Minister Tasks Charcoal Merchants On Sustainable Forestry

Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abass Lawal, has urged charcoal merchants and other forestry stakeholders to adopt sustainable practices and support efforts to reverse deforestation and restore Nigeria’s degraded forests.

Lawal gave the charge at the flag-off of the 2026 “Operation One Million Trees” programme organised by the Association for Forest Conservation and Green Industrial Charcoal Merchants at the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Ibadan.

Represented by Dr Osakwe Igbinosa, the minister said tree planting remained critical to combating climate change, restoring biodiversity, checking desertification and strengthening the resilience of Nigeria’s ecosystems.

He said the Federal Ministry of Environment was implementing various afforestation and forest restoration initiatives, including the 2026 National Afforestation Programme, Sovereign Green Bond Afforestation Programme and the National Greening of Cities and Urban Areas initiative.

Lawal said the “Operation One Million Trees” programme complemented the government’s environmental agenda and urged the participants to comply with existing forestry laws and regulations.

He stressed that the success of afforestation should be measured not by the number of seedlings planted but by their survival and growth into healthy trees.

“Tree planting is not just about putting seedlings into the soil. The real measure of success is their survival and growth into healthy forests,” he said.

Chairman of the association, Adeshola Adebowale Idowu, urged charcoal merchants and Nigerians generally to replace trees removed from the environment, advocating the planting of several trees for every tree cut down.

Idowu also called for greater use of technology, including drones, to accelerate tree planting in difficult-to-reach locations.

The Oyo State Commissioner for Environment, Ademola Aderinto, commended Governor Seyi Makinde’s environmental policies and said the state was discouraging indiscriminate tree cutting, with offenders liable to sanctions.

Chief Strategy Officer of FOJ Multidynamic Interchange Nigeria Limited, Florence Omolola, said the three-day programme was designed to promote sustainable charcoal production through sensitisation, youth engagement, tree planting and independent verification.

She said the verification phase would involve environmentalists, journalists, regulators, NGOs, and other stakeholders to provide evidence of tree planting and enhance transparency.

Omolola said the initiative marked the beginning of a broader effort to make the charcoal business more environmentally responsible, expressing hope that the programme would grow beyond its one-million-tree target in subsequent years.