PEOPLES' FRIENDSHIP UNIVERSITY OF RUSSIA

Faculty of Ecology

DEFORESTATION IN NIGERIA

Silvia Alejandra Llerena Gordillo

Student group Osm-d4

Student number 1032168425

Donatus Olpara Anayo (PhD cand).

Professor

Moscow
2017
Table of Content
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 1
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
2 Deforestation in Nigeria ........................................................................................................ 2
2.1 Wood fuel ...................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Agriculture and Grazing................................................................................................. 3
2.3 Unregulated Logging ..................................................................................................... 4
2.4 Rapid urbanization and industrialization ...................................................................... 4
3 Consequences of Deforestation in Nigeria............................................................................ 4
3.1 Loss of biodiversity ........................................................................................................ 5
3.2 Soil erosion .................................................................................................................... 5
3.3 Release of carbon gases ................................................................................................ 5
3.4 Environmental Calamities ............................................................................................. 5
3.5 Water Cycle affection .................................................................................................... 6
4 Solutions ................................................................................................................................ 6
4.1 Forest conservation and reforestation ......................................................................... 6
4.2 Alternative forms of cooking fuel.................................................................................. 7
4.3 Green economy reducing the deforestation ................................................................. 7
5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 8
6 References ............................................................................................................................. 9
 Abstract

The Nigeria forest has been witness of a rapid and intensive destruction due to
logging for wood fuel and timber, agriculture, grazing, urbanization and the exploitation
of crude oil. Together, they have contributed to the economic growth but have led to
irreversible loss of forest. Currently, Nigeria has one of the highest rates of deforestation
in the world, 3,5% is the annual rate of deforestation. Poverty is also a strong factor in the
issue of deforestation, people need more resources to live and because of the high cost of
kerosene and gas, they clear the forest when try to get wood for cooking.

Consequences of deforestation include emission of carbon dioxide and monoxide,

soil erosion, biodiversity loss, desertification, floods, acid rain and alterations in the water
cycle. On the contrary, the solutions are conservation trough environmental policies,
protected areas, reforestation and the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in and
Forest Degradation in Developing Countries program (REDD). The use of alternative
energies for cooking as wind, solar and hydro power energy to stop the use of wood fuel
is also discussed. This solutions are strategies for using efficiently the forest, at the same
time improve the social and economic development; In other words they contribute to
Green Economy. These causes, consequences and solutions to deforestation in Nigeria
are examined. The essay concludes that government and individuals can successfully
manage forests taking into consideration the green economy as a sustainable way.

1 Introduction

Federal Republic of Nigeria has an extension of 923,768 km2 and is located in

latitude between 415N and 13 5N and 245E and 1440 E longitude (Aruofor, 2001).
The vegetation occupies more than 70% of the country and is divided in 34% for crops,
23% to grassland and 12.18% to forest, that corresponds to 110, 890 km2 whit 0.5 % of
primary forest (CI., 2011; Mfon, et al., 2014). The economic development of Nigerians
have depended on the forest. As a result of its dependence Nigeria has one of the highest
rates of the deforestation around the world. The years between 1990 and 2005, the country
lost around 6.145.000 ha. (Mongabay, 2006). By these days the loss of forest has

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increased to more than 50% with an annual deforestation rate of 3.5%. This situation is
irreversible and it is estimate that 90% of Nigerias forest has been deforested (Inyang &
Esohe, 2014). The main causes of deforestation are unsustainable logging, agriculture, oil
industry, as well as fuel wood collection (Mfon et al., 2014). The consequences of
deforestation include soil erosion or impoverishment, loss of wildlife, increase of
desertification, hydrological cycle affection and the release of greenhouse gases (Nzeh,
2012; Inyang & Esohe, 2014)

In order to control the deforestation the government established protected forest

reserves, moratorium on timber, and a commitment to conserve 25% of total forest area
(Biotechnology, 2008; Batta, 2013). The strategy of reforestation hasnt been fully
developed, however, the program Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in and Forest
Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) has been taken as a viable option of
investment that could growth the economy and alleviate poverty. Another deforestations
solution is the use of alternative clean energies instead the wood fuel and the improvement
of the technologies for cooking (Akinbami, Salami, & Siyanbola, 2003; Sukndev, et al.,
2011). These solutions are inside of the green economy.

