climate change mitigation and restoration of forest … · climate change mitigation and...

International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 5, Issue 4, April-2016 1 ISSN 2278-7763

Copyright © 2016 SciResPub. IJOART

CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND RESTORATION OF FOREST AND

DEGRADED LANDS;ITS IMPACTS ON ECONOMIC MELTDOWN IN NIGERIA

BY PIUS AKINDELE ADENIYI PhD, FEDERAL MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT,

DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY. ADO-EKITI, EKITI STATE. NIGERIA

+2348168046355 [email protected]

Abstract

Climate change is a major concern of the whole world. It is mostly caused by human

activities since the industrial revolution through the use of fossil fuels, cement

production, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices which has doubled

the amount of green house gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. The menace thus resulted

in climate-weather variations on all temporal and spatial scales, ranging from short-

lived severe storms to decadal droughts arid century shifts in temperature and ice

cover. The expansion of agriculture over the past three decades involved the cultivation

of marginal areas and clearance of important natural habitats such as forests and

wetlands. The conversion has now become major driving force behind land

degradation. Loss of natural habitats has reduced vegetation cover and exposed soils

to wind and water erosion which leads to a significant reduction of the productive

capacity of land.

Macroeconomics variables such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), External Reserve,

External Debt, Domestic Debt, Inflation Rate, Populationgrowth rate and incidence of

Poverty were employed as indicators in the analysis of economic meltdown in Nigeria.

Data on the indicators from 1991 to 2008 were analysed by the use of simple statistical

tools such as bar charts, pie chart and trend analysis to determine economic growth

rate within the period. Contributions of forestry to the Nigeria economy (GDP) from

1960 to 2008 were also examined. Inferences were made in relation to the charts and

the results shows that economic meltdown is already affecting Nigeria following the

crash in oil prices and devaluation of currency (Nigerian Naira) against American dollar

which has translated to increased Inflation rate, high level of poverty as well as low

demand for and high cost of forest products around the world. Suggestions on possible

solutions to lessen the effects of economic meltdown were further discussed. The

paper therefore reviewed the role of afforestation resources in climate change

mitigation and restoration of degraded land.

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The objectives of this paper is to evaluate the present state of the Nigeria Economy as

well as investigating into the future impacts of the present economic meltdown on

sustainable forest management and the environment

Keywords:Economic Meltdown, Sustainable Forest Management, Nigeria Economy.

Afforestation, climate change, land degradation, biodiversity.

Introduction

The awareness on climate change has spread at an unprecedented pace and climate

change is now accepted as a major threat to human survival and sustainable

development. Climate change has been defined by the Intergovemmental Panel on

Climate Change (IPCC) as statistically significant variations that persist for an extended

period, typically decades or longer (IPCC, 2001). It includes shifts in the frequency and

magnitude of sporadic weather events as well as the slow continuous rise in global

mean surface temperature (Fig. 1). This includes climate-weather variations on all

temporal and spatial scales, ranging from short-lived severe storms to decadal

droughts and century shifts in temperature and ice cover. Crop and livestock responses

to changing climate are initial consequences that may lead to changes in agricultural

production and food security world wide[1]

Afforestation is the planting of trees to create a forest on non-forest land. It is different

from reforestation, which is replanting trees where a forest has been depleted. The

main purposes for implementing afforestation are commercial forestry and

environmental restoration or preservation. When afforestation is used for commercial

purposes, it usually involves planting and harvesting of trees as agricultural crops.

Areas where this is done are known as plantation forests. Harvesting trees from

plantation forests helps to reduce deforestation in natural forests. On the other hand,

there may be environmental consequences if this tree-farming is done incorrectly. The

fast-growing trees often chosen for plantation forests consume large amounts of water

and may deplete the area's water resources. Some types of trees also change the

physical or chemical properties of the soil, which can damage indigenous species.

