1 month ago
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The Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has said planting trees in the state is more necessary now than ever.
This came as he unveiled a plan to address desertification and ecological challenges in the state.
He stated this on Monday during the launch of a climate change awareness campaign and the “Tree for Every Child” project at Muhammadu Dodo Model Primary School in Kofar Kaura Layout, Katsina.
The governor said the plan was to raise between four and ten million tree seedlings annually, saying it was part of a broader strategy to engage school-aged pupils, youths, volunteers, women farmers, and the public in environmental conservation efforts.
Radda emphasised the critical need for tree planting in the face of global warming and climate change.
“Planting trees is more necessary now than ever before, particularly with the apparent dangers of global warming arising from climate change,” the governor stated.
He also announced the State government’s plan to reintroduce forest officers and guards to safeguard forests and prevent indiscriminate tree felling.
PUNCH Online learned that the “Tree for Every Child” project would provide primary school pupils with a token of five thousand naira each to nurture trees to maturity as a measure to instil a sense of environmental responsibility in the younger generation while contributing to the state’s green cover.
On his part, the State Commissioner of Environment, Hamza Suleiman, lauded the collaboration between the government and non-governmental organisations, particularly the Ahmed Usman Pure Life Foundation.
He described it as an affirmation of the state government’s resolve to collectively attain sustainable change through climate education, awareness, understanding, and action.
Also speaking at the inaugural occasion, Ahmed Usman, founder of the Pure Life Foundation, revealed that the initial target of planting ten thousand seedlings has been expanded to twenty thousand, which, according to him, was due to improved funding.
He said, “The foundation has also partnered with the state ministry of environment to provide twenty thousand protection baskets to guard the planted trees from destruction by animals or children”.
