As the world chooses to go green in recent times, financial institutions across the globe are increasingly getting involved. To many ssenvironmentalists, the step considered to be a timely intervention towards combating the disappearing of over 600 to 700 millions hectares of the world forest resources according to the 2000 statistic. The boost further increase, when it was alerted by a world environmental body that desertification constitutes 20 percent of the climate change.
Recently, the Executive Director, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria, Nnimmo Bassey disclosed that Nigeria lose 3000 hectares of vegetation annually to tree felling, bush burning and general desertification. This lost he said has constituted to the importation of 75% imported timber the nation needs in the furniture industries.
He observed that due to the luck of effective monitoring by agent’s of the government the remaining surviving forest left in the country are either converted into monoculture plantation. Example is the Okumo and Iguobazuwa forest in Edo State. Those have the Ose River Company known as Michelin converted part of the forest into a rubber plantation. Mr. Bassey further lamented that over 1,000 oil spill occur annually in Nigeria, stressing the official figure is currently put at 34 000 for over a period of four years. Besides, the continuous gas flaring going on in the Niger Delta South-South geo-political zone.
Timber is known to be one of the Nigeria most important and natural resources this natural resources according to the Federal Ministry of Environment Nigeria plunder it forest by more than 30 million tonnes for firewood annually as a result of pressure from urbanization. Human dependence on wood for fuel and construction is about 350.000 hectares of land per annum while the annual rate for deforestation is estimated at about 30,000 hectares of land.
To our nation, this is no good news for a country threatened by desertification and devastating erosion in the South East. Nigeria being a signatory to the recent Copenhagen climate change protocol to combats the growing threatens to human and livestock globally. The country ought not only to do something but to be seen as have done something.
