Augustine Aminu
Data taken over a five year period has shown that Nigeria has the largest desertification rate in the world with loss of over 55.7% of its primary forest.
The data shows an annual rate of deforestation in Nigeria to be approximately 3.5% which is between 350,000 and 400,000 hectares per year.
Nature News reports that 141 countries during the COP26 pledged to end deforestation which is a leading cause of climate change by 2030.
In Nigeria, concerns about the growing level of deforestation triggered by activities in the oil and gas sector has been raised by several climate experts.
Increasing activities of loggers and subsistence farmers in rural communities who collect wood for fuel remains problematic in Nigeria.
Environmentalists insist that a lot of damage has been done to Nigeria’s land through the process of deforestation, notably contributing to the overwhelming trend of desertification.
Right now, over 50 percent of the country’s remaining tropical high forests are located in Cross River State alone, while those in other parts of the country including Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun have been largely depleted, consequently reducing the forest cover from 16 percent in 2000 to 11 percent in 2014.
Environmentalists say Nigeria would require to plant over 350 million trees annually to reverse the trend.
An expert, ABC Orjiako,Chairman of Seplat Energy expressed worry about the level of energy poverty in the country, noting that sustainable energy activities would help the country meet climate change targets while addressing deforestation.
“There is deforestation happening in the provision of energy in our environment, leading to excess carbon dioxide in the society. So we’re encouraging reforestation; everywhere you are you must plant trees,” he said.
Another environmentalist, Festus Okoye said the rate of deforestation in Nigeria has been quite high.
According to him, “if we consider the loss of forest cover in the Sahel as well as the mangrove forests on our coastline, it is doubtful that the rate of deforestation will be arrested. It is well known that we have already lost over 90 percent of our forest cover. A lot of factors contribute to piling pressure on the remaining forests.”
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He explained that these, include the conversion of biodiverse natural forests into plantations and for industrial agriculture.
In his words, “Some of these forests-depleting establishments are owned by powerful individuals and corporations, making regulations harder to enforce. We hear of stories of a sawmill and furniture workshop inside a protected forest!
“In such situations, the forestry department can be compared to a fire fighting squad, fighting multiple fires on many fronts while having its equipment and other resources stretched to the limits. It is difficult to say that what has happened before has stopped happening.”
In proffering more solutions, stakeholders say If Nigeria is going to stop deforestation, government needs to do their part.
They also suggested that world leaders need to embrace ambitious, domestic and international forest conservation policies based on the latest science, allowing us to live in a world that avoids severe climate disruption.
Meanwhile, former Minister of State for Environment, Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor admitted that the country’s forest area has been on a continuous decline from 10 to less than eight percent today, indicating that about 400,000 hectares of forest are lost yearly, through human activities and other practices that are unsustainable.
Speaking at the 2022 International Day of Forest (IDF) in Abuja, Ikeazor, lamented that this ugly development leaves a devastating effect on the socioeconomic lifestyle of rural dwellers due to overdependence on forest products for their livelihood in addition to environmental impacts.
She declared: “The demand for forest goods and services is on the rise with the increasing population against an unsustainable supply regime. The forestry sector remains an important natural capital asset in the attainment of the development objectives of Nigeria, particularly in the generation of economic activities.
“The guiding principles are centered on sustainable forest management and national development agenda of poverty reduction, improved livelihood, good forest governance, transparency and accountability, biodiversity conservation for the fulfilment of international commitments,” Ikeazor added.
On his part, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said the Federal Government is creating corridors and pathways for oil and gas operators in the industry to achieve net zero.
According to him, the Petroleum Industry Act remained an enabler for gas business, adding that the Act will enable a lot of gas projects.
Sylva said there was a need for operators to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the PIA to actually deepen the gas business in Nigeria.
“We are actually creating a roadmap to achieve these objectives. We are also creating corridors to deepen gas business. The AKK pipeline is a corridor that we are reaching across Nigeria from the southern part to the north. We are also creating another corridor from the West African gas pipeline all the way to Morocco.
“These are all opportunities that the government is putting in place that should be taken into account by operators,” he said.
