By George George Idowu
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has again called for relevant stakeholders to imbibe the culture of tree planting, nurturing and conservation for the betterment of the environment.
He made this plea recently during a ceremony held at the newly beautification Flower Garden to commemorate International Day of Forest in Ilorin.
His words: “I am again restating the need for everyone to imbibe the culture of tree planting, nurturing, and conservation for a better environment.”
The Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Kayode Alabi, stated that there’s need to have innovative ideas that will help curb the issue of deforestation.
One of the ideas he talked about was innovation and technology in monitoring the activities that occur at the forest.
AbdulRazaq explained that with 10 million hectares lost annually due to deforestation and approximately 70 million hectares affected by fires, there is need for innovations for early warning systems, sustainable commodity production, empowering indigenous people through land mapping and climate finance access.
According to him, a total of 13.7 billion tons of carbon-dioxide forest emission reductions or enhancements have been reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) through transparent and innovative forest monitoring.
He said: “As the world celebrates this year’s International Day of Forests, the battle against deforestation requires new ideas, collaborations, and support of everyone.”
While emphasizing on the importance of healthy forests, the Governor stated that “Protecting the forests helps to mitigate some of the human health related effects of climate change by acting as carbon sinks that regulate the planet temperature and regulate water flows.
“Not only do over 1.6 billon people depend on forests for food and fuel, forest industries, in fact, provide a wide range of products and services such as lumber, paper, pulp, and bio-energy.”
AbdulRazaq further stressed the commitment of his administration to supporting innovations that lead to effective implementations of sustainable environmental strategies for the betterment of our people.
Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner of Environment, Mallam Shehu Ndanusa Usman had described forests as powerhouse of the ecosystem as their importance extends beyond timbers and fundamental to our collective continued existence as human beings.
In his words, “Forests are among the world’s most productive renewable natural resources providing many paths to sustainable development.”
On his own part, the Director of Forestry in the ministry, Mr. Babatunde Idris Mahmoud stated that technology will prove to be a game-changer as satellite data and drone imagery among other cutting-edge tools will revolutionize the way to track and monitor deforestation, changes to the forests estates.
He noted that Agro forestry and green buildings are part of innovations in tackling challenges of climate change in the society.
The event witnessed a symbolic tree planting by the deputy Governor.