Stakeholders in biodiversity conservation say that establishing biodiversity businesses in Nigeria’s biosphere reserves will boost biodiversity conservation, support South-South cooperation, create wealth, and preserve nature for sustainable development.

They said this during the ongoing Biodiversity Business training for 12 selected communities within the Oban Biosphere Reserve, hosted at the Cross River National Park in Akamkpa.

Biodiversity business is any commercial enterprise that generates profits through activities that conserve biodiversity, use biological resources sustainably, and share the benefits equitably.

The Biodiversity Business training was organised within the framework of the Nigeria-UNESCO Biodiversity Project, supported by the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

The project is being implemented in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, and the National Park Service.

Zacharia Yaduma, FRIN director-general, said the programme was designed to help communities develop alternative livelihoods that reduce pressure on forest resources.

Mr Yaduma said that conserving the reserves would promote tourism and boost foreign-exchange earnings.

Morenike Ojo, the head of Elizabeth Ehi-Ebiewele Biodiversity Linkage Centre, FRIN, Ibadan, said biodiversity conservation was crucial to combating climate change and preserving natural resources.

According to Ms Ojo, deforestation, industrialisation, and waste mismanagement are key contributors to climate change, which, in turn, affects rainfall patterns, temperatures, and food security.

She stressed the importance of restoring degraded environments through tree planting, noting that trees provide cooling and help balance ecosystems.

Okeyoyin Agboola, a member of the project’s steering committee and resource person on environmental conservation, said biodiversity resources provide multiple benefits, including food, medicine, and ecological stability.

Raphael Offiong of the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Calabar described tropical rainforests as the lungs of the earth, essential to its survival.

The biodiversity business project aims to reduce poverty, promote conservation-friendly businesses, and strengthen Nigeria’s contribution to global biodiversity goals through community participation and sustainable ecosystem management.

(NAN)