Nigeria loses about 300 hectares of forest daily, park service says
- The National Park Service says Nigeria loses close to 300 hectares of forest every day.
- Its head, Ibrahim Goni, says troops cleared two illegal mining sites in Gashaka-Gumti park.
- More than 4,000 illegal miners were pushed out, but Goni wants alternative jobs for communities.
Nigeria is losing close to 300 hectares of forest every day, the National Park Service (NPS) has said, warning that illegal mining, logging and insecurity are eating into the country's protected areas.
The Conservator-General of the service, Ibrahim Goni, gave the figure in Abuja while receiving members of the Environmental Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria (EMCAN). He said the destruction could speed up desertification and worsen environmental damage across the country if nothing is done.
Troops clear miners from Gashaka-Gumti
Goni said the NPS, working with the Nigerian Army, shut down two illegal mining sites inside Gashaka-Gumti National Park, which sits across Taraba and Adamawa states. The operation closed large mining pits and pushed out more than 4,000 illegal miners, he said.
But Goni said security raids alone will not solve the problem. Communities around the parks need other ways to earn a living, he said, so they do not fall back on activities that damage protected land.
He also raised concern about illegal mining in Oyo State, saying the service is working with the Ministry of Solid Minerals, and said about 17 miners were arrested in Rivers State.
Goni explained that criminals often move into forests next to the parks after being chased out of one area, which makes it hard for security agencies to keep the parks safe.
Wildlife smuggling and flood alerts
On wildlife trafficking, Goni said Nigeria is often named in international smuggling networks because traffickers use the country as a transit route. Animal parts and live animals are brought in from Chad, Niger and Cameroon and shipped out through Nigerian seaports, he said.
The Nigeria Customs Service, NPS, the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and the Nigeria Police Force have set up a joint committee on the trade. Goni said raids by the committee have led to seizures of live animals, carcasses and other specimens.
He said Nigeria now has 17 national parks, though only 13 are working, up from seven before former President Muhammadu Buhari's administration created 10 more.
Goni also said the Federal Ministry of Environment has installed flood-warning equipment in some parts of the country so residents in flood-prone areas can move to safety in time. He asked journalists to report more on deforestation, pollution, flooding and erosion, and to educate the public on Ebola prevention and the link between wildlife and some infectious diseases.
EMCAN chairman Joycelyn Ellakeche Adah said the association, which has more than 35 members, wants a closer working relationship with environmental agencies. She said only three or four media organisations regularly cover the park service, which limits public awareness of its work.
What happens next: The service and the journalists' group agreed to work more closely on public awareness, but the sources did not say when the next round of enforcement or clean-up in the parks will begin.
