Climate Change: Seeking inclusive efforts on Great Green Wall

The Great Green Wall Afforestration  

Impacts of Climate Change

The drive to encourage tree planting in Nigeria no doubt is gathering more momentum. Individuals who are ignorant of the significant are currently faced with the reality of climate change. Nations are restless to reduce its consequence. To large extent, impact of the unfortunate trend stood as threat to human survival. Irrespective of the region or part of the nation, climate change is gradually eating up our ecosystem and human survival.

Climate change is not new but its impact is becoming so alarming.We must face the fact. Climate change has come to stay and until people change their attitude to the environment, it would persist in its destruction. Its effect is clearly around us which
varies in form drought, flooding, rise in sea level, diseases

and changes in weather condition among others. The 2012 flooding is still fresh in the mind of many Nigerians where millions of people were rendered homeless, claiming thousands of lives.

“Climate change is posing a systemic risk to long-term economic growth and stability, and you have to get your head around it now, and depending on which country you are, you have got different challenges. Wherever you are on the planet, whichever government you are, the minister of finance of or whichever company you are the chief executive officer, this is a risk you have to understand,” said World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, Rachael Kyte. 

However, as realistic as these warnings may be, there are increased demands for the nation to commence various strategies to reduce its impact. But, all these can be checked either be resilience, adaptation or mitigation strategy. Also, collaborations among government agencies, private individuals as well as development partners cannot be overemphasised. In the area drought especially in northern part of the country, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Environment has commenced plans to encourage use of renewable energy and tree planting. This measure apart from achieving its primary objective is expected to create jobs for the concerned northern states.

The great green wall programme  

Though, desertification otherwise known as land degradation is a global phenomenon which deteriorates survival of the people. The Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI) was designed by the AU to grow economic trees (greenbelt) in 7,775 kilometres long and 15 kilometers wide across Africa at the Southern edge of the Sahara desert. African countries involved in this project are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Somalia, Senegal, Niger, Sudan, Gambia and Tunisia.

The trend bedevilled drive for sustainable development in the northern part of the country. Presently, about 11 frontline States in the nation are faced with the challenge. The affected states are Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara. It became alarming that the Commissioners for Environment in the affected states could not manage the situation any longer but to seek solace in the Federal Government.

The Federal Ministry of Environment, as part of its mandate to ensure that the environment is protected and made friendly, habitable joined the course to address the situation. The erstwhile Minister of Environment, Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia launched a campaign to fight the menace where a sum of N10 billion was approved by President Goodluck Jonathan to support the great green wall programme. Incidentally, the project received nod of the current environment minister, Mrs. Laurencia Mallam. The project is basically to plant trees (afforestration) at the frontline states to reduce desertification.

A total of about 46 local governments and 92 communities are participating in the project. So far, The Federalist Weekly gathered that over N3.7 billion has been released to the ministry to execute the project while more than N340 million has been given to the participating states to secure seedlings, equipments. It is expected that the project had commenced from Arewa local government in Kebbi State to Abadam local government in Borno States.

At the project flag-off last year, over 2 million (2,871,415) seedlings were planted for forestry and 167 kilometers of shelter belt. Not less than 1,560 individuals from the host communities were engaged while 146 youths were further trained for the project.

According to the Sustainable Development Department of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, drought and desertification affects about two-thirds of the countries of the world, and one-third of the earth's surface. Report also has it that the world loses about $42 billion to desertification and drought each year.

Inter-territorial nature of the situation with its detrimental effects further drew attention of government of every African country to place the issue at the front burner. Interventions from the African Union (AU) also came to the fore with strategies and measures to combat the situation which led to the GGWSSI.

The International Convention on Desertification on its part stated that land degradation is usually accompanied by a reduction in the natural potential of the land and a depletion in surface and ground-water resources. But above all it has negative repercussions on the living conditions and the economic development of the people affected by it. It went further that desertification not only occurs in natural deserts, but can also take place on land which is prone to desertification processes.

Experts added that the destruction of natural grass, cutting of woods and animal grazing had complicated the situation. It made the top soil vulnerable to erosion and other forms of degradation. Unfortunately, conventional cooking method made of charcoal, wood burning has made matters worse considering the economic situation of the affected States.

Considering the paucity of fund, the new Minister of Environment, Mrs. Lorencia Mallam at her maiden meeting with the Commissioners for Environment from the 11 frontline states in Abuja, identified need to counterpart funding on the project by State governments. She said the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the GGW would fast track implementation of the programme.

"The Unit serves as a local and international window for the programme and with our support, it will further enhance collaboration and participation of key stakeholders.

"As representatives of our people, we must strive collectively to achieve the better life they deserve. This we can do by ensuring we deliver this laudable programme to our people living in this fragile environment."She said

More so, at the meeting, the Director of Drought Desertification Amelioration (DDA), Dr. Bukar Hassan said effective implementation of the project would trigger food security, check climate change, create jobs and promote afforestration.

Forestry inputs

The decision to include the department of forestry into the GGW prrgramme may have come at the right time considering its area of proficiency. The GGW basically is 90 per cent afforestration i.e tree planting. Recently, the Minister said the department should be fully and actively involved in the implementation of the project ahead of official flag-off by President Goodluck Jonathan.

In what was described as ‘mallam plan’, the Minister drafted three directors from the forestry department to speedily come up with plans to fast-track the project implementation. It is believed that the department can partner the PIU to achieve the overral objective of the project.

Relevance of the department came to the fore when the Director of Forest Management, Mr. Simon Adedoyin said; the Forest Remote Sensing commissioned last year March by government would hasten performance on the project.

As the Ministry however prepares for the official commencement of the programme, it is important to ensure coherence and coordination and perfection in rolling out responsibilities. Meanwhile, the nation awaits overral outcome of the project to addressing needs of the 11 northern states.