Getting the youths involved in conservation could help preserve Africa’s forests, sustain efforts on reforestation, and slow down the alarming rate of deforestation and natural resource degradation, says Nteranya Sanginga, IITA Director General.
Between 1990 and 2005 alone, the world lost 3.3% of its forest cover. The Guinean Rainforest (GRF) of West Africa, identified as a global biodiversity hotspot over 20 years ago, has shrunk to 113,000 sq km by the start of the new millennium, or to just only 18% of its original size. Nigeria loses 3.5% of its forests every year – or about 350,000 to 400,000 ha of forest l and – due to various economic and social reasons.
“This situation has led to global warming, loss of biodiversity and soil degradation, and contributing to the low yields that farmers are now experiencing,” says Sanginga at the official launch of the Nigerian Field Society Young Explorers (NFSYE) in Ibadan.
“You, the youth, if you start acting now, you could help stop this trend of environmental destruction and save this world that we live in. You are our hope, our future,” he emphasized as he addressed the new members of the NFSYE.
David Okali, Nigeria’s first professor of forestry and the immediate past president of the Nigerian Field Society (NFS), notes that the impact of deforestation and degradation on the environment and livelihoods is enormous. Meanwhile, Funso Adeniyi, current NFS president, emphasized the importance of forming the youth wing of the NFS, the oldest NGO in Nigeria at 81 years.
“The time for action is now and the youths, who will soon be the custodian of these resources, must be involved,” they said.
Recent studies show that forests in Nigeria now occupy only about 923,767 km2, or about 10 million ha. This is around 10% of Nigeria’s total l and area and well below the FAO’s recommended national minimum of 25%.
Scientists say that one of the principal drivers of this environmental change across West Africa has been the expansion of low-input smallholder agriculture that depends on environmentally destructive practices such as slash- and-burn and l and clearing. Other factors driving deforestation include infrastructural and estate development.
John Peacock, coordinator of the IITA-Leventis Foundation project, notes that agricultural intensification could help reduce the rate of deforestation in the region.
“If farmers get improved seeds and inputs such as fertilizers, and are trained, they would not need to slash and burn or embark on practices that will harm the forests,” he says.
“This makes IITA’s work on improving the productivity of crops a cornerstone in curbing deforestation and soil degradation.”
Dipo Ajiroba, Chairman of the newly launched NFSYE, commended the Nigerian Field Society and the IITA-Leventis project for making the youths the vanguard of forest protection and natural resource management.
He promised that the organization would recruit youths who are committed to the cause of environmental protection and raise awareness on the negative effects of deforestation, as a response in curbing forest loss.
Inaugurated in early 2010, the IITA-Leventis Project works on restoring the existing IITA Forest, controlling invasive plant species, multiplying and preserving indigenous species, and replanting the forest to control erosion, protect watersheds, and increase biodiversity.
To date, the project has propagated over 36,000 young trees of more than 60 different species from seeds, cuttings, and wildlings collected from the IITA campus. Some 3,000 of these have been planted along a 2.6-km stretch of former farml and within IITA. In the coming years, the project plans to plant more trees within the 1000-ha IITA-Ibadan campus which is also home to one of the few surviving stretches of secondary forests in West Africa.
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