By Bisola Adeyemo
Yenagoa Bayelsa State government has discontinued the process of logging without legal permission and other deforestation activities to maintain the state’s forest reserves.
Henceforth, all commercial timber dealers are to obtain a permit from the Ministry of Environment before embarking on logging activities.
Governor Douye Diri, who stated this on during this year’s International Day of Forests celebration in Yenegoa,also directed that an executive bill in consultation with the Environment Ministry and related civil society organisations be prepared and forwarded to the state House of Assembly.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, said the governor also said that the new bill would repeal existing environmental laws that are now obsolete.
His words: “Henceforth, all timber dealers are to obtain permit before taking out logs from our forest reserves. This is to protect our forests.
“I hereby direct that an executive bill in consultation with the state Ministry of Environment and related civil society organisations be sent immediately to the House of Assembly.
“This bill should repeal every other existing laws. I trust the State Assembly to do justice to this bill so that we can protect our forests.”
Governor Diri emphasised that his administration was determined to protect such reserves through the legal framework.
“It is interesting that somebody that came from Cameroon has told us about an only specie in the world found in our state and yet we cannot protect it. So this bill should look at ways and means of preserving such few species in our forests.”
The governor, who also frowned at the use of dynamite by fishermen, noted that the bill should make the use of explosives on the state’s waterways an offence, daily times reports.
Diri asserted that as a government that preaches prosperity, it cannot fold its arms and watch forests in the state being degraded.
He directed the Commissioner for Environment to rejuvenate the forest guards and deploy them to their respective local government areas to ensure effective protection of the reserves.
The governor also granted the request by the Ministry of Environment to adopt six proposed forest reserves.
Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Iselema Gbaranbiri, said the International Day of Forests was declared by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness on the importance of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations.
Mr Gbaranbiri remarked that healthy forests strongly influence the quantity of water yielded from watersheds, discharge the highest quality of water and provide logs, fuel woods, fodder and medicinal plants used by local and indigenous communities.
According to him, the state has six reserves namely the Taylor Creek, Edumanom, Apoi Creek, Nun River, Igbedi Creek and Ikebiri Creek Forest Reserve
