Anayo Ezugwu 
Background
Ikoyi-Osun in Isokan Local Government Area of Osun State was agog on Thursday, January 22, 2026, with stakeholders in the conservation community in Nigeria, traditional ruler, community leaders, families, friends and well-wishers when the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) presented the Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) certification to Emerald Forest Reserve (EFR).
The recognition of the forest owned and managed by the Abayomi Farm Estate (AFE) means that the efforts of the trio of Dr Ekundayo Abayomi, Dr Modupe Ladipo and Prof Akin Abayomi, all family members, since 2002 are beginning to pay off.
The siblings, born to a Nigerian father and German mother, have created a wildlife sanctuary that has become a haven for birds, forestry students, and threatened species rescued from the bushmeat markets across southwest in the 350-acre indigenous forest.
The reserve is dissected by two seasonal streams, the Aworin and Akinrin rivers, which flow into the River Osun on the boundary of the site. These river bodies support a range of biodiversity, particularly plants, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Prof Abayomi: Dedicated to reversing loss of biodiversity
Speaking after receiving the certification, Co-director of the Reserve, Prof Abayomi, who is also the Health Commissioner for Lagos State, expressed joy that decades of their hard work and dedication are beginning to pay off. He said the Abayomi family has been conserving and protecting the environment for almost 100 years.
He said: “I can’t say that it has sunk in yet, because you know when you work very hard for something and it finally happens, it’s almost as if you are in a dream. But I must say that this certificate and this award of a KBA is a result of decades of hard work.
A result of work done by not just the family, but as you can see, the community and many, many partners and associates. “Collecting data to convince the awarding organisation, which is made up of 13 organisations, all over the world that are concerned about environmental protection have come together to create this KBA. Whether it’s about birds, reptiles, mammals, trees, water, fungi, mushrooms, and whatever.
“Human beings have just got to be deliberate about not allowing what God has created to disappear. Every time a species goes extinct, it’s almost a crime against the universe. It’s a crime against humanity. It’s a crime against your children. Because that means that your children will never see that kind of creation again, other than in books, or pictures, or even in a museum.
“So, the Abayomi family has been conserving and protecting the environment for almost 100 years, from my great-grandfather to my grandfather to my father. And it has all been passed on to the children, my siblings and I. “We’ve been protecting the environment since we were children. This is just one of the areas that we’ve protected, because it was big enough and it was in a very important area.
Before I became commissioner, I was very involved in this place. I used to come here every weekend and spend a lot of time and resources here. As you can see, there’s a lot happening here. Since I became commissioner, I have not had the time. “But thank God, the whole family is involved, and my sisters just took up the slack, some of our children, some of our cousins.
And the concept is spreading into the community, so other people have caught the infection of conservation, because you need to catch it. If you don’t catch it, you just live your life absent-minded.” Speaking further, the elated Abayomi noted: “Unknown to you, species are disappearing every day, and it’s a slow process.
So, what we’re doing here is really to just remind the world that we’re in a critical situation where the loss of biodiversity is accelerating, and we can stop it and reverse it. By demonstrating that even a small private family somewhere in southwest Nigeria can protect an area and show that all around us has been totally locked out, except when you come into this space.”
Onoja: Standout project
On his part, the Director General of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Dr. Joseph Onoja, said the designation of the forest as a KBA is very significant for the conservation community in Nigeria. He said Emerald Forest Reserve is the first KBA that the country is starting from afresh; others were brought in by the programme because they were already a kind of KBA, but this is the fresh one.
Onoja said this means as Nigerians can start off something and end it very well, and designate the place. “So, it gives hope that other sites can follow suit as well. And it’s not only the forest; it’s also even fresh water. “There are some species in the fresh water that are endemic in Nigeria, and if we don’t protect those species, nowhere else can protect it for us.
So, it’s very significant for the conservation community here. “So, we’re here today at the Emerald Forest Reserve to officially present the award of awarding the Emerald Forest as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) on behalf of the Key Biodiversity Area secretariat. Now, Key Biodiversity Areas are areas that contribute to global conservation of biodiversity.
“It can be because of the species, it can be because of the uniqueness of the area, it can be that the area is, if you have some processes, for instance, some animals that migrate, if they don’t go to that area, then they will die off or something will happen to them. So that area becomes very important. So, these are the different criteria that you use to be able to determine a Key Biodiversity Area.” According to him: “For Emerald Forest Reserve, it was triggered by the endemic and endangered Ibadan Malimbe.
Ibadan Malimbe is endemic. What it means by being endemic is that it’s found only in Nigeria, nowhere else. “And even in Nigeria, it’s not found everywhere in Nigeria. It is found just in the south-western parts of the country. No matter how many there are, they are already kind of endangered because whatever happens in the southwest, we’ll lose that species to global conservation, not just Nigeria alone, everybody.
“Because there’s no other place you can go and say we want to bring more. And that is why finding them breeding here in Emerald Forest Reserve is very important. And that triggered us to start doing research, because designating a place as a Key Biodiversity Area is a scientific process.
“We triggered the research, and we went through the criteria, we went through the profiling, and found Emerald Forest Reserve to be very important for at least Ibadan Malimbe. There are other species that I’m convinced that by the time we profile other species, we may find one or two more that will qualify like this place as a Key Biodiversity Area.”
Oyelowo: Why Reserve needs protection
Speaking on how diversified the forest is in terms of plants, animals, insects and soil, a research scientist at the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Prof Tayo Oyelowo, said the forest has 600 species of trees, 22 species of plants, 19 species of animals and wildlife and 10,592 insects.
Oyelowo said: “We did the baseline inventory of Emerald Forest Reserve and we concentrated on five major components, that is the plant composition, the animal composition, which involves insect population, and aquatic habitats also we did an inventory. We looked at the nutrient status of the soil. “We did the microbial status of that place.
In these studies, we’ve been able to know different species of animals, different species of plants, and let me say biological diversity of Emerald Forest Reserve. The good thing about this inventory and our result is that we have species composition of plants that are already endangered. “Some are extinct in some forest reserves, even in some of our national parks that are government protected areas.
But notwithstanding, this is a private conservation area we still have biodiversity of greater value in this forest reserve. And that really contributed to what we are witnessing today. “If not because of the composition and the distribution of biodiversity species we have here, this will not be recognised.
And I want to say that indigenous species that are no longer available in some of these protected areas are still available in Emerald Forest Reserve.” Oyelowo recommended that there should be proper and continued protection of this forest. He said there is no way there won’t be illegal activities but this forest will contribute significantly to the health sector of this nation if the biodiversity is well protected.
“From our studies and the distribution of plants and animals, we want to say that we’ll advocate for proper and continued protection of this forest with collaboration with communities around, stakeholders, governments and private people. I want to say that when all these are in place, then we can talk about a perfect protection in Emerald Forest Reserve. “Although, there is no way we will not have uncontrolled or, let me say, illegal activities.
They were human. But if all these activities are well controlled, I want to say that aside from conservation value, we are talking about good climate amelioration, these people and people around this place will enjoy the biodiversity status in this place. “You see the medicinal value of this place in terms of the health sector. This forest will contribute significantly to the health sector of this nation if the biodiversity is well protected,” he said.
Oba Iyiola: A reaffirmation of covenant
In his goodwill message, the Olukoyi of Ikoyi land, Oba Taofeek Akande Iyiola, said the ceremony is not merely a celebration of individual or international achievement but a vital reaffirmation of a covenant between humanity and the earth.
After the presentation, the Founder of Green Fingers Wildlife Conservation Initiative, Chinedu Mogbo, released two rescued pangolins into the wild.
