The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said that there are tools to urgently combat climate change, if governments would just put in more political will.

Guterres made this call on twitter from Biarritz, France, where he has been meeting for the past two days with G7 leaders to mobilize action ahead of his Climate Action Summit next month in New York.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Guterres said the UN Summit – and the need for concrete action – come against the backdrop of a “dramatic climate emergency,” with the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reporting the 2015 to 2019 are on track to be the five hottest years ever recorded, and historically high concentrations of C02 in the atmosphere.

And with Greenland’s ice melting, and record-setting fires blazing from the Arctic to Alaska and the Amazon, the Secretary-General said, “we are much worse than what we were during Paris,” referring to the 2015 conference in the French capital that give birth to the landmark climate accord aimed at easing global warming and curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

He said that recent scientific evidence provided by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made clear that “we absolutely need to keep the rise of temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius to the end of the century and to be carbon neutral in 2050 and to have a 45 per cent reduction of emissions by 2030.”

“And so, it’s absolutely essential that countries commit themselves to increase what was promised in Paris because what was promised [there] is not enough,” said Mr. Guterres, calling for more ambition and more commitment to that end.

The UN chief said society is mobilizing, as well as the world’s youth, “and we want to have countries coming to New York and being able to commit to be carbon neutral in 2050, being able to increase substantially their ambition in the Nationally Determined Contributions to climate action that have to be reviewed in 2020.”

Mr. Guterres also stressed the need to make sure that counties are “shifting of taxes from people to carbon,” ending subsidies to fossil fuels, and that more coal power plants are not built after 2020.

“All this requires a lot of political will, and the G7 was an excellent opportunity to appeal for the very strong engagement of the international community,” said the Secretary-General, adding that: “The youth have been leading the way, and we’ll start the Summit with a youth climate summit in the UN, but we need, especially those countries that belong to the G7, to give a positive example.”

Nisreen Eslaim, a young woman from Sudan who actively participated in the Peoples’ Revolution which triumphed over a 30-year autocracy, shares a devastating story that is phenomenon turning more challenging than winning the democratic struggle.

People in her country are faced by another catastrophic ecological crisis of monumental proportion, which has already killed over 60 people and destroyed 37,000 homes.

Nisreen is now very worried that though the people had capacity to mobilize themselves to rise against tyranny, their capacity to defeat the weather-inspired floods, which have become frequent, is diminished.

She wonders why the “Loss and Damage” framework she has heard in UNFCCC Negotiations has not helped her people.

“These are just some of the voices from people, generally fatigued by endless negotiations, conferences and declarations which end up gathering dust on the shelves of our ministries as the inaction on climate change, from national to international level, lingers across the board,” said Mithika Mwenda, Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).

Such concerns are being raised at yet another Conference on Climate and Development in Africa (CCDA-VIII), holding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the theme: “Stepping Up Climate Action for a Resilient Africa: a Race We Can and Must Win”.

“Do we need to be meeting year after year, making declarations which we do not honour?” Mithika quizzed, while re-echoing the request of the UN Secretary General for leaders to talk less and limit themselves to concrete actions they can take to address climate change.

The action portfolios include the mobilization of public and private sources of finance to drive decarbonisation of all priority sectors and advance resilience; accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy; reducing emissions; advancing mitigation and resilience at urban and local levels; and advancing global efforts to address and manage the impacts and risks of climate change, particularly in those communities and nations most vulnerable.

The vulnerability of the African continent to the effects of climate change is no longer in doubt, with cyclones, floods, mudslides, massive erosions and drought all affecting masses within the continent.

Some of these effects of climate change can directly be linked to conflict, displacements, deaths, reduced agricultural activities and disease, all which have direct impact on economies of each nation.

According to Ahmed Shehu, Regional Coordinator of the Civil Society Network of Lake Chad Basin, over 30,000 people have lost their means of livelihood to climate change which affected the Lake Chad Basin.

He says the water at the Lake Chad had been shrinking daily and over 70 million people who relied on it for their livelihood were being affected and at the risk of also losing their means of livelihood.

“And the insurgency contributed to it because people can no longer have access to the water because of trans-border issues, and it is causing drought, feminine and desertification,” he said.

With the recent climate impacts of Cyclone Idai and Kenneth in Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, droughts and floods in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape; it is obvious that many African countries are just a step away to a natural disaster of sinking into a circle of poverty and prolonged lack of social and economic opportunities caused by the effects of climate change.

