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NIGERIA
By Rhett Butler | Last updated July 12, 2014

While Nigeria is probably best known today for its oil deposits,
the country is home to a rich diversity of forests and wildlife,
including at least 899 species of birds, 274 mammals, 154
reptiles, 53 amphibians, and 4,715 species of higher plants.
Nevertheless Nigeria's forests are some of the most
threatened on the planet due to high population growth rates,
conversion for subsistence and industrial agricultural, and
logging.

As of late 2012, nearly half of Nigeria is forested (defined as

land with more than 10 percent tree cover), but the country's
rainforests are fast declining. According to the U.N., Nigeria
lost nearly 80 percent of its old-growth forests between 1990
and 2005, giving the dubious distinction of having the highest
deforestation rate of natural forest on the planet during that
period.

Global Forest Watch map showing forest loss and gain in

Nigeria between 2001-2012. Click image for an interactive
map

Recent forest loss alerts. Click image to enlarge.

Most of Nigeria's rainforests are located in the Niger River

Delta. The country's dense forests are concentrated in the
stats of Bayelsa, Cross River, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Rivers,
and Taraba. Together those eight states account for nearly 95
percent of Nigeria's land area that has more than 50 percent
tree cover.

Forest cover by state in Nigeria

Dense forest Total land

Total forest area Forest gain Forest loss
area area

% >50% % % %
>10% 2001- 2001-
total tree total total total
tree cover 2012 2012 (ha)
land cover land forest forest
(ha) (ha) (ha)
cover (ha) cover cover cover

Abia 460163 97.4% 10235 2.2% 1068 0.2% 9750 2.1% 472226

Adamawa 1477236 43.4% 18219 0.5% 137 0.0% 19310 1.3% 3401093

Akwa Ibom 656993 98.4% 17538 2.6% 743 0.1% 11124 1.7% 667419

Anambra 410958 90.7% 6156 1.4% 55 0.0% 2505 0.6% 453138

Bauchi 940313 19.2% 28 0.0% 10 0.0% 18134 1.9% 4903058

Bayelsa 931701 98.6% 598018 63.3% 911 0.1% 6238 0.7% 944940

Benue 2179773 69.9% 6812 0.2% 25 0.0% 7101 0.3% 3118602

Borno 204711 3.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1509 0.7% 6607588

Cross
2042140 97.5% 888051 42.4% 4969 0.2% 26351 1.3% 2094534
River

Delta 1575968 96.9% 554278 34.1% 7291 0.5% 24983 1.6% 1625818

Ebonyi 435527 70.4% 1830 0.3% 132 0.0% 1914 0.4% 618646

Edo 1923060 98.3% 467270 23.9% 30405 1.6% 89575 4.7% 1956740

Ekiti 517058 98.9% 227894 43.6% 176 0.0% 7148 1.4% 523026

Enugu 703056 91.3% 3423 0.4% 19 0.0% 2661 0.4% 770092

Federal
Capital 584691 79.7% 178 0.0% 14 0.0% 14366 2.5% 733613
Territory

Gombe 132318 7.4% 0 0.0% 9 0.0% 11995 9.1% 1798939

Imo 517689 97.6% 15840 3.0% 937 0.2% 15347 3.0% 530389

Jigawa 5795 0.2% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 50 0.9% 2396817

Kaduna 1637020 37.0% 243 0.0% 11 0.0% 11005 0.7% 4419400

Kano 70194 3.5% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 75 0.1% 1982358

