Nigeria with the fourth highest deforestation rate in the world having lost above 3.7% of its forests to deforestation between 2000-2010 may witness the disappearance of this all important natural resource in 30 years.
This was the submission of Professor Jonathan Onyekwelu while delivering the 87th Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).Speaking on the topic: Sustainable Forest Management: Pathway Back to the Garden of Eden, Onyekwelu said since the colonial era, Nigerian Forests have been under intense pressure to provide timber, initially for the European market, resulting in large scale deforestation and since then the forests have continued to shrink at an alarming rate till date.
He added that if the estimated annual deforestation rate is sustained, Nigeria may become completely forestless within the next three decades.
He advised that given the precarious state of the Nigerian forests coupled with the threats posed by deforestation, degradation, adverse ecological events, climate change and other environmental pollution and human related activities , measures must be put in place to manage forests to produce goods and services at their maximum potentials through sustainable forest management.
He said evidence indicated that much of the forest loss was associated with population growth and demand of forest land for farming, grazing, conversion to other-land-forms, unsustainable levels of exploitation of forest resources, among others.
He added that forests harbour two-thirds of all terrestrial animal and plant species and are sources of over 5,000 commercially traded products ranging from pharmaceuticals to timber and clothing, also serving to store and purify drinking waters, protect soil, conserve biodiversity, provide energy and mitigate natural disasters.
The lecturer stated that deforestation is adversely affecting the capacity of Nigerian forest ecosystems to continue providing their important ecosystem services, mitigate climate change and thus continue to support the livelihood of millions of people that depend on them to meet their nutrition, social, economic and cultural needs.
The Professor of Silviculture and Forest Management said every forest ecosystem has the potential to provide important resources necessary for sustainability of human livelihood on earth however the resources can only be provided in perpetuity if the forests is sustainably managed.
Alluding to the role the forests played in biblical times the Don said, the forest was given adequate management by Adam the first man, in response to the mandate given to him by God to “Cultivate and guard it” which meant that he was to explore, exploit and increase the availability and productivity of the trees in the forest to meet his immediate needs and that of future generations, which is the whole essence of sustainable management.
The lecturer, a Alexander Von Humboldt scholar defined Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) as the management and use of forests, forest products and services as well as forest lands in a way and at a rate that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and potentials to fulfill now and in future relevant ecological, economic and social functions at local, national and global levels and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.
The Don submitted that despite the merits and the wide spread global support for SFM, the Nigerian forests are far from being sustainably managed due to numerous problems such as weak and ineffective silvicultural systems, deforestation, forest degradation, lack of up-to-date information on forest conditions, lack of forest management plan, ineffective forest policy instrument, paucity of qualified forestry experts and insufficient funds.
On the way forward, Professor Onyekwelu proposed the deployment of agroforestry practices which entails the deliberate inclusion of trees in agricultural landscapes. According to him Agroforestry is one of the major strategies of SFM and poverty reduction achieved through market driven, locally led tree cultivation systems that generates income, builds assets and conserve biodiversity.
Onyekwelu also called for the promotion of a community based forest management and traditional forest management system (sacred groves) in Nigeria. He said that traditional forest conservation systems have been practiced for centuries before the advent of conventional system stems in the form of sacred groves, adding that sacred groves which are tracts of virgin forests left untouched and protected by local inhabitants for their cultural and spiritual significance are ‘mini biosphere reserves;’ refuge for endangered species, repository of rare and endemic species and biodiversity hot spots.
The Don recommended that local and national capacities for effective implementation and enforcement of forest laws and policies should be strengthened while forest personnel should be empowered to arrest and prosecute illegal fellers and forest encroachers.
Onyekwelu said that through SFM, the Nigerian forest ecosystems can be re-positioned to supply goods and services in perpetuity if appropriate measures are put in place to ensure that the forests are sustainably managed. Such measures include rehabilitation and restoration of degraded forests, forest plantation establishment and management, urban and Peri-urban forestry, domestication of forest fruit tree species agro forestry practices and an efficient forest management plan.
In his remarks at the occasion the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adeola Fuwape described the lecturer as an erudite Professor who has contributed immensely to research and academic development in his field of specialization.
The Vice-Chancellor said Onyekwelu has demonstrated his intellectual prowess in his field and has been a consistently productive scholar in addition to providing leadership both for his students and younger academics since he took up appointment in the University.
