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CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND RESTORATION OF FOREST AND
DEGRADED LANDS;ITS IMPACTS ON ECONOMIC MELTDOWN IN NIGERIA
BY PIUS AKINDELE ADENIYI PhD, FEDERAL MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT,
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY. ADO-EKITI, EKITI STATE. NIGERIA
+2348168046355 .piusadeniyi@gmail.com
Abstract
Climate change is a major concern of the whole world. It is mostly caused by human
activities since the industrial revolution through the use of fossil fuels, cement
production, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices which has doubled
the amount of green house gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. The menace thus resulted
in climate-weather variations on all temporal and spatial scales, ranging from shortlived severe storms to decadal droughts arid century shifts in temperature and ice
cover. The expansion of agriculture over the past three decades involved the cultivation
of marginal areas and clearance of important natural habitats such as forests and
wetlands. The conversion has now become major driving force behind land
degradation. Loss of natural habitats has reduced vegetation cover and exposed soils
to wind and water erosion which leads to a significant reduction of the productive
capacity of land.
Macroeconomics variables such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), External Reserve,
External Debt, Domestic Debt, Inflation Rate, Populationgrowth rate and incidence of
Poverty were employed as indicators in the analysis of economic meltdown in Nigeria.
Data on the indicators from 1991 to 2008 were analysed by the use of simple statistical
tools such as bar charts, pie chart and trend analysis to determine economic growth
rate within the period. Contributions of forestry to the Nigeria economy (GDP) from
1960 to 2008 were also examined. Inferences were made in relation to the charts and
the results shows that economic meltdown is already affecting Nigeria following the
crash in oil prices and devaluation of currency (Nigerian Naira) against American dollar
which has translated to increased Inflation rate, high level of poverty as well as low
demand for and high cost of forest products around the world. Suggestions on possible
solutions to lessen the effects of economic meltdown were further discussed. The
paper therefore reviewed the role of afforestation resources in climate change
mitigation and restoration of degraded land.
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The objectives of this paper is to evaluate the present state of the Nigeria Economy as
well as investigating into the future impacts of the present economic meltdown on
sustainable forest management and the environment
Keywords:Economic Meltdown, Sustainable Forest Management, Nigeria Economy.
Afforestation, climate change, land degradation, biodiversity.
Introduction
The awareness on climate change has spread at an unprecedented pace and climate
change is now accepted as a major threat to human survival and sustainable
development. Climate change has been defined by the Intergovemmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) as statistically significant variations that persist for an extended
period, typically decades or longer (IPCC, 2001). It includes shifts in the frequency and
magnitude of sporadic weather events as well as the slow continuous rise in global
mean surface temperature (Fig. 1). This includes climate-weather variations on all
temporal and spatial scales, ranging from short-lived severe storms to decadal
droughts and century shifts in temperature and ice cover. Crop and livestock responses
to changing climate are initial consequences that may lead to changes in agricultural
production and food security world wide[1]
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Afforestation is the planting of trees to create a forest on non-forest land. It is different
from reforestation, which is replanting trees where a forest has been depleted. The
main purposes for implementing afforestation are commercial forestry and
environmental restoration or preservation. When afforestation is used for commercial
purposes, it usually involves planting and harvesting of trees as agricultural crops.
Areas where this is done are known as plantation forests. Harvesting trees from
plantation forests helps to reduce deforestation in natural forests. On the other hand,
there may be environmental consequences if this tree-farming is done incorrectly. The
fast-growing trees often chosen for plantation forests consume large amounts of water
and may deplete the area's water resources. Some types of trees also change the
physical or chemical properties of the soil, which can damage indigenous species.
Thus, sustainable commercial afforestation must take environmental factors into
account to avoid damaging the local ecosystem [1,7]
Introduction
The world is experiencing global economic downturn and its effect on nations' economy
cannot be over emphasized where production as measured by Gross Domestic Product
(GDP), employment, investment spending, capacity utilization, household incomes and
business profits all fall during recessions. Recession is a general slowdown in economic
activity over a sustained period of time, or a business cycle contraction. Global
recession affects global demand for goods; it reflects in sharp decline in global
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commodity price as well as also reflects in many developed markets. The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) regards periods when global growth is less than 3% to be global
