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tail into building inclusive sustainable governance for forests, biodiversity and livelihoods.” Mr. Tunde Akanni of Lagos State University, LASU in his paper entitled “Media role in channelling national action for effective forest management” noted that the media has a vital role to play in educating, enlightening and inform the public the importance of preserving our forest for collective gains. According to him, ‘‘Increased environmental awareness may contribute to an increased public mistrust of forest management professionals. But it can also lead to greater understanding about what professionals do for nature conservation and ecological services.” “The new environmental groups established in the late 1960s, unlike their older counterparts otherwise referred to as “conservation groups” take greater advantage of the mass media as their primary forum for their claims-making. “They reckon with media publicity as a key to their own continued buoyancy and even legitimacy. Unlike the older groups that indulged more in legislative lobby, they realize that the media could serve very well in helping to affect desired political actions and also as a means of improving the climate of opinion for environmental issues through long-term educational and propaganda campaigns”. He emphasised that the role of the media cannot be underestimated if there will be any meaningful discussion on the cannibalisation of the environment stressing that “any shortfall in public understanding of the current state and probable future of the environment could be solved by continuous and massive press coverage’’. For him,“The media is capable of addressing any shortfall in public understanding of the state and probable future of the environment whether or not the concerned journalists are advocacy or objectivity inclined’’. If the environment would be spared of its present abuse by all, Mr. Leslie Adogame in his paper, entitled ‘‘Deforestation and Climate change –induced conflicts’’ emphasized the hazards of deforestation. “Deforestation has negative implications on the environment in terms of soil erosion, loss of biodiversity ecosystems, loss of wide life and increased desertification. Twenty million hectares of tropical forests are being destroyed, releasing two billion tons of carbon dioxide.” Adogame noted that forests have a vital role to play in the fight against global warming, adding that if forest are cleared or disturbed, carbon that ought to be absorbed by the forest is release as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases which at the long run will be disadvantage to human beings. He argued that hope has not totally lost to protect our forest from further damage if all hands are on deck to save the environment. This according to him will be in the area of discouraging people from abusing the forest providing alternative economic generating income for the people instead of relying on the cutting of the trees. Also, he noted that there is need for
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Climate change: Who will save Nigeria’s forests?
L-R Ekiti State Commissioner for Environment Dr. Eniola Ajayi, Executive Director of ERA/FoEN Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo and National Co-coordinator, Climate Change Network, Mr. Surveyor Efik during the conference.
ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo (left) and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi during the conference.
flexible mechanism to cope with climate change like provision of agricultural subsidies to farmers and herders during floods and droughts. “There is need to create ecosystem and conservation service that will enable the people to stay where they are without creating new jobs and thereby provide livelihood that can make communities more economically resilient to climate change,” he said. In his presentation, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, a political ecologist and Director of ERA/FoEN pointed out that, “in the last two decades or so, distressing daily news reports have highlighted the earths’ burden of environmental degradation, expanding deserts, increased carbon dioxide levels, rising temperatures, melting glaciers, and disappearing species, and which poses serious threats to survival on planet earth”. Ojo regretted that, “globally, about 300 million people in rural communities depend on forests for their livelihoods. Their lands are expropriated through land grabbing for monoculture tree plantations, logging, coal, bitumen, oil and gas, hydroelectricity dams, leading to massive deforestation and destruction very often with support of govern-
ments”. He emphasised that the solution to deforestation cannot be underestimated adding that structural change is required that would ensure participatory Community Based Forests Management Schemes with roles, responsibilities and benefits sharing systems put in place to properly manage forests and slow down the pace of deforestation He therefore canvassed for an energy democracy that will decentralise “our energy sources in ways that distribute economic and social power more widely to get renewable energy in more people’s hands rather than concentrating it in the hands of shareholders and executives. At the end of the deliberation it was agreed that unconstrained industrialization processes promoted by transnational corporations and governments of the global north continue to destroy forests and displace local forest dependent communities across Nigeria. The impact of indiscriminate logging is rife across Nigeria, particularly in Ekiti State, where huge trees and forests that provided food, livelihood support and served as buffer against harsh climatic conditions have been cleared. It also emphasised that Nigeria is
DEFORESTATION HAS NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS ON THE ENVIRONMENT IN TERMS OF SOIL
EROSION, LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY ECOSYSTEMS, LOSS OF WIDE LIFE AND INCREASED DESERTIFICATION
yet to demonstrate the political will to confront the climate change challenge as evidenced by faulty policies and the foray into corporation-driven initiatives like REDD that is rife with human rights abuses robbing local communities of their lands and livelihoods. “The Nigerian government seems to be in a hurry to embrace REDD, which we consider as a false solution to climate change even when it is very clear that the scheme has many obvious leakages in methodologies with no critical engagement by local communities that are being primed for an initiative they do not understand,” participants said. The intellectual gathering also observed that the reckless despoliation of the environment by extractive industry actors operating in the Niger Delta and other industrial actors across the country has continued unabated with grave impacts on man and the environment, adding that, “Government agencies charged with guaranteeing the protection and preservation of forests and forest resources have largely failed in the discharge of their duties, and the enforcement of relevant statutes and judicial pronouncements. They have also ignored local communities that they are supposed to collaborate within the discharge of their duties.” Against the backdrop of these challenges, the participants recommend that, “Nigerian government should come up with a holistic environmental policy hinged on the protection of local livelihoods and local economies, and aimed at driving a green economic recovery, pointing out that REDD must be rejected by African leaders especially Nigeria because it does not cut emissions at source. Rather, it rewards polluters and makes forest-based communities mere labourers in their own lands. Forests should be removed from the carbon markets.” The gathering equally challenged government not to subscribe to the FAO definition, which includes plantations. Forest is a body of diverse ecosystems, which supports biological diversity and not mere monoculture plantations and should wean off fossil fuels and adopt community-owned energy models that are non-grid and environment-friendly. In its communiqué issued at the end of the conference, the participants among other things noted that local communities should be the fulcrum of Environmental Governance at community levels through the formation of Community Environment Defence Committees, CEDC, adding that government weans itself from fossil fuel-driven economy and invest in renewable and other safe and clean alternatives. A timeline to face-out fossil fuels should also be set. “Revision of the Land Use Act of 1979 and all obsolete and unfriendly laws that dispossess local people of their lands and natural patrimony. Lands forcefully expropriated from local people for the purpose of monoculture plantations and agro-fuels be returned to them while Governments, NGOs and CSOs should establish effective systems to monitor and block the entry of GMOs into Nigeria’s food chain.”