Katsina 10426 0.4% 2 0.0% 0 0.0% 204 2.0% 2364473

Kebbi 300962 8.5% 20 0.0% 1 0.0% 10399 3.5% 3531054

Kogi 2734500 95.2% 29661 1.0% 220 0.0% 35965 1.3% 2873052

Kwara 3288716 93.1% 7955 0.2% 47 0.0% 178456 5.4% 3534147

Lagos 232828 75.6% 10721 3.5% 365 0.2% 7951 3.4% 308003

Nassarawa 1745020 66.6% 246 0.0% 31 0.0% 34410 2.0% 2621138

Niger 3782277 54.3% 815 0.0% 68 0.0% 215459 5.7% 6966616

Ogun 1565404 97.6% 83533 5.2% 4258 0.3% 43730 2.8% 1603939

Ondo 1431897 98.9% 489272 33.8% 4617 0.3% 32970 2.3% 1447729

Osun 902362 98.4% 408523 44.5% 205 0.0% 9573 1.1% 917464

Oyo 2618392 95.7% 31459 1.2% 234 0.0% 59652 2.3% 2734793

Plateau 730219 26.5% 721 0.0% 36 0.0% 3244 0.4% 2755650

Rivers 806103 96.6% 153995 18.4% 1509 0.2% 10215 1.3% 834731

Sokoto 22104 0.7% 1 0.0% 0 0.0% 174 0.8% 3162145

Taraba 4513905 75.5% 681877 11.4% 1812 0.0% 77599 1.7% 5975340

Water
164781 32.8% 1 0.0% 0 0.0% 492 0.3% 502871
body

Yobe 28732 0.6% 15 0.0% 0 0.0% 864 3.0% 4553076

Zamfara 265375 7.7% 12 0.0% 0 0.0% 2064 0.8% 3448834

Nigeria 42550368 47.2% 4714839 5.2% 60318 0.1% 1004559 2.4% 90153488

Recent data from Matt Hansen and Global Forest Watch

suggest that deforestation is rising in Nigeria.

This trend seems to be confirmed by the increasing number of

NASA-based forest loss alerts.

Oil in Nigeria

In the 1990s, Nigeria became notorious for conflict linked to

oil development in the Niger River Delta. The conflict was
capped by the 1995 execution of eight environmental
activists, including Nobel Peace Prize nominee Ken Saro-
Wiwa who led opposition to Shell Oil's activities in the Ogoni
homeland.

Nigeria environmental news [XML]

Relationship
Manager - Suggested reading - Books

Le Bradt Travel Guide to Nigeria

This House Has Fallen: Nigeria in
On behalf of our Crisis
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Independence
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Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in
Joblift Nigeria

CIA-World Factbook Profile

FAO-Forestry Profile
World Resources Institute

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Nigeria Forest Figures

Forest Cover

Total forest area: 11,089,000 ha

% of land area: 12.2%

Primary forest cover: 326,000 ha

% of land area: 0.4%
% total forest area: 2.9%

Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005

Annual change in forest cover: -409,600 ha

Annual deforestation rate: -3.3%
Change in defor. rate since '90s: 31.2%
Total forest loss since 1990: -6,145,000 ha
Total forest loss since 1990:-35.7%

Primary or "Old-growth" forests

Annual loss of primary forests: -82000 ha
Annual deforestation rate: -11.1%
Change in deforestation rate since '90s: 111.4%
Primary forest loss since 1990: -410,000 ha
Primary forest loss since 1990:-79.0%

Forest Classification

Public: 100%
Private: 0%
Other: 0%
Use
Production: 27.6%
Protection: 0%
Conservation: 49.6%
Social services: 0%
Multiple purpose: 0%
None or unknown: 22.7

Forest Area Breakdown

Total area: 11,089,000 ha

Primary: 326,000 ha
Modified natural: 10,414,000 ha
Semi-natural: n/a
Production plantation: 349,000 ha
Production plantation: n/a

Plantations

Plantations, 2005: 349,000 ha

% of total forest cover: 3.1%
Annual change rate (00-05): 6,600,000 ha

Carbon storage

Above-ground biomass: 2,261 M t

Below-ground biomass: 543 M t

Area annually affected by

Fire: n/a
Insects: n/a
Diseases: n/a

Number of tree species in IUCN red list

Number of native tree species: 560

Critically endangered: 16
Endangered: 18
Vulnerable: 138

Wood removal 2005

Industrial roundwood: 13,916,000 m3 o.b.

Wood fuel: 72,711,000 m3 o.b.

Value of forest products, 2005

Industrial roundwood: $1,527,288,000

Wood fuel: $475,429,000
Non-wood forest products (NWFPs): n/a
Total Value: $2,002,718,000

More forest statistics for Nigeria

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Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2015

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