“The Global North’s Logging Impacts Reach Nigeria: Why a Coordinated Approach is Crucial for Tackling Deforestation”
In Nigeria, the impacts of logging and deforestation are being keenly felt, with biodiversity lead Sikeade Egbuwalo highlighting the devastating effects on the country’s unique wildlife, plants, and ecosystems. The loss of forests is leading to encroaching deserts, failing rainy seasons, declining wetlands, and diminishing food supplies, affecting Indigenous communities that have lived sustainably on the land for generations.
To address this urgent issue, Nigeria is working towards securing effective protection of 30% of the West African ECOWAS region by 2030. However, the global focus on tropical deforestation has allowed wealthy countries in the Global North to evade accountability for the impacts of logging in their own forests. This double standard is jeopardizing efforts to halt and reverse forest loss and degradation by 2030, as outlined in declarations at COP26 and COP28.
Boreal and temperate forests in the Global North are crucial ecosystems that store a significant share of the planet’s forest carbon, making them vital for biodiversity and climate regulation. Despite their importance, these forests are facing alarming rates of clear-cutting and tree cover loss, driven by unsustainable forestry practices.
Countries in the Global North continue to insist that their logging practices are sustainable, while focusing the forest discussion solely on tropical deforestation in the Global South. Recent attempts by European countries to weaken regulations on deforestation further highlight the lack of accountability and transparency in addressing forest degradation in the Global North.
As the world approaches COP30 in Belém, Brazil, there is a growing call for a more equitable and coordinated approach to tackling deforestation. Nigeria and other African nations have championed the development of a global forest accountability and equity framework to drive progress and align forest protection standards across different regions.
The vision is to ensure that all countries unite to protect forests and address the harmful impacts of climate change. It is crucial for all nations to work together as true partners, transparently and equitably, to protect and restore forests for the benefit of all. The fight against forest loss and degradation is a global challenge that requires collective action and shared responsibility to secure a sustainable future for all.