Why ban on forest activities may not work in Cross River – Forestry Chairman

 

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Chairman of Cross River State Forestry Commission, Mr Tony Ndiandeye the total ban on exploitation of the forests in the state may not work due to the army of unemployed youths and graduates in the state.

He spoke during an interview on the World Forest Day marked on Monday.

Governor Ben Ayade had warned residents against exploiting the forests through illegal logging, saying, “I am sending a note of final warning that I cannot watch the complete degeneration of our forest as we see illegal logging becoming the order of the day.

“From today, anybody caught with illegal wood, your vehicle, the driver, the occupants of that vehicle, the destination of the stolen wood, the government official who is colluding, or the security operatives who are colluding or the forest guards who are colluding, will be picked up and dealt decisively with.

But the Chairman of the Forestry Commission says it would be difficult to enforce the total ban on the forest.

“This is because the forests have provided makeshift survival strategies for the young people in the state.

“Many of these young graduates have found the forest to be an alternative and due to their illegal activities, we are losing two per cent of our forests annually,” he said.

Forests also help to reduce the impact of events threatening to life, such as floods and climate change.

The Chairman said due to large scale unemployment, graduate from the nation’s tertiary institutions who are from the forest bearing communities see the forest as an alternative to employment.