Illegal logging thrives in Taraba

Findings by Daily Trust show that illegal loggers have continued to carry out their activities unabated at the detriment of the environment. In places such as Gashaka, Karim-Lamido, Takum, Wukari, Kurmi, Lau and Ibi, amongst others, trees are being hewn down indiscriminately virtually on daily basis especially for fire wood and timber purposes. Deforestation, which […]

Findings by Daily Trust show that illegal loggers have continued to carry out their activities unabated at the detriment of the environment. In places such as Gashaka, Karim-Lamido, Takum, Wukari, Kurmi, Lau and Ibi, amongst others, trees are being hewn down indiscriminately virtually on daily basis especially for fire wood and timber purposes.
Deforestation, which is the process where trees are cut down without any simultaneous effort aims at replacing them either for economic or social reasons, has continued to rear its ugly head in Taraba State.
Environmentalists said deforestation has negative implications on the environment in terms of soil erosion, loss of biodiversity ecosystem, loss of wildlife and increased desertification among others. But people who engage in this activity in the state care little about the impact of their actions on the environment even in the face of global warming and changes in the environment. For them, the immediate monetary gains are of much concern rather than a long term sustainable environment.
States in the northeast, Taraba inclusive stand the risks of desert encroachment and the attendant devastating effects on humans and livestock. This is the more reason why the government and relevant authorities in the state need to look at the situation with a view to nipping it before many parts of the state begin to experience deadly desertification.
On daily basis, retinues of vans fully loaded with firewood are seen moving round Jalingo metropolis and other parts of the state dispatching forest products to their customers.
Among those that patronize the firewood business are mostly bread bakeries who depend largely on it in firing their local ovens.
Also, in many parts of the state, especially the rural communities, locals depend largely on firewood as the sole source of energy for cooking and care little about the negative effect of their activities on the environment.
Even in many towns within the state, the demand for fire wood is also said to be on the increase especially among those in the lower income class who could hardly afford cost of kerosene and cooking gas.
Effects of deforestation
According to experts on environment, “Deforestation makes soil prone to erosion by agents such as wind and water. The roots of trees hold the particles of soil together thus, preventing the fertile top soil from being carried away. Soil erosion leads to loss of productivity of the land due to loss of mineral nutrients and soil microorganisms”
“Apart from domesticated animals and marine and fresh water animals, all other animals need forests as their habitats. These forests do not only provide a place for the animals to roam but also provide their food and act as a source of protection from predators through camouflage. Destruction of the animals’ habitats literally kills the animals”.
 Some trees are used as herbs; trees such as the Cinchona have been used as treatment against Malaria since time immemorial. Destruction of these forests leads to destruction of medicinal plants that could be used as treatment for various ailments.
Other deadly effects of deforestation on the environment if not controlled include flooding and soil degradation.
Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis; therefore cutting down forests will cause a decline in photosynthetic activity which results in the atmosphere retaining higher levels of carbon dioxide. Clearly, deforestation contributes to global warming and must be tackled by all.
An environmentalist, Lawan Isa, has however blamed the nonchalant attitude of government towards the issues of environment as responsible for the high level of illegal logging in the state.
According to him, government should have put in place, forest guards and taskforce team that will monitor illegal activities of trees felling in the state to protect the environment for the benefit of all.
For the Director of Forestry and Wildlife in the state ministry of environment, Samuel Teltuly, inadequate personnel to monitor both free and government forest reserves in the state has been a daunting challenge.
He said the ministry lacks the needed hands to effectively tackle the activities of those that fall down trees indiscriminately in the state.
According to him, the ministry has been embarking on sensitization campaigns to sensitize people on the need to plant trees and avoid indiscriminate falling of trees, adding that such campaigns are often treated with disdain by the people.
Failed reforestation efforts in Taraba even as the trees continue to disappear on daily basis, no thanks to illegal wood logger efforts by government to replace such trees however have not been effective.
The federal government sometimes ago donated about 1 million seedlings to Taraba State in a serious campaign of trees planting but the initiative did not yield the desired result.
Director of Forestry and Wildlife in Taraba State Ministry of Environment, Samuel Teltuly who spoke to Daily Trust attributed lack of funds for effective monitoring as the major factor that hampered the desired success of the federal government’s trees planting initiative in the state.
According to him,  about 1 million seedlings given to the state through Niger Resources Ltd, were raised in five different locations in the state, namely, Jalingo, Wukari, Ardo-kola, Zing and Gembu.
Samuel said that about 30 percent of the seedlings died while being raised in the nursery due to insufficient watering and proper car and the survived seedlings were later transferred from the nurseries and planted in government forest reserves and plantations located in Zing, Bakin-Dutse, Maisamari, Yelwa, Leme, Nguroje and Sonkpa.
According to him, some of the seedlings were distributed to schools, communities, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and religious institutions for planting.
He said that some of the seedlings planted in government reserves and plantations as well as those planted by corps members as part of their community development projects survived while some died.
Samuel observed that most of the seedlings planted in schools were destroyed by stray animals while he could not ascertain what happened to those at the communities due to lack of funds to carry out effective monitoring.  “No money was given to us to monitor the planting; we were unable to reach the communities and some of the schools due to lack of funds,” he said.
He commended the federal government for the initiative but however advised that such initiative should be given directly to departments of forestry for professionals to handle it directly instead of contracting to private firms that are not versed in seedlings raising and planting.
Given the poor attitude towards trees planting by the government, communities and individuals, it then  becomes paramount for the relevant authorities to find ways of preserving the existing forests before they are completely cut down, thereby making the environment uninhabitable and vulnerable for us all.