Ekiti State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mrs Tosin Aluko-Ajisafe, disclosed plans for the state government to plant two million trees, aiming to create a carbon sink and enhance environmental sustainability.
Aluko-Ajisafe emphasized the adverse effects of climate change on both the environment and humans, ensuring the government’s unwavering commitment to mitigation efforts.
The commissioner conveyed these insights during a lecture titled “Environmental impact of climate change: Causes, effects and adaptation” at the Christian Association of Nigeria’s first plenary session in Ekiti State, held at St. Philip’s Anglican Church in Aramoko-Ekiti. Represented by Mr Babatunde Akinola, the Director of Nature Conservation and Climate Change, the commissioner highlighted Ekiti State’s vulnerability to climate change and the proactive steps taken to address it.
She said, “Although climate change may not kill people directly, it imposes major threats such as extreme heat stress/waves, drought, floods, wildfires, reduction in food supplies, water scarcity, loss of jobs, and abnormal environmental conditions.”
Emphasizing vulnerability assessments, flood alert systems, and defense mechanisms, the commissioner underscored the need for constructing dams and waterways.
Additionally, she advocated for the transition to electric vehicles, the adoption of waste reduction strategies, the promotion of tree planting initiatives, and the implementation of energy-saving approaches as pivotal measures to mitigate climate change.
Aluko-Ajisafe said that the steps taken so far by her ministry towards making Ekiti State environmentally friendly included “planting of trees on the median ways within the state capital to enhance greening and carbon sink and regular maintenance of the road median and sideways”.
Apart from the ongoing advocacy campaign, she asserted, “The ministry has targeted 2 million trees for planting in 2024. The ministry through the State Environmental Protection Agency has embarked on desiltation and dredging of carnal across the state to forestall flooding.”
“Waste disposal bins have been put in strategic locations in Ado Ekiti to ensure proper waste collection in addition to regular fumigation of waste dump sites in the state capital.”
The CAN State Chairman, Rev. Emmanuel Aribasoye, who hailed the efforts of the ministry to mitigate climate change effects, stressed the need for tree planting as a necessity in the interest of sustaining the environment.
He also canvassed deliberate efforts to plant trees to nurture the environment
