JUMADA-AWWAL 7, 1429 A.H.
TUESDAY, MAY 13 2008
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Nigerian plants, trees face extinction – Forestry expert
Owing to the unrelenting illegal activities of loggers and poachers, a number of trees and plants in Nigeria are on the verge of extinction, according to a forestry expert.
``Some trees and plants have already gone into extinction and some are under severe threat of extinction,'' said Dr Solomon Badejo, the Executive Director of the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Ibadan.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Ibadan that trees such as ebony, iroko, mahogany and mansonia would soon be extinct.
``In the past, these trees were in abundance in the country, they are becoming difficult to get now,'' he said.
Badejo blamed the problem on the activities of illegal loggers who, he said, also deprived the government of a lot of revenue.
``When you cut down a tree, you are expected to pay the government some money.
''It is this revenue that the government will fall back on to manage the forest and when such money is not coming in, there is a big problem,'' he said.
To save the forest, the FRIN chief suggested that the nation's tree planting drive be intensified.
``The threatened species can be established in plantations and managed effectively to provide sustainable resources,'' he said.
He called on the government to make funds available to encourage research into areas of improving the regeneration of some of the threatened species.
Badejo also said this could be achieved through biotechnology.
He said FRIN was currently focusing on propagating some indigenous trees at the nursery level.
On the institute's latest research feat, he said it had successfully propagated mangrove tree species, which are indigenous to the Niger Delta region, at the nursery level.
Badejo said 54-year-old institute was mandated to conduct research into all aspects of forestry, wildlife management, agro-forestry and forest products utilisation.