“We challenge our leaders to walk the talk, and lead from the front,” said Mithika, in furtherance of the quest to step up climate action for a resilient Africa, and indeed globally, and to win the race.

PACJA has worked with the Pan African Parliament to advance cooperation, which has crystalized into the African Climate Legislation Initiative (ACLI), an innovative and unique arrangement for the African context. This will enable African civil society and governments to work jointly to pursue shared vision of responsiveness to the health of the planet and the concerns of future generations.

“We as the civil society reaffirm our commitment to work with all Actors, as long as this aligns with the aspirations and expectations of Africa’s people. In all successive negotiation outcomes,

Africa has lost due to our inability to stand firm, and due to our susceptibility to forces of manipulation, intimidation and carrot-dangling,” said Mithika.

The vulnerable people on the African continent can only keep hoping that the unity of purpose that brings climate actors to CCDA will contribute to a process which will shape the future of humanity and health of the planet.

Promoting citizen science is a rising global trend aimed at bridging the gap in environmental conservation. It is with this objective that the A. P Leventis Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI) through the Nigerian Bird Atlas Project (NiBAP) organised a one month Introductory Ornithology course in both Yankari Game Reserve, Bauchi state and Leventis farms, Weppa, Agenebode, Edo state.

This training was funded by National Geographic Society Grants, a total of 30 scientists (15 in Yankari and 15 in Weppa) from different parts of the country were trained in Field Ornithology, Introductory biostatistics (R statistical package), data collection and General Ecology.

The 26-day-training held in July was facilitated by professionals in the field from different parts of the country. Trainees carried out mini projects as a first-hand practice of all they had learnt during the course.

The expected outcome for the participants was a replication of these experiences in their local communities and this has been achieved with records of Bird clubs springing up across the nation in the last month.

These efforts are also contributing to the Nigerian Bird Atlas data which is a long-term project aimed at monitoring bird population in Nigeria.

The late Dr. Elizabeth Ehi-Ebewele, former deputy director and head of the Wildlife and CITES Management Division of the Department of Forestry in Nigeria, was on Tuesday honored posthumously for her groundbreaking role in combating wildlife crimes in Africa.

Ehi-Ebewele was honoured along with 11 others with the Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award at the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Geneva.

The wildlife champion who passed away on February 8, 2019, was honoured for providing a solid foundation for Nigeria to reduce wildlife crime by bringing in a diverse group of stakeholders. She created Nigeria’s first national guidance on wildlife crime, after conducting a wildlife threat assessment analysis. She also helped develop West Africa’s strategy for combatting wildlife crime through a coordinated response from member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Underlining the importance of the award, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) said the award was presented to individuals, organisations and agencies that have demonstrated excellence in combatting wildlife crime.

“The importance of efforts to combat wildlife crime cannot be understated,” said AWI President Cathy Liss. “Those honored today for their superlative efforts, including 16 rangers who died in the line of duty, should be recognized worldwide for their dedication to saving the unique biodiversity of this planet from wildlife criminals who steal wildlife from all of us.”

Other recipients of the award are:

Limbe Wildlife Centre, Cameroon, for providing a safe haven and rehabilitation for seized wildlife, including thousands of parrots and hundreds of primates, and offering wildlife conservation education to thousands of children. The center also employs local families, including former hunters and poachers, who collect Aframomum, a type of wild ginger, and sell it to the center to feed the great apes under its care.

Vivek Menon, founder, trustee, executive director and CEO of Wildlife Trust of India, for a decades-long career training more than 20,000 wildlife enforcement officers in more than 50 countries; documenting, prioritizing and securing elephant corridors in India; setting up the country’s first wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center; and coordinating desnaring sweeps targeting poachers. One of the investigations Menon participated in led to the largest seizure of illegal tiger bones in Indian history and the disruption of several criminal syndicates. His textbook, “Wildlife Crime: An Enforcement Guide,” is required reading for all wildlife enforcement officers. Menon has contributed significantly to the work of CITES for the last 30 years, and spent much of his time as an advisor to the Indian delegation.

Rameshwar Singh Thakur, deputy director for intelligence and coordination for India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, for his role in overseeing efforts by enforcement agencies to combat national and international organized wildlife crime. Thakur pursued the creation of a wildlife crime database that incorporates real-time data to help analyze crime trends and develop effective deterrents. This information has helped wildlife law enforcement, forest and police agencies throughout India create profiles for nearly 2,000 poachers. Thakur also has led or assisted with high-profile enforcement operations netting dozens of arrests and resulting in the seizure of tens of thousands of mongoose hairbrushes, thousands of live turtles, and hundreds of shahtoosh shawls, among other contraband.

