The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has declared that it would require determined efforts of Nigerians, the government and environmentalists to restore 25per cent green cover in the next 30 years.
NCF also plans to education and enlighten tourists who visit conserved areas on the kind of treatment/food they meted out or throw to animals in their natural habitat, which might not be the best for their survival.
President, Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Izoma Philip Asiodu who made the submissions at its 28th Annual General Meeting held at the Lekki Conservation Centre, lamented that nothing has been achieved on the ‘Green Recovery Nigeria Programme’ which requires the country to recover 250,000square kilometres with forests.
Asiodu noted that the foundation in the out-gone year, strengthened collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the promotion of nature conservation, ecotourism and sustainable management of Nigeria’s environmental resources, assisted the government to halt and reverse continuing decline of the Lake Chad Basin’s biological resources.
The project according to Asiodu, would have destroyed much of the remaining rain forests and associated resources as well as displaced the people whose livelihood depends on it.
The Chairman, National Executive Council of NCF, Chief Ede Dafinone in his remarks, disclosed that as a further demonstration of the foundation’s commitment to enhance Nigeria’s forest cover, it has partnered some banks to carry out tree planting in some selected states to stimulate and promote local actions in response to global call by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that each country strive to have 25per cent of its total land area under forest cover.
“We chose to involve school children in the tree planting exercises to inculcate in them as leaders of tomorrow, a sense of care for the environment. I assure you all that NCF is unrelenting in its efforts towards the protection, utilization and sustainable management of Nigeria’s unique biodiversity in its totality”.
In his report, the Director General, Mr. Adeniyi Karunwi said that the foundation recorded significant decrease in revenue from its donors who developed donors’ fatigue due to the negative impact of the economic recession on their businesses.
