Abia Chairman of the Nigerian Environmental Society (NES), Dr Uchenna Onyeizu, has called for the enforcement of Environmental Impact Assessment act, to mitigate the effect of deforestation in the communities.
Onyeizu spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Umuahia on Thursday, in commemoration of World Forestry Day, otherwise known as the International Day of Forests.
He said that World Forestry Day is celebrated every March 21, to remind the public of the damage being caused by humans and other living organisms on the forests.
He described forest trees as the lungs of the earth, saying “they ensure that man gets the basic oxygen he needs to survive.”
Onyeizu said that the act required that an environmental impact assessment should be undertaken for any development projects likely to have significant adverse effects on the environment.
He lamented that developments were taking place sporadically in different parts of Nigeria and other developing countries without passing through the rudiments of EIA.
The NES chairman charged all the regulatory bodies to wake to their statutory responsibilities.
Onyeizu said: “Our government should enforce it because it is already a law in Nigeria.
“The whole essence is to identify the level of impact that proposed project is going to have on the environment and EIA also comes with mitigation measures.
“As environmentalists, we recommend that if you must do this as an economic activity, it is expected that you take certain actions before, during and after development, to sustain our environment.
“And when you cut down one tree, you should plant at least, two or three more trees.”
