The unchecked activities of illegal wood loggers is becoming dangerous and it is gradually leading to outright deforestation, an imminent disaster.
Something must be done very quickly by Delta State Government to completely stop or put an end to the illegal wood logging activities across the State, to prevent the negative impact associated to deforestation.
The indiscriminate cutting down of trees was causing more environmental impacts.
Illegally harvesting timbers for wood products could lead to a possible species extinction.
The Delta State government must understand that Forests play a vital role in carbon sequestration, and that deforestation releases stored carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and warming.
Also, deforestation can cause increased soil erosion, water pollution and changes in rainfall patterns and water availability.
It also negatively impact the aesthetic value of natural landscapes.
A former Governorship aspirant in Delta State, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has been calling on government to stop the menace.
Onuesoke had overtime appealed to Delta state government to enact laws that will make illegal wood logging a punishable offence.
According to him, such a law if enacted will act as deterrent to illegal loggers, thereby discouraging the act of deforestation.
The Environmentalist, laments that the indiscriminate illegal logging activities in the state is becoming worrisome, stressing that though the state is blessed with natural economic trees like Iroko, Mahogany, red/white Afara, iron tree, mango tree and rubber tree among others, the activities of illegal loggers have almost depleted the forest.
He observed that truckloads of logs are moving out of the state daily to other parts of the country, adding that the business is also booming in the deep swamp area where illegal loggers arbitrarily deplete the forest reserves without replacing same.
Onuesoke has continued to cry out that the consequences of illegal logging are devastating on man and the environment.
It is responsible for loss of forest products, biodiversity loss and extinction of some rare species, decline in the function of conserving watershed, as well as removal of energy from the ecosystem.
Illegal logging contributes to the loss of valuable agricultural land and trees, reduction in underground water, forcing out of animals species from their natural habitats, loss of non-timber forest products, and decrease in soil fertility.
Persistent illegal logging gives way to flooding and erosion, pollutes air, water and soil.
He suggested to Delta State to emulate Edo State Forestry , Cross River State, Taraba State and Ekiti State that have enacted state laws whose provisions prohibit illegal logging.