Julius Kariuki Kimani (being honored posthumously), former director of Parks and Reserves for the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), for his decades of service improving inter-agency efforts to fight wildlife crime, raising awareness within Kenya’s judiciary about the importance of wildlife protection, and enhancing intelligence to identify wildlife criminals and gangs. Kimani began his career as an assistant warden with the Wildlife Conservation and Management Department in Kenya (the predecessor of KWS) and rose through the ranks to become director of parks and reserves. He was pivotal in securing the integrity of parks and their ecosystems in Kenya by improving industry governance and strengthening law enforcement linkages to enhance conservation.

Julius Maluki Mwandai, senior assistant director and head of investigations for the Kenya Wildlife Service, for mentoring thousands of wildlife law enforcement officers in Kenya and across Africa over several decades, transforming KWS’ paramilitary school into a distinguished regional wildlife law enforcement training institution, and demonstrating exemplary leadership in dramatically reducing rhino and elephant poaching in Kenya. Elephant poaching numbers in the country decreased from 384 in 2012 to 40 in 2018, and rhino poaching numbers decreased from 30 to 4 during the same period. In addition, nearly 10,000 wildlife criminals were arrested.

Lorena Alfonsina Fernández, attorney general for the environment in Honduras and secretary of the Central American Wildlife Enforcement Network, for leading numerous successful wildlife law enforcement operations; establishing national law enforcement networks that contributed to an increase in joint inspections, prosecuted cases and judicial decisions enforcing wildlife legislation; enhancing intelligence sharing; and improving training for law enforcement officers and members of the judiciary. Fernández supported the development of a wildlife enforcement app in cooperation with the United States, and oversaw a critical operation in Honduras targeting illegal timber traffickers.

Ross Galbraith, retired wildlife law enforcement officer for Environment Canada, for his tireless efforts over 20 years enforcing Canadian wildlife laws protecting fish, seabirds harmed by pollution, and other imperiled species, along with mentoring young officers and conducting enforcement training in Botswana. In 2009, Galbraith suffered a serious leg injury after a suspect ran him over while trying to escape. Although Galbraith was no longer able to do most physical fieldwork, he remained steadfast in the fight against wildlife crime. Since retiring in 2014, he helped create a charity, the International Society for the Advancement of Environmental Law Enforcement, to support wildlife officers and their families, particularly in developing countries, and was named the first civil society liaison to Interpol’s Wildlife Crime Working Group.

Josefina L. de Leon, former chief of the Wildlife Resources Division for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Philippines, for her critical role in strengthening wildlife law enforcement in the Philippines. De Leon created the country’s Wildlife Law Enforcement Manual of Operations, which provides the standards and protocols for law enforcement officials to implement the wildlife laws of the Philippines, along with spearheading the development of the Wildlife Law Enforcement Action Plan 2018-2028, which serves as a framework to combat illegal activities against wildlife in the Philippines. De Leon also established the Operation Group on Ivory to investigate ivory smuggling incidents and to take legal action against the criminals involved. From 2010 to 2018, the Operation Group’s efforts led to a total of 230 multi-agency operations resulting in the confiscation of 36,000 specimens of both CITES and non-CITES listed species and the filing of 114 criminal complaints or cases.

PAMS Foundation and the late Wayne Lotter in Tanzania, for empowering individuals to protect wildlife and wild places. The foundation’s support for rangers and game scouts though anti-poaching training and aerial surveillance, and its collaboration with Tanzania’s National Task Force Anti-Poaching have significantly increased arrests and prosecutions of wildlife traffickers, including ivory trade kingpins “Shetani” Boniface Matthew Mariango and the “Queen of Ivory,” Yang Feng Glan. Lotter, one of PAMS’ co-founders and a prominent conservationist, was murdered in 2017 in Tanzania because of his anti-poaching efforts.

Anti-Smuggling Bureau of China Customs for coordinating recent groundbreaking, intelligence-driven investigations, in cooperation with other enforcement agencies and stakeholders. These efforts led to the arrest and prosecution of major wildlife traffickers, including key ivory traffickers and totoaba bladder smugglers. The illegal trade in totoaba is directly contributing to the precipitous decline in the vaquita porpoise population in the Upper Gulf of California; today, only about 10 vaquita remain on the planet. Since 2017, investigations by the bureau, involving hundreds of law enforcement officers, have resulted in the conviction and sentencing of nearly a dozen suspects and the disruption of two major wildlife trafficking networks.

