•	
42 
INTRODUCTION 
The forestry sector of the Nigerian economy has a chequered history spanning 
over one hundred years. At independence Nigeria was richly endowed with 
_ forest resources, enough to sustain the needs of the country. A combination of 
"I. - 
I~.' ODSG-FAN CONSULT workshop on Forest IlItillstries, Ellvirollmellt & sustainabte Developmellt, 
r JTFR 17(2): 2001 
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO FORESTRY SECTOR IMPACT 
ASSESSMENT (FSIA) IN NIGERIA 
LABODE POPOOLA 1 and JOHN A. AKANDE2 
1. Department of Forest Resources Management 
	If\) 	University of Ibadan, Ibadan. 
2.	Center for Resource and Environmental Management 
U.I. Post Office Box 21715, Ibadan 
ABSTRACT 
The forestry sector is an active sector of the Nigerian economy 
which impacts, and is impacted by activities in other sectors of the 
economy. These impacts may be social, economic and biophysical 
in nature. Unfortunately, operators/stakeholders in this sector have 
done very little or nothing at mitigating these impacts which are often 
adverse, particularly, the logging-conversion continuum of the 
sector. Effective Forestry Sector Impact Assessment (FSIA) would 
score products and processes, skills and capital management along 
the scale of environmental threats and growth opportunities. A "wih- 
win" situation emerges when environmental and economic goals 
become balanced and complimentary. The cost effectiveness of 
inputs required to reform the Nigerian forest industry and the 
benefits to associated communities are critical. For many of the 
informal set-ups, including small and medium sized sawmills, 
fumiture factories and so on, the cost of resolving the principal 
environmental problems (e.g. wastes, dust & noise) is affordable 
with the overall benefits exceeding the costs. A potent determinant 
here is attitudinal shift from conservative practices. For most formal 
set-ups, however, compliance with the United Nations Framework 
Conventions on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreements such as 
the Kyoto protocol and recent alternatives would certify their 
activities, attract local and international acceptance of their 
operations, promote the needed institutional linkages and perhaps 
help to offset the cost of anticipated reforms. 
.• 

') 

UU~lJ-l·."lJ'''· LUJ,'.'lllLJ WOfli.\/I0P OJl rurrvt t nuuvuu:s, 1-1/1'/1 III II 1I/.:11/ l\: JII.)II/II/UU/l: Vl:vc.:tUJJfltl:ltl, 
JTFR 17(2): 2(1)J 
factors has, however put to question the ability of the hitherto rich forests of the 
country to sustainably produce needed products to effectively motivate supply- 
demand gaps. This gap has been created as a result of high increases in 
population and massive deforestation for other development activities. 
FORMECU (1993) put the average annual deforestation rate in Nigeria at 3.5%. 
This is usually a result of land clearance for cropping by subsistence farmers in 
the shifting cultivation system. According to Enabor (1986) this accounts for 
about 80% of deforested lands in Nigeria. 
The role of industries in raw material trade cannot be overstressed. Usually 
industries represent the market and the consumer. Their performance is 
reflected in the quantities of round wqod/timber consumed over time. The 
quantities of round wood consumed by wood-based industries are also 
dependent on their purchasing power, which is largely determined by the 
performance in the semi-processed wood product market. Traditionally, the 
wood-based industry in Nigeria consists of ply mill, particleboard, splint, veneer, 
sawmill, furniture, and chainsaw, among others. The wood-based sector has 
witnessed an unprecedented decline in the last one and a half decades 
especially beginning from the years of the Structural Adjustment Programme 
(SAP). The percentage of new entrants to the sector during that period has been 
highly negligible (less than 10%). 
With the forestry sector still expected to play its traditional roles of ecological 
stabilization and at the same time engender economic develcpment, it would 
appear that the sector is at crossroads. For now, with barely 5.34% (Table 1) of 
the total land area of the country being under forest as against the international 
requirement that 25% of the land area of each country should be under forest, 
there is a need for an overall appraisal of the activities of the sector, if forestry is 
to continue to play its expected roles in the economy. 
One major problem of the sector is deforestation from a wide range of causes, 
which include; farming (shifting cultivation), urbanization and industrialization, 
uncontrolled bush burning and unsustainable logging practices. Worse still, 
funding for forest regeneration (including plantation development) has continued 
to decline steadily. It is therefore obvious that the forestry sector needs some 
. restructuring to ensure conformity with global ethics in forest management. 
43 

