Stop cutting down trees!

It’s what people say when they invite someone to share their meal: in Nigeria, you ‘chop’ food as you dig your fingers into some delicious pounded yam with egusi stew. Alas, most Nigerians are not aware that by eating food, they usually chop down trees, too. As most Nigerian meals are still prepared on the traditional three-stone fire, the nation’s forest cover has been reduced to 5 per cent of its original size. Environmental journalist Ugochi Anyaka on Nigeria’s deforestation crisis..

Millions of trees are fired and wasted under Nigerian cooking pots as many women still cook on three-stone fires. Cooking with fire wood has destroyed large sways of Nigerian forest cover, which is under threat of extinction today. Mallam Adamu Mbar Yelwa is a 78 year old citizen of Taraba state. He remembers the days when clouds were hanging low over Yelwa forests, providing the people of the area with fresh air and lots of animals. Watch Video