Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, delivered an impactful speech at the inaugural International Conference on Afforestation and Reforestation, held from July 2nd to 5th, 2024. Representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lawal highlighted the urgent need for collective action to combat deforestation and promote sustainable forest management.
In his remarks, Lawal emphasises the role forests play in maintaining ecological balance, preserving biodiversity, and supporting millions of livelihoods. He pointed out the alarming rate of deforestation in Africa, where nearly 4 million hectares of forests are lost annually—almost double the global average. This rapid deforestation, driven by population growth, agricultural expansion, urbanisation, and illegal logging, calls for immediate and ambitious regional action.
Lawal praised the choice of Congo for the conference, given its significance in the global deforestation crisis. He emphasised the importance of regional and global cooperation in developing innovative strategies for afforestation and reforestation to restore degraded lands, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate climate change impacts.
Highlighting Nigeria’s efforts, Lawal announced the recent approval of $8.5 million under the Presidential Initiative on Afforestation. These funds aim to restore degraded forests and critical landscapes across the country. Nigeria’s ongoing programs, such as the Great Green Wall Pan African Program and Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL), have already restored over 1.5 million hectares of degraded forests, created over 3 million jobs, and empowered more than 200,000 forest community members.
Lawal also mentioned the interim suspension of wood-based product exports to reassess and implement a sustainable forest management system. He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to global and regional agreements on sustainable forest management, including the COP27 Africa and Global Decade of Afforestation and Reforestation, COP26 Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, and the upcoming COP28.
Concluding his speech, Lawal stressed the collective responsibility of governments, NGOs, private organizations, civil societies, and communities in increasing global forest cover. He congratulated President Denis Sassou Nguesso for hosting the historic conference and expressed optimism about the conference’s catalytic effect on global afforestation efforts.
“As we strive together to increase the global forest cover, we shall indeed make our planet a safer place for us and future generations,” Lawal stated.
The conference, organized under the auspices of the African Union and United Nations Forum on Forests, marks a significant milestone in the fight against deforestation and climate change, bringing together leading experts, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to share knowledge and foster collaborations for a sustainable future.
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