Thus, sustainable commercial afforestation must take environmental factors into

account to avoid damaging the local ecosystem [1,7]

Introduction

The world is experiencing global economic downturn and its effect on nations' economy

cannot be over emphasized where production as measured by Gross Domestic Product

(GDP), employment, investment spending, capacity utilization, household incomes and

business profits all fall during recessions. Recession is a general slowdown in economic

activity over a sustained period of time, or a business cycle contraction. Global

recession affects global demand for goods; it reflects in sharp decline in global

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commodity price as well as also reflects in many developed markets. The International

Monetary Fund (IMF) regards periods when global growth is less than 3% to be global

recessions. The IMF estimates that global recessions seem to occur over a cycle lasting

between 8 and 10 years. The current meltdown seemed the worst since the end ofthe

World War II in 1945 [2]The background to the global economic meltdown represents "a

worldwide recession that is slowing down economic growth and development in virtually

all sectors and across economic regions of the world". Economic meltdown can also be

described as "a crisis situation whereby the resources that are supposed to be available

for usage are either very scarce or not available, leading to the inability of political

leaders to meet targets, plans and programmes".

A direct result of the meltdown has been the emergence of recession in the global

economy.

The United States, Japan, Nigeria and most European countries have acknowledged

that their economies have entered into recession. Different explanations by different

economists were given to the term "recession". The causes of this global meltdown are

enormous ranging from increasing pressure on banks and financial institution to raise

capital thereby recalling back their loans and refusing to lend, rising illiquidity, stock

market burst as well as potential financial instability. Since the commencement of the

current global financial crisis, its implications on nation's economy are large in areas

such as revenue contraction, declining capital inflows in the economy, commodity price

collapse (especially oil price), limited foreign trade finances for banks, pressure on

exchange rates, rising interest rates and de-accumulation of foreign reserves. The

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the global economic meltdown is

affecting the world forestry as the demand for wood and wood products has declined.

Speaking at the State of the World's Forests 2009, the Assistant Director-General

ofFAO's forestry department, Mr. Jan Heino said as a result of the collapse in the

housing sector and the credit crunch, economic meltdown are already having a severe

negative impact on investments in industries and also on forest management. This

paper therefore focuses and critically examines the impact of the recent economic

meltdown on forestry management and development, the present state of the Nigerian

economy since the inception of global recession and to proffer solution on the

government and forestry as a whole can help reduce the impact of the economic

meltdown on Nigeria's economy

Causes of Climate Change and its Effects

The current change in global temperature has been a major topic of discussion in

recent times as a result of its envisaged effects on the patterns of global economic and

industrial development aspirations [3] Climate change, mostly caused by human

activities since the industrial revolution through the use of fossil fuels, cement

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production, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices has doubled the

amount of green house gases (GHG) in the atmosphere [4]Global scientific consensus

confirms that the effects of these heat trapping gases have already caused global

temperature to rise by 0.5°C and that if the trend continues, temperature will increase

by 1.4°C to 5.8°C by 2100. Scientists agreed that the rising concentrations of

anthropogenecally produced green house gases on the earth's atmosphere are

responsible for changes in climate change. The green house gases include carbon

dioxide, methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N20) from agriculture and "trace gases" or

artificial chemicals including hydrocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride [4] Although, Africa

contribute the least to global emission of Green House Gases (GHG's), it is the most

vulnerable due to its dependence on rainfed agriculture, widespread poverty and weak

capacity .[6,7] Consequently, the cumulative impacts of climate change over the next

two or three decades have the potential to reverse some of the progress made towards

attainment of the Millennium Development Goals [6,7].

Land degradation

Land degradation is defined as the long-term loss of ecosystem function and

p4roductivity caused by disturbances from which the land cannot recover unaided .[8]

Land degradation occurs slowly and cumulatively and has long lasting impacts on rural

people who become increasingly vulnerable .[9] The expansion of agriculture over the

past three decades involved the cultivation of marginal areas, or clearance of important

natural habitats such as forests and wetlands. Such conversion is a major driving force

behind land degradation. Many African rural communities survive by moving their cattle

and crops as subsiding floodwaters expose enriched bottomlands and floodplains.

Draining wetlands foragriculture therefore threatens not only habitats and biodiversity

but also the livelihoods of pastoralists and wildlife.

Loss of natural habitats has reduced vegetation cover and exposed soils to wind and

water erosion. Wind and water erosion is extensive in many parts of Africa with about

25 per cent of the land prone to water erosion and about 22 per cent to wind erosion

[5,10]

Soil erosion reduces the productivity of land, requiring farmers to apply more and more

fertilizers and other chemicals that help check falling productivity. However, many small-

scale farmers cannot afford to buy these inputs and so get low yields.