recessions. The IMF estimates that global recessions seem to occur over a cycle lasting
between 8 and 10 years. The current meltdown seemed the worst since the end ofthe
World War II in 1945 [2]The background to the global economic meltdown represents "a
worldwide recession that is slowing down economic growth and development in virtually
all sectors and across economic regions of the world". Economic meltdown can also be
described as "a crisis situation whereby the resources that are supposed to be available
for usage are either very scarce or not available, leading to the inability of political
leaders to meet targets, plans and programmes".
A direct result of the meltdown has been the emergence of recession in the global
economy.
The United States, Japan, Nigeria and most European countries have acknowledged
that their economies have entered into recession. Different explanations by different
economists were given to the term "recession". The causes of this global meltdown are
enormous ranging from increasing pressure on banks and financial institution to raise
capital thereby recalling back their loans and refusing to lend, rising illiquidity, stock
market burst as well as potential financial instability. Since the commencement of the
current global financial crisis, its implications on nation's economy are large in areas
such as revenue contraction, declining capital inflows in the economy, commodity price
collapse (especially oil price), limited foreign trade finances for banks, pressure on
exchange rates, rising interest rates and de-accumulation of foreign reserves. The
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the global economic meltdown is
affecting the world forestry as the demand for wood and wood products has declined.
Speaking at the State of the World's Forests 2009, the Assistant Director-General
ofFAO's forestry department, Mr. Jan Heino said as a result of the collapse in the
housing sector and the credit crunch, economic meltdown are already having a severe
negative impact on investments in industries and also on forest management. This
paper therefore focuses and critically examines the impact of the recent economic
meltdown on forestry management and development, the present state of the Nigerian
economy since the inception of global recession and to proffer solution on the
government and forestry as a whole can help reduce the impact of the economic
meltdown on Nigeria's economy
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Causes of Climate Change and its Effects
The current change in global temperature has been a major topic of discussion in
recent times as a result of its envisaged effects on the patterns of global economic and
industrial development aspirations [3] Climate change, mostly caused by human
activities since the industrial revolution through the use of fossil fuels, cement
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production, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices has doubled the
amount of green house gases (GHG) in the atmosphere [4]Global scientific consensus
confirms that the effects of these heat trapping gases have already caused global
temperature to rise by 0.5°C and that if the trend continues, temperature will increase
by 1.4°C to 5.8°C by 2100. Scientists agreed that the rising concentrations of
anthropogenecally produced green house gases on the earth's atmosphere are
responsible for changes in climate change. The green house gases include carbon
dioxide, methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N20) from agriculture and "trace gases" or
artificial chemicals including hydrocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride [4] Although, Africa
contribute the least to global emission of Green House Gases (GHG's), it is the most
vulnerable due to its dependence on rainfed agriculture, widespread poverty and weak
capacity .[6,7] Consequently, the cumulative impacts of climate change over the next
two or three decades have the potential to reverse some of the progress made towards
attainment of the Millennium Development Goals [6,7].
Land degradation
Land degradation is defined as the long-term loss of ecosystem function and
p4roductivity caused by disturbances from which the land cannot recover unaided .[8]
Land degradation occurs slowly and cumulatively and has long lasting impacts on rural
people who become increasingly vulnerable .[9] The expansion of agriculture over the
past three decades involved the cultivation of marginal areas, or clearance of important
natural habitats such as forests and wetlands. Such conversion is a major driving force
behind land degradation. Many African rural communities survive by moving their cattle
and crops as subsiding floodwaters expose enriched bottomlands and floodplains.
Draining wetlands foragriculture therefore threatens not only habitats and biodiversity
but also the livelihoods of pastoralists and wildlife.
Loss of natural habitats has reduced vegetation cover and exposed soils to wind and
water erosion. Wind and water erosion is extensive in many parts of Africa with about
25 per cent of the land prone to water erosion and about 22 per cent to wind erosion
[5,10]
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Soil erosion reduces the productivity of land, requiring farmers to apply more and more
fertilizers and other chemicals that help check falling productivity. However, many smallscale farmers cannot afford to buy these inputs and so get low yields.
Land degradation leads to a significant reduction of the productive capacity of land.
