Green Care Global Initiative, an NGO, is to plant one million trees in three years in Bwari Area Council and environs, to curb deforestation and other environmental challenges.
Ms Mary Ishaya, the Chief Executive Officer of the organisation disclosed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
” Our target is to plant one million trees as an organisation, in bare areas where there are no trees especially in villages within and around the council.
” Afforestation has become very important all over the world.
” We are not just planting anyhow trees but trees that are beneficial to the people, like the Neem (Dogon-yaro) tree.
” We have already contacted some farms who have some of the species we want and they are willing to donate the seedlings to us.”
Ishaya said that tree planting has become necessary because of global climate change which she described as a pertinent issue.
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She added that the culture of felling trees to augment for fuel has been a predominant one, especially in the middle belt and northern region of the country.
She however, said that most people do not plant back the trees after felling them and so must be enlightened on the need to replant.
” Year in, year out, we fell trees and don’t replant them . Soon, the world’s environment would be bare and the devastating effects of climate change would spread because there are no trees to cool the areas.
” In this region, our survey had shown us that northern women pride themselves in keeping logs of cut-down trees.
” So, we are going on an advocacy to inform them on the need to grow back these trees.”
Ishaya also noted that sustainability was important in this regard and the organisation, she added, have worked out modules to ensure that the trees, after planted, were nurtured.
According to her, the organisation will be collaborating with traditional heads and schools within the communities where pupils and students were expected to plant trees at the beginning of every session.
She also said that school children would be engaged to nurture the plants.
Ishaya added that the organisation would also monitor the process intermittently, through GPS.
The officer further said that the organisation, which also engages in Agriculture and Sanitation activities would also enlighten residents in various communities on hygiene.
She said: ” You do not have to be rich to be clean or live in a clean environment. It is for the benefit of all.
” While advocating for sanitation, we have asked the council’s Secretariat to provide designated areas for refuse collection so that people can go there and dump their wastes.
” We would also enlighten residents living in slums on the need to improve on quality hygiene.”
She added that the Green Care Global Initiative, although registered over 12 years ago, was inaugurated in September. (NAN)
