As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark this year’s World Environment Day, Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for a more proactive approach to protect the land and ecosystem through afforestation, water conservation, and the cessation of indiscriminate felling of trees.
The President made the call in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, to mark World Environment Day.
World Environment Day is a day established by the United Nations during the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment in 1972.
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Restating his commitment to plant 25 million trees by 2030, President Tinubu said; “this is not only to protect the environment but also to provide opportunities for Nigeria’s youths within the green economy value chain.”
The Nigerian Leader said; “to heal the world, the land and its people must first be healed, he further called for efforts and action by citizens, stakeholders, institutions, and development partners to safeguard the environment and ensure a win-win transition to a prosperous and clean economy future for all.”
The theme of this year’s occasion, ‘Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience’, is very significant, particularly for Nigeria, where the scourge of drought threatens parts of the country.
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In his determined efforts towards Nigeria’s aspiration to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, President Tinubu established the Presidential Committee on Climate Action and Green Economic Solutions, which he chairs, to oversee the nation’s climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, as well as green economy initiatives.
The President also approved the establishment of Nigeria’s first Green Industrial Zone, Evergreen City, which is poised to be the leading manufacturing hub in Africa for renewable energy technologies, green solutions, and climate-adaptation technologies.
According to the projections of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, about 40 per cent of the planet’s land is degraded, and this directly impacts half of the world’s population.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification had said the number and duration of droughts have increased by 29 per cent since 2000 and that without urgent action, droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.
