GOVERNORÂ Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and 19 delegates from African countries have advocated massive tree planting as a panacea to the danger posed by climate change in the continent.
They called for overhauling of forest management to save Nigeria and Africa from imminent climate change, saying that the continued existence of the black race on the African continent lies in protecting and maintaining the natural rain-forests.
This was contained in a press statement signed by Aregbesola’s media adviser, Mr Sola Fasure, which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Osogbo on Sunday.
This was even as the delegates from 19 African countries at the African Forest Forum, a regional West and Central African workshop hosted by the Osun State University (UNIOSUN) and held in Osogbo, Osun State Capital, advocated trees planting to save the continent from the possible negative effect of climate change.‎
The participating countries at the forum include; The Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Niger, Benin Republic, Chad, Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania, Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Liberia, Togo, Congo, Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Burundi, Rwanda and the host country, Nigeria.
Addressing the participants at the state dinner party organized in honour of the African Forest Forum Training Programme on Modelling Climate and Applications to the Forestry Sector Delegates, Aregbesola said Africa as a continent does not deserve to suffer the bad effect of climate change if the continent’s forest has been properly preserved.
He attributed the carefree attitude of past leaders to the development of forestry and efficient and effective forest management as the cause of the challenges posed by the climate change in Nigeria and Africa, stressing that it is high time we rose to the challenge and developed a modality that will strengthen forest management.
Aregbesola lamented the 90 percent loss of forest resource in Africa, a setback which he said had culminated in the climate change challenges confronting the continent, just as he tasked leaders in Africa to wake-up from their slumber by revamping the abundant resources buried in the ‘great lake region’ of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Tanzania.
According to him, “it is unfortunate that we are yet to revisit our history by putting all together to revamp the core values and resources residing in the ‘great lake region’‎ as we forgot that the region has the socioeconomic resources to rescue the entire black race from the present challenges”.
Earlier in his remarks, the Executive Secretary, African Forest Forum, Godwin Kanero, said the forum had recorded various successes in its public enlightenment programmes‎ organized across the participating countries.
He said, “we are concerned about climate change because we have been informed of the need for humanity to preserve natural environment so as to curtail the menace. We are just 10 years plus but since we have been on board, we have been working hard to improve on forestry development in Africa”.