Nigeria’s Forests Get $1bn Lifeline as FG Targets 1 Million Jobs, Climate Resilience

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Nigeria’s Forests Get $1bn Lifeline as FG Targets 1 Million Jobs, Climate Resilience

Nigeria’s forests are getting a major lifeline with the Federal Government inaugurating a 10-year, $1 billion National Forest Protection Project aimed at reversing the rapid degradation of the country’s forests while creating economic opportunities for millions of Nigerians.

The project, tagged “Securing Nigeria’s Forest Future” and also known as the Nigeria Country Package, was inaugurated in Abuja as the government, conservationists, development partners and environmental experts renewed calls for urgent action to protect the nation’s remaining forest resources.

Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, said the project, if fully implemented, could create more than one million jobs for Nigerian youths and women, turning forest protection and restoration from an environmental obligation into a source of livelihood.

For communities whose livelihoods depend directly or indirectly on forests, the initiative could mean more than planting trees. It could provide opportunities in forest restoration, sustainable agriculture, eco-tourism, conservation, renewable resources and other nature-based businesses.

Lawal expressed concern over the continued depletion of Nigeria’s ecosystems, warning that the country’s forests, landscapes and biodiversity are under growing pressure.

He said the scale of the challenge requires all sectors of the economy to work together, stressing that the project must be implemented through a coordinated national approach.

The initiative focuses on sustainable forest management, landscape restoration, biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience.

This is particularly significant at a time when Nigerians are experiencing the consequences of environmental degradation through rising temperatures, flooding, soil degradation, loss of biodiversity and other climate-related pressures.

Forests serve as natural protection against some of these threats. They help regulate temperatures, store carbon, protect soils and watersheds, support biodiversity and provide food and income for millions of people.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Conservation Foundation, Dr Joseph Onoja, said the project would support the restoration of degraded ecosystems while improving the livelihoods of people living around forest areas.

Representatives of development partners, including the German Embassy and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Dr Karin Jensen and Dr Nifesimi Ogunkua, respectively, reaffirmed their organisations’ commitment to supporting the Ministry of Environment in achieving the objectives of the project.

The inauguration also attracted contributions from academics, environmental experts and representatives of relevant government agencies, who stressed the need for stronger collaboration to protect Nigeria’s forests.

For Nigeria’s environmental community, which has long warned about the consequences of forest loss, the project represents a potentially significant shift from talking about conservation to investing in it.

But the real test, environmental observers say, will be what happens beyond the Abuja launch—the protection of forests on the ground, restoration of degraded landscapes, involvement of local communities and the conversion of the promised $1 billion framework into measurable action and jobs.

If successfully implemented, the project could give Nigeria’s forests a new lease of life while giving young Nigerians and women living around forest communities a stake in protecting the natural resources on which their future depends.

For a country increasingly battling heat, flooding and other environmental challenges, protecting the forest is no longer simply about saving trees; it is about protecting lives, livelihoods and Nigeria’s climate future.