A Nigerian conservation scientist, Edem Eniang, has raised alarms about the declining snake populations in the country. He has not seen some snake species that were once common over his 20 years of fieldwork. This situation highlights the serious state of Nigeria’s poorly monitored snake populations.
Mr Eniang is a professor and the executive director of the Biodiversity Preservation Center in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. He pointed out that habitat destruction, deforestation, indiscriminate killings, and illegal wildlife trade are major threats to snakes. The lack of long-term, species-specific data makes it hard to know how much their numbers are falling across Nigeria.
“In the last two decades of my field, we have not come across some of our species which were once commonly seen in different localities in Nigeria,” he told PREMIUM TIMES. He shared this during an interview after attending the first World Congress on Snakes in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Mr Eniang was the only representative from Nigeria at the four-day international congress held from October 1 to 4. The event gathered scientists, conservationists, and medical experts to discuss snake conservation, research, and the health issues related to snakebites.
He described his participation as a big moment for himself, the University of Uyo where he teaches, and for Nigeria and West Africa. He noted that he was the only West African at the international gathering.
The congress helped develop strategies to manage snake populations while protecting human health and biodiversity. Mr Eniang thanked the University of Uyo’s management, led by Vice-Chancellor Christopher Ekong, for sponsoring his trip. He said this opportunity brought international recognition to both the university and the West African region.
His findings show a significant gap in Nigeria’s efforts to protect biodiversity. Scientists are noticing troubling changes in the species they see, but the country lacks a good monitoring system to track population changes and identify species at risk.
Mr Eniang explained that his observations are part of a research project called Voyage of Discovery. This project looks into snake populations and the threats they face. He identified habitat loss and fragmentation from agriculture, poor urban planning, and ongoing deforestation as major issues. Killing snakes, hunting them for bushmeat, and illegal wildlife trade also add to the pressure on these reptiles.
He warned that Nigeria does not have enough long-term evidence to accurately measure population declines or to assess the conservation status of many snake species. Mr Eniang mentioned oil pollution, loss of forest cover, degrading mangroves, and contaminated wetlands as serious environmental issues in the Niger Delta.
But he also pointed out that there is limited research on how these issues affect snake populations in Akwa Ibom and the Niger Delta. He urged governments and research bodies to invest in systematic monitoring of snakes rather than ignoring them in conservation efforts.
Mr Eniang called on federal and state governments to set up long-term monitoring systems for snakes. He also urged them to protect and restore mangrove forests and freshwater swamps and to enforce environmental laws.
He suggested collaborative research using technology and community input to identify endangered habitats and better understand snake populations. He also asked funding agencies and companies to change their attitude towards snake research, stating that studying snakes is vital for both environmental conservation and human health.
Besides habitat destruction, Mr Eniang said that Nigeria's approach to snakebites and conservation is weakened by treating them as separate issues. He stressed that protecting people from dangerous snakebites should not mean killing snakes that help control rodent populations.
He noted that poor data, limited access to effective anti-venom, and harmful traditional first-aid methods worsen the situation. Mr Eniang believes Nigeria needs a well-funded national strategy that combines snake conservation with snakebite prevention and treatment, supported by reliable anti-venom supplies, better hospital reporting, community education, and research on identifying snake species.
He also called for a coordinated national monitoring network to collect data on snake populations and guide conservation actions. This should align with the World Health Organization’s goal to cut snakebite deaths and disabilities by half by 2030.
Snakebites are a major health issue worldwide, causing over 100,000 deaths each year and leaving many with disabilities. In Nigeria, the problem is made worse by the need to educate the public about snakes, including the difference between dangerous and less harmful species.
Mr Eniang believes that better research and public education can help communities respond safely to snake encounters while reducing unnecessary killings. His warning comes amid growing global concern about the survival of snake species.
A 2026 report to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species found that 184 of 1,679 snake species assessed globally are at risk of extinction. A previous study in 2022 found that 1,829 of the 10,196 reptile species assessed worldwide are also threatened. Major threats include agriculture, logging, and urban development.
The World Congress on Snakes aimed to push scientific research and global cooperation on these issues while addressing the link between snake conservation and human safety.
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