NAGGW launches school clubs, inaugurates Land of Peace

Launching the programme at the Government Girls’ Secondary School, Duste, Abuja, the Director-General, NAGGW, Mr. Goni Ahmed, said the agency was using the platform provided for the launch to also establish the Land of Peace and Friendship among People as directed by Heads of States and Governments of the Pan African Agency for the Great Green Wall.
“The conference decided that member states of the PAGGW should set aside 2 hectares of land within a school premises in honour of war-ravaged people of Mali. This is to foster peace and friendship among people of the world,” Ahmed said.
He said that as part of efforts to inculcate values of conservation and care for the environment among the younger generation, the agency has established GGW clubs in selected schools within the frontline states. The students, according to him, would be taught on how to raise seedlings, plant and nurture them to maturity.
The Director-General noted that desertification was a major constraint to the economy and the attainment of the MDG.
“The World Bank estimated that over N10.5 billion is lost annually through deforestation, desertification and drought. If we can collectively take action against desertification and other environmental related issues, we will not only improve land productivity but will provide the bedrock for agricultural growth, create employment leading to positive cycle of economic growth.”
He said the vision of the GGW programme, which initially focused on tree planting along narrow strips, had evolved into an integrated ecosystem management approach that would enhance food production, ecosystem goods and services for the sustenance of livelihoods.
Also speaking at the launch, Mr. Huzi Mshelia, Chairman NESERA Governing Board noted that involving the student in tree planting remained one of the best strategies in mobilising youths towards environmental conservation and sustainability.
Mshelia said trees were important resources in the natural ecosystem with many benefits. Such benefits, according to him, include the provision of home for animals, recharging underground water, replacing soil nutrients and preventing erosion and guaranteeing supplies of non-wood products such as pharmaceuticals, which have enormous export potentials.
He said Nigeria could not achieve environmental sustainability without putting the youth at the centre of its efforts. “Youths have both special concerns and responsibilities in relation to the environment.”