This document discusses connecting people with nature on World Environment Day 2017. It begins by defining nature and explaining why connecting people to nature is important to maintain ecological balance and prevent issues like habitat loss, species extinction, and rising costs of living. It then discusses who needs to connect with nature, namely the global human population, and how this can be done through education, protected area systems, zoos, and ecotourism. The document also addresses threats to nature from human activities like pollution, climate change, and modern biotechnology, and the need for policies and regulations to promote biodiversity conservation.

1. World Environment Day 2017
Federal Ministry of Environment, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria
CONNECTING PEOPLE TO NATURE
Abiodun A. Denloye, PhD
Associate Professor & Head, Dept of Zoology and Environmental Biology
Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos
www.denloye.com
twitter@AbiodunDenloye
F O R T R U T H A N D S E R V IC E

2. CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH NATURE
• What is nature?
• Who are we?
• Why Connecting?
• Who are we connecting?
• Why are we connecting?
• How are we connecting?
• When are we connecting people with nature?

3. What is nature?
• Nature is everything in the universe, apart from the humans
and their activities
• Nature includes the plants, animals, landscape, land,
minerals, water bodies and indeed every part of the physical
world.

4. WHO ARE WE? The 7+ Billion

5. Why Connecting?
• Balance of Nature: The balance of nature is a ecological systems are in a
stable equilibrium or homeostasis, ie a small change in some particular
parameter eg the size of a population will be corrected by some negative
feedback that will bring the parameter back ...
• Ecological Balance: natural conditions eg numbers of various animal and
plant species, remain stable on their own through variations over time in
other words, it is the harmonious relationship between every components
of an ecosystem.
• This is why we as people must connect with nature – To maintain the
balance that existed.

6. • When there’s no balance:
• 1. Communities are submerged eg. Bedono Village, Demak,
Janva in Indonesia
• 2. Desertification accelerates eg in Yobe State, Nigeria
• 3. Species become endangered and are lost to extinction
• 4. Living becomes more expensive
• 5. Hope for the next generation is lost

7. • Extinct Animals

8. Conservation Status of Animal Species

9. Man impacts nature
1.Pollution
2.Habitat Loss
3. Over Exploitation
4. Climate Change
5. Biotechnology

10. Donald Trump (Up) pulled US out of Paris
Climate Agreement and Trump Tower (Left).
• The Trump Tower is 202 m high
• 721 Fifth Avenue, New York USA
• Built 1979 – 1983 at a cost of $847 million (US)
• Has 58 floors, Covers 240 m2
• Office, Hotel, Residential.

11. • What is Climate and Why Climate Change?
• Climate is the "average weather condition" in a
place over a long period of time.
• It includes patterns of temperature, precipitation
(rain or snow), humidity, wind and seasons.
• Climate plays important role in shaping natural
ecosystems, and human economies including
those dependent on water generally and sea in
particular (Awmack et al., 1997).

12. • WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?
Climate change is the statistical change in
weather patterns especially in terms of
temperature and rainfall over a prolonged
period of time which could be up to a decade
or span through millennia.

13.  Climate change is occurring due
to the increased presence of
carbon dioxide, methane, and
nitrous oxide which are the most
recognized “green house” gases.
 Global warming
 Unusual rainfall patterns

14. Schematic diagram of global warming

16. Effects of Climate Change on Port Environments
• Sea Level Rise (SLR) – The IPCC estimates that global sea level
rise was approximately 1.7-1.8 millimeters per year (mm/yr)
over the past century (IPCC, 2007). There will be increased
trends in sea level in the 20th Century.
• Coastal Flooding – Due to melting of glacial ice and increase in
temperature, water volume will increase and seas will over flow
leading to flooding
• Submersion of Coastal Communities – There will be subsidence
• Increase in Storm Events
• Increased Waves

17. Coastal flooding and erosion arising from Climate Change will
result in collapse of buildings and infrastructures

18. Modern Biotechnology
• This is the use of living organisms to make
products. It is applicable in the
pharmaceutical industry, agriculture etc.
• It has been made popular in Nigeria lately
by the advent of Genetically Modified
Organisms (GMOs).
• Production of GMOs impacts on the
biodiversity of a particular geographical
space or community.
• This has led to the development and
adoption of Cartagena Protocol to the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
• Nigeria is a signatory to the CBD and the
Protocol
• Nigeria enacted her own Biosafety law in
February 2015 and established the National
Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA).

19. How are we connecting?
• Education [ Ignorance is a disease.
• Policies, Regulations and enforcement
• Protected Area Systems
• Zoos and botanical Parks
• Ecotourism and Nature Holidays

20. •THANK YOU