2 Deforestation in Nigeria

Deforestation is the product of environmental, social, economic, cultural and

political interactions (Biotechnology, 2008; Nzeh, 2012). Nigeria is placed as one of the
ten countries with the worst rate of deforestation. For instance, according to FAO the
country has lost 55.7% of its primary forest (between 2000 and 2005) and currently the
deforestation rate is about 3.5% that means the loss of 350,000 400,000 hectares of forest
land per annum (Biotechnology, 2008; Nzeh, 2012; Mfon et al., 2014). As a result of that,
the savannah is in a process of sahelization ant the forest under savannization (Akinbami,
Salami, & Siyanbola, 2003). The causes of forest clearing are the logging, timber export,
subsistence agriculture the use of wood for fuel and fires. According to the World Bank,
the main activities that generate deforestation are the production of timber and fuel, which
have had a monetary cost of US$ 750 million annually.

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2.1 Wood fuel

In Africa the production of fuelwood is 13% and in Nigeria it is the most pervasive
cause of deforestation (Amin, 2014). In fact, reports mention that fuel consumption
exceeds natural regeneration by 75% (Nzeh, 2012). The consumption of fuelwood has a
direct relationship with the poverty because people need wood for cooking, as
consequence they set fires in the forest (Inyang & Esohe, 2014; Ogunwale, 2015). Due to
the high cost of kerosene, around of 60% of Nigerians prefer the firewood for cooking
(Akinbami, Salami, & Siyanbola, 2003; Inyang & Esohe, 2014). In rural areas the
deforestation is worst because of the high amount of population that demand more
fuelwood, charcoal and sawn (Nzeh, 2012). For instance, the Agala forest reserve was
largely deforested because Nigerians people could not obtain kerosene in the political
crisis of 1994 (Akinbami, Salami, & Siyanbola, 2003).

2.2 Agriculture and Grazing

The agriculture is one of the main cause of deforestation in Africa (Inyang & Esohe,
2014). To cultivate, the land needs to be prepared thence the slash and burn activities are
used, leading to a permanent destruction of the rain forest. As a result, the vegetation
change and the species distribution is affected (Mfon et al., 2014). The majority of crops
in Nigeria are small-scale farms (0.1 to 5.99 ha) and represent the 46% of land
(Biotechnology, 2008). To illustrate it, 2 million km2 of forest is occupied by 140 million
farmers and it is believed that they have eliminated at least 100,000 km2 (Nzeh, 2012).
Another effect of the agricultural activities, which increase the deforestation problem, is
the depletion of land with nutrients that affects the growth of new trees (Aikhionbare,
2015).

The livestock production plays an important role in deforestation especially in the

savanna region. The unrestricted livestock grazing leads a gradual change in vegetation
because the herds feed on tree seedling. Furthermore, this animals looping the branches
of mature trees and the loss of young ones (Nzeh, 2012; Mfon, et al., 2014).

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2.3 Unregulated Logging

The demand of timber and their products in residential, recreational and industrial
sector promotes the illegal logging. The trees are felled and sawn without any plan of
restoration. As an example, Ekinta forest reserve is grassland due to the unsustainable
agriculture and logging (Mfon, et al. 2014). This scenario has got worst because the State
Departments of Forestry have abandoned the management of forest since the 1970s and
now it is considered as an infinite land bank mainly for agriculture (FAO, 2005; Nzeh,
2012). In addition, the corruption of the politics in the judiciary to check illegal logging
increase the problematic (Biotechnology, 2008; Inyang & Esohe, 2014).

2.4 Rapid urbanization and industrialization

The primary forest has been invaded because to the increase of population in Nigeria.
The building of new urban areas whit their roads, airports, industrial areas and housing
have caused the destruction of over 8,5 million hectares of forest (Inyang & Esohe, 2014).

In the same line of human sprawl, as a human factor of deforestation, are the mining
and petroleum implications. An alarm case is the devastation on mangrove forest in the
Niger Delta due to the exploitation of petroleum. Nowadays, even the swamp forest,
which was protected from exploitation owing its inaccessible location, is being destroyed.
Spillages of petroleum also contribute to deforestation. This spillages happen due to
vandalism or the rupture in the pipeline and tanker accidents. Since the oil discovery in
Nigeria, about 419 spills have been reported by the department of Petroleum resources,
leading to the loss of between 5 to 10 % of the mangrove forest (Mfon, et al., 2014;
Aikhionbare, 2015).

