The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, made the call on Wednesday at the launch of the 2026 Operation One Million Trees programme organised by the Association for Forest Conservation and Green Industrial Charcoal Merchants at the University of Ibadan.
Lawal, who was represented by Dr Osakwe Igbinosa, said deforestation posed a significant threat to Nigeria’s environment and economic development, stressing the need for urgent action to halt further forest degradation.
He described tree planting as an important tool for addressing climate change, restoring biodiversity, combating desertification and improving the resilience of ecosystems.
According to the minister, the Federal Ministry of Environment is implementing several afforestation and forest restoration initiatives, including the 2026 National Afforestation Programme, Sovereign Green Bond Afforestation Programme and National Greening of Cities and Urban Areas initiative.
He said the Operation One Million Trees programme complemented the government’s environmental efforts and urged participants to comply with existing forestry laws and regulations.
Lawal also stressed that the success of tree-planting initiatives should be measured by the survival and growth of planted trees rather than the number of seedlings put into the ground.
“Tree planting is not just about putting seedlings into the soil. The real measure of success is their survival and growth into healthy forests,” he said.
The chairman of the association, Adeshola Idowu, urged charcoal merchants and other Nigerians to replace trees removed from the environment, advocating the planting of several trees for every tree felled.
Idowu also called for greater use of technology, including drones, to facilitate tree planting in areas that are difficult to access.
The Oyo State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Ademola Aderinto, described climate change as a global challenge and warned that continued poor environmental practices could worsen waste management and climate-related problems.
“Climate change is dealing with every one of us globally. No one is exempt,” Aderinto said.
He identified indiscriminate tree felling for land development, housing and commercial activities as major threats to biodiversity and food security.
The commissioner urged residents and developers to plant more trees whenever trees were removed for legitimate purposes, rather than simply replacing them on a one-for-one basis.
“If you cut down one tree for any legitimate purpose, plant back more. It is no longer one for one. You cut down one, plant two, three, four back,” he said.
Aderinto also encouraged residents to incorporate trees into their immediate surroundings and consider preserving existing trees when planning buildings.
“Plant at least one tree where you live, where you walk and where you work,” he said.
Earlier, the Dean of the Faculty of Renewable and Natural Resources at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Joke Akinyeleru, said the second year of the one-million-tree initiative demonstrated the faculty’s commitment to taking practical steps towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to climate action.
The association and its partners, including Florence Omolola of FOJ Multidynamic and Azeez Rasaq of Rasbat International Resources Limited, said the programme was aimed at promoting sustainable charcoal production and encouraging compliance with Federal Ministry of Environment regulations.
They said technology, including drone seeding, would be deployed to expand tree-planting activities and strengthen forest protection.
The Chief Strategy Officer of FOJ Multidynamic Interchange Nigeria Limited, Omolola, said the three-day programme would focus on sensitisation, youth engagement, tree planting and independent verification as part of efforts to promote more sustainable charcoal production.
She said the verification exercise would involve environmentalists, journalists, regulators, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders, who would document the trees planted and help improve transparency.
Omolola said the initiative marked the beginning of a broader effort to make charcoal production more environmentally sustainable, expressing optimism that the programme would eventually exceed its one-million-tree target.
