Conservation body urges FG to restore 4m hectare forest by 2030

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has called on the Federal Government to assist in restoring four million hectares of forest by 2030 which have been degraded.

The NCF’s Director General, Dr. Muhtari Aminu Kano, expressed worry that since Nigeria has made her commitment in 2015 during a meeting at the United Nation Forum of Forest to restore four million hectares of forest cover, the country has not done anything to kick-start the project.

Aminu-Kano spoke at the annual general meeting of the foundation held in Lagos recently, adding that NCF could assist the Federal Government to draw a frame work and strategic plan to implement the commitment.

“What happens is that under a forum called the UN Forum of Forest, the world countries met in Germany and created what they called the bond challenge which was to restore forested areas which have been degraded.

“So African countries met after that meeting under the auspices of the African Union and the countries were encouraged to make specific concrete commitment and many made that but Nigeria made a specific commitment of restoring four million hectares of forest by 2030. That was in 2015 and three years now going, nothing has happened in Nigeria.

“Other countries like Niger and Cameroon, these are all our neighbours, also made commitments; they have developed a template, they have figured a strategic plan. Nigeria has done nothing yet on that.

“So that is one of the things we can ride on in terms of how we can work together and help to develop the plan for Nigeria to actualize those 4 million hectares,” he said.

Also, the NCF’s President, Board of Trustees, Chief Philip Asiodu, said the increase in population with a limited land surface posed threat to environmental sustainability of the country and that the Green Recovery Nigeria (GRN) initiative was targeted toward the rapid reversal of the loss of forest cover.