Deforestation in Nigeria
[21][22] Deforestation rates in Nigeria have increased, with substantial forest cover loss attributed to factors such as traditional agricultural practices, overgrazing, and poor land tenure systems.
[27][28] Public education and governmental focus on forest management, technological advancements, and sustainable energy are critical to reduce deforestation rates.
[30] This process has multifaceted adverse effects on the natural environment, contributing to soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, wildlife reduction, land degradation, and desertification.
[24] Deforestation jeopardises various environmental, economic, and societal facets, potentially leading to forest degradation, characterised by extreme soil erosion, loss of nutrients, and extinction of plant and animal species.
[citation needed] These actors, including slash-and-burn farmers, ranchers, loggers, firewood collectors, and infrastructural developers, play a role in forest removal, influenced by the underlying causes of deforestation.
[44] For instance, recent findings highlighted a 99.2-hectare land allocation for an international market in Enugu State, leading to deforestation at Opi in Nsukka Local Government Area (Field Survey, October 2023).
Logging industries provide wood varieties like ebony, mahogany, teak, and meranti to the global market, leading to a depletion of forests.
Development plans emphasise export-oriented exploitation of natural resources, focusing on wood as a profitable business, neglecting other forest dimensions like biodiversity, food, or medicinal plants.
[46] National governments support logging operations despite local inhabitants' presence in the forests due to vested interests of the ruling class and transnational corporations.
Selective logging has a modest impact compared to incidental damage caused by the machinery used, which significantly alters the forest ecosystem, inhibiting tree regeneration and threatening biodiversity.
Addressing deforestation by protecting forests and promoting sustainable practices is crucial to mitigate its adverse impacts on the environment and ensure long-term environmental health.
[citation needed] The growing population in Nigeria has intensified the demand for food, leading to annual destruction of large forest areas by bush burning or logging to create farmland.
Grazing practices are a significant contributor to deforestation, and addressing these crises requires governance, justice, equity, and adherence to rule of law.
According to the Department of Petroleum Resources, approximately 419 oil spills have occurred on land, resulting in the loss of an estimated 5 to 10 per cent of the mangrove forest area.
[53] The inadequate coordination of pipelines and environmental concerns has left many in the region unemployed, with limited farming opportunities and a diminished forest reserve to rely on.
The expectation that fuel provision would sustain communities has been affected by conflicts arising from oil theft, pitting indigenous groups against the government.
[48] The oil spills in the Niger Delta region have resulted in deforestation, ecological degradation, and the disruption of ecosystem services and natural resources.
[55] Research by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that wood used for cooking accounts for about half of the trees that are removed illegally from forests globally, with a majority coming from developing countries such as Nigeria.
[57] Corruption poses a significant challenge in Nigeria and plays a major role in facilitating illegal logging by both companies and forest officials.
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has highlighted that Africans are experiencing deforestation at a rate twice that of the global average, underscoring the severity of the problem in Nigeria.
The impact of fire can be highly disastrous since tropical Rainforests, which include a wide diversity of trees, require a long time to restore themselves.
[66] A study conducted from 2001 to 2020 by the Nigeria Deforestation Rates & Statistics identified Edo, Ondo, Cross River, Taraba, and Ogun states as the most affected regions.
Deforestation poses risks to Nigeria's paper industry, which heavily relies on wood pulp obtained from natural forests or plantations.
Numerous challenges, such as land use conflicts, financial constraints, public ignorance, and encroachment by herders, contribute to the rising deforestation rates in Nigeria.
[75] The Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) faces multiple challenges in curbing deforestation, including finance-related issues, ignorance, and environmental insecurities.
Carbon sequestration and afforestation stand as promising solutions to combat deforestation in Nigeria and the broader global climate change crisis.
Deforestation bears significant environmental, economic, and social consequences such as biodiversity loss, ecosystem disruption, and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
[84] One approach, established in 2005, involved a collective effort by the Coalition for Rainforest Nations to reduce deforestation rates, subsequently lowering CO2 emissions.
[88][89] Kwara State's government proposed a plan to plant 2.5 million trees by 2047, aiming to combat deforestation in collaboration with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation.
"[91] At a global level, in November 2021, Nigeria, along with over a hundred nations, pledged to halt deforestation by 2030, committing to raise $19.2 billion to stop and reverse tree loss.
