SER UNILAG Student Chapter Celebrates 2024 Wetlands Day

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) Student Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) has celebrated the 2024 World Wetlands Day with a charge to the government at all levels, corporate institutions and public-spirited individuals to support research endeavours which would aid the protection, preservation and development of wetlands across the country.

With the theme: Wetlands and Human Being, the SER-UNILAG Student Chapter marked the 2024 World Wetlands Day with a stakeholders engagement forum held at the Natural History Museum, UNILAG on Friday, February 2, 2024.

The annual celebration, according to the Advisor of SER-UNILAG Student Chapter, Dr Excellence Akeredolu, provides an avenue to draw the attention of government and all stakeholders to the rapid encroachment and depletion of Wetlands in Nigeria and Africa, due to human activities.

Dr Akeredolu, in his address, highlighted urban development, pollution, climate change and unsustainable land practices as some of the major threats to the existence of ecosystems. He also identified agriculture, infrastructural development and improper waste disposal as topping the list of threats to wetlands in Nigeria and Africa.

According to him, the Niger Delta region and Chad Basin areas are the worst hit due to oil exploration activities which have not only polluted the wetlands but have continued to destroy the ecosystems leading to loss of means of livelihood.

The Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology, UNILAG described the annual World Wetlands Day Celebration as an engagement platform for experts, researchers, policymakers and students to engage in dialogues which would birth innovative and sustainable methods of protecting, preserving and developing wetlands and its dependants.

The 2024 World Wetlands Day Celebration was graced by pupils of the University of Lagos Staff School who were conducted around the Natural History Museum, and shown relevant pictures by members and facilitators from SER-UNILAG Student Chapter. The pupils also made presentations on their understanding of Wetlands and the need for its preservation.

The World Wetlands Day is celebrated annually on 2nd February to raise awareness about wetlands. This day also marks the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, which was adopted as an international treaty in 1971, and a United Nations International Day since 2022.