Ministry Of Environment Leads Campaign Against Deforestation

The Federal Ministry of Environment has once again reiterated its commitment to forestry development with a view to checkmate the effects of climate change in the country.

The Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin, reiterated the Ministry’s position at the opening session of a two-day workshop on promoting sustainable forest management, organised by the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), holding  in Kaduna state, North West Nigeria.

‎The Minister while stressing the importance of agriculture and forestry to national economy and security, expressed concern over the negative destruction of the nation’s forests which had led to desertification, erosion, flooding and other environmental challenges.

He called on farmers and other stakeholders at the workshop to come up with suggestions and on how to combat climate change and deforestation in Nigeria.

The workshop is aimed at sensitising stakeholders on the importance of agro-forestry farming, review research activities, their impact on the end user and the feedback from participants on the adoption of best practices.

The Kaduna State commissioner for Agriculture, who represented Governor Nasir El-Rufai,  lamented that the absence of a clear policy direction on forestation in Nigeria was largely responsible for some of the environmental challenges.

Forestry experts are worried that the unrestrained and uncontrolled harvesting  of timber across the states would have devastating impact on the environment and contribute immensely to global warming currently threatening the world.