Trees
By Uwumarogie Peter
Gombe, June 6, 2018 (2018) Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), a World Bank-assisted project, has decried the increasing wave of indiscriminate tree felling in Gombe State.
Mr Bala-Dozen Nayaya, the State Project Coordinator of NEWMAP, made the observation in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Wednesday.
He said that uncontrolled tree felling would aggravate the menace of desert encroachment, erosion and poor soil health in the state.
Nayaya said that statistics on deforestation in the state were frightening, adding that stakeholders should urgently make concerted efforts to tackle the large-scale deforestation going on the state.
He stressed that deforestation was the major cause of flooding in the state, saying that over 80 per cent of the 25 gazetted forests in the state had been depleted.
“From our research, over 200 truckloads of firewood were transported from our forests down to the city every day.
“It is unfortunate that this is happening without any form of restrictions.
“The activities of those perpetrating deforestation could be likened to an act of insurgency which needs very serious attention.
“We have 25 gazetted forests in the state and about 80 per cent of these forests have been depleted now.
“Some of the logs are being exported to Niger Republic through Kano. We have the records and if indiscriminate logging is not addressed, the result in a couple of years can be better imagined than experienced.
“If this is allowed to continue, we will soon experience desert encroachment, increased gully erosion and poor soil health, which would render the soil agriculturally useless.
“Cutting down trees is the major cause of exposing the soil to erosion. Without plant cover, erosion could occur and sweep the topsoil into rivers; this is what we are experiencing today.
“The flooding in Gombe has its roots in deforestation, which is still ongoing indiscriminately in most forests and villages,’’ he said.
Nayaya appealed to all stakeholders to collectively check the environmental menace by discouraging deforestation and encouraging the culture of tree planting.
He said that NEWMAP would make available alternative energy cooking stoves at low cost , so as to reduce the population of households that depended solely on firewood for their cooking. (NAN)
UP/JTJ/OOK
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Edited by Julius Toba Jegede and Dayo Komolafe