By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
Nigeria is losing close to 300 hectares of forest reserve daily, the Conservator-General of the National Park Service (NPS), Ibrahim Goni, has disclosed, warning that illegal logging, hunting, mining and insecurity threaten the country’s forests and protected areas.
Goni made this known when members of the Environmental Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria (EMCAN) visited the service’s headquarters in Abuja, according to a statement signed by EMCAN Secretary, Samuel Adeyinka.
He called for stronger collaboration between the service and environmental journalists to expose illegal activities and draw the attention of relevant authorities to conservation challenges.
Goni described environmental journalists as strategic partners in protecting Nigeria’s natural resources and wildlife, saying increased media coverage would improve public awareness and strengthen conservation advocacy.
“We are comfortable to have you as partners. We are also comfortable to collaborate with you so that our issues can be given widespread visibility,” he said.
The Conservator-General identified illegal mining, hunting, timber exploitation, banditry and kidnapping as major threats to national parks and other protected areas.
He explained that criminal activities in surrounding forest reserves complicated security efforts within national parks because adjoining forests could provide alternative hideouts.
Goni disclosed that the service had collaborated with the Nigerian Army to close two illegal mining sites in sectors of Gashaka-Gumti National Park in Taraba and Adamawa states.
The operation, he said, led to the closure of extensive mining pits and the dislodgement of more than 4,000 miners.
He warned that removing illegal miners from protected areas could generate resistance, stressing the need for government interventions to provide alternative livelihoods for affected communities.
He also cited mining activities in Oyo State and the arrest of about 17 miners in Rivers State as part of efforts to curb illegal exploitation of natural resources.
On wildlife trafficking, Goni said Nigeria was frequently used as a transit route by smugglers transporting wildlife specimens from neighbouring countries, including Chad, Niger and Cameroon, to seaports for onward movement.
He said the Nigeria Customs Service, NPS, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and Nigeria Police Force had established an inter-agency committee to combat wildlife trafficking.
According to him, the committee had conducted raids resulting in the seizure of live animals, carcasses and other wildlife specimens.
Goni said Nigeria now had 17 national parks, 13 of which were operational, compared with seven before 10 additional parks were established during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said the expansion was partly intended to restore degraded vegetation, regenerate forests and strengthen the country’s response to climate change.
Responding, EMCAN Chairman, Joycelyn Ellakeche Adah, said the association was committed to bridging the communication gap between environmental agencies and journalists.
Adah said EMCAN had over 35 members, but only three or four media organisations regularly covered NPS activities, limiting public awareness of the service’s work.
She pledged the association’s readiness to partner with the service to publicise conservation initiatives and educate Nigerians about the agency’s role in managing national parks and protecting wildlife.
The meeting ended with a resolution by both organisations to strengthen cooperation and media engagement on environmental conservation.
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