By Bisola Adeyemo
Kano State Commissioner for Environment, Dr Kabiru Ibrahim-Getso, has said proper measures will be taken to restore the ecosystem and combat climate change within the state.
Dr Kabiru Ibrahim-Getso, on Wednesday made this assurance when the Director-General, National Conservation Foundation (NCF), Dr Muntari Aminu-Kano, paid him a courtesy visit in Kano, adding that his administration would partner with the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) in preserving forest reserves to mitigate climate change and other related problems.
He said that the administration was giving attention to the environmental sector, to restore the ecosystem, because of its importance to the overall well-being of human existence.
His word “Ecosystem needs to be restored with necessary attention it deserves in the state especially at this time when the state and country generally experiencing a lot of climate change problems.
According to him, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that “the ministry has proposed a memo for various programmes aimed at addressing such issues to the State Executive Council and it is awaiting approval.
“The ministry had drafted a ‘State Forestry Bill’, which was currently at the State Ministry of Justice undergoing legal vetting, in an effort to preserve the forest reserves and the environment.”
He thanked the DG for the visit, as well as their various projects and enlightenment on the importance of protecting the forests in the state in particular and the nation in general.
In his remarks, the Director-General of the foundation, Dr. Muntari Aminu-Kano, said that they were in the state to intimate stakeholders on the need to work together to protect and safeguard the forests from encroachment.
“The foundation is worried by the level of encroachment and large destruction of most parts of reserved forests in the country.
“We are making arrangements with authorities on how such encroached forests can be reclaimed,” he said.
He commended Kano government and the traditional institutions in the state for doing their best by ensuring that over 60 hectares of forest had not been destroyed by encroachers.
Aminu-Kano explained that the foundation would soon embark on massive tree planting in some of the forest reserves in the state.
He, therefore, solicited for the support of the government in achieving the set goal.