Human activities contributing to land degradation include unsuitable agricultural land
use (Fig. 3), poor soil and water management practices, deforestation, removal of
natural vegetation, frequent use of heavy machinery, overgrazing, improper crop
rotation and poor irrigation practices. Natural disasters, including droughts, floods and
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landslides, also contribute. A Global Assessment of Soil Degradation (GLASOD) was
undertaken in the early 1990s 8,9] and a land degradation assessment of dry lands
(LADA) was initiated by GEF and UNEP in 2000 and is now being developed with FAO.
It has been estimated that 23 per cent of all usable land (excluding mountains and
deserts, for example) has been affected by degradation to a degree sufficient to reduce
its productivity [8’9]). Soil erosion is a major factor in land degradation and has severe
effects on soil functions - such as the soil's ability to act as a buffer and filter for
pollutants, its role in the hydrological and nitrogen cycle, and its ability to provide habitat
and support biodiversity [8’9]. About 2000 million ha of soil, equivalent to 15 per cent of
the Earth's land area (an area larger than the United States and Mexico combined),
have been degraded through human activities[.8.9] The main types of soil degradation
are water erosion degradation (56%) (Fig. 2), wind erosion degradation (28%), chemical
degradation (12%) and physical degradation (4%). Causes of soil degradation include
overgrazing (35%), deforestation (30%), agricultural activities (27%), overexploitation of
vegetation (7%) and industrial activities (1 %) .[8,9]
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Afforestation
Forests absorb greenhouse gases, and even after trees are cut they will store carbon
for decades if used as building materials. Using wood as biomass energy allows a
reduction in the use of oil and other fossil fuels [11]. Afforestation and subsequent uses
of wood make it possible to slow the pace of global warming. Because afforestation
costs less than energy conservation and other methods, it generates expectations as
one way of coping with global warming. Additionally, it is believed that planting trees in
developing countries will cost less and provide larger areas for afforestation than in
developed countries [1]. Accordingly, having developed countries fund afforestation in
developing countries is regarded as a part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases
emissions. The IPCC has been asked to evaluate afforestation as a carbon sink, and it
is also under continuing consideration to determine a specific framework in the CDM [7]
Role of Afforestation in Climate Change Mitigation
Forests and all vegetation play an important role in reducing greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere because trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air. When a
forest is increasing in size it absorbs CO2as part of the process of increasing its
biomass and is referred to as a carbon "sink". Once the forest reaches maturity the
carbon density remains approximately constant [1]This is called a carbon "reservoir".
When a forest is cleared much of the stored carbon is rapidly converted to carbon
dioxide and the forest is a source of CO2. Maintenance of existing biomass stocks (e.g.
forests and forest products) is a key to avoiding further emissions of greenhouse gases.
This includes protection of native and exotic forests which are both substantial carbon
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reservoirs. If the area under these lands uses increase, or their condition improves, this
can represent a significant carbon sink .[1]
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Methods to mitigate Climate Change through Afforestation
Increasing afforestation
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An option to continue to increase CO2absorption is to plant new forests. The rate of
carbon accumulation, and the maximum at maturity, will depend on the species, site
and management system used. Depending on the objectives and constraints of each
situation, trees may be planted in farm forestry systems (e.g. shelterbelts) or in
continuous blocks, in a single year or over successive years. Each system will have
different characteristics as a sink and reservoir.
Managing forests to store carbon
There are several ways to increase a forest's carbon sink (the rate at which carbon is
sequestered or absorbed from the air and turned into carbon in a plant) or reservoir (its
capacity to store carbon). Increasing the rotation age allows the trees more time to grow
and increases the carbon reservoir in the mature forest. A change in forest
management may also increase carbon storage potential, for example a regime with no
thinning or pruning may contain more carbon than a more intensive regime [1]
It is possible to retain a forest as a carbon reservoir and not harvest it. Some species
are more suited to this than others. If the trees are not harvested, the carbon content
will not increase past a given point. However, if they are harvested they may be turned
into wood products, and could thus extend the time before the carbon is released back
to the atmosphere .[7]
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The Role of Bio-energy
Bio-energy is a term used to describe energy sources from the conversion of plant
material such as crops, wood and plant waste. A term commonly used to describe all
plant material is "biomass"[1]. Bio-energy, when used in place of fuels containing fossil
carbon such as oil, can help reduce the risks of global warming. This is because the
