Biodiversity a fundamental requirement to development

The Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development, MINEPDED, Dr. Nana Aboubakar Djalloh, has stated that biodiversity remains a central and fundamental element in all developmental endeavours.

Dr. Djalloh was speaking in Yaounde recently, during the commemoration of the 2015 World Day of Biodiversity. The day was celebrated in Cameroon under the theme: 'Biodiversity for Sustainable Development'.

Expounding on some key concepts in this year’s theme, such as biodiversity, Dr. Djalloh said it is a variety of life on earth found in the diversity of plants, animals and microbes; variety in their species as well as different ecosystems and habitats where they live.

On sustainable development, he said it is development where present needs are attained without compromising the capacity of future generations from satisfying their needs.

“This approach to development insists on integrating the social, economic and environmental dimensions in order to satisfy these needs. Biodiversity is therefore, a central and fundamental element in all sustainable development endeavours,” the Minister Delegate stated.

He listed several ways in which biodiversity contribute to sustainable development in Cameroon.

He talked of the dependence of international and local economies on basic food, industrial and employment possibilities; access to quality potable water; research, pharmaceutical and cosmetic resources; tourism; attenuation of negative effects of climate change, among others, all provided by biological diversity.

Dr. Djalloh remarked that the increasing loss and degradation of biodiversity has raised pre-occupations across the world on the serious threats of the phenomenon to human development.

“We are witnessing the degradation of ecosystems and the alteration of habitats. The rate of vegetal and animal species extinction is on the rise,” he stated.

He outlined a number of international conventions aimed at reducing biodiversity loss, especially the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity to which Cameroon is a signatory, adding that the commemoration of the day falls within the framework of that document.

According to the Minister Delegate, the adoption of the 2011-2020 Aichi (South Korea) strategic plan for biodiversity and its 20 objectives as well as the declaration of Gangwon on biodiversity and sustainable development are aimed at keeping biological diversity intact, remarking that MINEPDED policy options align with these instruments.

The Technical Adviser No 1 in MINEPDED and Focal Point Coordinator of Biodiversity in that ministry, Justice Prudence Galega, said this year’s commemoration is focused on two issues notably the creation of awareness and sustainable development.

She remarked that biodiversity conservation is about passing on the baton to future generations, reason why a huge number of young people and students were present at the event.

She said prior to the celebration, the students took part in various competitions aimed at raising awareness and evaluating their level of understanding of biodiversity and how they can link that to development.

She added that the focus was also on the media that helps to take the messages to people that MINEPDED could not reach, likening it to ways of effectively implementing the national biodiversity strategy and action plan II with a strategic goal of reducing drivers of biodiversity loss.

Some schools like Ayungha Bilingual High School, Gov’t Bilingual High School Etoug-Ebe and the Refuge Bilingual High School were awarded prizes for their active participation in the 2015 World Day of Biodiversity.