Dear Esteemed Participants,
Thank you for making out time to attend and contribute to the 2022 World Environment Day Web-Forum themed: “Only One Earth: Conserving the Values of Biodiversity.” The forum was hosted by Dangote Cement PLC and Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
We hope you found the presentations and discussions useful and impactful. The forum brought together participants from corporate groups, government agencies, international agencies, and experts and we expect you will utilise the learnings to further the conservation of our biodiversity.
Dangote Cement PLC Presentation
SUMMARY OF LEARNINGS & ACTION POINTS
The dire problem of topsoil destruction and biodiversity loss
- Topsoil supports biodiversity by ensuring that organisms are protected, stabilises the climate, and ensures the resilience of organisms
- The impacts of mining on biodiversity in the environment include habitat degradation, noise pollution, water pollution, air pollution, soil erosion
- To remedy the changing ecosystem, humans must make deliberate efforts to save the environment.
Stakeholder engagements and collaborations
- We can mitigate biodiversity loss by working with relevant stakeholders such as government, local communities, environmental NGOs, educational institutions and the general populace
- Organisations should learn from the communities and academia on biodiversity. For instance, to understand the species of plants and animals.
Role of corporations
Business operations such as mining, modify the landscape by dispersing soil structure and contaminating the soil. When this happens, there is a change in biodiversity.
- Sustainable land management should therefore be pursued by business organisations. Effective land management advocates the use of land resources whilst maintaining the environmental functions of the soil and living organisms.
- Businesses whose activities affect soil and biodiversity should restore the soil by funding recycling, ensuring green development, and supporting the natural habitat.
- Developers need to factor biodiversity pre and post-development – 10% gain for all development
- Mining firms could create a new habitat from the spent quarry
Input from international organisations
After 18 months of study, between 2009 to 2011, it was found that there is no continuous clay layer in Ogoni land, pollution is migrating downwards contaminating groundwater, and there was a problem of hydrocarbons in the soil at depths of at least 5 metres. The UNEP calls on major government institutions in Nigeria to take a critical look at the issue of biodiversity loss.
There is a need to collect appropriate data about the soil which can inform further actions.
Lessons from Dangote Cement Plc
- Dangote Cement Plc aligns with several SDGs to curb biodiversity loss. Some of their Strategic SDG priorities are centred on the environment (SDG 12 &13), cultural (SDG 4, 8, 11 & 17) and social(4 & 13)
- Dangote Cement Plc has planted 510,636 thousand trees across 9 countries
Dangote has complied with regulations by Reducing CO2 emissions, recycling waste for alternative fuels and managing water
Government regulations and policies
- There is need for policy change
- Organisations need to comply with the policies
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