National Park Service Warns Nigeria Losing 300 Hectares of Forest Daily

By Fatima Saka

The National Park Service has raised the alarm over the loss of nearly 300 hectares of forest reserves daily in Nigeria, warning that continued destruction could worsen desertification, environmental degradation and the country’s vulnerability to climate change.

The Conservator-General of the National Park Service, Ibrahim Goni, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when members of the Environmental Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria (EMCAN) paid a courtesy visit to the service’s headquarters, calling for stronger media collaboration to expose illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, illegal mining and other activities threatening the nation’s forests and protected areas.

Goni described environmental journalists as strategic partners in conservation efforts, noting that increased media coverage would draw public attention to challenges confronting national parks and encourage relevant authorities to take action.

He said many environmental challenges remained underreported, stressing that sustained engagement with journalists would improve public awareness and strengthen advocacy for the protection of Nigeria’s natural resources.

“We are comfortable to have you as partners. We are also comfortable to collaborate with you so that our issues can be given widespread visibility,” he said.

The Conservator-General identified illegal mining, hunting, timber exploitation, banditry and kidnapping as major threats to national parks and other protected areas.

He explained that the interconnected nature of Nigeria’s forests made it difficult to isolate national parks from criminal activities in neighbouring forest reserves, as security operations in one location could force criminals to seek refuge in adjoining forests.

Goni commended the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies for their efforts to tackle insecurity and protect vulnerable areas.

On illegal mining, he disclosed that the National Park Service, working with the Nigerian Army, had shut down two illegal mining sites in Gashaka-Gumti National Park, which spans Taraba and Adamawa states.

According to him, the operation led to the closure of extensive mining pits and the dislodgement of more than 4,000 miners.

He, however, warned that removing illegal miners from protected areas could trigger resistance, stressing the need for government interventions to provide alternative livelihoods for affected communities.

The Conservator-General also expressed concern over mining activities in Oyo State, saying the service was collaborating with the Ministry of Solid Minerals to address the situation.

He further disclosed that about 17 miners had been arrested in Rivers State as part of efforts to curb illegal mining.

Goni emphasised that enforcement alone would not be sufficient to address environmental crimes, adding that inter-agency cooperation and practical economic alternatives were necessary to tackle the factors driving the illegal exploitation of natural resources.

On wildlife trafficking, he explained that Nigeria was frequently identified in international trafficking networks because smugglers used the country as a transit route to seaports.

He said wildlife specimens were transported from neighbouring countries, including Chad, Niger and Cameroon, through Nigeria for onward movement to other destinations.

To combat the crime, he disclosed that the Nigeria Customs Service, National Park Service, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency and Nigeria Police Force had established an inter-agency committee.

According to him, the committee had conducted raids that resulted in the seizure of live animals, carcasses and other wildlife specimens.

He stressed that sustained cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the media was critical to exposing trafficking networks and ensuring accountability.

The Conservator-General said the expansion of Nigeria’s national park system was partly aimed at restoring degraded vegetation and strengthening the country’s response to climate change.

He disclosed that Nigeria now had 17 national parks, with 13 operational, compared with seven before 10 additional parks were established during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He explained that the expansion was designed to support vegetation regeneration in areas previously designated as forest or game reserves and contribute to Nigeria’s climate commitments.

Goni also urged environmental journalists to raise public awareness about pollution, flooding, erosion and other ecological challenges confronting the country.

He said the Federal Ministry of Environment had introduced flood-warning equipment in several parts of Nigeria to alert communities to impending floods and enable residents to relocate to safer areas.

He further called on journalists to support public education on Ebola prevention and the relationship between wildlife and the transmission of certain infectious diseases.

The Conservator-General pledged to consider journalists’ welfare, professional training and participation in conferences within the service’s budgetary provisions.

Earlier, the Chairman of EMCAN, Joycelyn Ellakeche Adah, said the association was committed to bridging the communication gap between environmental agencies and the media.

Adah explained that the association’s new leadership, elected about two months ago, had identified inadequate engagement between environmental agencies and journalists as a major challenge affecting environmental reporting.

She said the association was engaging relevant agencies to establish working relationships and improve journalists’ access to information about their activities.

“As journalists, our job is to report on this sector. In every parastatal, there is an environment correspondent, and the job of that correspondent is to report on the sector,” she said.

The EMCAN chairman disclosed that the association had more than 35 members, but only three or four media organisations regularly covered the activities of the National Park Service.

She said the limited coverage left many environmental correspondents without adequate access to information about the service’s operations, thereby reducing the visibility of its conservation initiatives.

Adah stressed that stronger engagement with the media would help Nigerians better understand the responsibilities of the National Park Service and its role in protecting wildlife and managing the country’s national parks.

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She reaffirmed the association’s readiness to partner with the service to publicise conservation programmes, promote environmental awareness and improve public understanding of wildlife protection.

The meeting ended with a commitment by both parties to strengthen cooperation and improve media coverage of conservation efforts in Nigeria.