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'I' 
I, 
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ODSG-FAN CONSULT Workshop on Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainable Development, 
JTFR 17(2): 2001 
TABLE 1: AREA UNDER NATURAL AND PLANTATION FORESTS IN 
NIGERIA 
	Forest types 	Area (Km2) 	% of Country 

ODSG-FAN CONSULT Workshop on Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainable Development, 
JTFR 17(2): 2001 
social entities, conditions and dynamics that surround us. Environmental impact 
assessment is, therefore, the effort to (1) determine how our actions might 
change these entities, conditions and dynamics; (2) establish criteria by which to 
evaluate the desirability of such changes; and (3) mitigates selected changes by 
appropriate engineering or management techniques. 

One of the missing links in forestry project implementation that has brought us to 
where we are now is our indifferent attitude to Environmental Impact 
Assessment (E.l.A.). According to Essaghah et al many definitions exist in 
literature that capture the concept of E.l.A. It is defined as an activity designed 
to identify and predict the impact on man's health and well being, oflegislative 
proposal, policies, programmes, projects and operational procedures, and to 
interpret and communicate the information about the impacts (Munn, 1975:23). 
Another definition by Munn (1979) defines it as an activity designed to identify 
and predict the impact on the biogeophysical environment and on man's health 
and well being of legislative proposals, policies, programmes, projects and 
operational procedures, and to interpret and communicate information about the 
impacts. Yet, the United Nations Environmental Programme, UNEP (1978) 
defines it as a process that identifies, predicts and describes in appropriate 
terms the pros and cons (penalties and benefits) of a proposed development. 
According to Erickson (1994), environmental impact assessment requires seeing 
the environment as the aggregate of things and conditions that surround or 
envelop every living and nonliving thing. From this perspective the environment 
is not just the physical habitat of waterfowl, for example; it is also the water, soil, 
air and plants that make up that habitat. The environment is not just the forest; it 
is also all the processes that take place in, around and because of that forest. 
The environment is also not merely those things that are not human: it mcluces 
humans and the things, processes, and conditions that pertain to humans. 
Currently, "environment" simply means the physical, chemical, biological and 
Adapted from FORMECU 1-996 and 1999 
( 

Natural Forest 
Forest Plantation 
Teak Plantation 
Total 
Source: 

46,542.14 	5.04 
1,573 	0.20 
1,156 	0.10 
49,271.14 	5.34 

From the various definitions, Environmental Impact Assessment is seen both as 
an operational concept, process and strategy. As a concept, it encompasses a 
set of series of activities that are designed to document the impact of man's 
action (proposed, on-going) on man's environment - physical, social, economic, 
political and hence, ecological setting. As a process, it is a set of procedural 
activities involving identification, prediction, interpretation and communication of 
. impacts of an on going and or proposed man's action(s). But as a strategy, it is 
a scientific instrument used to regulate and effectively control the impacts of the 
development process on the human environment so that all is effectively 
managed. Man's actions in the context used above include proposed and or on- 
going projects, programme, policies, legiSlative proposals and operational 
procedure. 
Impact assessment is a planning tool whose layout may simply be descriptive or 
sometimes empirical, appearing as scaled or weighted values and have proved 
useful as a guide to deciding the potential effects of any project on adjoining 
communities. FSIA, presented here, is aimed to provide first approximation 
answers, identify areas of ignorance and foster needed improvements on 
existing modus operandi. 
Professional feedback on ecological, socio-cultural and economic matrix is 
germane to the evolution of many industrial project impact assessments and the 
forest industry is not an exception. The forest industry is a sector with high 
multiplier effects as the overall social benefits exceeds the initial capital 
investment. Forest industrial activities include the construction of forest roads 
and bridges; harvesting and hauling operations which embrace logging, 
buckling, skidding, loading & transportation; saw-milling; furniture making;' 
composite manufacturing; match splint production; pulp and paper; non-timber 
forest products (NTFP) management etc. All of these are employers of labour 
and forest labour management is crucial to socio-economic weltare. Policy 