carbon from living material remains within the natural carbon cycle.
Bio-energy Opportunities in Forestry and Agriculture
The forestry industry' produces considerable volumes of "waste" both in the forest and
the processing plant. Pruning, thinning and harvesting waste is either burned or left in
the forest to decay or, while processing, residues are often taken off-site and left to
decay.
Wood products, once they have served a useful life, also become 'wastes'. If this waste
is utilised to produce energy, the carbon is released more quickly, but it can prevent the
emissions associated with the use of the fossil fuel [4]
There are a number of options available for growing dedicated bio-energy crops in
addition to using waste products. Some countries are encouraging farmers to grow oil
seed crops (e.g. Soya, linseed) for the production of transport fuels. An alternative
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option is to grow fast growing crops such as eucalyptus which produce large volumes of
biomass very quickly. Some of the tree species being considered can be grown on
coppice cycles of up to 5 years; every time the above-ground biomass is harvested,
new shoots emerge from the cut stumps to produce the next crop, hence avoiding the
need for replanting .[4]
Restoration of Degraded land through Afforestation
Forest trees enhance sustainable agriculture through their productive function on the
environment .[12] They protect agricultural land from degradation; improve the soil
fertility and texture of forest land (Fig 4). In part of sudano-sahelian region, the
presence of trees on farm or open lands reduces the drying effect of the prevailing wind
on the soil and so conserves soil moisture required for good crop growth and
development [13] Trees reduce wind speed and the movement of sand over the
environment in general. The presence of forest had been known to reduce the
devastating effects of turbulent windstorms. This is so because trees control wind by
obstruction guidance, deflection and filtration. The obstructive influences of trees lie in
their resistance to winds (as wind breaks) thereby reducing wind speeds. Trees reduce
the effect of erosion by maintaining soil erosion resistance. Soil resistance maintenance
is brought about by sustaining soil organic matter and thereby improving soil structure
through the addition of plant residues. The greatest potential for reducing erosion rate,
however is the ground cover effect created by tree litter fall .[4]
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Present State of the Nigerian Economy
Nigeria has begun to take its share of the global financial crisis when the Nigerian
Stock Exchange (NSE) started to record unprecedented losses in the value of shares
of companies listed on the market. In 2008, the Nigerian Stock Exchange lost about
N556 Billion when the foreign nationals who had invested in Nigeria economy pulled
out their money to shore up their native economies, between 2008 and 2009 the
Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has lost trillions of naira in the market, apart from the
mega losses by investors in the Nigerian Stock Exchange, other areas in which the
current global economic chaos already affecting Nigeria includes banking, housing and
credit, and also food stuff in the market. Nigerian economy depend mainly on oil for
over 60% of its total revenues, and also 90% of her foreign exchange earnings [14],
this result has led to the neglect of various sectors in the country. The collapse of oil
prices from 147 dollars per barrel in July 2008 to between 40 dollars and 44 dollars
surely had an immediate effectbecause itwas not handled properly, disastrous impact
on the budgets of all the Governments of the federation as Nigeria economy is not
isolated from the global economic crises. Its effects on the country includes lower
growth rate, devaluation of currency, translating into higher poverty index, increased
crime rate, weaker health systems and difficulty in meeting the targets of the
Millennium Development Goals and the 7 points agenda [15]. As a result of the
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economic downturn, Nigeria Naira has been depreciated against the American Dollar
since 2008. The gradual increase in oil prices per barrel from $65 in 2000 to $147 in
the first quarter of 2008 has led to increased Gross Domestic Product (GDP, which
measures the value of all goods and services produced within the confines of a
country by both nationals and non nationals resident within that country), economic
growth and development in the country. Between 2000 and 2007 the incidence of
poverty in the country dropped from 60% to 54.4% while life expectancy remains at 54
years at birth [.16]With the present situation of the Nigeria Economy there is tendency
for incidence of poverty to rise up to 70%. The chart below shows the Nigeria GDP
between 1991 and 2008.
Figure 5: Nigeria GDP between 1991-2008
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Figure 5 shows a significant increase in the GDP between 2002 and 2008, this can be
translated to a sustained economic growth which is attributed to the increase in oil
prices per barrel that is above the budget benchmark and the pay-off of Federal
Government debts. Increases in GDP during this period also represent an increased
standard of living. The percentage increase in population growth from 2.8% to 3.2%
between 2004 and 2008 as shown in figure 6 above which indicates an increase in
Government spending in the provision of public goods and services, increase in
population also leads to increased destruction of the forests in Nigeria through human