Land degradation leads to a significant reduction of the productive capacity of land.

Human activities contributing to land degradation include unsuitable agricultural land

use (Fig. 3), poor soil and water management practices, deforestation, removal of

natural vegetation, frequent use of heavy machinery, overgrazing, improper crop

rotation and poor irrigation practices. Natural disasters, including droughts, floods and

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landslides, also contribute. A Global Assessment of Soil Degradation (GLASOD) was

undertaken in the early 1990s 8,9] and a land degradation assessment of dry lands

(LADA) was initiated by GEF and UNEP in 2000 and is now being developed with FAO.

It has been estimated that 23 per cent of all usable land (excluding mountains and

deserts, for example) has been affected by degradation to a degree sufficient to reduce

its productivity [8’9]). Soil erosion is a major factor in land degradation and has severe

effects on soil functions - such as the soil's ability to act as a buffer and filter for

pollutants, its role in the hydrological and nitrogen cycle, and its ability to provide habitat

and support biodiversity [8’9]. About 2000 million ha of soil, equivalent to 15 per cent of

the Earth's land area (an area larger than the United States and Mexico combined),

have been degraded through human activities[.8.9] The main types of soil degradation

are water erosion degradation (56%) (Fig. 2), wind erosion degradation (28%), chemical

degradation (12%) and physical degradation (4%). Causes of soil degradation include

overgrazing (35%), deforestation (30%), agricultural activities (27%), overexploitation of

vegetation (7%) and industrial activities (1 %) .[8,9]

Afforestation

Forests absorb greenhouse gases, and even after trees are cut they will store carbon

for decades if used as building materials. Using wood as biomass energy allows a

reduction in the use of oil and other fossil fuels [11]. Afforestation and subsequent uses

of wood make it possible to slow the pace of global warming. Because afforestation

costs less than energy conservation and other methods, it generates expectations as

one way of coping with global warming. Additionally, it is believed that planting trees in

developing countries will cost less and provide larger areas for afforestation than in

developed countries [1]. Accordingly, having developed countries fund afforestation in

developing countries is regarded as a part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases

emissions. The IPCC has been asked to evaluate afforestation as a carbon sink, and it

is also under continuing consideration to determine a specific framework in the CDM [7]

Role of Afforestation in Climate Change Mitigation

Forests and all vegetation play an important role in reducing greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere because trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air. When a

forest is increasing in size it absorbs CO2as part of the process of increasing its

biomass and is referred to as a carbon "sink". Once the forest reaches maturity the

carbon density remains approximately constant [1]This is called a carbon "reservoir".

When a forest is cleared much of the stored carbon is rapidly converted to carbon

dioxide and the forest is a source of CO2. Maintenance of existing biomass stocks (e.g.

forests and forest products) is a key to avoiding further emissions of greenhouse gases.

This includes protection of native and exotic forests which are both substantial carbon

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reservoirs. If the area under these lands uses increase, or their condition improves, this

can represent a significant carbon sink .[1]

Methods to mitigate Climate Change through Afforestation

Increasing afforestation

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An option to continue to increase CO2absorption is to plant new forests. The rate of

carbon accumulation, and the maximum at maturity, will depend on the species, site

and management system used. Depending on the objectives and constraints of each

situation, trees may be planted in farm forestry systems (e.g. shelterbelts) or in

continuous blocks, in a single year or over successive years. Each system will have

different characteristics as a sink and reservoir.

Managing forests to store carbon

There are several ways to increase a forest's carbon sink (the rate at which carbon is

sequestered or absorbed from the air and turned into carbon in a plant) or reservoir (its

capacity to store carbon). Increasing the rotation age allows the trees more time to grow

and increases the carbon reservoir in the mature forest. A change in forest

management may also increase carbon storage potential, for example a regime with no

thinning or pruning may contain more carbon than a more intensive regime [1]

It is possible to retain a forest as a carbon reservoir and not harvest it. Some species

are more suited to this than others. If the trees are not harvested, the carbon content

will not increase past a given point. However, if they are harvested they may be turned

into wood products, and could thus extend the time before the carbon is released back

to the atmosphere .[7]

The Role of Bio-energy

Bio-energy is a term used to describe energy sources from the conversion of plant

material such as crops, wood and plant waste. A term commonly used to describe all

plant material is "biomass"[1]. Bio-energy, when used in place of fuels containing fossil

carbon such as oil, can help reduce the risks of global warming. This is because the

carbon from living material remains within the natural carbon cycle.

