Nigeria institute of social and economic research niser lbadan, nigeria abstracttrees in forested and agricultural landscapes are particularly important because they disproportionately provide high values of environmental services and biodiversity. The threats to biodiversity in nigeria were outlined and analysed. A silvicultural approach to volume yield, biodiversity and. Forest biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services article pdf available in biodiversity and conservation november 2017 with 1,539 reads how we measure reads. However, as the effect of southward movement of the sahara desert is progressing. It also examines plantation forestry as the governments strategy for replenishing the countrys lumber resources. Evaluation of forest resources conservation laws in nigeria abere s. These mangrove forests serve a critical role in regional ecological and landscape composition, and support subsistence gathering practices, and marketbased. Forest reserves in nigeria and their locations legit. The changes in area of forest by region and subregion are shown in table 1. This paper examines the depletion of nigerias natural forest resources consequent upon exploitation without adequate conservation. Human disturbance regimes should mimic natural disturbance. Impact of human activities on biodiversity in nigerian.
Many of these management actions also contribute to climate change mitigation through. The project will engage ordinary citizens in as many countries as possible in the process of policymaking and awareness raising to sustain a. Between 1990 and 2010, nigeria lost an average of 409,650 ha or 2. Nigeria is the most populous country in africa and has highly diverse forest ecosystems. However, as the effect of southward movement of the sahara desert is. The government has over the years promulgated laws as regards forest conservation and. Global forest watch map showing forest loss and gain in nigeria between 20012012. About 31% of earths land surface is covered by forests. Pdf mechanism for forest biodiversity protection and. Traditional beliefs and conservation of natural resources.
Nigerias presentday national parks and game reserves were originally forest reserves, first established in the early 1900s. Tropical montane forest biodiversity in nigeria case study of ngel nyaki forest reserve, mambilla plateau nternational journal of environmental sciences, vol. Plantation forestry and forest conservation in nigeria. The afi river forest reserve is stationed in cross river state. Nigeria approved national forest policy june 14th 2006. Forest reserves are expected to host a wide array of biodiversity and provide refuge for rare species that may be threatened in nearby forest. Introduction the conservation planning tools committee cptc, also known as the biodiversity b. Forest and biodiversity play important roles in ecosystem services as. The tribal communities of urhobos in delta central have a tradition of environmental conservation based on various religious beliefs. It is a landscape dominated by people, and the population continues to grow about 2. This study was primarily designed to assess the conserving biological diversity for sustainable uses in tropical rainforest of nigeria. Associate professor of forest measurements department of forestry and wood technology federal university of. Today there is only one specimen of parkia bicolor in southwestern nigeria.
The iita campus is a rich center of biodiversity and is one of the few remaining forest reserves in nigeria where valuable and rare indigenous trees, such as the iroko milicia excelsa, are safe from poachers. The economic and ecological effects of deforestation on. The red line shows the average change acrossallcombinations ofgenes,species,ortraits. Anambra waxbill, ibadanmalimbe, jos plateau indigobird and the rock firefinch are endemic to the country, making them globally important species for conservation nigeria national biodiversity strategy and action plan nbsap, 2007. Pdf current status of plant diversity and conservation in nigeria.
General management principles and a checklist of strategies to guide forest biodiversity conservation. Pdf challenges of deforestation in nigeria and the. Indeed some 31 countries do not even make the list because they have already removed most of their forests and even if that remain are seriously fragmented and degraded. Successful baseline inventory of biodiversity successful establishment of small projects through small loans in some project communities. Biomass and land use carbon emissions data for nigeria tree cover threshold is used for defining the tree cover area. Six wards were randomly selected from the twelve wards making up the local government. Preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services in west. Forest reserves are expected to host a wide array of biodiversity and provide refuge for rare species that may be threatened in nearby forest landscapes. Assessment of tree diversity and abundance in selected. Mechanism for forest biodiversity protection and conservation to enhance food security in benue state, nigeria. The convention on biological diversity cbd addresses the conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity through a comprehensive programme of work, adopted in 2002 and revised in 2008 see page 39. Causes, effects and control strategies 5 deforestation are maintained. As of 2005, nigeria has the highest rate of deforestation in the world according to the food and agriculture organization of the united nations fao.
Biodiversity and carbon potentials of a nigerian forest reserve. Pdf deforestation trends in forest estates of vandeikya. While this is the guiding protocol for most reserves across the tropics, such as nigeria, the extent to which they host biodiversity and act as potential stores for carbon are quite uncertain. The main threats to biodiversity in nigeria chm cbd nigeria. Introduction nigeria is a country about the size of the u. Tropical montane forest biodiversity in nigeria case. Duchelle, 2007 including inter alia, taxonomic richness, genetic differences in each taxon, communities, ecosystems, landscapes within which organisms inhabit and the indigenous knowledge of nature possessed by the natives living on the land kunwar et al. Pdf forest biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the. Nigeria secretariat of the convention on biological diversity. The variation in total forest area over time years, the number of forest offences and annual forest fires was appraised in vandeikya local government vlg area, benue state, nigeria.
