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The Vice-Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Unizik) Awka, Prof. Okechukwu Esimone, has called for collaboration between the Town Planners Registration Council and Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) in achieving afforestation.
Esimone made the call during the flag off of the Forest Restoration Under Green Recovery Nigeria (GRN) Initiative project at the Unizik, Awka campus on Friday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project initiated by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) will see the planting of 4900 trees in three states of Anambra, Kwara and Edo in 2022.
The project is funded by the Stanbic IBTC bank.
The Vice-Chancellor, represented at the event by Mr Ralph Okeke, Director, Physical Planning, Unizik, advised town planners in the country to adopt a policy to ensure that land owners plant trees on their properties.
He said that if residents plant trees around their houses, this would help the ecosystem and mitigate the impact of climate change.
Esimone said that the institution was conducting a research in partnership with other institutions on ways to checkmate the problems of climate change.
Commending NCF for the partnership, the VC said the school would provide more lands for agriculture and forest reserve to achieve eco-friendly environment in it’s campuses at Awka and Ifite-Ogbari.
“We embrace the partnership with NCF because the world is concerned about the problem of climate change and its effect all over the world,” he said.
Dr Joseph Onoja, Director-General (D- G), Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), in an address at the event, said the project was aimed at encouraging afforestation.
He said that the project was equally targeted at combating erosion now ravaging communities in parts of Anambra state.
“Under the project,1,400 trees will be planted at Nnewichi, 1000 at Unizik Awka campus,
2000 at Patigi, Kwara state and 500 at Okomu, Edo State”, the D-G said.
He said that the challenge of erosion was one of the impacts of climate change, environmental degradation and unsustainable lifestyle.
Onoja said that it was for this reason that NCF was campaigning for people’s change of attitude to nature by creating more awareness on the dangers inherent in treating our environment badly.
“Apart from the tree planting, we are developing programmes that could mitigate the impact of climate change.
“We all need to come together to as a society to protect the environment, plant trees, and doing things that could help check the impacts of climate change,” he said.
Onoja said, the afforestation project through the Green Recovery Nigeria (GRN) initiative will be extended to four other states of the South East and across the country. (NAN)
