FG urged to enforce laws against illegal mining, deforestation
Against the backdrop of continuing environmental challenges caused by unabated deforestation, illegal mining, and timber exploitation, environmental stakeholders in Cross River have urged the Federal Government to ensure stronger enforcement of environmental laws in the state.
Speaking to journalists in Calabar on Friday about the current trends of forest loss and its implications, Chairman of the Environmental Justice and Forest Conservation, Emmanuel Owan, who also serves as Head of the Cross River office of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, blamed the situation on “unregulated logging, infrastructure damage, and biodiversity loss.”
Data from the Environmental Justice and Forest Conservation group shows that Nigeria has lost 90% of its pristine forest cover, with an alarming deforestation rate of 3.5% annually, translating to 400,000 hectares of forest loss each year. From 2001 to 2023, Cross River State, which holds nearly 50% of Nigeria’s remaining forests, recorded an accelerating deforestation rate of 134,000 hectares, equivalent to an 11% decrease in tree cover, the highest ever recorded globally, according to Global Forest Watch (2024).
Despite a ban on logging between 2008 and 2024, the state witnessed “unprecedented levels of forest destruction,” worsening environmental degradation and threatening local livelihoods.
Experts warn that deforestation exacerbates climate change, weakens carbon sequestration, and increases flood risks in coastal areas.
Indicators show that the loss of forest cover in Cross River has significantly reduced agricultural yields, endangered biodiversity, and disrupted ecosystems that sustain rare species such as the Cross River gorilla, drill monkeys, Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees, pangolins, and forest elephants.
Experts, however, caution that without urgent action, “future generations will inherit a barren landscape, devoid of the rich natural heritage that has sustained Cross River State for centuries.”
Owan also identified “livelihood disruptions, illegal activities in protected areas, environmental degradation from mining, decline of ecotourism, watershed disruption, mangrove disruption, and weak enforcement” as major environmental challenges in the state.
He also said some civil society organizations have resolved to establish a coalition known as the Civil Society Coalition for Environmental Justice and Forest Conservation to coordinate CSOs’ environmental and conservation efforts in Cross River State and that the Nigerian Conservation Foundation office in Calabar will serve as its secretariat to ensure stronger enforcement of forest protection laws by relevant government agencies.”
