By:Admin
A group, Journalists for Sustainable Development in Nigeria (JSDN) has called on government at all levels to put in place a committee or taskforce to check the indiscriminate felling of trees in the country.
Executive Director of JSDN, Parry Saroh Benson stated this on the occasion of the group’s tree planting awareness campaign phase two held in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Speaking on the theme of the campaign which is tagged; “Tree Planting Campaign: Combating Climate Change through Sustainable Tree Planting”
He said it is worrisome that after putting so much effort in planting trees, people fell them indiscriminately or convert the areas to other activities that are harmful to the environment.
“Our appeal is to the government to set up a committee that will look at this project we have termed as project green Nigeria. So we want government to set up a committee because the way people fell trees in Port Harcourt and other parts of the country is very alarming, because after we put in all these efforts and we don’t see the trees it’s very very annoying. Tree planting should be everybody’s responsibility. When we plant trees we save our environment and save our ozone layer. Therefore, I appeal to citizens in Rivers State and Nigeria to also plant trees” he said.
Benson added that in the past one year the organization has planted over three hundred trees, stressing that the target in Rivers State is to plant one million trees.
Speaking on the occasion, Mrs Nimi Elele who represented the permanent secretary of the Rivers Ministry of Environment expressed satisfaction with the awareness campaign and assured the group of government’s support and readiness to partner the them in planting more tress.
She also called on people of the state to imbibe the culture of planting trees in their environment.
Also, Mr. Umeh Kelvin, the director of agriculture, Port Harcourt City Local Government who represented the mayor of PHALGA, Allwell Ihunda expressed delight at the initiative of the JSDN, stressing that the campaign has inspired him to look more into the environment.
On his part, Mr Karibi George, a strong supporter of the organization said what the group is doing is part of efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment.
He also advised the group to mentor the younger generations to help sustain the dream.
“What JSDN is doing by planting trees is a personal responsibility to mitigate the effect of the negative developments in the environment that will occur as a result of the prediction by scientists and meteorologists, that is why I have associated with them and what I have advised them is as a proper sustainability, there is need to incorporate the younger ones, our children, primary and secondary schools, youths and create mentees out of them so that they can carry on this dream because if you have planted three hundred trees and you have a target of one million then you need people to help you reach that target because it’s not something you can do alone and I enjoined others that are concerned about the environment to associate with them” he said.
