By Our Correspondent
National News – The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has raised alarm over Nigeria’s worsening environmental crisis, revealing that the country has lost nearly 90 per cent of its forest cover within the past three decades.
The conservation group warned that urgent action is needed to halt rapid deforestation threatening ecosystems, livelihoods, and long-term economic stability.
The warning came in a statement issued in Lagos to commemorate the International Day of Forests, celebrated annually on March 21.
According to the foundation, the 2026 theme, “Forests and Economies,” highlights the critical role forests play in environmental protection, climate regulation, and national development.
NCF’s Director of Communications, Policy and Advocacy, Kunle Olawoyin, explained that Nigeria currently records one of the highest deforestation rates in the world.
He said illegal logging, agricultural expansion, urban growth, and increasing demand for energy sources such as charcoal and fuelwood continue to accelerate forest loss across the country.
Olawoyin noted that over the last 30 years, Nigeria has lost almost all of its original forest landscape, leaving less than 10 per cent of the country’s natural forest cover intact.
This trend, he warned, poses severe environmental and economic consequences if urgent steps are not taken to reverse it.
He emphasised that forests are vital to agriculture, water systems, biodiversity conservation, and rural livelihoods.
Millions of Nigerians depend on forest resources for survival, yet the sector remains largely undervalued in national development planning.
The Director-General of the NCF, Dr Joseph Onoja, also stressed the importance of protecting forests for climate stability and human survival.
He questioned why societies continue to destroy ecosystems that sustain life, describing forests as “the lungs of the planet.”
To address the crisis, the organisation is implementing the Green Recovery Nigeria Programme, an initiative designed to restore the nation’s forest cover to 25 per cent by the year 2047.
Olawoyin revealed that the foundation and its partners planted 265,561 trees across various ecosystems in 2025 as part of ongoing reforestation efforts.
The NCF is also promoting community-based forest management, biodiversity conservation projects, and partnerships with government and private sector stakeholders to encourage sustainable land use.
The organisation called on governments, businesses, and citizens to strengthen forest protection, invest in conservation, and adopt sustainable resource practices to safeguard Nigeria’s remaining forests for future generations.
