The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has urged stakeholders to recover the nation’s forest cover, which currently stands at three per cent.

According to the foundation, at independence, Nigeria had more than 35 per cent forest cover and today ranked third largest delta system in the world and mangroves help to reduce erosion of the coastal line.

NCF Director General, Joseph Onoja, made the call at the 2023 Green Ball event with the theme: “Partnership for Conservation and Restoration of Mangroves”.

He said the mangrove ecosystem is still undergoing a lot of degradation, adding that there’s a need for citizens to restore the mangrove ecosystem.

“Apart from the social, economic and ecological work that it does, it’s very important for us to continue to see what we can do to ensure that it plays its role to protect both the environment and humans as well. So, that is why we are calling people’s attention to this and also calling for support and partnership for us to restore our mangrove because we are losing our mangrove at an alarming rate,” he said.

Onoja noted that there are some sensitive areas that shouldn’t be tampered with, lamenting that greed makes a person do damage and every other person suffers the consequences.

The special guest at the event, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the special adviser to the governor on environment, Wahab Rotimi-Akodu commended NCF for its efforts in advocating for restoration of mangroves.

The NCF President, Izoma Philip Asiodu, said, since the production and exportation of oil, there has been a lot of pollution and degradation on the mangroves, which is not good for the future.

“It has been projected that if the world doesn’t do much about climate change and if the sea continues to rise, Lagos will disappear. By restoring the mangroves, it will help stop pollution. We should live sustainably, when forest and trees are cleared, they should be replanted.

“We must do everything to restore the mangroves in the delta, we must do everything to restore the delta, we must do everything to stop pollution, by being responsible for our oil resources,” Asiodu said.

Chairperson, NCF Business Development Committee, Dame Marie Fatayi-Williams, lamented that the roots of the mangroves have been eaten up completely, the forest is going.

“Nigeria forest cover has eroded and we are now at 3 per cent but we should have been on 70 or 90 per cent so we are actually having a problem not only in encroachment but the rain forests are going, the mangroves are going, erosion is high so we need to call attention to these critical actions so that people don’t think we live in a dream world,” she lamented.

A judge at the high court, Lagos and NCF trustee, Honourable Justice Bukola Adebiyi, lamented that indiscriminate construction of buildings on canals and pathways of water affects the mangroves and environment.