IUCN COMMISSION GROUP

IUCN SSC Nigeria Species Specialist Group

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Overview and description

Description:

Nigeria's wide range of stratified ecosystems, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the South to the Sahara Desert in the North, contributes to its rich biodiversity. The IUCN SSC Nigeria Species ...

Nigeria's wide range of stratified ecosystems, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the South to the Sahara Desert in the North, contributes to its rich biodiversity. The IUCN SSC Nigeria Species Specialist Group  provides a currently non-existent platform to convene and mobilise expertise and capacity for species conservation in Nigeria. The collective goal is to introduce, mainstream and increase capacity of species experts in Nigeria for the application of IUCN Knowledge products and processes to assess the status of species and develop conservation plans that inform appropriate actions to advance species conservation in Nigeria.

Group leadership

Prof Shiiwua MANU

Chair

A Professor of Ornithology at the Department of Zoology, University of Jos, Nigeria and Former Director of A P Leventis Ornithological Research Institute. Currently responsible for setting up and ...

A Professor of Ornithology at the Department of Zoology, University of Jos, Nigeria and Former Director of A P Leventis Ornithological Research Institute. Currently responsible for setting up and implementing research at the APLORI Field Station in Weppa Farm, Agenebode, Edo State, Nigeria. Conducting an ornithological inventory; assessing and monitoring the abundance and richness of birds; determining the spatio-temporal variation in habitat use and distribution; and the breeding and migration ecology of resident and migratory bird species respectively in the Weppa Farm.

Has been a key actor in the development of ornithology & nature conservation in Nigeria since 1981 when he completed his B.Sc. in Zoology from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. Shiiwua Manu also holds a Masters degree in Wildlife Management from University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a D.Phil in Ornithology from the Edward Grey Institute for Field Ornithology, Oxford University, UK.

He has contributed immensely towards capacity development for ornithology & nature conservation in West Africa having served in various teaching, governmental & non-governmental roles at various times in Nigeria. He was part of the team that helped set up the A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI), serving as the pioneer Scientific Director and later as Director for over 15 years. He continues to play a leadership role at APLORI and in West African Ornithology. His immense contributions to nature conservation in West Africa has been recognized both locally and internationally, and include a Marsh Award for International Ornithology in 2014, presented by the Duke of Edinburgh at a ceremony hosted by the British Trust for Ornithology at the Mall Gallery in London, UK.

He currently sits on 1. The editorial board of the Ostrich Journal, 2. The Conservation and Environmental Services Committee, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF). He is the current chair of National Coordinating Group of the Nigeria Key Biodiversity Areas Program, NCF.

At a glance

Official name:
IUCN SSC Nigeria Species Specialist Group
Associated Commissions: