Environmentalist Urges Action on forest conservation in Nigeria
FeaturedNews March 20, 2017 Dianabasi Effiong
From: Dianabasi EffiongAs the world celebrates the international day of forests today, a non governmental organisation (NGO), Rural Awareness for Green Environment Initiative (RAGE) has predicted dangerous climate crises in Nigeria if the Federal Government and the general public take no serious action in forest conservation.
RAGE made this call in a statement signed by her Director of Programmes and Administration Mr. Titigbe Onyeka Venath and made available to some newsmen in .
It noted that this day is seen as “an opportunity to raise awareness on the consequences of fast depleting state of our forests for industrial agro-businesses like conversion of Forests to large scale oil palm plantations to make biofuels/agrofuels which fuels cars in Europe.
“Deforestation contributes between 12-20 per cent to global warming. In Nigeria, after gas flaring, deforestation is the second highest contributor to climate change leading to the intensity of heat waves now been experienced in, even when it rains the impact is no longer felt as the heat is cooking mother Earth to an unbearable condition, with increased desertification in Northern parts of Nigeria”.
“Millions of forest trees are brought to their knees every single day through illegal logging, industrial plantations by trans-nationals, forest fires due to oil spills from multinationals in the Niger delta and construction of mega projects like the insistence of a 260km Super highway through pristine Ekuri Forests by the Cross Rivers State Government without an approved EIA, or consideration of rural communities who have been the custodian of this great resource for over a century.
“RAGE sees this as an ecocide that must not see the light of day as it poses great danger to wildlife, biocultural resources especially rural communities who depend of forest, farmlands for their social, economic and spiritual wellbeing.
“Such is the case at rural communities in Edo and Cross Rivers States with the highest record of forest destruction for large scale Oil palm cultivation by Multinational companies like Okomu Oil Palm PLC, Wilmar International in Nigeria,” Venath stated.
He also noted that Deforestation is one of the contributing factors to global climate change.
According to UNFAO, Nigeria has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world with loss of 55.7% of its primary forest.
The annual rate of deforestation in Nigeria is approximately 3.5 per cent, which is between 350,000 and 400,000 hectares per year.
“The combination of extremely high deforestation rates, increased temperature and decreasing rainfall are all contributing factors to global warming in Nigeria,” Venath stated.
While reacting to the theme of this year’s event by UN “Forest and Energy” that tends to promote the use of woodfuel/biofuel, Venath said that we are not to depend on forest for energy.
“Depending on forest for energy will encourage land-grabbing thereby impacting negatively on rural communities who depend on (forest) for survival.”
RAGE urges everyone to engage in tree planting, reduce the rate at which forest products like papers are being used to reduce the pressure on forest trees.
“Government should strengthen and enforce existing forest laws to protect the forest and forest dependent peoples.
“Rural people remain the best keepers of forests! Our Government must make genuine efforts to save our forests by supporting forest conservation that is community peoples driven as Industrial plantation expansion (especially oil palm) becomes the highest contributor to deforestation in Nigeria.
“We urge the Nigerian government to review the UN REDD programme in Cross Rivers State that puts a price tag on our forests and its abundant resources.
“Government should stop giving our forests to multinational companies as they continue to convert our forests to plantations to make profits for their private pockets, with produce/products to feed international markets.
“The United Nations should review their misleading definition of a forest by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) which considers plantations a forests.
“This is false as RAGE sees this as more avenue for Transnational companies to grab more lands from rural communities and forest dependent poor who are already facing grave impacts of human rights abuses such as eviction, spiritual contamination, pollution of water bodies, hunger and starvation, insecurity with differentiated impacts on women and vulnerable groups.
“Sponsoring more deforestation in the name of development is declaring hell on peoples and planet,” it stated.
Dianabasi Effiong