44 

45 

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ODSG-FAN CONSULT Workshop on Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainable Development, 
JTFR 17(2): 2001 
considerations however require that barriers to forest industry development in 
Nigeria be mitigated to evolve strategic measures for positively transforming this 
sector of the economy. The inventory of barriers to be tackled include: 
•	Inadequate manpower endowment on forest industry management 
•	Inadequate human resources and practical skill development 
•	Complimentarity of forest technology imports and endogenous technological 
capability resulting in lack of spares for obsolete technology 
•	Financial incapability of firms responsive to change and the high interest 
	rates on locally available funds 	. 
•	Weak linkage of companies to external institutions like the International 
Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), African Timber Organization (ATO) , 
African Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (IBRD) and United Nation 
organs such as UNIDO and UNDP who may help to initiate foreign direct 
investment into this industry 
•	Absence of firm regulatory framework for forest industry 'management with 
respect to acquired technology and their environmental friendliness 
. I 
•	Very uncertain investment environment preceding the democratic era, that 
serves as disincentive to foreign investors 
•	Government insensitivity to forestry values where some decision makers 
see forest products merchandising as mere "Bread and Butter" issue 
•	Where some governments show seriousness, relatively low ranking of 
forestry compared to low gestation agricultural investments make it difficult 
to tap from limited funds for industrial development projects 
In this brainstorming exercise, the object of FilA shall be captured under the 
~Iowing thematic framework viz: (1). Socio-economic development (2). 
~stainable resource utilization and (3). Environmental protection. 
Sources of impacts 
According to Erickson (1994), sources of impact can be classified under: 
Generic types 
Impacts may be described as direct, indirect or cumulative. Direct impacts are 
changes in environmental components and processes that result immediately 
froin a project-related activity or action. For example, the use of heavy 
~c, 

ODSG-FAN CONSUL T Workshop !]I; Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainable Development, 
JTFR /7(2): 2001 
equipment for Clear-cutting. The same heavy equipment also results in 
temporary changes in the ambient noise level that are direct impacts of the use 
of that machinery. Clear-cutting itself, however performed, results in the removal 
of overstorey (i.e., high vegetation such as tall shrubs or trees), a direct impact 
of c1ear-cutting process. 
Indirect impacts (sometimes called secondary impacts) are changes in 
environmental components and dynamics that are consequences of direct 
impacts. For example, soil compaction (a direct impact of the use of heavy 
equipment) may result in increased runoff and, thereby, increased risk for soil 
erosion. In this instance, increased runoff and soil erosion are consequences of 
soil compaction. Similarly, a change in ambient noise levels (a direct impact) 
may lead to changes in the migratory behaviour of certain animals, such as 
birds, or in the disruption of schoolroom activities. These changes are indirect 
impacts caused by the changes in a wide variety of indirect impacts, such as the 
loss of wildlife habitat, the introduction of light to the previously shaded forest 
floor, and Changes in human land use. 
Whereas direct impacts are environmental changes immediately linked to 
project activities or actions, indirect impacts result from the varied interactions of 
direct impacts and the physical and social environmental components, 
processes and conditions that are or become dynamically linked to those direct 
impacts. In any impact assessment, indirect impacts are far more numerous 
than direct impacts and typically account for most of the assessment effort. 
Project Activities and Actions 
Because direct impacts arise from project-related activities and actions, impact 
assessment must begin with the precise identification of those activities and 
actions. Moreover, as previously discussed, assessment of these activities and 
actions must encompass all phases of project development, including those 
associated with 
•	The planning" design, land acquisition and management, construction, 
operational and maintenance phase; 
•	Any in-place modifications of the final design or procedures for 
implementation; and 
•	Any mitigation practices or procedures. 
47 

ODSG-FAN CONSULT Workshop on Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainable Development, 
JTFR 17(2): 2001 
Some examples of activities and actions that might be associated with various 
phases of project development are included in (but are not limited by) Table 2. 
Specific activities and actions will, of course, vary with the type of project (e.g., 
transportation, energy) as well as with the type of environment surrounding the 
project (e.g., virgin rainforest, urban area). 
Table 2 Examples of Activities and various Actions Associated with Phases of 
Project Development 

