By Gambo Jagindi
March 22, 2021
World Tree Planting Day: NGO Embarks On Nationwide Tree Planting …Set to Plant 10 million Trees Nationwide
A Non-Governmental Organization, Environmental Care International Organization (ECIO)
has said that it will embark on ten million tree planting nationwide with effect from March 22, 2021.
Prince Gomene Namene, General Project Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer ECIO disclosed this
to newsmen in Abuja on Monday during the commencement of the tree planting campaign
The NGO proposed a mass collaborative nationwide action on the 10 million annual tree planting target.
According to the group, the environmental dangers facing Nigeria today are enormous, and calls for serious concern, and urgent civic engagement for solutions that will reduce disaster risk and ensure resilience for all.The group appealed to Nigerians to embrace mass reforestation to protect the environment by planting trees in homes, neighborhood, schools, religious premises, farms, roadsides, hospitals, offices, riversides, parks, degraded forests and pasture fields.
“Our target is to plant 10 million trees between March and December 2019 as citizens’ contributions to sustainable national development.
“The environmental dangers facing Nigeria today are enormous. Recurrence of disasters triggered by deforestation undermines Nigeria’s development gains.
“Worsening deforestation, floods, heat-waves, landslides, erosion, drought, and desertification are resulting to small and large scale disasters killing and affecting people and destroying homes, crops, schools, hospitals, public utilities, roads and critical infrastructure worth billions of Dollars.
“We encourage everyone to come out together with families, neighbours, colleagues and friends and plant two trees each to green Nigeria and foster mutual love, unity and peaceful coexistence.
“These trees should be economic plants with food, fruit and medicinal value and contributes to biodiversity and healthy ecosystem for people, birds, animals and other species.
“It is our believe that this mass reforestation action will greatly contribute to building Nigeria’s resilience and its capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change,
The theme for 2021 is Forests Biodiversity.