Bio-energy Opportunities in Forestry and Agriculture

The forestry industry' produces considerable volumes of "waste" both in the forest and

the processing plant. Pruning, thinning and harvesting waste is either burned or left in

the forest to decay or, while processing, residues are often taken off-site and left to

decay.

Wood products, once they have served a useful life, also become 'wastes'. If this waste

is utilised to produce energy, the carbon is released more quickly, but it can prevent the

emissions associated with the use of the fossil fuel [4]

There are a number of options available for growing dedicated bio-energy crops in

addition to using waste products. Some countries are encouraging farmers to grow oil

seed crops (e.g. Soya, linseed) for the production of transport fuels. An alternative

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option is to grow fast growing crops such as eucalyptus which produce large volumes of

biomass very quickly. Some of the tree species being considered can be grown on

coppice cycles of up to 5 years; every time the above-ground biomass is harvested,

new shoots emerge from the cut stumps to produce the next crop, hence avoiding the

need for replanting .[4]

Restoration of Degraded land through Afforestation

Forest trees enhance sustainable agriculture through their productive function on the

environment .[12] They protect agricultural land from degradation; improve the soil

fertility and texture of forest land (Fig 4). In part of sudano-sahelian region, the

presence of trees on farm or open lands reduces the drying effect of the prevailing wind

on the soil and so conserves soil moisture required for good crop growth and

development [13] Trees reduce wind speed and the movement of sand over the

environment in general. The presence of forest had been known to reduce the

devastating effects of turbulent windstorms. This is so because trees control wind by

obstruction guidance, deflection and filtration. The obstructive influences of trees lie in

their resistance to winds (as wind breaks) thereby reducing wind speeds. Trees reduce

the effect of erosion by maintaining soil erosion resistance. Soil resistance maintenance

is brought about by sustaining soil organic matter and thereby improving soil structure

through the addition of plant residues. The greatest potential for reducing erosion rate,

however is the ground cover effect created by tree litter fall .[4]

Present State of the Nigerian Economy

Nigeria has begun to take its share of the global financial crisis when the Nigerian

Stock Exchange (NSE) started to record unprecedented losses in the value of shares

of companies listed on the market. In 2008, the Nigerian Stock Exchange lost about

N556 Billion when the foreign nationals who had invested in Nigeria economy pulled

out their money to shore up their native economies, between 2008 and 2009 the

Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has lost trillions of naira in the market, apart from the

mega losses by investors in the Nigerian Stock Exchange, other areas in which the

current global economic chaos already affecting Nigeria includes banking, housing and

credit, and also food stuff in the market. Nigerian economy depend mainly on oil for

over 60% of its total revenues, and also 90% of her foreign exchange earnings [14],

this result has led to the neglect of various sectors in the country. The collapse of oil

prices from 147 dollars per barrel in July 2008 to between 40 dollars and 44 dollars

surely had an immediate effectbecause itwas not handled properly, disastrous impact

on the budgets of all the Governments of the federation as Nigeria economy is not

isolated from the global economic crises. Its effects on the country includes lower

growth rate, devaluation of currency, translating into higher poverty index, increased

crime rate, weaker health systems and difficulty in meeting the targets of the

Millennium Development Goals and the 7 points agenda [15]. As a result of the

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economic downturn, Nigeria Naira has been depreciated against the American Dollar

since 2008. The gradual increase in oil prices per barrel from $65 in 2000 to $147 in

the first quarter of 2008 has led to increased Gross Domestic Product (GDP, which

measures the value of all goods and services produced within the confines of a

country by both nationals and non nationals resident within that country), economic

growth and development in the country. Between 2000 and 2007 the incidence of

poverty in the country dropped from 60% to 54.4% while life expectancy remains at 54

years at birth [.16]With the present situation of the Nigeria Economy there is tendency

for incidence of poverty to rise up to 70%. The chart below shows the Nigeria GDP

between 1991 and 2008.