. 		
Pre-construction phases 			
On-going preliminary reconnaissance of site 			
Survey of site 			
Collection of land-ownership records 			
Taking oftest borings within proposed rights-of-way 		
Appraisal or real property 			
Negotiation with landowners 			
Rek '".It ion of displaced persons 			
&curing of physical access to site 			
Demolition and disposal of existing structures 			
Construction phase 			
Excavation 			
Pre-blasti ng 	-- 	
Dredging 			
Transport and placement of borrow 			
Clear-cutting and disposal of vegetation 			
On-site transport and storage of materials and 	supplies 		
Dewaterinz 			
On-site materials processing 			
Land clearing 			
Lighting 			
Structural fabrication and placement 			
Controlling runoff 			
Dust suppression 			
Landscape enginCflTing and plantation 			
Post -constructi onfphase 			
Selective cutting a'mi disposal of vegetation 			
Application of preservatives 			
Application of pesticides 			
Disposal of runoff 			
Waste generation, stol~age and disposal 	- -. 		
Resource utilization 			
	.... ------ .. 		
Process chemistry and other risk management 			
~_anagcment0 r by-products 	- 	- 	

ODSG-FAN CONSULT Workshop all Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainuble Development, 
.fTFR 17(2): 2001 
Linking Impacts to Activities and Actions 
The link between (1) the activities and actions that describe the project and (2) 
direct impacts on the environment lies in the precise manner in which those 
activities and actions alter the material, energy, informational, and/or perceptual 
conditions, attributes and dynamics of the physical and social environments. For 
example, direct impacts of dredging in a streambed may, depending on the type 
of bed and the method used, include: 
•	Increased concentration of suspended material (turbidity) in the water 
column, that is, a change in (a) the material attributes and (b) the 
energetic attributes of the water column (due to the chemical energy 
available in organic mud) 
•	Decreased organic substrate in the stream bed, that is, a change in (a) 
the material attributes and (b) the energetic attributes of the stream bed 
(due to the chemical energy available in organic materials) 
•	Increased ambient sound levels (as a result of equipment operation), 
that is, a change in the energetic attributes of (a) surrounding air column 
(due to changes in sound wave amplitude and/or frequency) and (b) the 
water column (due to vibrations) 
•	Increased depth of water column, that is, a change in the material 
attributes of the streambed. 
Linking Impacts to Systems Interactions 
The link between (a) direct and (b) indirect impacts lies in the dynamic 
interactions among the various components of the physical and social 
environments. For example, an increase in the insolation to the floor of the 
forest as a result of canopy opening (a direct impact of felling) may result in the 
death of shade toleranUlight intolerant plants and, subsequently, a decrease in 
under-storey plant populations. This effect would depend, of course, on the 
species of plant, the intensity of light, and such factors as the subsequent 
activities of NTFP collectors and the duration and timing of the enhanced 
insolation. 
Should such insolation-induced depression of under-storey population occur, 
and should that same species be of mer'icinahculinary or commercial value, 
additional indirect impacts of fellin~ would be a depression of commercial 
49 

O[)SG-FAN CONSULT Workshop Oil Forest Indllstries, Environment & Sustainable Development, 
JTFR /7(2): 200/ 
collection of such species. Therefore, a depression of related economic 
conditions, with additional possible impacts on a wide range of personal, 
interpersonal and institutional components of the relevant social environment, 
	might occur. 	• 
Direct and indirect impacts: Key considerations 
The distinction between direct and indirect impacts has absolutely no meaning. 
with respect to the actual environment. It is simply useful in identifying how 
possible (i.e., plausible) pathways of causality may be initiated and promulgated. 
Figure 1 provides an example of a hypothetical series of plausible pathways of 
causality, that is, a network of interrelated causes and effects. Such pathways 
. necessarily cut across disciplinary boundaries and force us to identify diverse 
factors and conditions that may make a pathway more or less probable. 
The objectives of distinguishing between types of impact accordlng to 
Erickson(1994) is not to declare that one impact is direct and another indirect, 
but to organize our analysis in a manner that ensures that we will examine all 
possible effects of proposed human actions on highly complex and dynamically 
interconnected physical and social environments. The distinction between direct 
and indirect effects is, therefore, simply a heuristic devise for identifying the 
questions that should be asked and the types of information that will have to be 
collected and evaluated 
Whether direct or indirect, the word "impact" does not itself imply any evaluation 
of the Significance of that effect. An increase in turbidity in a stream is not in and 
of itself positivef>r negative. A decrease in biological populations is not and of 
~itself desirable~ undesirable. A formal impact evaluation process must impose 
.ihese human judgments; they are not objective results of scientific or logical 
deduction. In short, impact assessment should never be viewed as a means of 
avoiding making difficult judgments. Instead, this process is a means of 
identifying the judgments that must be made by decision maker. 

