Writing By Daniel Karlmax, Editing By Godwin Duru
Minister of Environment Malam Balarabe Abbass Lawal has expressed Federal Government’s commitment through ACReSAL to addressing the challenges of climate change with a view to greening the environment for sustainability.
The Minister stated this in Kaduna during the Agro- Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape, ACReSAL technical support mission, and the official presentation of community revolving fund to ten communities.
He noted that ACReSAL is the Federal Government’s initiative, and a world Bank project in partnership with the nineteen northern states under the Ministries of Water Resources, Agriculture and environment.
He said the technical support mission that coincided with the inauguration of the disilting machine by the state government is one of the most important aspects of ACReSAL geared toward addressing watersheds, landscape degradation and encroachment of land in the North.
According to the Minister, the fund is designed to support projects that prioritize sustainability initiatives, drive renewable energy development, as well as conservation of waste reduction strategies and bio diversity protection.
“ACReSAL is very important to us, and I’ll assure you that it’ll always be there to address some of your issues, as it’s centered around the issue of trying to address certain facilities in times of our greening of the environment,
“This is why we have this machine that we are going to commissioned today, and I believe that this machine will go along way in trying to address desilting of the rivers,
“The ACReSAL project constitute a significant component of the federal government aim to rehabilitate one million hectares of degraded land in Nigeria, contributing to the goal of restoring four million hectares by the year twenty thirty,
“We know that when communities are empowered, they can enact meaningful changes that will benefit not only their local ecosystem, but drive National and global sustainability ” he added.
In an address, the National Project Coordinator of ACReSAL Abdulhamid Umar said the initiative is one of the most successfully delivered project for World Bank in the country with the Minister as the steering committee Chairman.
He commended Governor Uba Sani for his policy direction that aligns with what ACReSAL seeks to deliver especially in the area of revolutionizing undeveloped areas of the state.
On his part, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, said strategic policies and programs have been implemented to enhance ecological conservation, mitigate climate change and promote economic resilience in the state.
The Governor further stated that, with the support of ACReSAL, the state had unveiled a ten year climate change policy, alongside training of five hundred women and youth on school feeding vendors via the use of alternative to fossil fuel.
The state according to him has identified and restored over twenty two thousand hectares of degraded land, provided state of the art weather station and procured excavator for disilting the Kaduna river and clear drainages to mitigate against flood in the state.
“The state commitment to rural transformation also aligns with the community revolving fund initiative that is designed to support registered farmers group under the umbrella of interest groups with loans to undertake investment in climate smart interventions,
“To ensure the objective of the fund is met and sustained, beneficiaries have been trained on financial management and business plan preparation, and methods of grains preservation, its our desire that this initiative will assist farmers to enhance the livelihood of communities,” Sani explained.
A total of eighty two registered interest groups in Kubau and Kudan local government areas benefited from the first badge of the disbursement with twenty five thousand dollars each
While the second phase would commence at the second quarter of the year with four local governments from the central and southern kaduna Senatorial zone.
Daniel Karlmax
