A northern Nigeria resident is facing seven months' imprisonment or a fine for unlawfully cutting down seven neem trees, the Daily Nigerian reported.
The ax work was on the wrong side of a law that also prohibits pollution and public defecation — all deplorable acts. The neem trees were in a protected area in Sarauniya village, Kano.
"The conviction serves as a strong deterrent to those harming our environment," Environment and Climate Change Commissioner Dahir Hashim said in the Daily.
Neem trees are a fast-growing species valued as a medicinal source and for timber. They can grow to nearly 100 feet, all per Britannica. Like other trees, neems can provide valuable shade in urban areas, as well as clean our air. Scientists are studying how trees cool our living spaces as part of better city planning that includes the natural heat relievers. What's more, one grown tree can suck up 48 pounds of planet-warming gases each year, the Arbor Day Foundation added.
The Kano tree killer nullified 336 annual pounds of air-clearing potential by destroying the neems.
It's an odd type of crime happening elsewhere. On America's West Coast, a man is facing eight felonies for chopping down eight trees with a chainsaw, causing $350,000 worth of damage. In England, vandals who in 2023 cut down the Sycamore Gap tree, a cherished landmark that's been growing for about 200 years, were recently accused by prosecutors of doing so "for a laugh," per the Associated Press.
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It's blatant disrespect for a natural solution to Earth's overheating, linked by NASA to increased risks for extreme storms and wildfire severity. The disasters ruin even more vital forests. Wildfires burn more than 7 million acres in America each year, for example, per USA Facts.
The Kano culprit was ordered to plant 14 trees as part of the punishment, replenishing the neem population twofold, the Daily reported.
"We will continue to safeguard our natural resources for the well-being of current and future generations," Hashim said in the story.
Staying tuned into government policy for protected forests is an important way to help save them, as the nature of some projects can be tricky to decipher in certain circumstances. President Donald Trump recently rolled back safeguards at more than half of the country's national forests as part of a plan to thin overgrowth for fire protection — and to increase logging, per the Associated Press.
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Definitely 👍 Forest thinning is a wildfire precaution issued by past administrations, too. But the latest move is being contested by environmental groups that feel it's geared mostly toward boosting the logging industry. Watchdogs fear the return of clear-cutting that was prevalent decades ago.
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