Nigeria: Our Disappearing Forests

25 February 2013

THERE are many threats to the Nigerian state. The depletion of her forests and general mismanagement of the environment pose one of the rarely-talked about threats. Nigeria is located in what could be called the epicentre of the tropical rain forest belt, yet nearly 95 per cent of her forest cover has gone through unmitigated mismanagement.

According to the Institute of International Tropical Agriculture, IITA, "The deforestation rate in the country is about 3.5 per cent per year, translating to a loss of 350,000-400,000 hectares of forest land per year. Between 1990 and 2005 alone, the world lost 3.3 per cent of its forests while Nigeria lost 21 per cent."

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