Mohammed Haruna Yusuf
3 November 2008
The Kebbi state coordinator of NEPAD, Dr. Isa Muhammed Sama, has disclosed measures being adopted by the agency and the state government to cushion the effects of deforestation and desertification.
Speaking to Daily Trust, the coordinator said that the Agency has initiated programmes, especially to sensitise the people on programmes and activities to effectively communicate and reach out to the populace.
"NEPAD has embarked on some programmes, most especially sensitisation on activities and how the agency can effectively communicate with people on the states initiatives. The national dialogue of stakeholders and development partners will enable us project and cushion out the effects of deforestation", he said.
Isa noted that NEPAD will collaborate with the Ministry of Environment to come up with new policies and measures to combat desertification.
As part of efforts to curb the threat, "we initiated a working group on the APRM and people were drawn from different levels at the grassroots to assist. We started having series of workshops on health, agriculture and environment issues to keep people abreast of all their problems and ways to tackle them.
He stated further that the Agency has set up coordinators at local government levels and there are also APRM desk officers in all the ministries.
Commending the state government, the coordinator said that the state, through the Ministry of Environment, has done a lot to address the problems of desertification by planting one million trees and seedlings. In fact, the level of desertification in the state is not alarming compared to Sokoto where the problems are severe, adding that the ministry is doing its best to curtail the extent of this threat.
"Awareness is practically one of the responsibilities of NEPAD and we liaise with the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Environment to get across to the people on the dangers of desertification," he said.
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