World Day to combat Desertification and Drought is marked annually on June 17 worldwide to foster a very strong sense of urgency for awakening global nations to put a halt to the sweeping consequences of the current terrifying desertification and drought wreaking havoc on the planet.
Conservationists and agriculturists have over the years been raising the alarm for the global leaders with regards to the waves of the current worsening sweeping desertification and drought thrusting the lives of the world’s living creatures and future generations into an ineffable serious jeopardy.
The ongoing massive decimation of Africans’ pristine forests, purifying global atmosphere, should be brought to an end in order to prevent perilous soil infertility giving rise to a serious threat to feeding the fear-provoking fastest-growing population of the African continent sooner or later.
Underprivileged people of the African continent are partly culpable for the persistent mass decimation of their immaculate forests for making wood-fuel since they are entirely dependent on this biggest dirty energy source. This detrimental non-renewable energy resource is a major source of cooking energy for two-thirds of low-income households of the continent.
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Africa loses four million hectares of her land mass to deforestation every year. This widespread deforestation should not be dealt with kids’ gloves as it will definitely put the lives of all living creatures in jeopardy in the future on the planet.
The far-reaching damages of desertification and drought are now being witnessed in the African continent, ranging from annual floods, damages of agricultural produce, famine, hunger, social conflicts or wars, and outbreak of water-borne diseases. The surface waters such as rivers, lakes, ponds, creeks, streams and lagoons are now drying out. The shrinking of Lake Chad by 90 per cent is a typical example.
The Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI), set up and designed by the African Union, responsible for mitigating and tackling desertification, land degradation and climate breakdown, should scale up its valiant effort in 22 selected countries of the African continent before its 2030 target including that of 17 SDGs of the UN.
The initiative should also leave no stone unturned towards resuscitating its policies and projects across the continent to save lives of unborn generations. Nigeria’s climate researchers and activists have now pinned their hopes on the newly appointed DG of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall, Dr. Yusuf Maina Bukar, to change narratives of the agency and lead it to greatness.
Mustapha Baba, Alkali Musa Street, Azare, Bauchi State
