The Federal Government of Nigeria has pledged N10billion for the
implementation of the Great Green Wall Project. The Minister of the Environment, Hajiya Hadiza
Mailafia, said at the National Conference on Environment in
Makurdi, Benue State that the government had made a N10 billion commitment
towards the implementation of the United Nations-backed programme.
Great Green Wall brings together 11 countries to plant
trees across Africa to hold back the Sahara Desert with a swathe of greenery to
lessen the effects of desertification and improve the lives of communities.
The Wall, an initiative spearheaded by African Heads of
State, will stretch to about 7,000 kilometres from Senegal in the west to Djibouti
in the east and will be about 15 kilometres wide traversing the continent. It
will pass through Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan,
Ethiopia and Eritrea. The programme aims to support efforts of local
communities in the sustainable management and use of forests – a key theme of
the 10th session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF10), taking place in Istanbul,
Turkey as well as other natural resources in dry lands.
In Nigeria, the project aims to address desertification,
enhance natural resource management and promote ecosystem integrity in the
dryland in the northern parts of the country.The Nigerian Project stretches
from Zamfara and Kebbi states in the Northwest corner to a belt along the
northern border of the country to the extreme eastern border in Borno State.
Eight states are involved in the project.
In a swift reaction,
Lagos-based environment watchdog, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF),
has applauded the initiative while calling for a framework that considers the expected
benefits and elements which the project would capture.
The NCF, through its Acting Executive Director,
Alade Adeleke, said it should have effective follow up and
action, based on the principles and actions highlighted in the strategic plan. The project, he stressed, should be seen as an
opportunity to boost natural resource productivity and reduce stress and tension
in natural resource use among major stakeholders.
Adeleke, however, insisted that a conflict mitigation and
management strategy should be put in place by participating states to guide
against actions that can punctuate or slow down the process of implementation.
He said: “The project should be seen as a solution rather
than a problem for communities, states and people of the benefiting areas.
Science and adaptive field research should be inculcated into the
implementation plan of the project. This should be fashioned out in
collaboration with key Universities and Research Institutions in the project
implementation areas.”
The tree planting, among other things, is expected to
provide a barrier against desert winds and help to hold moisture in the air and
soil to allow agriculture flourish.
It is also expected that the Wall will reduce erosion,
enhance biodiversity and improve countries’ resilience to climate change.
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