The Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF) has urged the Federal Government to consider for implementation the decisions and policies on ground which are aimed at exploring economic possibilities inherent in forest conservation. The body also urged government to bridge the legal framework gap in assigning full economic value to individual specie of the ecosystem having witnessed severe exploitation over the last 60 years without replanting.
The President, NCF Board of Trustees, Izoma Asiodu, spoke at the 14th memorial lecture in honour of Chief S. L. Edu, in Lagos. The lecture had “Economic Valuation of Nigeria’s Forest” as its theme.
According to Asiodu, to allay the harsh effect of dwindling oil prices, Nigeria can diversify the economy by looking in the direction of agriculture and solid minerals to enable alternative income. And with the abundance of forests scattered across the country, the Asiodu believes it is the responsibility of the NCF to guide decision makers on the economic valuation of such forests so as to stimulate the necessary investments for its protection and restoration, and by extension, preserving the ecosystem. The gradual extinction of forestry, he further submitted, leaves a damaging impact both economically and in terms of human lives.
-thenationonlineng