Patrick Muhayirwa, Charles Syaira, Jonas Malyani, Pacifique Fikirini, Faustin Nzabakurikiza, Jean Byamungu, Barthelemie Mulewa, Théodore Prince, Liévin Kasumba, Kanawa Sibomana, Ila Muranda, Rachel Baraka, Kasereka Ezéchiel, Freddy Muliro, Hakizimana Chadrack, and Musubaho Maliro Antwi (being honored posthumously), former rangers at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for making the ultimate sacrifice to protect wildlife. Wildlife rangers have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world as they pursue wildlife criminals in the city and in the field. Under often punishing conditions, rangers target those directly responsible for killing wildlife, along with the chain of people who pay, facilitate, authorize and ultimately profit from the crime. These 16 fallen rangers are among hundreds of wildlife law enforcement personnel across Africa who have lost their lives in the last three years in the line of duty.

Since 1997, 124 individuals and/or agencies from 38 countries have received the Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award, which is only given at CITES CoPs. This year, CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero presented the award at a ceremony hosted by the Species Survival Network.

The award is named after the late chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement. Mr. Bavin substantially elevated the fight against wildlife crime in the United States and internationally, pioneering the use of covert investigations and sting operations to expose illegal wildlife trade and advocating for the use of forensic science to identify and prosecute wildlife criminals.

In what may be described as one of the most daring moves to save the Kenya northern white rhino species from extinction, veterinarians and wildlife experts successfully extracted eggs from the last two surviving female.

The eggs will be fertilised with stored sperm and incubated in a surrogate southern white rhino female.

The procedure was carried out Thursday on the last known living northern white rhinos — Najin and Fatu — who are infertile. Ten eggs, five from each, was harvested.

The feat was a joint effort of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Avantea, Dvur Králové Zoo, Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

“We are very happy that after this first procedure on Najin and Fatu that they have recovered very smoothly and they are doing really well and fine today just 24 hours after this first procedure,” said Dr. Robert Hermes, of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.

The world’s last male northern white rhino, Sudan, which was in the center of frantic conservation efforts died in March 2018. Sudan’s death shifted conservation focus to his stored semen and that of four other dead rhinos along with Najin and Fatu who are now constantly under the protection of armed guards.

The ultimate goal is to create a herd of five to 15 animals that would be returned to their natural habitat in Africa. That could take decades.

Sudan got its name from its country of birth as the last of its kind to be born in the wild. It was taken to the Czech zoo and then transferred to Kenya in 2009, along with the only other remaining northern white rhinos, the two females and a male who died in 2014.

They were placed under 24-hour armed guard and fed a special diet. However, despite the fact that they were seen mating, there were no successful pregnancies.

After the elephant, rhinoceros is the second largest land mammal. The white rhinoceros consists of two sub-species – the southern white rhino and the critically endangered northern white rhino.

Loss of habitat and poaching (for horns) are the leading sources of danger to species.

Yankari Game Reserve, home to Nigeria’s largest remaining elephant population, has experienced zero poaching in the last four years, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has reported.

The announcement was made just days before officials gather for the meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The success underscores the importance of tightening up the closure of importing countries’ domestic ivory markets, along with vigilant anti-poaching and anti-trafficking efforts.

WCS, which helps manage the protected area, attributes the success to well-managed, well-equipped and highly trained rangers who patrol the 866 square miles (2,244 square kilometers) reserve, which also supports important populations of lion, buffalo, hippo, roan and hartebeest.

READ ALSO: World Rangers Day 2019 in Omo

Yankari’s elephant population remains stable at 100-150 individuals, and is expected to grow in the coming years if conservationists remain steadfast in keeping poachers out of the reserve. As recently as 2006 there were as many as 350 elephants in Yankari, but a period of heavy poaching from 2006 to 2014 reduced their numbers dramatically. Since 2014 Yankari has been managed through a co-management agreement between Bauchi State Government and WCS.

Elephants are critically endangered in Nigeria, with the Yankari elephants being the only savanna elephants remaining in the country. Some forest elephants also still remain in low numbers in the forested south including Cross River National Park area (where WCS is also working to secure forest elephants and the Cross River Gorilla). Historically the Yankari savanna elephants may have been ecologically connected with the Sambisa area (impacted by Boko Haram) and perhaps also Gashaka Gumti National Park and neighboring areas of Cameroon. This is a core critical area for elephant conservation in the Sudano-Sahel Region.

