BY AKUDORO GLORIA
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal Abbas said the ministry is set to inaugurate taskforce aimed at protecting private forests and encouraging their ownership within the country.
Balarabe stated this when he received a delegation of the Association for Forest Conservation and Green Industrial Charcoal Merchants (FCGICM), led by its President, Mrs. Florence Omolola Idowu, recently in Abuja.
In a statement signed by the Director of Press, Ibrahim Haruna, the Minister hinted that the establishment of this taskforce is a response to the critical challenges facing Nigeria’s forests, aiming to increase private sector participation, prevent unauthorized tree felling and to expand the country’s forest coverage by 25 per cent, aligning with global standards.
He said the task force would be drawn from relevant departments and agencies such as; the Forestry, National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NGGW), Agro Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Land Scape (ACReSAL), Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) as well as key associations like the Forest Conservation and Green Industrial Charcoal Marchants (FCGICM), Wood Exporters Association (WEA).
“we are facing a lot of critical challenges about the forest in Nigeria, and it calls for drastic steps to tackle such problems emphasizing that the Ministry is ready to support the Association but would not allow anyone felling trees in the forest.
“There is a need to inaugurate a task force to sensitise and create awareness to the general public on the need to have a private forest as this will increase the country’s GDP and increase our forest cover to atleast twenty five percent (25%) in tandem with minimum global requirement,” he added.
He said, forest is mainstay of some communities in Nigeria, and there would be a need to seek an alternative for charcoal other than felling of trees.
The Minister revealed that there are other several products that can be used for charcoal than wood and the ministry is working assiduously to come up with innovations to support the National Clean Cooking Policy recently launched in the country.
Balarabe enjoined the association to have a round table discussions with the forestry department and come out with alternative sources of charcoal that will not involve felling of trees.
Earlier, the President Association for Forest Conservation and Green Industrial Charcoal Marchants, Mrs. Florence Jones Idowu said the association is seeking to get Nigeria’s Forest stewardship Council Certification and Nigeria European Union Deforestation Regulatory (EURD) compliance.
According to her, certification of forest reserve is necessary as it ensures that they comply with global standard, guidelines , Nigeria timber legality and Forest policy.
“the essence of this is to look at the goods going out to European Union countries and the American market perhaps they are coming to certify Forests and this will help to curb Deforestation in the country,” she said.