By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) in collaboration with Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) launched the Integrated Dryland Ecosystem Rehabilitation, Regeneration and Conservation (IDERRCN) project.
Mrs. Amina Ahmed Garba
Head, Press and Public Relations Unit, NAGGW in a press release said the project has set an ambitious target of restoring 2,500 hectares of degraded land, while rehabilitating an additional 3,000 hectares through improved land-use practices.
She said the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Alh. Mahmood Adam Kambari, who was represented by the Ag Director, Rural Development and Extension Services in the Agency, Mrs. Habiba Ibrahim Lau, revealed this during the project’s inception workshop held in Abuja.
“He commended the collaboration between the UNEP, GEF, and the Agency (NAGGW) stressing that the project will be a major environmental and socio-economic intervention for local communities across the Great Green Wall corridor in Kebbi State.
Kambari emphasized the timeliness and importance of the initiative, particularly in light of the rising threat of land degradation and desertification in the northern part of the Country.
“The Permanent Secretary said that human activities and poor land use, worsened by the impacts of climate change and rapid population growth, have severely affected ecosystems in the Sahel and Sahara regions.
“He advised that the increasing vulnerability of people and the environment has heightened the risk of disasters such as floods, droughts, and food insecurity. While expressing confidence in the project’s success, he reiterated the core purpose of the Great Green Wall Initiative to reverse land degradation by empowering local communities in the sustainable management of natural resources.
“In his remarks, the Director General/CEO, National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), Saleh Abubakar, MFR, described IDERRCN as a flagship component under the broader regional programme titled, “Transformation Approach to Large Scale Investment in Support of the Implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative (TALSISI-GGWI).”
The DG said that the project, supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will be implemented across fifteen communities within five Local Government Areas of Kebbi State (Arewa, Augie, Argungu, Bunza, and Dandi).
“Abubakar stated that the initiative is designed to combat land degradation, enhance soil fertility, boost vegetation cover, and improve the resilience of rural livelihoods affected by climate change and desert encroachment.
“The workshop brought stakeholders from Federal Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Food Security, Water Resources, IFAD, Nigeria Conservation Foundation, private sector and CSO’s.
“The stakeholders praised the scope and scale of the project, describing it as a timely intervention to reverse ecological damage and empower communities through sustainable land management practices,” the NAGGW press release added.
