FG trains 137,000 forest guards nationwide

The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to establish Forest Guard Initiative through the Office of the National Security Adviser, in collaboration with sub-national governments, to train 137,000 forest guards nationwide.

This is to complement the efforts of Park Rangers in securing Nigeria’s natural heritage and hope that the initiative will eliminate criminals in the forest areas and trainings have been conducted in 11 states of the Federation, while plans are ongoing to bring the remaining ones on board.

Speaking at this year’s World Ranger Day during weekend in Abuja, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, said the ministry is currently partnering with the Office of the National Security Adviser to train Forest Guards as efforts are geared toward enhancing capabilities in carrying out the daunting tasks of forest policing and protection.

The Minister states that we organise training workshops and grant approval for Service personnel to undergo capacity building programmes both within and outside the country, are also building networks with international organisations to complement efforts in biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability.

He emphasized that “we are confronting the organised criminals; terrorists, insurgents, kidnappers, bandits, using forest areas as hideouts and safe havens to perpetrate heinous acts, while rangers are climate first-responders, community mediators, law enforcement and intelligence officers for nature.”

Lawal said that Nigeria is indeed taking her rightful position in the global space as far as environmental issues are concerned, adding, the task ahead remains monumental, and climate change does not respect park boundaries, and changing planet needs changing strategies.

Also speaking, Chairman, governing board of National Park Service, Kingsley Ononogbu said this year’s theme, “Rangers: Guardians of a Changing Planet,” is not only apt but timely in the face of climate change, biodiversity loss, invasive species, and increasing human pressures that are reshaping our landscapes and seascapes.