(Jf)SG-FAN CONSUl. T Workshop Oil Forest Industries, Envirmunent & Sustuinab!e Development, 
.ITFR 17(2): 20t)J 
F dllnll oHrlllion 
! 
Erosion of exposed slopes, 
leading to turbidity in 
downstream receiving waters 

1tSi'abljshmenl of on-site 
housing injunglefor 
imported work crew 

l 
Turbid particles settle out, .6:overing 
developing fish eggs . 
\ 
Perceptions of work 
crew behaviour by 

indigenous 
populations as 
contrary to their 
cultural values 

Fugitive dusts fall out in village 
•	
Reduction in subsistence fisheries in local' 
village 
1 
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ODSG-FAN CONSULT Workshop all Forest lndustries, Environment & Sustainable Development, 
JTFR /7(2): 2001 
Forest Industry Impact Assessment 
Any of the forest industries within the forestry sector could be examined, with 
respect to the FSIA goals enumerated above, by focusing Strengths, 
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) to her survival. The SWOT 
analysis is primarily on information base that would access potential and proffer 
growth opportunity measures.(Figure 2) 
Figure 2: 
FOREST INDUSTRY SWOT ANALYSIS 
C 
			- - .-[""_ •• ..1 ----- 		
A. SOCIa-ECONOMIC 	Weak and 						Stronq company v.ith 	
		Threatened company 	t 	2 	3 	4 	5 	growth opportunity. 	
		Non renewable 						Renewable 	
Products from forest 	Non recyclable 						Renewable 	
	Polluting 						Non-Polluting 	
Other materials (specify) 								
								Highly sensitive 	
Processes (Environmental 	Low sensitivity 						Low Energy capacity 	
. Accountinq) 	High Energy 						Non- Polluting 	
· 	Ecological security 	consumption 						Non-hazardous 	
· 	Social sensitivity 	Polluting. Health 							
• 	Additionability/Empowerment 	Hazard to workers 							
		Low. specialised in 						High 	
		old technologies 						High. good general 	
Employment opportunities 	Low; capital shortage 						education 	
Skill level of staff 							High 	
		Low R & 0 profile 							
lnstitutionallinkaqe/lnvestrnent outlay. 							Creative team shot 	
R & 0 capacity 							development cyde. 	
B. Sustainable Resource Utilization 							Capable & committed \a. 	
Technology efficiency 	Low 						sustainability 	
Profitability (improved 	Commitment or 							
merchandising) 	capability 							
E & R oroqrarnrne 								
C. Environment Compliant 								
. Waste & Residue utility 	Low standard 						High standard. 	
(conversion efficiency) 	Non-complrant with 						Environmentally 	
Pollution management 	"EPA" standard 						Conscious 	
Health & safety 							Compliant with "EPA' 	
L--. Explanalio~ & Scoring: 							Standard 	
y threatened by Environmental Analysts 
5 = Company with growth opportunity 
ODSG-FAN CONSULT Workshop on Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainable Development., 
JTFR 17(2): 2001 .., 
Socio-economic impacts 	. I'" 
Both forest economic development and poverty reduction fall under this caption. 
It is essential to harmonize forest production and exploitation with the dynamic 
trend in environmental conservation and function. Sustainable industrial growth 
is crucial to social welfare ancl--infll!E?ntial competitiveness. The forest industry 
must be helped to reshape .tb..e perceived idea that environmental control is an 
economic burden and it will be useful to: 
•	Define primary use of the forest and industrial materials 
•	Assess employment opportunities 
•	Assess overall impact on local and national economies 
•	Prioritize and regulate industrial ecology with reference to social 
dimensions (i.e. environmental accounting) 
•	Promote additionality, peoples participation and empowerment 
•	Foster essential institutional linkages 
•	Research & Development capacity 
Sustainable resource utilization 
This is a technical assessment of products and processes in order to rationalize 
sustained manaqernent of the resource base. There are numbers of 
management condition that the forest industry must meet to ensure improved 
mechandislng. These include: 
•	Complimentary technology that minimizes waste and encourages value 
addition 
~ Improved recovery and machining 
•	Merchandise profitability 
•	Simultaneous "extraction-replacement" (E&R) process. 
Wood is a renewable resource thus, a balance must be sustained between 
removal and replacement to stabilize the ecosystem. 
Environmental concerns 
Environmentally conscious monitoring is expected to reduce wastes and be 
committed to the development and implementation of healthy, non-depleting, 
non-polluting and energy efficient processes. This is an integrated paradigm to 
!)3 

