Nigeria opened a new rescue center to preserve endangered species of wild fauna and flora across the West African country, a senior official of the Ministry of Environment said on Wednesday. The establishment of the centers was part of the efforts to implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Salisu Dahiru, the acting director in charge of forestry, told reporters in his office.

"The good thing about CITES is that the convention is domiciled in the ministry but the enforcement is not done by the ministry or by the Department of Forestry alone," he added.

"We have a wildlife division, they do it in conjunction with NESREA (National Environmental Standards Regulations and Enforcement Agency); we also have the Customs, the Police, the National Plant Quarantine Services; they are all in the airports," the official told reporters.

Nigeria was among the first countries to ratify the CITES in 1976, and it domesticated it by promulgating the Endangered Species (Control of Trade and Traffic) Act in 1985.

The official said wildlife personnel were posted to the nation' s international airports and seaports after the act was promulgated to ensure proper implementation of the convention.

Dahiru told reporters that Nigeria had made a lot of progress in curbing those practices by reviewing its national CITES legislation and taking appropriate steps to enhance its enforcement. He added that the nation has been carrying out all the activities on CITES list before any trading or moving of wildlife in and out of the country.

According to him, the government had placed surveillance to block the national borders and to prevent the use of the seaports and airports as transit points for illicit wildlife trade.

He said the government had intensified public education and awareness on wildlife conservation and the negative effects of illegal trade in endangered wildlife and their products.

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