FG mulls ban on exportation of wood

The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, on Tuesday, disclosed that the Federal Government might ban the exportation of wood from Nigeria.

This, she said, was to prevent deforestation, in view of the threatening climate change.

Mohammed, who spoke at Nigeria’s Consultative Meeting on Draft Additional Protocols to the Abidjan Convention in Abuja, noted that Nigeria cannot continue to be a party to international protocols and conventions which affected trade and survival of the Nigerian economy negatively.

Mohammed said the Federal Government would review the certification for wood logging and exports in order to protect the nation’s ecosystem.

Her words, “We need to ban the exports and logging of wood. But it must be sustainable so that we are not just feeding other nation’s economy and depriving our people of potential.

“So, I am challenging you and also saying people like us are behind conservation of the ecosystem.

“I will like to stress at this point that no matter how much we can do by ourselves on the national level, whether it be research, policy, legislation or development, it is never enough.

“Therefore, in the spirit of true cooperation, we must join in action-oriented efforts to solve the problems that beset our coastal and marine environment.”

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