National Parks Mitigating Nigeria’s Climate Issues – CG Goni

The Conservator General of National Parks Service, (NPS), Dr Ibrahim Goni, has noted that national parks are contributing immensely in mitigating climate change.

Goni revealed this at a one-day seminar organized by the Development Agenda, in collaboration with the Environmental Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria, EMCAN, in Abuja.

Speaking at the seminar themed: “Climate Change and COP28: The Way Forward For Nigeria,” the CG stressed the need for the media to publish more stories on climate change.

He recalled that the Federal Government had in 2020 approved the establishment of 10 new national parks to complement the existing parks across the country.

Three years down the line, the parks are yet to take-off, a situation that Goni attributed to delay in the release of gazette by the Ministry of Justice.

The CG hinted that as soon as the gazette is released that the parks will take-off immediately, saying that the NPS has received approval from the Federal Government.

In his address, the Publisher and Editor-in-chief of Development Agenda Magazine, Mr. Paddy Ezeala lamented that people are cutting down trees in Cross Rivers, Ondo, Ogun, as well as in some North Central States recklessly.

According to him, Nigeria is experiencing four percent forest loss annually, which is considered as the highest globally.

“It was further estimated that 1.5 million trees are felled down daily through illegal logging, thereby leading to 3.5 percent deforestation annually”.

He stated that the citing of a foreign privately-owned charcoal producing factory in Nsukka, Enugu state worsened the destruction caused by the foreigners, adding that the adjoining states were affected by the massive logging.

Ezeala hinted that between 1981 and 2000, Nigeria lost 3.7 million hectares of forests which implied colossal loss of biodiversity.

“The forest cover had depleted to less than 10 percent as against the mandate of the Food and Agricultural Organizations’ (FAO) that each state is expected to keep its forest cover to a minimum of 25 percent of its land area,” he said.

He stated that there is a need to develop more environmentally and socially equitable approaches to forest management in Nigeria, noting that the wanton destruction of forests across the country must be checked.

Ezeala added: “Forests perform a broad range of critical environmental and climatic functions, including the maintenance of constant supply of water. Forests harbour species and at the same time have very deep economic, aesthetic, industrial and religious significance for humans.

“However, economic development pressures often lead to the conversion of forest ecosystems without consideration for both the long-term economic costs and the implications of the immediate loss of biodiversity, ecosystem structure and function.”

He sought the need to harness the potential of the forests toward the development of eco-tourism and scientific research rather than continued illegal logging and wildlife trafficking.

The publisher maintained that Nigeria’s remaining rainforests harbour about 4000 different species of plants, including those effective in the development of alternative medicine.

The Emir of Nasarawa, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman Jibril, in a remark, hinted that the rising sea level at the coastal areas, climate change, deforestation, drought and desertification are some of the environmental challenges wrecking Nigeria.

He said though charcoal has been banned that the government cannot stop households from cooking with charcoal without providing alternative means of fuel.

The Chairman of EMCAN, Mr Chuks Oyema said that the essence of the seminar was to showcase how Nigeria is tackling climate change and how the government is prepared for COP28.

He urged the media to publish more stories on climate change and embark on collective actions toward mitigating the impact of climate change on the environment.