Figure 5: Nigeria GDP between 1991-2008

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Figure 5 shows a significant increase in the GDP between 2002 and 2008, this can be

translated to a sustained economic growth which is attributed to the increase in oil

prices per barrel that is above the budget benchmark and the pay-off of Federal

Government debts. Increases in GDP during this period also represent an increased

standard of living. The percentage increase in population growth from 2.8% to 3.2%

between 2004 and 2008 as shown in figure 6 above which indicates an increase in

Government spending in the provision of public goods and services, increase in

population also leads to increased destruction of the forests in Nigeria through human

activities such as buildings and industrial activities [23], though Adult literacy rate moved

from 62% to 66.9% this implies an increase in human resources development that

contributed to GDP within this period. As the population grows the Government

spending also increases so as to meet the pressing needs of the people, government

may need to borrow in a situation of economic crisis like this and it will lead to

accumulation of debts and economic instability.

Sustainable Forest Management and Economic Meltdown

Forestry: the management of forestlands for maximum sustained yield of forest

resources and benefits. Much research and development has been invested in

improving varieties of trees for commercial use and in better methods of planting, pest

control, thinning, felling, and extraction and of processing timber into usable products.

Forestry production increased modestly by 2.7% to 145.6 million cubic metres above its

level in 2006 and contribute 3,589.4 (N Million) to the GDP in 2008 this is an increase of

5.8% over 2007. The rise was attributed to increased demand for wood products. In

order to sustain wood production, the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN)

intensified the supply of improved breeder seedlings to replace the harvested trees

stocks [16]. The chart below shows the contributions of Forestry and other departments

of Agriculture to the GDP in Nigeria from 1960 to 2008.

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From the chart above, Forestry contributed 1%to the total agricultural production which

is not significant compared to the 90% from crop production in 2008 though, most forest

lands in Nigeria today has been acquired, destroyed and used for crop production and

industrial activities thereby limiting forests outputs and its contribution to the economy.

Forest management is not exempted from the economic crisis judging by the alarming

increase in the prices of goods and services and the low demand for forest products. If

the economic meltdown persists the contributions of forestry to the economic growth will

decline as most forest lands will be taken over for farming operations as a result of

larger number of people turning into farming for survival, also there will be increase in

biodiversity loss and disappearance of other unquantifiable services renders by

Forestry. Apart from the GDP instrument, other macroeconomic variables to be adopted

in the study of economic meltdown and its impacts on sustainable forest management

include External reserves, External debt, Domestic debt, Inflation rate, Population

growth rate, and Incidence of poverty.

Figure 8 above represent the Nigeria External reserve, External debt and Domestic

debt from 1991 to 2008. Nigeria's external debt was substantially reduced following the

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pay- off of the outstanding debts owed to the London Clubs and the Paris Club in 2006.

In the eight years of Obasanjo government, crude oil price went up and the price was

always above the budget benchmark. The contribution of crude oil to the GDP rose

from 0.3% in 1960 to 40.6% in 2002 while 95% of exporting earnings is from crude oil

.[14] The period of 2002 to 2007 saw a rapid economic growth as the prices of crude oil

moved gradually from $60 to $65 and later to $147; during this period the excess

accrued from crude oil amounted to $59,812.90 millions.[17] Economist around the

country advised the government that the excess be saved for the rainy day, thus the

excess Crude Oil Account was created. But, soon afterwards, the account became

contentious and the need to share the proceeds became a national issue. The account

was shared to a point of depletion, if the savings made during this period were intact,

Nigeria would have some funds to fall back on. Today, the financial meltdown has left

the global economy in a deep recession almost of equal proportion of the great

depression of 1930s .[18] The trend of inflation in figure 5 followed the pattern of

economic growth recorded between 2000 and 2007, as the Government revenue from

oil and other sectors increases, external reserve also increases and there was enough

money to fund the budget, plans and projects. During this period, inflation reduced

significantly accompanied by improved standard of living. The crashed from $147 to

$44 per barrel surely affected the Federal Government budget and those of the states

were frustrated as there was not enough resources to finance the recurrent

expenditure of about N1.6 trillion, and even the capital projects. The $500 million an

equivalent ofN75 billion loan borrowed by the Federal Government Nigeria (FGN)

between 2008 and 2009 [,19] as greatly shoot up the external debt this already having

effect on the value of Nigeria Naira in relation to exchange rate, coupled with the

present economic crisis in the country the prices of goods most especially food stuff

and other forest products like woods has increased tremendously. The upward slope of

the trend between the third quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009 in figure 9

indicates a pre-hyper inflation. Government workers must know that if the situation in

the oil market does not improve government across the country that depend mainly on

Federation Account allocation may face months of unpaid salaries as we have already.

