By Miriam Humbe
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal has solicited the support, partnership and collaboration of the Forestry Association of Nigeria (FAN) and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Green Initiative Programme for afforestation Programme across the country.
Balarabe disclosed this during a courtesy visit by the Forestry Association of Nigeria led by its President, Dr Afolabi Abiodun recently in his office in Abuja.
This information was made available by Ibrahim Haruna, the Ministry’s
Head, Press and Public Relations Unit.
The Minister sid that in order to improve afforestation programme in the Country all hands must be on deck and the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders needed to tackle desert encroachment by improving tree planting which FAN and PBAT Green Initiatives Programme focuses on.
He urged other relevant agencies to safeguard the forest such as Agricultural Resilience in the Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) and Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN).
The Minister also emphasized on the need to review our Environmental laws to tackle the challenges of illegal logging, coaching and banditry in the forest.
The Minister further revealed that Forestry is very critical in the Environment sector and stakeholders have to make concerted efforts to safeguard the ecosystem and the habitats of the forest, especially the wildlife species.
He also added that “Forests are very important in mitigating climate change, curbing the extinction of wildlife and maintaining the ecosystem”.
He commended FAN for its effort on afforestation programme and assured the association that the Ministry and it’s agencies would give all the necessary support and cooperation the association need to thrive.
The Minister lamented that deforestation leads to loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, climate change and increasing the risk of flooding in the country.
Earlier, the President of FAN, Dr. Afolabi Abiodun congratulated the Minister on his appointment, saying that the Ministry has achieved a lot in delivering the mandate and key deliverables of the Federal Ministry of Environment in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Afolabi also mentioned that majority of the members of the Association were present and former staff of the Ministry and Agencies and such would work assiduously to support the Ministry to succeed.
He added that the Association which was established in 1970 does a lot of advocacy programmes and is very active in afforestation programmes, assuring the Minister that the Association would continue to collaborate and partner with the ministry on its activities.
