‘FG committed to tackle climate change in dry lands’

DR Bukar Hassan, Director- General, National Agency for the Great Green Wall, has reiterated Federal Government’s commitment to tackle the impact of climate change particularly in Nigeria’s dry lands.

Hassan said this on the sidelines of the National Stakeholders Workshop on the Formulation Process of Component three of the multi-country Scaling-Up Resilience In Africa’s Great Green Wall (SURAGGWA) Project in Abuja, recently.

He said component 3 of the proposed project is titled “Institutional Strengthening of Pan African Great Green Wall (PAGGW) and Great Green Wall (GGW) National Structures Through The Implementation Of Climate Initiatives and Dissemination of Successful Restoration Experiences.”

Hassan said Nigeria is collaborating with six African countries on the proposed project aimed at addressing the devastating impacts of climate change in the Sahelian countries.

The countries include Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Nigeria, Nigeria and Senegal.

He said this will be done by scaling-up successful adaptations and mitigation interventions in the agricultural, forestry and other land use sectors.

“Today, one of the environmental issues affecting people of the globe particularly in the dry lands of Africa is the effect of climate change.

“And there is a fund the international community put together specifically to address the issue of climate change.

“The GGW sister countries have decided to be part and parcel of that and try to see if they can get some support of the climate fund in order to sort out some of the issues that we are facing as a result of climate change.

“The sister countries came together to approach the climate fund to see if we can get projects running to ensure that some of the effects of climate change are tackled.

“In most part of Africa we are more into adaptation than mitigatiion of climate change so I believe our focus will be on adaptation,” Hassan said.

Mr Abel Enitan, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, in his address said, the workshop was important because it has to do with governance related issues needed for effective implementation of the SURAGGWA project.

Enitan, represented by Mr Stanley Jonah, Director, Research and Statistics in the ministry, said participatory bottom top approach is now the “in thing”for any meaningful and effective implementation of projects.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that participants at the workshop include CSOs, NGOs, Development Partners, Ministries , Departments and Agencies and state officials.

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