How can Economic meltdown affect Sustainable Forest Management (SFM)?

. Economic -meltdown can affect sustainable forest management in many ways;

Cut-down of research budgetary allocation; if that is the case then less research

activities should be expected.

~ ,.,

Continuous fall in the demand for forest products due to high costs and reduction

in the purchasing power

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• .. If it last than expected, it may affect workers' promotion, advancement, and even

retrenchment may take place, due to shortage of fund, this already affecting most

financial institutions and telecommunication companies.

There will be a long lasting effect on human capital development in form of

insufficient fund for training, organization of seminars and workshops.

• Reduction of awarded contracts

Reduction or non availability of funds for the purchase of new office buildings,

furniture and equipment

Insufficient fund for international travels

Parts of the forest land may be hijacked for farming, this will lead to the cutting

down of forest trees and destruction of the forest biodiversities making the

environment to be prone to erosion, desertification, drought, and other disasters.

This activity may trigger climate change and its effect is shortage of food and

outbreak of sickness and diseases.

How can Economic meltdown affect Individual?

To mention but few, economic meltdown can affect individual through:

.

Reduction in Purchasing power and high inflation rate:this is a situation where

by much more money chasing very few goods. This is already happening in the

Nigeria market. A widow who also worked in forestry was interviewed on the effect

of economic meltdown and she has this to say "I spentN15, 000 per month in 2008

to provide food for my household but since April, 2009 I spent nothing less than

N25, 000 on food stuff every month". She said that this high food and cost other

commodities have claimed wish percentage of her monthly income.The situation is

worst than that now.

Health Problems: the loss in the value of stocks recorded by the Nigeria Stock

Exchange market in 2008 has caused a lot ofhea1th problems in the country.

According to a field survey by Adebayo and)[20], in every ten households in Oyo

State there is probability of at least 1 to 4 (P(l <N <4) hypertensive patients.

Health experts say hypertension is a silent killer and worse than HIV/AIDS

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Reduction in life expectancy rate: Health scientists around the country have

recorded an increase in sicknesses and diseases in the early 2009, life expectancy

is at 54years )[21] and this may be attributed to scarce resources to take good care

of their health. They predict an increase in various diseases such as stroke,

blindness, mental stress and sudden death if there is no quick intervention to

mitigating the economic crisis.

How can Economic meltdown affect the Government?

Disruption in plans, policies and programmes: with the current state of

economic meltdown in the country, most of the Federal Government's highlighted

goals and meltdown in the country, objectives such as Millennium Development

Goals (MOG's), 7 Point Agenda, Vision 2020, Re-branding Nigeria may not be

achievable. State Government may also lack fund to implement their plans and

programmes this leads to government failure.

• Sociopolitical and Economic instability: as economic meltdown affects every

sectors of the economic, all social, political and economic activities in the country

becomes paralysed. There are likely to be. inflation, continuous demand for salary

increase, more strikes, more crimes and corruption etc.

Increasing Public and Domestic Debt:

this will have a serious impact on the economy as well as the image of the country.

Growth and Development: developed economies like the USA, EU, China, United

Kingdom, France, and Japan are crying of collapsed economy, what would a

country like Nigeria that is still growing do? Growth rate of the Nigeria economy is

measured by the GDP. Over ~ 5% of the country's GDP is from crude oil, now that

the price of crude oil has fallen the growth rate would automatically fall.

.

What can Forestry do to help in this time of Economic Crisis?

Forests have sustained life on earth through the ages by supplying of food, medicine,

energy, shelter, fodder, wood and non-wood forest products which are a source of

economic development for individuals and communities. Forests also have cultural and

spiritual values, protect biodiversity and conserve soil and water, protecting our

environment from desertification and erosion. Forests are indeed a source of life.

Forestry can help in this time of economic crisis by using the resources on ground to

intensify more efforts on the areas of establishing more forests and maintaining the

existing ones since forests helps to maintain ecological balance and biodiversity,

influence weather patterns and climate [22]. This will help to increase forest products

such as wood, food, fuel, forage, fodder, fibre, honey, mushroom, vegetables,

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medicines, bush meat, fruits, and create more jobs and income. With these, forestry will

goalong way to help the country in this hard time of economic meltdown.