activities such as buildings and industrial activities [23], though Adult literacy rate moved
from 62% to 66.9% this implies an increase in human resources development that
contributed to GDP within this period. As the population grows the Government
spending also increases so as to meet the pressing needs of the people, government
may need to borrow in a situation of economic crisis like this and it will lead to
accumulation of debts and economic instability.
Sustainable Forest Management and Economic Meltdown
Forestry: the management of forestlands for maximum sustained yield of forest
resources and benefits. Much research and development has been invested in
improving varieties of trees for commercial use and in better methods of planting, pest
control, thinning, felling, and extraction and of processing timber into usable products.
Forestry production increased modestly by 2.7% to 145.6 million cubic metres above its
level in 2006 and contribute 3,589.4 (N Million) to the GDP in 2008 this is an increase of
5.8% over 2007. The rise was attributed to increased demand for wood products. In
order to sustain wood production, the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN)
intensified the supply of improved breeder seedlings to replace the harvested trees
stocks [16]. The chart below shows the contributions of Forestry and other departments
of Agriculture to the GDP in Nigeria from 1960 to 2008.
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From the chart above, Forestry contributed 1%to the total agricultural production which
is not significant compared to the 90% from crop production in 2008 though, most forest
lands in Nigeria today has been acquired, destroyed and used for crop production and
industrial activities thereby limiting forests outputs and its contribution to the economy.
Forest management is not exempted from the economic crisis judging by the alarming
increase in the prices of goods and services and the low demand for forest products. If
the economic meltdown persists the contributions of forestry to the economic growth will
decline as most forest lands will be taken over for farming operations as a result of
larger number of people turning into farming for survival, also there will be increase in
biodiversity loss and disappearance of other unquantifiable services renders by
Forestry. Apart from the GDP instrument, other macroeconomic variables to be adopted
in the study of economic meltdown and its impacts on sustainable forest management
include External reserves, External debt, Domestic debt, Inflation rate, Population
growth rate, and Incidence of poverty.
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Figure 8 above represent the Nigeria External reserve, External debt and Domestic
debt from 1991 to 2008. Nigeria's external debt was substantially reduced following the
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pay- off of the outstanding debts owed to the London Clubs and the Paris Club in 2006.
In the eight years of Obasanjo government, crude oil price went up and the price was
always above the budget benchmark. The contribution of crude oil to the GDP rose
from 0.3% in 1960 to 40.6% in 2002 while 95% of exporting earnings is from crude oil
.[14] The period of 2002 to 2007 saw a rapid economic growth as the prices of crude oil
moved gradually from $60 to $65 and later to $147; during this period the excess
accrued from crude oil amounted to $59,812.90 millions.[17] Economist around the
country advised the government that the excess be saved for the rainy day, thus the
excess Crude Oil Account was created. But, soon afterwards, the account became
contentious and the need to share the proceeds became a national issue. The account
was shared to a point of depletion, if the savings made during this period were intact,
Nigeria would have some funds to fall back on. Today, the financial meltdown has left
the global economy in a deep recession almost of equal proportion of the great
depression of 1930s .[18] The trend of inflation in figure 5 followed the pattern of
economic growth recorded between 2000 and 2007, as the Government revenue from
oil and other sectors increases, external reserve also increases and there was enough
money to fund the budget, plans and projects. During this period, inflation reduced
significantly accompanied by improved standard of living. The crashed from $147 to
$44 per barrel surely affected the Federal Government budget and those of the states
were frustrated as there was not enough resources to finance the recurrent
expenditure of about N1.6 trillion, and even the capital projects. The $500 million an
equivalent ofN75 billion loan borrowed by the Federal Government Nigeria (FGN)
between 2008 and 2009 [,19] as greatly shoot up the external debt this already having
effect on the value of Nigeria Naira in relation to exchange rate, coupled with the
present economic crisis in the country the prices of goods most especially food stuff
and other forest products like woods has increased tremendously. The upward slope of
the trend between the third quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009 in figure 9
indicates a pre-hyper inflation. Government workers must know that if the situation in
the oil market does not improve government across the country that depend mainly on
Federation Account allocation may face months of unpaid salaries as we have already.
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How can Economic meltdown affect Sustainable Forest Management (SFM)?
. Economic -meltdown can affect sustainable forest management in many ways;

