Yobe ACReSAL project empowers residents to strengthen community resilience in erosion, flood controls
By Njadvara Musa, Damaturu
The Yobe State Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project has empowered 255 residents to strengthen community resilience in the fight against gully erosion and flooding in the state.
In last September’s floods, many lives and property were destroyed in several communities that are located in the Kumadugu/Yobe River Basins.
The empowered residents are from the Damaturu and Buni/Yadi communities that are perennially affected by erosion and flooding.
The ACReSAL Project Coordinator, represented by the Social and Livelihoods Officer, Usman Mohammed Inuwa, made these known in Damaturu at a capacity-building training workshop to equip the residents with sustainable livelihood skills in the state’s semi-arid landscapes.
According to him, the landscapes comprise 12 local councils, including Machina, Yusufari, Yunusari, and Geidam, the border communities with Niger.
Beyond the capacity-building of erosion and flooding champions, the coordinator stated, “We’ve provided livelihoods support to the 255 Project Affected Persons (PAV) from communities affected by the severe gully erosion and flooding.
Highlighting the achievements in the mitigation of floods and erosion, Inuwa further revealed that the cooperation and resilience of the 255 residents led to the control of floods and gully erosion in their communities.
Speaking on residents’ compensations on the flood and erosion projects, the coordinator noted that compensations have been made to individuals whose property was impacted by the project’s erosion and flood control infrastructural facilities in the state.
He stated that the compensations are in compliance with the World Bank’s environmental standards. Inuwa added that the livelihoods W’Bank support initiative also ensures environmental rehabilitation that enhances the socio-economic conditions of the affected communities.
He, therefore, urged community and religious leaders and the civil society organisations (CSOs) to continue to cooperate with the World Bank-supported ACReSAL Project, stating, “More assistance will be provided in climate-smart agriculture and environmental sustainability in the state. The empowered residents expressed their appreciation to the Yobe State government and the World Bank-supported ACReSAL Project for their timely interventions to restore their means of livelihoods in communities.