What can we do to help ourselves?

1. Cultivate the habit of savings; spend less and save more.

2. Invest in areas that can generate additional income

3. Spend only on your basic needs such as food, education of children etc,

4. Prayers; Nigerians are deeply religious people and with the economic crisis hitting

hard on the people, there could be no better time to seek divine intervention than

now.

What is the Nigerian Government doing?

A new National economic management framework aimed at dealing holistically with the

impact of the global economic meltdown on Nigeria has been established by President

MuhammaduBuhari

The committee has come up with recommendations which the Federal Government

has to approve.

Recommendation

Afforestation plays very important roles in environmental stabilization. They help in

ameliorating microclimates and influence global climate by acting as sink of carbon-

dioxide. Trees/forests help in controlling land degradation, preserve biodiversity and

ensure food securities for the ever increasing human population. Destruction of such a

resource through wanton exploitation in an unsustainable manner must be seriously

addressed and ensure intensive afforestation programmes if the forests must continue

to perform their important functions of environmental sanitization and stabilization.

Conservation must be accompanied by aggressive ecologically sensitive reforestation

and afforestation especially on arid lands where fuel wood demands are high. All these

must be supported by improved international funding accompanied by increased

training and wider non governmental organizations participation in the planning process.

Conclusion

The impact and effect of the global economic meltdown will still be felt many more years

to come as Nigeria is one of the many African countries to be hit mostly by the

recession.

Forestry and individuals must adhere strictly to what they can do as discussed in this

paper. The Nigerian government should put all hands on deck and work towards

managing and reducing the economic hardship and its effects on the citizens and

various sectors of the economy, there is need for government to:

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Diversify the nation's economy so as to reduce the over dependence on the oil

sector.

Resources should therefore be diverted to other sectors of the Nigerian economy;

this will help increase the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) irrespective ofthe

continuous fall in oil price.

The government should create a conducive environment to attract and build the

confidence of investors in the country. Provision of basic social infrastructures and

amenities are very essential.

The government should find alternative to foreign loans by investing the savings in

the external reserve account into the economy otherwise the purpose for such

foreign loans must be well defined i.e. for execution of electricity projects. '

Corruption is also a major problem in Nigeria Public funds for economic

developments are being embezzled. Therefore there is need for government to

tackle corruption and our political leaders should be prudent in the way they

manage public fund.

Price regulation and control is also very essential. Due to the economic hardship

felt as a result of the meltdown, purchasing powers of consumers has reduced and

are unable to meet their demand for various goods and services. Government

should help regulate price so as to make goods affordable by the people.

Financial sector reform: the financial sector is very crucial in a nation's economy

and the government has a lot to do by checking the activities and operations in the

banking and other financial institution for its efficiency.

The agricultural sector has been neglected for many years and from our study from

above we found out that forestry contributes only 1 % of agricultural contribution to

GDP, this is as a result of the low budgetary allocation, low foreign direct investment

and low government spending to forestry development in the country. Forestry should

be given morefocus as the nation tends to diversify its economy.Forestry can increase

the nations earning as we all know that Nigeria can not do without forestry and its

produce. Therefore there is need for government to:

Increase the budget allocation to forestry for greater productivity.

Increased attention on green development could provide a new direction to the

development of the forest sector. Planting trees, increased investments in

sustainable forest management, and active promotion of wood in green building

practices and renewable energy will all become integral parts of green

development.

IJOART



The forestry department should be allowed to share out of the revenue generated

by the government so that this can be ploughed back into forestry development.

There is also the need for government to develop and find new market for forestry

products so as to increase the revenue generated from forestry.

And finally government should seek funds and technical assistance from

international organizations with the aim of assisting the country to increase its forest

estate and manage the environment in a more sustainable way for greater

productivity.

If the Nigerian government can sit tight and put things right as suggested above and

see forestry as a crucial part of economic development and revenue generation, the

country should be able to effectively manage the negative effect the economic

recession is having on the nation, its citizens and forestry development in Nigeria

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Ecos. August 2008 – Present (7 years 8 months)San Francisco Bay Area ...

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IJOART

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