Key policies and governance approach

The mandate to coordinate environmental protection and natural resource conservation is vested in the Federal Ministry of Environment [1]. The Federal Ministry of Environment sets national policies, but responsibility for the implementation of forest and land management lies with each of the country’s 36 states, each of which has its own forestry and related land management laws guided by those at federal level [7].

The National Forest Policy is the overarching framework on forestry development in Nigeria [7]. To commemorate the 2022 International Day of Forests, Nigeria launched the revised 2020 National Forest Policy for sustainable forest management and promoting good forest governance to improve livelihoods in the country [8], [9]. The policy sets out strategies for growing the forest sector further and addressing emerging environmental issues like climate change resulting from increased population with its attendant pressure on the forests and its resources [9].

With regards to climate change, Nigeria has developed a new REDD+ Strategy (2021), including a National Forest Investment Plan (2019-2023), to curb deforestation and reduce forest-related emissions [10]. Nigeria will implement its REDD+ Strategy over a 30 year period, from 2021 to 2050, to achieve short, medium, and long-term goals. The Strategy prioritises actions, defines institutional arrangements, recommends policy (re)alignments, and identifies partnerships and financial mechanisms that will assist the country to reduce the rate of carbon emissions and enhance removals from the forest sector while creating benefits for resilience building and green economic development, so that Nigeria can meet its National REDD+ Programme objectives. Further, it addresses, among others, the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, land tenure issues, forest governance issues, gender considerations and safeguards [2].

In addition, the Nigerian authorities are making concerted efforts to address the illegal timber trade, such as through renewed efforts to enforce the ban on trade in timber (restated in July 2020) and the new Nigerian National Wildlife and Forest Crime Strategy 2022-2026 [11].

Successes and remaining challenges

Efforts towards sustainable forest management are underway in Nigeria through the development of appropriate strategies and action plans, reforestation programs, as well as extension and advisory services.

The growth trajectory of the forest sector is characterized by intensive reforestation and driven by increasing green investments to stop the loss of forests, recover deforested areas and expand forests coverage in the country through the REDD+ and green economy approach. Planned initiatives in Nigeria should continue to ensure that forests are protected and sustainably managed [10]. In 2017, Nigeria pledged to restore 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) of degraded forests. By 2021, Nigeria has reclaimed 555,480 hectares of land and planted 15 million trees [12].

Despite Nigeria’s efforts to conserve its forests, gaps exist. The most immediate needs in conservation are effective legislation, research, adequate human capacity, funding, and impactful interventions [1]. For instance, at the state level, management capacity of the state forestry departments and local organizations is mostly low, with poor funding, low staff morale, limited technical training and often high levels of government corruption. Further, federal, State and local governments in the forest sector are all impeded by inadequate capacity and training, as well as a lack equipment and other resources for forest management [7].

Initiatives and Development Plans

The Great Green Wall (GGW) is an ongoing conservation effort in Nigeria. The country was at the forefront of championing, together with other Sahel countries and the African Union Commission, the launch of the GGW for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative, instituted in 2007 at the margins of the Food Security Summit. Since then, Nigeria has been supported by FAO, with funding from the EU, to develop its GGW Strategy and action plan adopted in 2012, set up its national agency for the GGW, join the Pan African Agency of the GGW, and to implement the initiative on the ground to support communities in large scale restoration of degraded lands [3].

However, the programme is facing challenges related to its limit scope, as it covers only 3 out of 11 target states in Nigeria, and limited funding from the UN side especially because funds are no longer available from the EU. To compound this, the government has not developed a new action plan that addresses the funding issue and is also not directing funds to the agency for programme activities. Regardless of these challenges, the initiative has seen positive results with five million hectares of degraded land restored and 20,000 jobs created in the process since 2007. There is also a pending World Bank programme that may be able to offer funding [3].  

In addition, many other forestry initiatives and programs have been developed to support sustainable forest management in the country. These include the Nigerian Forestry Action Program, the Africa Forest Outlook Study, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Desertification and Deforestation Program, and the National Shelterbelt Council Program. The National Afforestation Program is underway in all ecological zones of Nigeria and aims to restore degraded forest reserves and other landscapes nationwide. The National Forestry Trust Fund was also created to address the lack of funding that militates against forestry development in Nigeria [10].

Goals and Ambitions

As part of the broader African Forest Landscape Restoration initiative which aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2030, Nigeria plans to increase forest cover to 25% of its landmass [12].