The Nigerian government has called on ECOWAS Member states to join in promptly ratifying the newly adopted high-seas treaty in order to achieve “60 ratifications” by June 2025.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Environment Dr Iziaq Salako stated this at the margin of the COP 28 taking place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
Dr Salako noted that the region must also ensure that it is fully prepared to implement the commitments for a better planet and keep each other accountable in the implementation of the commitments.
The Minister, also stated that the ECOWAS region must unite to ensure the call for ambition for the expansion of protected areas is matched with equal ambition on finance, extinction of wild species and the restoration of ecosystems.
“I am happy to announce that African nations have reached a consensus to support ratification of the new international ocean treaty for the high seas. Nigeria is also using the instrumentality of ECOWAS Chairmanship under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to mobilise the ECOWAS sub-region.
Just last week, with the support of Bloomberg Ocean Initiative, ECOWAS countries met in Abuja, Nigeria and decided on a path to promptly ratify the newly adopted high-seas treaty to facilitate the designation of highly and fully protected areas in the global ocean beyond national jurisdiction, for Nigeria and indeed for ECOWAS, this is an essential ķzand urgent step, and we call on all other regions and countries to join us and promptly ratify the treaty so that we can achieve 60 ratifications by June 2025.’’ The Minister explained.
The Minister further explained that the Nigerian government is committed to working with relevant stakeholders towards protecting its oceans and prompt ratification of the high-seas treaty.
According to him, “Nigeria is a maritime state with an over 850km shoreline boarding the Atlantic Ocean and an estimated 20 million people living along the coastal zone, the lives, livelihoods and health of these 20 million Nigerians is potentially directly impactable by the health of the Atlantic ocean and we are now seeing riverine communities being washed away and becoming extinct.”
Dr Salako further stressed that establishing fully protected marine areas must be a shared responsibility to achieve the 30% protected marine areas by 2030.
“We all share in the benefits provided by our oceans. We will also share in the harm when degraded coastal and marine ecosystems threaten the physical, economic, and food security of local communities and when it threatens the global economy. If we fail to protect our oceans, our oceans will be unable to protect us.” The Minister added.
Shakirat Sadiqq
