INVESTING WHERE THE SOLUTIONS ARE - WORLD BIODIVERSITY 2020

By Uche Isieke



Biodiversity is said to be  a variety of life on Earth, in all its forms and all its interactions. It's comprised of several levels, starting with genes, then individual species, then communities of creatures and finally entire ecosystems, such as forests or coral reefs, where life interplays with the physical environment. These myriad interactions have made Earth habitable for billions of years

Forest play an important role in the water cycle regulation and carbon sequestering, also as a genetic bank and source of food, they stimulate rainfall, protect soils from erosion and regulate the flow of river and stream water. The current forest cover in Nigeria is below FAO’s recommendation of 25% and has already resulted in the depletion of surface and ground water resources.  These unsustainable processes have had and continue to have negative consequences on the overall environment.

The root causes of Biodiversity loss  are multiple. In addition to weather events triggered by climate change, human causes include unsuitable land use and bush burning. Unsuitable land use refers to the use of land for purposes for which it is environmentally unsuited for sustainable use. One example is the extensive forest clearance that has taken place over the last decades.


Nigeria suffers from environmental problems  typical to many developing countries: overgrazing, erosive ploughing and over-cultivation, have resulted in loss of soil fertility; the dumping of wastewater and sewage have caused water and soil contamination; and the exploitation and processing of natural resources such as mining, have brought about environmental pollution.

The country has Nigeria has one of the highest rates of deforestation,averaging 350,000-400,000 hectares or 3.5% per year. Up to 80% of the country’s original forests have already disappeared, and the remaining forest covers as little as 4% of the land mass(FAN, 2016).


Choosing the theme: “Our solutions are in nature” which emphasizes the importance of synergy to build a future of life in relation with nature, is apt as the world is battling to bring to a halt the pandemic. While  efforts to end the global crisis is on going,there is the need to take urgent  collaborative actions toward building a resilient and enduring  nature -friendly economy ,post covid-19.

Building back,we  must step up our resilience as a nation and invest in social and environmental  impact initiatives, as part of the nation’s Economic Sustainability Plan.

Such investments to  generate revenue from three main sources:Agriculture ;Foresty, including agroforestry and  others,which include renewable energy, ecotourism, mitigation banking, conservation easement, carbon credits and other conservation activities.

States must also see investing in environment as one with immeasurable returns and economic impacts.

As at 2016,  over $7.0 billion was raised, by the global ESI funder and developers waiting for governments and privates with bankable-impact oriented investment (project ) proposals to be funded by investors.  These projects must be designed to generate a financial profit for public/private investors in order to make the investment case for ESI activities, even if the financial return is below market rate. The predominate income stream(s) must be generated from tangible products such as food and fibre, or from tangible services such as tourism, for which a ready market demand exists independent of government legislation. Projects that generate income partially but not primarily through carbon, biodiversity, habitat and other natural resource credit offsets are included, however, since the valuation of such ecosystem services can enhance the return of projects.



Unfortunately many  governments in developing countries are yet to realize how much  opportunities are there to explore to enhance economies,while maintaining a healthy and sustainable ecosystems.



 According to a UNCCD report, Agriculture is expected to see the strongest acceleration over the next five years, growing nearly 350% by 2021. Investments into diversified-sector projects are also estimated as likely to increase by more than 200% over the same time period.

Awareness:  government and civil society, have to be shift bit from what many perceived  not quite cohesive,the approach to citizen's engagement in environment issues.

Citizen should be made to understand that planting trees and investing on land and natural resources restoration means a huge business,while solving social and economic problems. They are not a mere rhetoric but a real call to take action for biodiversity restoration,to enhance sustainability,stability and prosperity. The ignorance of many  around the environment and  sustainability opportunities have  stifled advocacy/awareness  progress and  participation amongst  stakeholders. More efforts should be channeled toward developing strategies that are saleable and investment oriented.
Lets move a bit further from environmental education to environment  mentor-ship and entrepreneurship;it is a new path to inclusivity and sustainability. This would create jobs for the unemployed,stabilize the economy, reduce poverty and conflict, and  prevent further degradation of biodiversity.  Without biodiversity there no future for humanity. Our solutions are in nature,invest in it!

Photos: Andy Kaggwa; Aloysius Robert and Tobias Ukeh


Uche Isieke  is a environment and social impact business developer;and LDN Market promoter for public and private sectors in developing countries.