{"id":39769,"date":"2020-03-21T06:32:42","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T06:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/cregital\/disha\/2020\/03\/21\/the-beauty-of-our-forests-part-1\/"},"modified":"2022-11-02T21:32:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T21:32:39","slug":"the-beauty-of-our-forests-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/msmehub.org\/staging\/6671\/the-beauty-of-our-forests-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beauty of our Forests – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year, on March 21, the whole world commemorates the International Day of Forests to raise awareness of the importance of forests to humanity and their vital role in poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and food security. The theme for the 2020 edition is on\u00a0Forests and Biodiversity.<\/em> A forest is a large area of land covered with trees which reproduce themselves spontaneously, and provide a habitat for other life forms which may include water bodies (ponds, streams, lakes, rivers, etc), herbs and other plants, mammals, reptiles, aquaculture, birds and other wildlife.<\/p>\n

Nigeria’s forest zone is situated mainly in the South of the country. According to https:\/\/www.legit.ng\/<\/a>, Nigeria’s rich forests are inhabited by 4,715 species of high plants; 899 species of birds; 53 amphibians; 154 reptiles; 273 mammals, etc. The forest zone is subdivided into the rain forest and the mangrove forest. Most of Nigeria’s rain forests are located in the Niger River Delta in the states of Bayelsa, Cross River, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Rivers, and Taraba with high-mountains and trees of about 40-45 meters in height. These trees include mahogany, walnut, iroko, oil palm, rubber, obeche, etc.<\/p>\n

Nigeria has the third largest mangrove forest in the world and the largest in Africa. They are found in the coastal states of Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and River States. The mangrove forests habour creeks, lagoons and estuaries and provide habitation for different species of plants, fish, reptiles, mammals and minerals.<\/p>\n

Nigeria’s forests reserves include:<\/p>\n