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SUSTAINABILITY CORNER
Access Bank introduces the
Save Wildlife Program
The loss of biodiversity and vital ecosystem services presents a barrier to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals to reduce poverty, hunger, and disease. While nature has contributed to improving billions of lives, development has simultaneously damaged the ecosystems on which it depends. The 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, published by the Intergovernmental Science- Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), reports that close to a million species—a quarter of all known lifeforms—could face extinction in a few decades as a direct result of human overexploitation, climate change and habitat degradation.
The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Risks Report also ranks biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as one of the top five threats humanity will face in the next ten years.
Contributing towards a healthy biodiversity and sustainable wildlife management, Access Bank Plc, Africa’s largest retail Bank and one of Nigeria’s leading and innovative Banks has introduced the ‘Save Wildlife Program’ aimed at protecting endangered wildlife species.
The program, held in partnership with Glow Initiative, a non-profit that empowers communities to become economically viable while also protecting the environment, was held across four communities (Orieni Amechi, Udeji Amechi,
Enugu Ngwo and Garriki Awkunanwaw) in Enugu State, Nigeria.
The Save Wildlife program was aimed at promoting a community- based wildlife management approach through building capacity and knowledge on wildlife conservation in local communities, instituting conservation clubs in secondary schools to sensitize youths and advocating actions for effective wildlife conservation in the country.
Through this initiative, strategic discussions have been held with the Ministry of Environment, Nigeria centered on forest conservation and its role in ensuring the sustainability of wildlife in the state. Also, 250 hunters and farmers as well as 280 community secondary school students have been educated on conservation of wildlife; with over 2,120 people impacted from the program. Access Bank continues to recognize the importance of conservation of resources and preserving biodiversity, which is essential to the productivity of the ecosystem. The Bank is also a member of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) sub-group on Biodiversity, championing the development of policies and programs on biodiversity in the financial sector.
PAGE 5 INSIDE ACCESS | AUGUST 2020 2ND EDITION