As Niger State watches deforestation activities

As part of Central Nigeria, Niger State like other areas on the same latitude, is ofSudanSavannahvegetation that covers an extensive area of woodland. The greater part of its land, about 86,000km2 (representing 9.3% of the total land area of the country), is covered with trees and grasses. With its current size, Niger is the largest state in Nigeria. 

Available official statistics show that a total of 2.3million hectares of the land in Niger state is annuallyunder cultivation for the production of food and cash crops. It is also estimated that out of its over 3.9m population (according to the 2006 census figures), there are over 550,000 farming families in Niger state who are small scale peasant farmers. Farming has remained the predominant occupation of the people living in Niger State. It is, however, sad to note that soil which is the prime factor without which farming cannot take place has come under serious threats from unwarranted human activities on the environment in Niger state. High level deforestation activities through timber and fuel wood collection is a serious environmental challenge that no sensitive government can afford to ignore. 

The indiscriminate felling of trees in parts of Niger state is a grave threat not only to farming but also to the over half a million families that depend on subsistence farming for sustenance. Human life is also generally threatened when the environment is degraded through tree felling for whatever purpose. When the soil is degraded through uncontrolled felling of trees, human and animal survival in such a degraded environment becomes directly threatened. Crop farming becomes unsustainable; leading consequently to food insecurity. Other adverse effects of large scale tree felling include loss of biodiversity, migration of wildlife, ecological imbalance, soil erosion, flooding, and disruption in hydrological cycle of catchment area, and worst of all, desert encroachment. 

Besides its negative impacts on animals and plants, deforestation also drives climate change. Forest soils are moist but could quickly dry up if left without protection from sun-blocking tree cover. Trees help to conserve the water cycle by returning water vapour to the atmosphere. Without trees, many forest lands could degenerate to become deserts. Trees play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming. Fewer trees (or forests) would therefore mean larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere which consequently results into an increase in the speed and severity of global warming. 

Trees that make up a forest are not just there to beautify the environment. They provide a home to many animal and plant species. Some plants need the deep shades provided by the forest canopy in order to grow. Metaphorically, forests are the lungs of the earth planet. All plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. When part of a rain forest is cut down, the humidity in the area drops; causing the remaining part of the forest to dry. Removing trees deprive forests of portions of its canopy, which blocks the sun’s rays during the day and holds in heat at night. This disruption occasioned by the felling of trees could lead to extreme temperature swings that can be harmful to plants and animals.

It should not be news to state and local government authorities in Niger state that neighbouring states including Kaduna State. Trailers as well as truckloads of woods are transported every now and then from parts of Niger State to destinations as far as Zaria, Funtua, Gusau, Katsina and Kano where there are no enough trees to be felled. These are areas with varying degrees of aridity. Even in places where the vegetation is partly a forest of trees and grasses (as could be found in southern Kaduna), people still find it more convenient to fetch fuel wood in commercial quantities from Niger State;probably because authorities in Kaduna state enforce environmental laws that prohibit unauthorized felling of trees. 

Chairmen of the local governments in Niger state where tree felling activities take place at the detriment of their own environments cannot claim to be unaware of this environmental menace because theirforestry departments are supposed to have rangers in forestry reserves whose duty include providing information on such illegal activities. I would be greatly surprised if this matter was not raised by any local government chairmanin all the 17 out of the 25 local governmentareas recently toured by the State Governor, AlhajiAbubakar Sani Bello. This deforestation activity is particularly pronounced in Zone A which is the Nupe -speaking area of the state.A journey through Lambata-Lapai-Agaie-Bida road will confirm this claim to you.

This business may have survived all the while probably because of the “chicken fee” paid by bulk purchasers to natives who fell the trees to fetch fuel woods. Large scale felling of trees for firewood is a major factor responsible for environment degradation in arid and semi-arid regions of Nigeria. Environmentalists have asserted that indiscriminate felling of trees aggravate the effect of wind erosion and depositionof sand dunes in northern parts of Nigeria; thereby inducing desertification. 

Forests are essential for a healthy environment. Trees stabilize forest soil, improve soil fertility, reduce the velocity of wind, protect watershed, and also reduce the amount of carbon released in to the atmosphere. The Niger State House of Assembly could fashion out afforestation laws that would help to forestall desertification. For instance, a law that would compel people to plant two trees to replace every single tree that was cut could be put in place. Government at state and local government levels should be seen to be genuinely involved in forest management and control of tree felling activitiesto prevent environmental degradation. May Allah guide us to protect our environment for the survival of man, animals and even plants, amin.