The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor has called on the media to partner government and the Lands Ministry in the creation of awareness on nature crimes in the country and across.
He stressed that the public needs to be informed of the urgency of the situation and the adverse effects of these crimes.
Mr. Jinapor, who was speaking at a nature crime workshop organized for journalists by the US Agency for Global Media, on 29th September, 2023 was passionate when he said educating the general public on the importance of natural resources and biodiversity, and the debilitating consequence of these crimes on lives and the planet will certainly make lasting imprints on the minds of the people and bring about behavioural changes.
The Lands Minister magnified the far reaching and diverse effects of these crimes and why the need to eliminate them as soon as practicable.
“Nature crimes are diverse, and cut across various sectors of our economy, including Land, Forestry, Mining, Environment, Fisheries, Maritime, and Waste Management. Crimes such as illegal fishing, illegal mining, illegal logging, illegal overland export, under-declaration of products, mislabelling of products, poaching, wildlife trafficking, illicit wildlife trading, and land degradation, continue to threaten our environment, biodiversity, and the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across the world, while robbing us of the resources needed for development.”
