Conservation of Natural Vegetation in Nigeria

Abstract

The need to conserve representative samples of natural vegetation was recognized in Nigeria over thirty years ago. Before 1950 only two conservation areas had been laid down but at present there are seven in operation. Most of them are between 60 ha (ca 1/4 sq. mile) and 350 ha (ca 12/5 sq. miles) in area, and together they include at least one example of each major ecological type occurring in the country.There are difficulties in constituting and safeguarding conservation areas, particularly outside State Forest Reserves. While it is to be hoped that legislation will soon be introduced to facilitate protection, a comprehensive survey has recently been carried out with a view to substantially increasing the number of conservation areas in Nigeria, and to make them more fully representative of the different vegetation zones of Nigeria.Work is also proceeding towards determining the optimum size for each area within the different vegetation types. It is hoped to be able to establish up to 40 conservation areas within the next 2 years, and ultimately as many as 110 may be designated.