TheCable

The Borno state government has begun planting 1.2 million tree seedlings to tackle desertification and environmental degradation in the state.

Babagana Zulum, the state governor, said this on Monday during the inauguration of the 2023 tree planting campaign in Maiduguri, the state capital.

The governor said the state had lost over 80 percent of its vegetation to insurgents, adding that the issue of “climate change is of great concern”.

He said the exercise will enable the various communities to protect their environment as well as become climate smart.

Zulum said each of the 27 local government areas (LGAs) would also plant 200,000 tree seedlings in 2024.

“If tree felling is left unchecked, we may one day find that the whole of Borno State is a desert. We are all aware that we have lost more than 80 percent of the vegetation in the state to insurgency,” he said.

“All the trees around our communities have been cleared for security reasons and some were cleared for firewood since people can no longer access distant forests where they usually fetch firewood in the past for fear of the insurgents.

“The issue of climate change and desert encroachment has been a great concern to the entire people of the northern states, particularly Borno.

“I have directed the state ministry of environment to look into the possibility of providing alternatives to firewood, especially the provision of gas cookers and other low-energy devices for distribution to local government areas badly affected by desertification, such as Kala-Balge, Ngala, Kukawa, Monguno, and Damasak.”

Mohammed Kois, the commissioner for environment, said about 1.2 million tree seedlings had been raised for planting across the 27 LGAs in the state.

Kois added that through the tree planting campaign, flooding, erosion and other environmental challenges in the state will be effectively managed.