE CAREER TENSION AND EMPOWER YOU

A new app to help out on career guidance for youths and as a tool for career counselors has been released for download. You can download the app free of charge to your android phones and tablets.

For free download, please click on this link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details...

HOW TECHNOLOGY EASED BUHARI'S PATH TO POWER IN NIGERIA

By Alexis Akwagyiram

 

Technology played a decisive role in helping Muhammadu Buhari become the first Nigerian to oust a sitting president at the ballot box, from social media campaigning to biometric machines preventing the widespread rigging that marred past polls.

Three decades after seizing power in a military coup, part of the 72-year-old former general's appeal to the electorate in Africa’s biggest economy lay in his successful rebranding as a man who embraced democracy. A good deal of that rebranding happened online, where campaigning from smartphones can build momentum at low cost.

ADEBOLA WILLIAMS

 "The digital strategy has been a lifeline of the campaign for young people. We needed to create an image that enabled people to connect with him," Adebola Williams, the 29-year-old whose Lagos-based communications company, StateCraft, orchestrated Buhari's digital drive, told Reuters. Even the doubters conceded that they had seen campaign material online.

"There were a lot of discussions on their Facebook pages, but I am not sure that really influenced me," said Endurance Dauda, 24, a student in the northern city of Kaduna, who said many of her friends are not online.

While not everyone was convinced the online methods swung their vote, the potential is hard to argue with.

ADEBOLA WILLIAMS WITH THE PRESIDENT-ELECT

Africa’s most populous nation - with 170 million inhabitants - has some of the world's highest levels of mobile phone ownership. There are 127 million mobile phone subscriptions in Nigeria, the International Telecommunications Union says.

"In the last four years it has become a lot easier and cheaper to get the Internet on your phone. It isn't exclusive anymore," Williams said, arguing that going online is no longer a luxury, despite most Nigerians living on less than $2 a day.

Defeated president Goodluck Jonathan's team also used social media, including YouTube videos highlighting Buhari’s autocratic past and facets of Jonathan’s life. In one, he was seen exercising with a personal trainer and playing squash.

But possibly more significant than the online campaigning was the use of biometric machines to identify voters, which prevented the ballot-box

PROF. ATTAHIRU JEGA

stuffing and multiple voting that characterised past polls.

"The card reader played a constructive role in deterring individuals who, in the past, have tampered with the electoral process either through ballot stuffing or tampering with the election results," said Dr Christopher Fomunyoh, of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, a non-governmental organization that promotes democracy. As a result, this election was judged Nigeria's freest and fairest election yet.

"Fortune favors the bold. Deciding to go hi-tech was absolutely the right thing to do," U.S. Ambassador James Entwistle said after the poll. Once the biometric aspect of election technology had been proven, there was only way for the victor to celebrate.

When Buhari got the call from Jonathan conceding defeat, Williams used his phone to capture the moment and share the image on Twitter and Instagram.

(Additional reporting by Felix Bate; Editing by Tim Cocks and Alison Williams)

Culled from Yahoo News 03/04/2015.

VINTAGE CARS OF THE FUTURE: THORIUM CARS ON SALE FROM 2018

ON 23rd November 2013 this story was published in this blog in a post titled "Future Cars That Will Crash the Economy of Nigeria, Wont need fueling for 100 years!" Now there is an update on the car. It is named Thorium car (based on its source of energy) and it will be on sale from 2018 in partnership with Cadillac. How much will it be sold? That is not known yet, but it is feared that it might not be within the reach of the average Nigerian or other such people in other low income and developing countries. The car is credited with a high prospect of environmental cleanliness since its going  to be emission-free and there will be no need to charge the batteries. The batteries will last for 100 years! This means that the battery will outlive the car. That's bad news for artisan battery chargers. 

Thorium Car

CONSERVATION AND POLLUTION (3 UNITS)

This course is centred on two sections viz
(A). Natural Resources of the world with emphasis on Nigeria, the values, utilization, destruction and principles of management.
(B). Concept of pollution, pollutants, and their biological effects, environmental Impact Assessment, control and future prospects.

CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
This aspect deals with section A above ie Natural Resources of the world with emphasis on Nigeria, the values, utilization, destruction and principles of management.

NATURAL RESOURCES
What is a resource?
A resource is anything that is valuable to man. It could be a living thing or non-living thing. It could be gaseous, liquid or solid.

Occurrence of Natural Resources
Natural resources are not man-made. They occur in nature within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by man. A natural resource is can be viewed jn terms of biodiversity and extant geodiversity in various ecosystems. Biodiversity refers to the totality of various forms of living organisms in a given locality. It refers to various genotypic and phenotypically expressed traits in animals, plants, bacteria, viruses, and fungi in a locality. The foregoing shows that biodiversity is a measure of the variety of organisms in different ecosystems. By extension this refers to genetic variation, ecosystem variation, or species variation (number of species) within an area, a biome or planet.
Geodiversity is the variety of earth materials, forms and processes that constitute the planet Earth and shape it. Relevant materials include minerals, rocks, sediments, fossil, soils, and water. Forms may comprise folds, forms, faults and landforms as well as other expressions of morphology or relations between units of earth material.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms including plants, animals and microbes in conjunction with the non-living components of their environment including the air, water and mineral soil, interacting with one another as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Ecosystems can be of any size but usually encompass specific, limited spaces.
Natural resources are derived from the environment. Some of them are essential for our survival while most are used for satisfying our needs. Natural resources may be further classified in different ways.
Natural resources are materials and components (something that can be used) that can be found within the environment. Every man-made product is composed of natural resources (at its fundamental level). A natural resource may exist as a separate entity such as fresh water, and air, as well as a living organism such as a fish, or it may exist in an alternate form which must be processed to obtain the resource such as metal ores, oil, and most forms of energy.
Some natural resources such as sunlight and air can be found everywhere, and are known as ubiquitous resources. However, most resources only occur in small sporadic areas, and are referred to as localized resources. There are very few resources that are considered inexhaustible; these are solar radiation, geothermal energy, and air. The vast majority of resources are exhaustible, which means they have a finite quantity, and can be depleted if not well managed.

Classification of Natural Resources

Natural Resources can be classified using the following criteria:

1.      Origin

2.      Stage of Development

3.      Renewability

On the basis of origin, natural resources can be divided into:

A.      Biotic – Biotic resources are obtained from the biosphere (ie living and organic materials), such as forests and animals, and the materials or products that can be obtained from them. Please note that fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil belong to this category  since they are formed from decayed organic matter.

2. Abiotic – Abiotic resources are those from non-living, non-organic material. Examples include land, fresh water, air and heavy metals including ores such as gold, iron, copper, silver etc.

On the basis of their stage of development, natural resources can be divided as follows:

A.      Potential resources – Potential resources are those that exist in a region and may be used in the future. For example crude oil (petroleum) occurs with sedimentary rocks in various regions, but until the time comes when it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains a potential resource.

2. Actual resources – Actual resources are those that have been surveyed, their quantity and quality determined, and are being used in presently. The development of an actual resource, such as wood depends upon the technology available and the cost involved.
3. Reserve resources – The part of an actual resource which can be developed profitably in the future is known as a reserve resource.
4. Stock resources – Stock resources are those that have been surveyed but cannot be used by organisms due to lack of technology.

On the basis of Renewability natural resources can be grouped as either renewable or non-renewable:

A.      Renewable resources: Renewable resources are those that can be replenished through natural processes. Some of these resources, like sunlight, air, wind, etc., are available continually and their quantity is not noticeably affected by human consumption or exploitation. Viewed from a human use perspective resources are classified as renewable if  the rate of replenishment or recovery exceeds that of consumption.

Non-renewable resources:  These are resources that either form slowly or do not naturally form in the environment. Minerals are the most common resource included in this category. From the human use perspective, these resources are non-renewable when their rate of consumption exceeds the rate of replenishment or recovery; a good example of this are fossil fuels, which are in this category because their rate of formation is extremely slow, running to millions of years hence, they are considered non-renewable. 


To be updated soon.