Biodiversity, therefore, is being exploited at much faster rates than ever before with negative implications for sustainable human livelihood78. Animals and most people around the world depend on plant species for food, shelter and clothing. The report identified that the principles for the strategy in the nigerian nbsap could be based on the need to manage the biodiversity of nigeria in the five priority ecological areas of. Deforestation, clearance, clearcutting or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land which is then converted to a nonforest use. It argues that it is ecologically unwise to clearfell reserves of native rain forest and replant them with monoculture tree plantations, especially. It is a tropical forest in west africa, upper and lower, that cuts across several africa countries from guinea to sierra leone as well as beyond the bor ders of nigeria see table 1 comprising fragmented.
It is important to also note that wildlife biodiversity in nigeria appears to increase from the high forest northwards, with the greatest diversity being in the sudan savanna. Introduction the cross river state of nigeria is blessed with natural forest ecosystem where living and nonliving organisms interact with one another. Deforestation and greening the nigerian environment. The following 118119 biodiversity and tropical forest assessment for niger is the result of shortterm desk research based primarily on readily available materials from the internet and limited interviews with usaid working on initiatives for the west african region. Fostering livelihood security through conservation of. About 65 of 560 species of trees in nigeria forestry are now faced with extinction while many are at different stage of risk 33. This paper sets out to explore the effectiveness of forest conservation laws in nigeria. To evolve a model for integrating the costs of biodiversity conservation into accounts.
The major problems include habitat degradation through uncontrolled logging, agricultural projects, industrial plantations, highway and urban development, and exploitation for fuelwood, overhunting and poaching steps taken so far. The total land mass of nigeria is about 910,770 km 2 and among these, the total forest area covers about 110, 890 km 2 this representing about 12. This reserve lies between the mbe mountains community forest and afi mountain wildlife sanctuary. According to food and agricultural organization of united nation as of 2005 nigeria has highest deforestation rate in the world at 12. Pdf nigerian forestry, wildlife and protected areas. To determine the value of biodiversity loss in the forest reserves of osun state. An important milestone in the development of the action plan. Studies have shown that forest has undergone different levels of disturbance due to anthropogenic activities which impacted tree diversity, abundance and species composition. Nigeria forest information and data according to the u.
Forest has been cleared for logging, timber export, subsistence agriculture and notably the collection of. Considered one of the most ecologically sensitive regions in the world, the niger delta mangrove forest is situated within a deltaic depositional environment. A current biodiversity species statistics was given. Few modern agencies can trace ancestry in a straight line of. Steering committee, is currently in the process of developing british columbias biodiversity action plan. Assessment of environmental impact of deforestation in. The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests. Wwviews on biodiversity on saturday september 15th 2012, thousands of people around the world will take part in a global event. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ethnobotany and biodiversity conservation in the niger. Biodiversity is facing a doctrine of crisis proportions which could ultimately lead to mass extinctions in the very near future9. The guinean forest, with an estimated area of 553,427 km2, is also a biodiversity hub. Unfortunately, this rich vegetation continues to decline at an alarming rate. Biodiversity is a concept that involves different facets of biological variety peters, 1991.
For example, 75% includes only areas with more than 75% tree cover, whereas 10% includes all areas with more than 10% tree cover. Mbadede, mbagbera, mbaakaange, mbaityough, ningev and tsambe. Biodiversity and carbon potentials of a nigerian forest. The direct causes of biodiversity loss in nigeria include economic policies, rising demand for forest products, poor law enforcement and weak laws. The international dimension of illegal wildlife trade in nigeria. Nigeria has extensive mangrove forests in the coastal region of the niger delta. Nigerians depend on tropical forest ecosystem for both timber and nontimber forest products to meet their daily needs. Department of forestry and wildlife technology, federal university of technology, owerri, nigeria corresponding authors email. Forest biodiversity management principles for forest biodiversity from. Wcs, the w logo, we stand for wildlife, i stand for wildlife, and stand for wildlife are service marks of wildlife conservation society. Many of these management actions also contribute to climate change mitigation through reducing emissions from forests, conserving forest carbon or enhancing forest carbon sinks.
In addition, some state governments are removing the protected status from forest estates without regard for the environment. Thegreypolygonrepresents the 95% confidence interval, whereas red dots give maximum and minimum. Therefore, this study examined and assessed tree diversity and abundance in five selected forest reserves in osun state, nigeria with a view to ascertaining the present species status for mitigation decision. Tree structural and species diversities in okwangwo forest, cross river state, nigeria adeyemi, a. In the period between 2000 and 2005, nigeria lost about 2, 048, and 000 ha of forest fao. To estimate the full environmental cost of biodiversity conservation in the forest reserves of osun state, nigeria for accounting purposes. Biodiversity in forests, savannah woodlands and coastal mangroves make significant direct contribution to the.