By Hauwa Ali
A Professor of Environment Management and Control at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Professor Christian Madu, has stated recently in Enugu that the growing firewood wholesale markets in the country remain a great threat to dwindling forest ecosystem.
The professor said that the emerging wholesales market for firewood in the country negates all efforts to shift citizens to use of clean energy by the country and its development partners.
“It is not a positive development and it negates international best practices in conservation of the forest and vegetation environment,” Madu said, describing the practice.
According to him, this new development can be attributed to poor government policy control, as well as lack of mechanism on the part of all tiers of government to protect the forest and environment.
“Using firewood to cook releases high quantities of dangerous carbons into the environment, which in the long run remained injurious to human and environment health of a given locality, and by extension the society at large.
“Some locals have this opinion that food cooked with firewood is tastier and more natural than those cooked with other forms of energy.
“For this opinion, they still encourage their households to always use firewood notwithstanding their better socio-economic status and how educated they are.
“There should be serious and conscious efforts at sustaining awareness and education of our people to the harm they are doing to the environment, ourselves and the next generation by continuing in harmful environmental practices.
“The cooking gas use policy should be made in a way to lure all residents, notwithstanding socio-economic status, to key into it.
“This is by making it affordable and accessible to Nigerians in remote villages,” he said.
The professor urged all tiers of government to be more serious with the awareness and education on environmental protection, to check emerging unfounded philosophy by some people living in some localities.
