NAN-AE-11
Support
By Vivian Emoni
Abuja, July 10, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Government has called for support from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations in its efforts at addressing environmental issues for sustainable development.
Mr Aliyu Bananda, the Director, Drought and Desertification Amelioration Department in the Federal Ministry of Environment, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.
Cue in audio (Bananda)
“Our private sectors I don’t know maybe they are skeptical of us.
“But they are not supportive of our programmes and if you involve the private sectors in something they will be the ones that will drive it very fast.
“And then the NGOs too, the Civil Society Organisations and Community Base Organisations, so they need serious advocacy and awareness.
“So that we can join hands together to carry this things forward.
Audio out Audio
Bananda said that the NGOs, CSOs and CBOs were not participating effectively in the government`s programmes adding that it could affect negatively in the implementation of environmental issues in the country.
He said that the organisations should support the government at all levels by scaling up its activities to ensure effective and efficient implementation of environmental programmes in the country.
He said that the efforts would play a key role in improving life among the citizens in the environmental issues.
He also said that deceptiveness of people in tackling environmental matters was another challenge faced in the implementation of environmental issues in the country.
According to him, the deceptiveness of people towards environmental issues is another challenge that affects effective in the implementation of government`s programmes in environmental matters.
“People refused to plant trees and when they cut trees they will not want to replace it, they think that planting trees is a waste of time; it is a big challenge to us.
“We sensitise to them on the importance of planting trees in an environment. We don’t only tell people to plant trees but we teach them how to plant, yet they don’t recognise our efforts,’’ he said.
The Director appealed to the organisations as well as Nigerians to support government at all levels for efficient implementation of environmental programmes.
He said that the department was charged with the responsibility of preventing and controlling of desert encroachment into the country.
He added that most of the department’s activities rely on front line states which include Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Gombe and Zamfara states.
Bananda also said that the activities of the department extended to cover buffer states such as Benue, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Taraba and FCT.
The director said that the buffer states were those that absorbed pressure from the front line states.
He said that the department ensured that the states were improved in the area of reclamation and restoration of degraded dry lands.
He said that the department ensured increased awareness and attitudinal change toward land degradation in the states.
The director, however, said that the department concentrated sensitisation exercise on those states. (NAN)
VOE/LAB/YEE
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Edited by Lydia Beshel/Emmanuel Yashim