Cut-down of research budgetary allocation; if that is the case then less research
activities should be expected.
~
,.,
Continuous fall in the demand for forest products due to high costs and reduction
in the purchasing power
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• .. If it last than expected, it may affect workers' promotion, advancement, and even
retrenchment may take place, due to shortage of fund, this already affecting most
financial institutions and telecommunication companies.

There will be a long lasting effect on human capital development in form of
insufficient fund for training, organization of seminars and workshops.
• Reduction of awarded contracts

Reduction or non availability of funds for the purchase of new office buildings,
furniture and equipment

Insufficient fund for international travels

Parts of the forest land may be hijacked for farming, this will lead to the cutting
down of forest trees and destruction of the forest biodiversities making the
environment to be prone to erosion, desertification, drought, and other disasters.
This activity may trigger climate change and its effect is shortage of food and
outbreak of sickness and diseases.
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How can Economic meltdown affect Individual?
To mention but few, economic meltdown can affect individual through:
.
 Reduction in Purchasing power and high inflation rate:this is a situation where
by much more money chasing very few goods. This is already happening in the
Nigeria market. A widow who also worked in forestry was interviewed on the effect
of economic meltdown and she has this to say "I spentN15, 000 per month in 2008
to provide food for my household but since April, 2009 I spent nothing less than
N25, 000 on food stuff every month". She said that this high food and cost other
commodities have claimed wish percentage of her monthly income.The situation is
worst than that now.

Health Problems: the loss in the value of stocks recorded by the Nigeria Stock
Exchange market in 2008 has caused a lot ofhea1th problems in the country.
According to a field survey by Adebayo and)[20], in every ten households in Oyo
State there is probability of at least 1 to 4 (P(l <N <4) hypertensive patients.
Health experts say hypertension is a silent killer and worse than HIV/AIDS
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Reduction in life expectancy rate: Health scientists around the country have
recorded an increase in sicknesses and diseases in the early 2009, life expectancy
is at 54years )[21] and this may be attributed to scarce resources to take good care
of their health. They predict an increase in various diseases such as stroke,
blindness, mental stress and sudden death if there is no quick intervention to
mitigating the economic crisis.
How can Economic meltdown affect the Government?

Disruption in plans, policies and programmes: with the current state of
economic meltdown in the country, most of the Federal Government's highlighted
goals and meltdown in the country, objectives such as Millennium Development
Goals (MOG's), 7 Point Agenda, Vision 2020, Re-branding Nigeria may not be
achievable. State Government may also lack fund to implement their plans and
programmes this leads to government failure.
• Sociopolitical and Economic instability: as economic meltdown affects every
sectors of the economic, all social, political and economic activities in the country
becomes paralysed. There are likely to be. inflation, continuous demand for salary
increase, more strikes, more crimes and corruption etc.
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 Increasing Public and Domestic Debt:
this will have a serious impact on the economy as well as the image of the country.