READ ALSO: Ogun elephant video: No one was injured, says expert

Originally created as a game reserve in 1956, Yankari was upgraded to a national park in 1991. It was managed by the National Parks Service until 2006 when responsibility for the management of the reserve was handed back to Bauchi State Government. Since then tourism infrastructure has been dramatically improved. Yankari is now one of the most popular tourism destinations in Nigeria.

“Rangers are the key to stopping poaching in protected areas” said Andrew Dunn,WCS Nigeria Program Director “Yankari is an amazing success story and shows the world that with targeted use of limited funds, and government commitment, progress can still be made provided that rangers are properly trained and supervised.”

Dunn attributes the success in the reserve to several factors. The leadership of Nachamada Geoffrey, Director of the Yankari Landscape for WCS, directs efforts to ensure a zero tolerance policy for corruption coupled with making sure all rangers are well-equipped in the field and trained with regular refresher courses. SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Supporting Tool) together with real time radio communications is used help guide and monitor the rangers and optimize their impact.WCS supplements rangers’ incomes with additional monies per night as an incentive whenever they are on a long-distance foot patrol.

Nachamada Geoffrey stated, “Solid logistical support (food rations), equipment, and motivation through regular salary payments support our ranger operations day in and day out. Most of the rangers are recruited from the local community and are highly motivated to protect the wildlife of Yankari.”

David Adejo Andrew of Nigeria’s Federal Department of Forestry and Federal Ministry of Environment also commended WCS’s efforts.

“The efforts of the WCS in conserving the largest pool of elephant populations at the Yankari Game Reserve has given Nigeria a good platform for conserving other Elephant population in the country. This has encouraged the Nigerian Government to work with the WCS to translate this success stories to other areas,” he said.

The future outlook

Of course in the long-term Yankari will only survive if it has the support of the surrounding communities. Yankari is one of the main sources of employment locally, including both rangers, hotel staff and elephant guardians. WCS is also working with local schools to help develop future conservation leaders. In addition, WCS has helped establish an informant network among the communities surrounding the reserve that provides critical information on poachers.

Building on this foundation and work ethic, significantly more resources are urgently needed to fully establish the Reserves full management systems and effectiveness.

WCS’s conservation efforts within Yankari are supported by the Bauchi State Government, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Embassy of France in Nigeria, Australian High Commission in Nigeria, Tusk Trust, the North Carolina Zoological Society, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, CITES-MIKE, the UNEP African Elephant Fund, the A.P. Leventis Conservation Foundation, the Lion Recovery Fund—an initiative of the Wildlife Conservation Network in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, and the Elephant Crisis Fund—a joint initiative between Save The Elephants and the Wildlife Conservation Network, in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

The Amazon rainforest is the largest in the world also housing most of the worlds species — flora and fauna. It accounts for more than half of the volume of remaining rainforests on earth and is credited with generating more than 20 percent of the oxygen used all over the world.

For about three weeks now, wildfires have been clearing out swathes of land in the Amazon and it is alarming. Environmental organisations and researchers are accusing cattle ranchers and loggers who want to clear and utilize the land for the unprecedented destruction. The environmentalists claim that the ranchers and loggers are emboldened by Brazil’s pro-business president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil is home to about 60 percent of the Amazonia, while Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana house what is left of the 5,500,000 km² forest. The Amazonia is a bulwark of conservation and one of the last line of defence against global warming. The forest is a major greenhouse gases sink.

If the forest is lost to these wildfires, about 2.5 million insect species, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles which have been scientifically classified in the region may be lost forever.

“The vast majority of these fires are human-lit,” said Christian Poirier, the program director of non-profit organization Amazon Watch. He added that even during dry seasons, the Amazon — a humid rainforest — doesn’t catch on fire easily, unlike the dry bushland in California or Australia.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron described the wildfires as “international crisis” , calling on the G7 to make the issue a top priority at its summit.

According to satellite imagery reports from Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research (INPE), there have been 74,155 fires in the Amazon since the beginning of the year 2019 so far, representing an 84 per cent increase from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, President Bolsonaro is counter-accusing the Environmental organisations of been responsible for the fires.

“Maybe – I am not affirming it – these (NGO people) are carrying out some criminal actions to draw attention against me, against the government of Brazil,” Bolsonaro told reporters in Brasília, the capital of Brazil.

“It could be ranchers. Everyone is suspicious, but the biggest suspicion comes from NGOs.”

He expressed suspicion that the NGOs are trying to make him look bad because they have lost funding since he became president.

Countries should be strengthening their laws protecting endangered species, not weakening them, international conservationists said Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump”s administration announced plans to alter the country”s Endangered Species Act.

