The Lagos Western Peninsula is home to a 74sqkm/7,400Ha mangrove forest capable of removing 22 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.

It includes an 80Km coastline of palm fringed beaches, this ecosystem must be saved. Lagos is growing at a fantastic rate of 6%-8% annually and is the engine of growth for the rest of the nation and the ECOWAS region at large. 

Lagos State, Africa's startup capital, home to 20 million people sits at the edge of current climate challenges. The low lying power house of the ECOWAS region will bear the brunt of climate effects, global warming and rising sea levels. 

A recent World Bank study noted that in the last 20 years Lagos State has lost 80% of its eastern peninsula mangroves situated on the fringes of the Lagos and Lekki lagoons due to rabid urbanization. The mangroves, once a key feature of the ecosystem supported rich fishing grounds in the lagoons these have now collapsed.

The mangroves of the western peninsula are all that are left. They have been spared because they are not connected by roads to the city. However due to the collapse of an oil pipeline, which transported petroleum products to the city, the edge of the area has seen a boom of oil tank farms, an exponential rise in population and destruction of the mangroves.
 
Lagos is fortunate to have such a pristine mangrove wilderness on our doorstep, and by repairing, restoring, protecting, and conserving our wetlands we can create a value system based primarily on carbon assets that can be traded through the Voluntary Carbon Market creating much needed finance for infrastructure to invest in the city.

Creating a carbon asset will create a tourism asset and a research base to conserve the existing bio-diversity creating a repository of knowledge to be shared with neighbors. Protecting and securing our fisheries, defending our cities from rising sea levels, protecting our air quality and the funds from the sale of the carbon credits realized from its conservation will provide much needed capital to fund growth in the city.

Protecting the mangroves is critical to the state unlocking billions of dollars for development of infrastructure, housing, transportation and power to mention a few critical areas.

The tourism industry in Lagos is expected to contribute a whopping 3.4 billion dollars to Nigeria's GDP by 2026. This forecast is based on the annual influx of Nigerians and other nationals into the country via tourism.

It would be a terrible shame for Lagos state to miss out on this unique opportunity to control its future creating a city that is climate friendly and an asset to the world. 

Nigerians are the largest diaspora community from Africa. we ask for your support to secure the sustainability of the global city Lagos by securing the future of this unique natural wonder NOW. 

The potential of unlocking an eco-tourism destination must not be missed.

We therefore ask you to join us and sign this petition calling on the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to name the mangroves of the western peninsula of Lagos a world heritage site to conserve and preserve the unique ecosystem for future generations. What is good for Lagos is good for the planet.