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UDS(j·FAN CONSULT Workshop 011 Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainable Development, 
JTFR ./7(2): 2001 
be carefully managed for efficient and effective business decision. We should 
consider: 
• Waste minimization and utilization: Effects of stockpiling sawdust; 
.' buming sawdust; wood waste use in biotechnology, coal production, 
briquette, feedstock and landscaping. 
•	Energy efficiency: e.g. Use of close-coupled boilers for process heating; 
combined heat and power (CHP); cogeneration, briquette or densified 
wood production; chemical recovery in the pulping process; better 
insulation of gaskets, pipes and ducts; use ot baffles in kilns; squeezing 
water from pulp before drying; general audit and metering systems. 
•	Pollution control: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission control and 
reduction by substituting diesel generators with alternative fuels like 
hydro· and solar power e.g. in dry kilns; continuous and progressive 
carbon sink establishment. 
•	Workers health and safety: Avoid hazard situations. Use hard hats, eye 
goggles, dust covers, earplugs and fire protection methods as 
necessary. Do not get unduly exposed to open electrical circuits, 
hazardous chemicals, moving objects etc. (see Akande 2000). 
Life Cycle Appraisal 
To fully understand the rudiments of environmental accounting, improved 
merchandising and conversion efficiency, a forest industrial enterprise should be 
appraised on sound ecological valuation, material processing and process 
improvement and waste utilization patterns. This is illustrated in Figure 3 below. 
Industrial Ecology 
Ecological evaluations seek to identify the importance of conservation and the 
intrinsic value of nature. To place a value on a commodrv or service in 
ecological evaluation is to try to assess what might be gained or lost in 
environmental terms. This could include: 
•	A definition , the forest character and productivity for sustainable 
developmen~emand/supply trend) For example deforestation in 
Nigeria is currently threatening and is put at 25,OOOha/yr in the 
productive forest outside the reserves. 
•	Manner and modes of allotting and acquiring forest concessions 
•	Production management, planning and controls 

on.Hi-fAN CONSULT Workshop 011 Forestlnduvm-:-, t.nvironment & Sustainable Development. 
.TTFR 17(2): JOI)J 
•	Logging, skidding and merchandising methods 
•	Assessment of monitoring framework and efficiency 
•	Employment rate and social acceptability 
Material processing and waste management 
The technology and management of material flow i.e. from the sourcing and 
acquisition of raw materials to the disposal of products and wastes are critical to 
environmental regulation and industrial business control. To be able to manage 
production targets effectively information is needed on : 
•	Raw material procurement and storage 
•	Waste assessment, application, disposal or treatments 
•	Waste utilization e.g. for composite manufacturing, fuel energy, mulch 
and landscape materials 
Process improvement 
This shall involve the identification of environmentally harmful products and 
processes; also appropriate technology for resource stability maintenance and 
	cost efficiency. It includes: 	. 
•	Technology acquisition and management process 
•	Component and spare manufacturing 
•	Process and product innovation as in recycling technology 
•	Intra-company logistics as in the production, storage and transport of 
finished goods, 
•	Personnel management, ergonomics and safety considerations 
•	Social services and community involvement 
•	Training and Human Resource Development 
•	Noise and residue controls and other hea:th related issues 
The above target appraisal technique would provide needed solutions to the 
ultimate goal of reducing operating costs; disposal costs; as well as enforcement 
actions while improving future net worth, workplace safety, health and at the 
same time sustaining well·being and environmental quality. 

