The deputy chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Hon. Terseer Ugbor, has called for the adoption of massive reforestation and climate-smart agriculture to tackle the country’s climate change and food insecurity challenges.
Ugbor, who represents the Kwande/Ushongo federal constituency of Benue state, suggested this when he participated as a panellist at the Nigerian Climate Change Forum in Abuja on Thursday.
The lawmakers urged governments at all levels to adopt nature-based solutions by prioritising afforestation and adopting innovative agricultural initiatives to combat climate change and food insecurity.
He expressed grave concern that his constituency, once rich in forestry and renowned for its rosewood, commonly known as ‘Madrid,’ has now been entirely depleted, leading to a loss of revenue and economic activity for the communities.
“As long as we don’t prioritise tree planting and reforestation, we will continue to lose habitat and biodiversity, and we’ll continue to suffer the effects of climate change. This is why we’re experiencing massive desertification, droughts, and irregular rainfall, contributing to the challenges we’re facing in Nigeria.
“So, as a Parliament, our priority is to advance policies and legislation to address these things.’For example, we’re trying to improve the Environmental Impact Assessment Act to include the social components so it becomes an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, to enable us to evaluate the effects of our activities on the environment and the welfare and livelihoods of our people and communities,” he said.
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