3 Consequences of Deforestation in Nigeria

The environmental impacts generate by the deforestation are the depletion of

biodiversity, soil erosion, greenhouse gases release and environmental calamities as acid
rain, desertification and flood.

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3.1 Loss of biodiversity

The 70% of plants and animals live in the forest, so the deforestation alter the
complex ecological balance of it. The domino effect of deforestation has destructed the
habitat of plant and animal species. As result of it, a reasonable number of species are
vulnerable and others are almost in danger of extinction. The quantity of species affected
by the deforestation is 899 species of birds, 274 mammals, 154 reptiles, 53 amphibians
and 4715 species of higher plants. Currently, primates such as guenons, mangabeys,
drills, chimpanzees and gorillas are considered endangered species (Mfon et al., 2014).

3.2 Soil erosion

The soil erosion is triggering by the deforestation, reduces food production and
promotes migration of people (Mfon et al., 2014). The moment that the trees are logging,
their roots stop to hold soil particles together and leave the soil more susceptible to water
and wind erosion (Aikhionbare, 2015).

3.3 Release of carbon gases

One of the main cause of greenhouse effect is the deforestation. Through the
reduction of available amount of trees to retain carbon dioxide (CO2) and the release of
the stored carbon dioxide the temperature of the planet has increased the last years
(Akinbami, Salami, & Siyanbola, 2003; Aikhionbare, 2015). Approximately with the
deforestation the amount of carbon dioxide released correspond to one third of the total
carbon dioxide emissions. In Nigeria the percentage of carbon emissions from the
deforestation is 87 (Mfon et al., 2014; Akinbami, Salami, & Siyanbola, 2003).

3.4 Environmental Calamities

The most common environmental calamities caused by the deforestation are acid
rain, floods and desertification. Acid rain is produced because the carbon dioxide cannot
be absorbed by the forest; It happens especially in the Niger delta. Also, the amount of

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floods in the coastal areas and in the north have increased due to the absence of trees
roots which used to reduce the velocity of water runoff (Mfon et al., 2014).

The desertification is the conversion of a fertile land to a desert. This overwhelming

trend occurs owing to the high deforestation rates that trigger the increase of temperature
and rainfall decrease. In support of this, a study from 1901 to 2015 found that the
temperature increase in Nigeria was 1.1C, while around the world was only 0.74 C.
Additionally, the rainfall quantity in the same period decreased by 81mm. As a result of
this altered environmental factors there were abrupt changes related with desertification
in the 1970 (Akinbami, Salami, & Siyanbola, 2003; Odjugo, 2010).

3.5 Water Cycle affection

The water cycle is also affected owing to the non-existence of trees to absorb and
extract rain and ground water and release water vapor into the atmosphere through their
roots. The National Academy of science has reported that any small change in water vapor
can disrupt the weather patterns, for example in the deforested regions the climate is dry
due to the absence to retain and release water (Mfon et al., 2014).

4 Solutions

4.1 Forest conservation and reforestation

The government in all levels plays an important role in the forest conservation.
From 1897 until these days, it has promulgated laws in order to conserve and protect the
forest. The problem lies on that the regulations are not properly enforced to serve as a
deterrent to defaulters (Mfon et al., 2014; Aikhionbare, 2015). In addition to the
environmental policies, Nigeria has a Permanent Forest Estate (PFE) of 4,11million
hectares, comprising 1.01 million ha. of protected forest, 2,72 million ha. of natural
production forest and the rest of planted forest. The protected forests or reserves are areas
where activities such as taking and selling of forest without license, destruction of forest
estate, and kindling of fire without consent are prohibited. The number of constituted
forest reserves is 1160, it represents about 11% of the total area of the country. Although

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national parks (eight in total) and reserves have increased in the country, only 3.6% is
protected under IUCN categories I-V (Biotechnology, 2008; Mfon et al., 2014).

Reforestation is another way of protecting the forest. In Nigeria this practice needs
to be more developed. However, some attempts have been made. For instance, in 2005,
the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Agency (NESREA) was in charge
of a reforestation project where about 1 million ha were reforested (Aikhionbare, 2015).
Other attempt is the reforestation program developed by children in Ibadan (Inyang &
Esohe, 2014).