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ODSG-FAN CONSULT Workshop on Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainuble Development, 
JTFR 17(1): 1001 
Barriers Removing Strategies 
Falling on industrial research experience, and informed consultation, the 
following Barrier Removing strategies are packaged to effectively reform the 
Nigerian forest industry: 
•	Institutional capacity building and strengthening on forestry and forest 
	industry;. 	. 
• 'Training and re-training of manpower who are involved in forest 
products technology and use; 
•	Creation of an information network for adequate dissemination of 
technical and socio-economic information on forest industries. It may be 
useful to develop a forest industry management website for cross 
dissemination of ideas that can promote efficiency; 
•	The financial sector in Nigeria should be consciously organized to 
provide venture capital to promote forest industrial projects in the 
country; 
•	Financial institutions operating in Nigeria should be given incentives for 
funds channeled towards forest industry development; 
•	Recent legislation promoted by the Federal Government to set apart 
10% of their after tax profit for investment in small manufacturing 
enterprises (SMEs) should be harnessed to promote investment in 
forest industries; 
•	The financial sector in Nigeria should develop capabilities to participate 
in the emerging Global Carbon Emission Trading (originating from 
UNFCCC agreement) as this may attract cleaner technologies useful for 
waste management, end-of-pipe treatments and value addition; 
•	Forest industrial management should encourage, among others, tariff 
differentiation with species to protect the endangered ones; protect the 
natural forest stock by practicing uninterrupted E&R strategy; embark on 
aggressive plantation development; provide incentives for private 
plantation establishment and work on improved log security to minimize 
illegal felling bl hoodlums; and 
•	Technically, f~st exploitation must be environmentally sensitive not to 
permit undue erosion of topsoil. Also, efforts should be geared towards 
total wood utilization and recovery to limit return back to forest stands; 
56 

ODSG-FAN CONSULT Workshop on Forest Industries, Environment & Sustainable Development: ' 
JTFR 17(2): 2001 
It is hoped that these will form key policy areas fo!;increasing local knowledge of 
forest industrial operators: mobilizing public support and participation and 
choosing instrument that will change behaviour/attitudes while gradually building 
institutional capacities. 
CONCLUSION 
Good management of investments on forest industrial reforms and the benefits 
accruing to associated communities depend on efficient and integrated impact 
assessment. For the informal wood industry, including sawmills and furniture 
factories, the costs, of resolving the principal environmental problems like 
sawdust and noise is affordable and recommended because the net benefits 
exceed costs. The cost of phasing out or updating equipment, processes and 
products in the formal set-ups, including Plywood, Particleboard, Pulp and Paper 
industries, may be more expensive. Albeit, because Nigeria is signatory and 
party to the UNFCCC agreement on environmental priorities, an acceptable 
forest industrial reform' should undertake the most cost-effective solution that 
creates a balance between socio-economic and environmental goals. 
REFERENCES 
Akande, J.A. and S.O Badejo (2001): Towards Green and Clean Technologies 
in the Nigerian Forest Industry. Nigeria Journal of Forestry (In press). 
Akande, J.A: (2000): Technology, Industrialization and Environment. CREM 
Books Series 1. Daybis Printers. Ibadan. Nigeria. 124pp. 
Erickson P.A (1994): A practical guide to Environmental Impact Assessment. 
New England Research, IncWorcester, Massachusetts. 266pp. 
Essaghah A.A.E and Adibe E.C (1999): Environmental Impact Assessment in 
Nigeria,Vol. 2 Principles, Procedures and Practice. Immaculate 
Publications Ltd 182 pp. 
FORMECU (1993): Forests Revenue System Development in Nigeria. In (ed) J, 
A, Okojie Proceedings of the Seminar on Forest Revenue System 
Development in Nigeria held in Benin City, Edo State 1 O~ 11 November, 
1993 
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