Experts underscore importance of tree planting

By Chidimma C. Okeke

The importance of forests to humans and other life forms has been identified as the reason to accelerate programmes that will decrease deforestation and forest degradation by using strategies and technologies employed by other developing countries.

This came to the fore during the week-long activities to mark the International Day of Forests in Cross River State championed by the Organisation for Positive Sustainability Culture in Nigeria (OPSCN).

According to a statement, the event highlighted the importance of forest as the primary source of energy that all life form depends on. 

OPSCN Project Support Officer, Bassey Effiong, noted that one of their activities is Carbon Mitigation Programme (CPM). He said it is based on the fact that one of the major drivers of deforestation in Nigeria was the over-exploitation of forest resources, aligned with the theme for this year, ‘Forest and Energy’. 

He  said that the project in Becheve on the Obudu Plateau of the state had facilitated the replanting of over 9,000 indigenous trees in the degraded community forests. They also distributed fuel-efficient stoves and introduced carbon-neutral non-tree biomass fuels to reduce the use of forest trees for cooking and space heating in the area.

The Head of Biodiversity and Ecotourism Department of Forestry, Biodiversity, Marine Protection and Conservation in the Governor’s Office, Mr. Sonigitu Asibong Ekpe, expressed the government’s concern about the need of the present and future generations.

 He said the government stressed the need to protect the forest and had put up policies and measures to ensure the sustainable use of forest to meet the needs of the present and future generations.

The Sub-regional Project Officer, BirdLife/Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), Ruth Akagu, stressed the need to protect and use forests, which she referred to as the “lungs of the earth”, sustainably. 

CEPF, according to her, was investing $9 million over five years, from 2016-2021 to provide strategic assistance to non-governmental organisations and other private sectors to help conserve biodiversity hotspots.