Amid growing global alarm over the accelerating pace of species extinction, leading figures from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) called for stronger protections of animals and plants under threat.

“Parties are all encouraged to strengthen their wildlife laws. We need more tight wildlife laws, not to weaken them,” Juan Carlos Vasquez, head of legal affairs and compliance regulatory services at CITES, told reporters in Geneva.

His comment came after the Trump administration on Monday announced changes to the Endangered Species Act, which critics warned could dramatically weaken the legislation credited with saving the grey wolf, bald eagle and grizzly bear.

Neither Vasquez nor CITES Secretary General Ivonne Higuero wanted to comment on the specific impact of the changes, saying they had yet to see the details and that any analysis was “premature”.

CITES, which regulates international trade in over 35,000 species of plants and animals, has a compliance mechanism that allows it to push through sanctions on countries that fail to follow the rules.

Higuero stressed that the announced US changes may not fall under the CITES convention, which only covers endangered species subjected to international trade, or listed as so threatened that trade is banned or very closely controlled.

If the changes do impact any of the species on the most-endangered lists, “of course the convention would have to take some steps,” she told reporters.

She said there was currently widespread concern “about what is happening with the extinction of species”, following a UN report in May indicating that one million species are rapidly being pushed to the brink of extinction.

She was speaking ahead of a meeting of the 183 parties to CITES, scheduled to kick off in Geneva on Saturday.

The dangers of illegal trade and the plight of Africa”s rhino, elephants and giraffes were among a long line of issues to be discussed.

Governments have submitted 56 new proposals to change the levels of protection that the convention provides for various species of wild animals and plants.

Following a viral video showing a half naked young man filming two elephants, elephant conservation experts in the area have said no one was injured.

A spokesperson for the experts, Filip Van Trier , a Belgian who has spent most of his life in Nigeria, revealed that the incident happened last Saturday, about two weeks ago around Imobi, Ogun State.

A small group of youngsters came from a different community having heard about the elephants, he narrated.

The youngsters entered the elephants’ range without the rangers’s knowledge, a very dangerous thing to do.

“This was exactly what happened last year in Baoku when a youngster was killed,” Van Trier said.

“This will not happen again. These two elephants (male and female) left the herd recently to form there own group. All is under control.”

The expert added that in the meantime all communities have been seriously warned.

“We have taken extra measures,

“We have made sure that the elephants are relaxed where they are and feel at home. There is absolutely no conflict between the elephants and villagers if not provoked. The villagers are now proud of their new friends. We are getting there to save these gentle giants.”

The Gombe State Greener Project (GGP) has called for urgent action as the the rate of desert encroachment in the state hits 600 metres per annum.

Acting Coordinator of GGP, Muhammad Tasiu made the call recently, warning that the phenomenon is degrading lands in the northern parts of the state.

He noted that the menace prompted the establishment of the GGP, which is aimed at planting one million trees every year.

“Our target is to plant four million trees in four years of this administration,” Taisu said.

He explained the project is a mechanism the state government is putting in place to arrest the menace, which has claimed over 12 kilometres of land across the state in the last two decayed.

“The environmental challenges in Gombe State is not limited to desertification. We are also prone to erosion problem, especially in the Gombe metropolis where we have severe gully erosion, the planting of more trees could also arrest the situation,” the Acting coordinator said.

He added that about 11 non-governmental organisations had been engaged for the smooth running of the GGP which is in four sections.

“The first component of the project is to plant trees in residential areas and in public places as well as in schools and to sensitise residents on the need and benefit of tree planting. It will also encourage planting of trees in our places of worship,” he pointed out.

He noted that the project has creation of shelter belt in four local government areas in the northern part of the state.

“We are working on the modalities of establishing the shelter belt which would arrest the issue of desert encroachment in the north,” he said.

On the sustainability of the trees when planted, Muhammad explained that the project had entered into agreement with the Youth Empowerment and Social Support Operation (YESSO).

‘‘YESSO, a World Bank-assisted project in Gombe State will employ 27,000 youths that will watch over the trees and make sure they survive and grow. They will be paid N7, 500 every month’’ he said.

He said another dimension of the project is how to address the issue indiscriminate felling of trees in the state.

He lamented that on average, about 1000 trees are felled by firewood sellers’ everyday in Gombe State “and they don’t plant any tree. That is also a major challenge that the government want to look into.”

The government official said the project would be flagged off by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya within the second week of August and those sites for the pilot project have been identified.