GGW Teams Up with Yobe State to Fight Desertification with Massive Tree Plants
By Tada Juthan
The Great Green Wall (GGW) Director General, Yusuf Maina Bukar, has a naughty partnership with the Yobe state government to plant more tree seedlings to combat desertification in the state.
Bukar, represented by the Deputy Director of Resource Mobilisation, Habiba Tumsah, disclosed yesterday (Friday), in Damaturu, that he paid a courtesy visit to Governor Mai Mala Buni at the Government House.
She said the 2024 GGW Day theme, “Fueling a Greener Future,” was to sensitise stakeholders and communities to the massive tree-planting campaign to halt the further spread of desert encroachment.
Besides stakeholders’ sensitization on tree planting, she added, the agency has also embarked on the sensitization of targeted schools and the communities already affected in nine local government areas.
The DG, therefore, warned against the dangers of massive felling of trees for firewood and other sources of energy in the state.
Habiba lamented that the 19 northern states are already affected by desertification that spreads southwards at a rate of 600 metres per year.
Consequently, she said, “There is a need for the affected states to plant trees,” warning that if they refuse, desertification will cause environmental degradation and other life-threatening hazards.
Bukar noted that degradation of the fragile environment is not good for people’s health or agricultural and livestock production.
In In his response, the governor thanked the team for visiting Yobe and encouraged them to do more in terms of tree planting in the state, considering its importance to society.
He urged them to seize the opportunity to commemorate the day by planting more trees in the newly constructed housing estates across the state.
The Great Green Wall team also visited the Kasaisa community in Damaturu, the state capital, and distributed cooking gas cylinders to the community.
It pledged to return to the community to sensitise the people on the precautionary measures of using gas cookers.
GGW Teams Up
