The Plateau State Government on Saturday planted trees in the state to commemorate the World Environment Day 2021.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Usman Idi, presided over the tree planting exercise at the Plateau Secretariat in Jos.
He said the day, marked yearly on June 5, aimed at providing an opportunity to enlighten people on the gains of having and maintaining a healthy environment.
Idi said the theme for the 2021 celebration: “Ecosystem Restoration” was very apt .
He explained that the ecosystem restoration was an act of assisting the ecosystem recover from past years of destruction as well as conserving it.
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He said plants produce more than half of the atmosphere’s oxygen and that mature trees cleaned the air by absorbing 22 kilograms of carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen in exchange.
The commissioner disclosed that a healthier ecosystem would yield great benefits such as more fertile soil and larger stores of green house gases to counter climate change.
He urged residents of the state to restore the ecosystem by actively planting trees, using less water, cleaning up drainage and local rivers of plastics and using energy efficient appliances.
He pointed out that it was with a healthy ecosystem that people’ s livelihood could be enhanced and climate change countered to stop collapse of biodiversity.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that several trees were planted at the state secretariat to mark the day. (NAN)
