Forest Loss in Nigeria, the Impact on Climate and People from the perspectives of illegal Forest activities and Government Negligence

Abstracts Forestry has attracted much attention from the time being, so it is considered as vital to human life as it provides a wide range of resources, and ecosystem services. Forests are important as storage of carbon, for production of oxygen vital for human existence on earth. They also help in regulation of the hydrological cycle, purify water, provide wildlife habitats, and they help in reducing global warming, as well as absorbing toxic gases, contain pollution and above all conserve soil. This report aims to analyze the cause of forest decline in Nigeria as well as the effects on climate and offer useful solutions to conserve and achieve sustainable forest management. Considering all the importance and usefulness of forest, conservation of forests must be taken into cognisance to ensure a safe planet for every living organism. This report will focus mainly on vitiating factors affecting forestry in Nigeria. These factors include illegal forest activities, deforestation, government negligence. A qualitative method was employed, accessing data and facts from secondary source of information. The result of this thesis postulated that preventive measures to curb forest illegalities must be implemented. Encourage the stakeholder’s involvement in forest management. And for the local people to feel the sense of entitlement, they need to be educated on the ecological importance of forests and tree coverage.This Thesis is based on the cause of forest loss, the impact on climate and people, and also offer some possible suggestion to gain substantial forest cover and also stressed on the potentials of the forest industry in Nigeria via SWOT-analysis