A non-governmental organisation in Katsina State Mercy Corps has distributed 150 assorted tree seedlings to the Daddara Community, in the Jibia Local Government Area of the State.
Jibia is one of the frontline areas experiencing serious cases of desertification and other environmental challenges in the state.
The exercise, which was held on Thursday, was organised by Mercy Corps, in collaboration with the Centre for Democracy Development (CDD), and the United Nations Migration (IOM) and is in line with the NGO’s Conflict Mitigation and Community Reconciliation in Northwest Nigeria (CMCR) Project, funded by the European Union (EU).
The NGS’s Programme Manager in the state, Philip Ikita, while presenting the seedlings to beneficiaries on Thursday at the Daddara village, said the aim was to combat climate change in the area.
Ikita who was represented by the Mercy Corps’ Natural Resource Management Advisor, Paul Mafulul, explained that the exercise followed a request made by the communities during the World Wildlife Day and World Environment Day Celebrations held in the State.
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“This exercise is part of our routine programmes in Katsina State. The programme was also aimed at sensitising the community and other stakeholders on the processes of planting and nurturing the tree seedlings.
“It was also to discuss the benefits of tree planting in combating climate change in their communities, and the state as a whole,” he noted.
Earlier in his remarks, the Director of Waste Management at the Katsina State Ministry of Environment, Nura Abubakar, commended the NGO for such a gesture, stating that it will go a long way towards climate change prevention.
According to him, the state government is doing its best to provide necessary measures to prevent the challenges related to climate change throughout the state.
He, therefore, expressed the government’s commitment to collaborating with relevant organisations, especially NGOs like Mercy Corps in ensuring a safe environment.
In the meantime, the Katsina State Commissioner for Water Resources, Muktar Aliyu, described the gesture as a welcome development. He added that its importance in addressing desertification and other environmental challenges can not be overstated.
“Jibia is one of the frontline areas experiencing serious cases of desertification and other environmental challenges in the state, hence the area was chosen for the exercise,” he said.
During the sensitisation programme, participants were told to make judicious utilisation of the knowledge acquired to protect their area from desertification and other environmental challenges.