4.2 Alternative forms of cooking fuel

The technologies of cook stoves need to be improved and also the use of clean
energy instead wood fuel to be implemented. In 2014, a contract for the distribution of 20
million cooking stoves for rural areas was approved by the government (Aikhionbare,
2015). Alternative energies that could replace the wood fuel include hydro power, solar
energy and wind energy. Because of the geographical location of Nigeria the solar energy
is a great option. The country has already implemented some windmills, however, the
more they use this technology, the more clean energy they will obtain (Akinbami, Salami,
& Siyanbola, 2003).

4.3 Green economy reducing the deforestation

The environment and economic development are complementary and mutually

reinforce each other. This idea is recognized under the concept of sustainable economic
development. Sustainable development occurs when the stock of overall capital assets
remain constant or rises over time requiring at least a minimum environmental protection
and it is associated with the concept of green growth. The simple concept of green growth
is the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) which includes significant environmental
protection (Okonkwo & Uwazie, 2015).

According to Dahnlin (2010), Green growth is the means by which the current
economy can make the transition to a sustainable economy, to avoid the cost of inaction.
In other words through green growth the green economy can be achieved. Green economy

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is an economy path that uses efficiently the natural resources and improves human well-
being and social equity, while significantly reduces the impact of human activities on
environment (World Bank, 2012; Okonkwo & Uwazie, 2015; Ayuk, Oku, Asubonteng,
& Nutakor, 2016). Also, the green economy represents an attempt to mobilize more
action-oriented to sustainable development. The tree major pillars of green economy are:
(1) low-carbon technology (2) resource use efficiency and (3) socially inclusive growth
(Federal Government of Nigeria, 2012; Okonkwo & Uwazie, 2015).

Currently, Nigeria starts to gain transit into the green economy. In 2005, the
Coalition for Rainforest Nations group developed a program to reduce the rates of
deforestation and therefore the CO2 emissions where if the developing country succeeds
in the decrease of emissions receives money. Under the same conception the Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation in and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries
(REDD) was designed. With REDD countries receive money when they have reduced the
carbon emissions in the form of carbon credits and they can be spent in practices for
environmental management (O Niles, 2009). Within the idea of a Green Economy the
REDD+ is a viable option of investment in natural capital of Nigeria and can promote
green development, economic growth and alleviate poverty (Sukhdev, et al., 2011).

5 Conclusion

Africa has abundant natural resources and the forest is one of them. The forest in
Nigeria has been under threat by many years and its annual rate of deforestation is 3,5%,
which is considered one of the highest around the world. The destruction of forest has
been carried out by oil and agricultural sector and urban expansion, but mainly by poor
people who depend on the forest for their existence, these people are denied access to
land and because of high cost of gas and kerosene, they log wood as fuel for cooking. The
governmental corruption increase the problem of deforestation. Forest protection laws
have been enacted for years, as well as the establishment of nature reserves. Nevertheless,
the governmental institutions can not protect the forest due to the authorities do not
respect the limits established by lack of ecological awareness. In order to carry out a
sustainable development with the Nigerian forest, as first instance the government must
improve and reduce vulnerability to corruption.
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 Forest conservation and protection contribute to ecological balance, avoiding CO2
emissions, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, it is also an integral part of sustainable
development. Sustainable forest management is thus a critical component of any policy,
action and program that seeks to address the growing global concern about deforestation,
the impact of climate change, green economy and inclusive economic development.

For smooth and successful transition to a green economy, Nigeria must take full
advantage of the report of the Trade policy and Planning Unit of the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP). The report stated the types of opportunities arising from
the transition like sustainable agricultural methods and green energy options. The
movement to a green economy framework could provide Nigeria opportunities to take
advantages of the rich natural resource endowments as it strives to pursue sustainable
development. However, achieving the benefits of a green economy will require the
Nigerian government to put in place the institutional framework and the participation of
Nigerian people.

6 References
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Akinbami, J., Salami, A., & Siyanbola, W. (2003). An integrated strategy for sustainable forest
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Amin, M. (2014). Domestic Energy Crisis and Deforestation Challenges in Nigeria. Journal of
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