Environmentalist Wants Forest Cover Policies

The Project
Coordinator centre for Ecological and Community Development (CECD) Mr John Akinnuba, has called for the enactment of policies to protect up to 25 percent forest cover in the country.
Mr Akinnuba  who said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt also called for the creation of awareness, especially  in the rural areas to protect the nation’s forest cover.
He said that Nigeria currently had less than 10 percent of forest cover, stressing that this is far below the standard recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
According to him, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said that Nigeria should have 25 percent of its forest as a protected area.
“Today, we do not even have 10 percent of Nigeria landscape as a protected area” he said.
The environmentalist stressed the need for the government to consider the setting up of 25 percent of Nigeria forest cover as a protected area.
“We shall have policies that will target the protection of 25 percent of our forest cover.
“This awareness needs to be taken to the communities because most of our forest reserves have been given out for agricultural purposes and this reduces our forest” Akinnuba said.
The coordinator who cited the Brazil and Ethiopia examples of protecting forests close to their river bunks, urged that Nigeria could do similar things to reduce ecological challenges in the country.
He criticised the government for not being strict with the oil companies especially on the issue of gas flaring, stressing that the Clean Development Meonanism (CDM) given by government to the companies has failed to achieve the desired result.
Akinnuba stressed the need for proactive steps by the government to make companies comply with environmental standard.