A Professor of Botany at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Anthony Odiwe, has called for coordinated efforts among government agencies, research institutions, the private sector and civil society organisations to ensure sustainable forest management in Nigeria.
Odiwe also urged forest-dependent communities to actively participate in conservation efforts through participatory governance and sustainable livelihood opportunities that support ecosystem services.
The don made the call while delivering the institution’s 423rd inaugural lecture.
In a copy of the lecture titled “Human Exploration of Forest Ecosystems: A Blessing or a Curse?”, obtained in Osogbo on Wednesday, Odiwe said evidence from three decades of ecological research had shown that human exploration of forests is neither inherently beneficial nor inevitably destructive.
According to him, the outcome of such exploration depends largely on its manner, intensity and purpose.
“Human exploration becomes a blessing only when it evolves into stewardship. It is therefore obvious that forests are not victims of exploration but of unregulated exploitation,” he said.
He urged policymakers to adopt ecosystem-based forest policies that recognise forests as more than sources of timber and land.
According to him, such policies should also account for carbon storage, nutrient cycling, biodiversity conservation, watershed protection and other ecosystem services.
The professor identified pollution as a major contributor to forest degradation and called for conservation efforts that address the impact of agrochemicals, industrial emissions and waste disposal.
Odiwe, who is also the chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, lamented Nigeria’s high rate of deforestation.
“We must do everything possible to preserve our environment. Preservation does not mean we will not make use of our environment, but we must do it in such a way that it is sustainable. We must not destroy our environment,” he said.
He further decried the widespread destruction of forests across the country.
“We have destroyed our forests. You can hardly go anywhere and find a forest. You can’t even find a secondary forest, let alone talk about a primary forest,” he said.
According to him, many of the environmental challenges confronting Nigeria are linked to degraded ecosystems.
He explained that the lecture was intended to raise awareness that environmental protection is not the responsibility of botanists and foresters alone but a collective duty.
Odiwe therefore called on Nigerians to work together to protect the environment and develop collaborative solutions to the challenges facing the country’s forest ecosystems.
“There has to be collaboration between the government, academics and everyone involved. We must first be convinced that we need to protect our environment. Once that is done, we can begin to build the synergy needed to address these challenges,” he said.