The Kwara State Government, in partnership with the Nigeria Conservation Foundation, says it planned to plant 2.5 million trees by 2047 to combat deforestation in the state.
Speaking at a workshop in commemoration of the 2022 International Day of Forests in Ilorin on Thursday, the Climate Change lead of the NCF, Solomon Adefolu, said about 100 communities would be involved in the scheme.
The NCF lead, who lamented the level of forest degradation in the country, said that the foundation, in collaboration with the state government, had embarked on the planting of over 15,000 tree seedlings in three communities; Latayi, Agboro and Koro in the Pategi Local Government Area of the state.
He said that the efforts were part of the national programme involving 17 states, including Kwara, geared towards planting new trees and protecting existing ones.
Adefolu also said that, though, deforestation is a global phenomenon, describing Nigeria as the capital of world deforestation due to its level of forest degradation.
The NCF official called attention to the rising temperature in parts of the state, said that the development was on account of deforestation, saying that, “this will certainly tell on the health of people”.
Climate change according to him, happens as a result of cutting down of trees for various reasons like building, farming and even for producing charcoal for cooking.
“Also as part of discouraging lumbering, the NCF had taught the villagers to manufacture alternative coal with rice husks.
“We discovered that it was in abundance and we recycled it into biochar or eco charcoal,” Adefolu explained.
Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Environment, Abosede Buraimoh, expressed optimism saying that the gains of the NCF in Pategi would be mainstreamed to all parts of the state.
“Especially with the biochar, we are collaborating to see how other urban areas can get a steady supply of the cooking materials, especially at this time when the cost of cooking gas is so high,” she said.
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