REPORT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

According to Nigeria's Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey, as published in a recent report,his country loses over 350,000 hectares of land every year to deforestation and other impacts of climate change.The nation's natural forests had decreased from 25.7% to 16%, and that 10,000 farming families have moved out of their degraded land as a result of climate change.

Climate change impacts could pose great dangers with consequences of desertification, sea-level rise, flooding and water salinity among others.These impacts could manifest in food security challenges, damage to infrastructure and social dislocation. Additional impact is threat to Health as rising temperature could bring about diseases like Cerebro - Spinal Meningitis (CSM), Malaria and other related illnesses.

The minister, therefore, called for the support of all Nigerians in combating the effect of climate change.

The program, according to him, includes community-based wood-lots, control of fuel wood extraction from the reserves and the development of more efficient wood stoves.