Honourable Esan made the call while speaking at the annual tree planting event to flag off the 2018 World Environment Day (WED)initiated by the state’s Ambassador for Environment, Ms Olapeju Olayemi, at the Osse River Park in Idoani.
The commissioner said that while the theme of this year’s event, ‘Beat Plastic Pollution,’ would be highlighted in series of sensitisation programmes throughout the year, it would be out of place not to remind the people about the importance of tree planting.
“Trees help sequester carbon in the air, and by so doing, contribute to mitigating climate change,” the environment commissioner said.
In her speech, the Ondo State Goodwill Ambassador for Environment, Ms Olapeju, said that tree planning would aid the realisation of the commemorative theme of this year’s event, ‘Beat Plastic Pollution.’
“Leaves from trees can serve as an alternative to the single use polythene bags which we use for food packages. Leaves are more sustainable alternative to disposable plastics, so we must embrace the use of leaves to wrap our food items like pounded yam. Let us refuse or reduce single use plastics to beat plastic solution,” Ms Olapeju said.
The chairman of Olapeju Foundation, Chief Oladele Olapeju, thanked the commissioner and everyone present for the event, which included the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environmernt, Mrs Funmi Ogundipe, as well as the Onimeri of Imeri, Oba Babatunde Adeniran, for planting various trees in different locations at Osse River Park and Idoani community.
He said that there could not be a better time to act positively on the theme of this year’s event than now, explaining that was why the foundation adopted a sub-theme of launching ‘A Tree Planting Campaign’ as a means of creating a new awareness on the need to aggressively pursue proactive strategies to beat plastic pollution.
and then