Exhibition at FRIN in commemoration of the World Wood Day.
A call has gone to relevant authorities to review the Land Use Act, to promote agricultural production and a safe environment in Nigeria. This position was made known when the Forest Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Jericho, Ibadan, Oyo State recently had a double celebration of the 2023 International Day of Forests and World Wood Day. The Department of Forest Products Development and Utilisation had organised a symposium and exhibition to mark the World Wood Day while the theme for the celebration was “Wood in Cultural Heritage”.
School pupils and their teachers at the commemoration of the 2023 International Forest Day.
The symposium, which had in attendance, dignitaries, agriculture practitioners, students of the department, secondary school students as well as guests also featured the presentation of an award to the Director-General of FRIN, Prof. Adesola Adepoju, for his selfless service to environmental conservation organisation. The World Wood Day is celebrated annually on March 21, same day as the International Day of Forests, to raise awareness on the key role that wood plays in a sustainable world, as an eco-friendly and renewable biomaterial, and also to highlight the responsible uses of wood through biodiversity and forest conservation.
A cross-section of students at the occasion.
Meanwhile, the DG of FRIN in a Twitter space, put toether by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, to mark the International Day of Forests, Prof. Adepoju has called for a state of emergency in the forest sector, as well as a review of the Land Use Act, as means of tackling deforestation in Nigeria. He reiterated that the fate of forest reserves was in the hands of state governments by the legislation of the Land Use Act. The DG opined that the issue of felling of trees, especially by loggers for sale and for fuel; would not decrease if a review of the Land Use Act of 1978, which places all landed property in the country, including forests in the custody of state government, is not reviewed.
On the call for the state of emergency in the forest sector, he said such action would only allow for urgent steps to be taken to preserve forests, some of which house endangered tree species. The United Nations General Assembly had declared March 21 as the International Day of Forests in 2012, to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. The Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that the world loses 10 million hectares of forest annually due to deforestation, an area roughly equal to Iceland and that insects injure 35 million hectares of forest annually.
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