Editorial,

Timber trade is increasingly becoming a lucrative venture. Each time one walks along the streets, one is bound to see one or two trucks carrying timber heading towards various destinations. It is no crime to venture into a trade that is legal, but it is important for those involved in such a business to overlook profit and consider the repercussions of deforestation on the society.

Forests have a huge impact on the environment. The trees help in balancing the oxygen-carbon dioxide concentration by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. 

Forests contribute in regulating temperature, they regulate the distribution of rainfall. Trees impede the velocity of run-off on the soil surface, thwarting soil erosion and landslides, thereby reducing possibilities of flooding. The leaves that fall on the forest ground act as nutrient sources that increase soil fertility. 

The forests also offer shelter against adverse environmental conditions and for diverse forms of wildlife. Moreover, forests are significant not just ecologically but also economically. Firewood, commercial timber, gums, raisins, medicine, and other products for industrial use are obtained from the forest.

Those who are in the trade must recognize these facts in their struggle to maximize the business. Indiscriminate felling of trees and conversion of forest-lands into agricultural fields, industrialisation, mining, and overgrazing by domestic animals are all contributing factors to the loss of this exhaustible natural resource, as they lead to loss of biodiversity. Many species of plants and animals are already extinct. Others are also fading away, due to the loss of habitat. There is also the loss of essential medicinal herbs. Other major impacts include soil erosion, flooding, and desertification.

Furthermore and very importantly, the degradation of the forest results to the decrease in the amount of rainfall we receive. Rainfall is the only way of replenishing our natural water resources, and trees determine the rainfall in a particular region. If they no longer exist, drought sets in, bringing with it its own set of problems. In fact, we should pay greater attention to this reality as our country is agriculture-dependent and lies in the Sahel region.

The department of state responsible for Forestry should put in place stringent measures to monitor those it licenses to venture into the log trade to ensure that they operate on the basis of good practice. The forest is a principal determiner of our lives. We must therefore never construct its destruction.