Nigeria lost 96% resources to deforestation – NCF

Nigeria has lost 96 per cent of its forest due to deforestation, the Director-General, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Muhtari Aminu-Kano has said.
According to him, the country currently has only four per cent of itsoriginal forest cover.
“About 96 per cent of our original forest has been lost; it is catastrophic.
It is sad that we are losing vegetation cover and there is absolute need to make concerted efforts to grow more trees because the more the merrier not only in Lagos but across the country, “he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Aminu-Kano said the NCF was exploring ways of increasing the country’s vegetation from four per cent to at least 25 per cent in the next 30 years.
One of the ways, he said, is to plant more trees and stop felling of trees as fuel for cooking and furniture purposes.
The director-general said: “We are exploring ways of gaining back some of what we have lost through the `Green Recovery Nigeria Initiative’ that will bring stakeholders like the government, faith leaders, traditional rulers and others to thinker on solutions.
“We have only four per cent of our original forest cover now and we think that is catastrophic and requires massive efforts to in creasethat coverage to at least 25 per cent across the country in 30 years.
“We want to see more trees everywhere because they will help to save humanity from global warming as they breathe in what we breathe out and then they breathe out what we breathe in for survival.’’ Aminu-Kano called for urban regeneration like the one being implemented by the Lagos State Parks and Gardens (LASPARK), describing it as commendable.