INDISCRIMINATE CUTTING OF TREES
Joseph Gbagyo
The challenges of climate change have come to stay with humanity and yet, the people may still be too ignorant to understand the consequences of deforestation. The adverse effects of flood and hot weather conditions are some of these consequences. For all it takes, the people have continued to cut down trees, not minding the consequences.
Ferdinand Eze, timber Merchant in Makurdi said people patronize them for furniture, roofing and boat/ship construction. On whether he is aware of the dangers of deforestation, he said that “no one has arrested me, because I pay my taxes regularly.”
Ayange Iorfer, firewood and charcoal merchant said, he is aware of the consequences of cutting down trees, but he needs to survive. That he will look for an alternative business when the trees are no longer there for his firewood and charcoal business.
Corroborating Iorfer, firewood merchant, Mama Afanyo said, tree cutting has effects on the environment, because the people who cut from the primary sources do not replace them. But for now, Mama said “firewood business is the only source of income I can boast of, at the moment.”
Ije Ibila a farmer in Agatu argued that trees can never go into extinction. Certain trees may only be rare to find in certain areas and locations. He said “to me, cutting down the trees makes the crops yield better.”
A Forestry Expert, Asue Wasen said “the consequences include acute shortage of rainfall, high temperature and the exposure of the topmost layer of the soil to direct sun rays have resulted to drying up of many streams and pounds which used to moderate the temperature around the reservation.”
Deputy Director, Forestry Management and Protection Department in the Benue State Ministry of Water Resources and Environment, Orshi Henry said: “forestry in Benue has it laws and establishment in the year 2010. These are laws that make provision, conservation, management and declaration of forest reservation, preservation and control of forest and for purposes connected.
According to the United Nations, when one tree is cut, it should be replaced with ten. But the Benue State policy states that the number of trees replaced should be more than the number cut down. Over the past years the talk on global warming and climate change has dominated major seminars and conferences. Global leaders are campaigning under the idea of helping combat the issues of global warming. Tree planting has been one of the most talked about methods of dealing with global warming.
The United Strategic Plan for Forest setup in January 2017 provides a vision for global forest in 2030. This plan was adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council on 20th April, 2017 and subsequently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 27th April 2017.
