UN-REDD scoping team visits Taraba

Cross River is the only state in the country currently on the REDD programme that seek to involve forest communities in the management, protection and conservation of the state forest.
The assessment was part of the scoping mission initiated by the National REDD office was to ascertain the preparedness of Taraba to be part of the REDD National project.
The UN-REDD Programme which is a mitigation mechanism to address the impact of climate change, supports nationally-led REDD+ processes and promotes the informed and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders, including indigenous peoples and other forest-dependent communities, in national and international REDD+ implementation.
Receiving the team, Taraba acting Governor, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi said that Taraba State would be the next state to come on board after Cross River State, stating that, the state was proud of its  forest reserve and they discouraged logging and other harmful forest practices that affect the forest.
“We have done everything to key in Taraba as the next REDD+ state after Cross River State and we took some bold steps to make sure that Taraba is ready at all time for the scoping mission. First we started by enlightening our indigenous people living around our forest areas, setting up task force to control illegal logging and setting up our own REDD+ committee. Here in Taraba state we are proud of our forest reserves and the whole of the state is REDD+ ready. I want to assure you that we do all these things to control carbon emission, the protection of our forest is not just the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Environment but the responsibility of all stakeholder and all we need now is to intensify our efforts in the sensitization of our people who live in heavily forested areas to appreciate what REDD+ is doing,” the governor said.
The UN-REDD+ team leader, Mr. Moses Ama an Assistant Director at the National REDD+ secretariat said the team was in Taraba State for a scoping mission.
“We have not come to first give benefits to the state but to see and be sure that Taraba State is interested and they have a forest that they can preserve and earn carbon credit that has a lot of benefits attached to it, so we have come for this mission to find out if that is true, and where the forest are.”
 He said that the team had visited Delta State, Ondo, Ekiti and Nasarawa  state.
Taraba State Commissioner for Environment Mrs. Rebecca Manasseh  who chronicled some of  the efforts put in by the state to ensure that the state is in the readiness process for the REDD+ programme said the state has shown commitment towards  forest conservation and the REDD+ progranmme.