Growth and Development: developed economies like the USA, EU, China, United
Kingdom, France, and Japan are crying of collapsed economy, what would a
country like Nigeria that is still growing do? Growth rate of the Nigeria economy is
measured by the GDP. Over ~ 5% of the country's GDP is from crude oil, now that
the price of crude oil has fallen the growth rate would automatically fall.
.
What can Forestry do to help in this time of Economic Crisis?
Forests have sustained life on earth through the ages by supplying of food, medicine,
energy, shelter, fodder, wood and non-wood forest products which are a source of
economic development for individuals and communities. Forests also have cultural and
spiritual values, protect biodiversity and conserve soil and water, protecting our
environment from desertification and erosion. Forests are indeed a source of life.
Forestry can help in this time of economic crisis by using the resources on ground to
intensify more efforts on the areas of establishing more forests and maintaining the
existing ones since forests helps to maintain ecological balance and biodiversity,
influence weather patterns and climate [22]. This will help to increase forest products
such as wood, food, fuel, forage, fodder, fibre, honey, mushroom, vegetables,
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medicines, bush meat, fruits, and create more jobs and income. With these, forestry will
goalong way to help the country in this hard time of economic meltdown.
What can we do to help ourselves?
1. Cultivate the habit of savings; spend less and save more.
2. Invest in areas that can generate additional income
3. Spend only on your basic needs such as food, education of children etc,
4. Prayers; Nigerians are deeply religious people and with the economic crisis hitting
hard on the people, there could be no better time to seek divine intervention than
now.
What is the Nigerian Government doing?
A new National economic management framework aimed at dealing holistically with the
impact of the global economic meltdown on Nigeria has been established by President
MuhammaduBuhari
The committee has come up with recommendations which the Federal Government
has to approve.
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Recommendation
Afforestation plays very important roles in environmental stabilization. They help in
ameliorating microclimates and influence global climate by acting as sink of carbondioxide. Trees/forests help in controlling land degradation, preserve biodiversity and
ensure food securities for the ever increasing human population. Destruction of such a
resource through wanton exploitation in an unsustainable manner must be seriously
addressed and ensure intensive afforestation programmes if the forests must continue
to perform their important functions of environmental sanitization and stabilization.
Conservation must be accompanied by aggressive ecologically sensitive reforestation
and afforestation especially on arid lands where fuel wood demands are high. All these
must be supported by improved international funding accompanied by increased
training and wider non governmental organizations participation in the planning process.
Conclusion
The impact and effect of the global economic meltdown will still be felt many more years
to come as Nigeria is one of the many African countries to be hit mostly by the
recession.
Forestry and individuals must adhere strictly to what they can do as discussed in this
paper. The Nigerian government should put all hands on deck and work towards
managing and reducing the economic hardship and its effects on the citizens and
various sectors of the economy, there is need for government to:
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International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 5, Issue 4, April-2016
ISSN 2278-7763
16

Diversify the nation's economy so as to reduce the over dependence on the oil
sector.
Resources should therefore be diverted to other sectors of the Nigerian economy;
this will help increase the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) irrespective ofthe
continuous fall in oil price.

The government should create a conducive environment to attract and build the
confidence of investors in the country. Provision of basic social infrastructures and
amenities are very essential.

The government should find alternative to foreign loans by investing the savings in
the external reserve account into the economy otherwise the purpose for such
foreign loans must be well defined i.e. for execution of electricity projects. '

Corruption is also a major problem in Nigeria Public funds for economic
developments are being embezzled. Therefore there is need for government to
tackle corruption and our political leaders should be prudent in the way they
manage public fund.

Price regulation and control is also very essential. Due to the economic hardship
felt as a result of the meltdown, purchasing powers of consumers has reduced and
are unable to meet their demand for various goods and services. Government
should help regulate price so as to make goods affordable by the people.

Financial sector reform: the financial sector is very crucial in a nation's economy
and the government has a lot to do by checking the activities and operations in the
banking and other financial institution for its efficiency.
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The agricultural sector has been neglected for many years and from our study from
above we found out that forestry contributes only 1 % of agricultural contribution to
GDP, this is as a result of the low budgetary allocation, low foreign direct investment
and low government spending to forestry development in the country. Forestry should
be given morefocus as the nation tends to diversify its economy.Forestry can increase
the nations earning as we all know that Nigeria can not do without forestry and its
produce. Therefore there is need for government to:
 Increase the budget allocation to forestry for greater productivity.

Increased attention on green development could provide a new direction to the
development of the forest sector. Planting trees, increased investments in
sustainable forest management, and active promotion of wood in green building
practices and renewable energy will all become integral parts of green
development.
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 The forestry department should be allowed to share out of the revenue generated
by the government so that this can be ploughed back into forestry development.
 There is also the need for government to develop and find new market for forestry
products so as to increase the revenue generated from forestry.

And finally government should seek funds and technical assistance from
international organizations with the aim of assisting the country to increase its forest
estate and manage the environment in a more sustainable way for greater
productivity.
If the Nigerian government can sit tight and put things right as suggested above and
see forestry as a crucial part of economic development and revenue generation, the
country should be able to effectively manage the negative effect the economic
recession is having on the nation, its citizens and forestry development in Nigeria
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