The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in Gombe State has commended the State Government for its recent initiative to tackle environmental degradation in the state.
Acting State Coordinator of Gombe NESREA, Mr Ibrahim Kawu gave the commendation in an interview on Friday.
Kawu who spoke with the News Agency of Migeria said state government’s tree planting effort and establishment of woodlots would help in making up for the depletion of the environment over time, adding that Gombe had lost lots of trees.
READ ALSO: Gombe tackles desertification with 3G tree planting initiative
“I must commend the state government for its seriousness towards addressing the issues of environmental degradation, ” Kawu said.
“The way to go is tree planting and prudent management of wastes in communities.
“This is a conscious effort to combat environmental degradation in the state and it is good for Gombe State looking at the magnitude of desertification, erosion and others.
“Planting four million trees and paying counterparts to secure World Bank loans to tackle erosion in some parts of the state is really encouraging and will resuscitate our environment”.
He decried the poor attitude of residents toward the environment, especially in cutting down trees without replacing them, adding that anyone involved in such activities were not environment friendly.
Kawu, who called on communities to make conscious efforts in supervising trees planted by the state government in their domains, said it was only through this that the impact of environmental challenges could be mitigated.
READ ALSO: Group plants 12,000 trees in Jigawa
“We must always combine with the tree planting effort and proper waste management cultures in rural areas so that what we gain in planting trees are not lost through poor waste disposal,’’ he added.
He called on the state government to do more in the area of sensitising communities on the need for an attitudinal change toward the environment.
“The environmental success of any programme depends on the attitude of the people in the communities where those programmes are being implemented, if you plant and they don’t nurture, then where are we?’’
