FOREST INVESTMENT A PANACEA FOR ECONOMIC STABILITY

Today's Nigeria is one that is gradually letting go of its dependence on the petroleum sector as the major driver of the economy .
Agriculture is gradually emerging as the backbone of the Nigerian economy . It is the main base of man's life because all things directly or indirectly depend on it as its vastness range from providing raw materials to other sectors. One of the less talked about subsector of agriculture is forestry.
Forestry as an Agricultural branch offers challenging prospects for economic growth and social development . It is the art and practice of cultivating , exploiting and renewing forests for commercial purposes . Forest lands are responsible for the beauty and spiritual impact of our landscape . According to panda.org, forests constitute about 30% of the world's land surface and Nigeria has a total land area of 91,077,000 Ha (919,770 km²) and only about 9.7 % of this land area was used for forestry as at 2015 . In Nigeria's exports, wood products command a high range of international currencies. Furthermore, forest products have diverse ancillary uses such as supporting the production of crops and fishing . Its importance to mankind is one that cannot undergo underestimation because of man’s dependence on it for survival, ranging from the air we breathe to the wood we use . Greenfacts.org says, globally the reported value of wood harvested as at 2005 was 57 billion USD for industrial round wood and 7 billion USD for fuel wood . Besides providing habitats for animals and a means of livelihood for man, it also gives watershed protection, prevents soil erosion and mitigate climate change .
At some point individuals never saw the advantage of forestry until they began reading newspapers ,switching on lights , signing cheques , making a shopping list , getting a parking ticket , and making use of a tissue . The world bank disclosed in 2016 that the formal timber sector employs more than 13.2 million people and produces more than 5,000 types of wood based products and generates a gross value added of over 600 billion USD yearly. Forest products are involved in the manufacture of medicines, cosmetics, detergents and many other things. After oceans, forests are the world's largest storehouse of carbon. They provide ecosystem services that are essential to man's welfare which includes: absorbing greenhouse gases that causes climate climate change ,providing clean water for drinking ,bathing and other household needs and serving as a buffer in natural disasters such as flood and rainfall .
Finally, forestry is universally needed for the continuation of human society ,Thus, it is essential to protect and conserve forest . According to panda.org between 1990 and 2015 ,the world lost over 129 million Ha of forest as a result of deforestation, which when taken lightly does not only cause species extinction but also endangers the ecosystem with dire consequences left for man to bear . Required funding for sustainable forest management is estimated to be between $70billion and $160 billion per year globally (World Bank 2014) . More attention should be given to forest protection and conservation and mechanisms should be discovered through research on how to manage forests, because only a long term national commitment to conservation and sustainable development of forest can reverse the tide of uncontrolled deforestation. In the year 2011,the forestry sector contributed over 991.8 million USD to the economy which is over 0.4% of the GDP . For the country to derive optimum benefit from forestry, She must be ready to invest hugely in forestry. Both the private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy must see forestry and agriculture at large as a gold mine , an oil well and a way of survival for our dying economy because it will greatly help the citizens and the country at large and with this Nigeria will in reality be the Giant of Africa .