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Kwara State House of Assembly has urged the State Government to as a matter of necessity direct the State Ministry of Environment to ensure strict compliance with the Five to One tree planting policy with a view to addressing the menace of global warming.
The Speaker, Engineer Yakubu Danlad-Salihu read the resolutions following adoption of a motion on Notice titled “Global Warming: Need to Halt Indiscriminate Felling of trees and Ensure strict Adherence to the Five for each One Tree policy in Kwara State ” sponsored by the House leader and member representing Ilorin Central Constituency, Barrister Abdulkadir Magaji.
The House also urged the state government to direct the Ministry of Environment to ensure that unlicensed chain saw men are apprehended and fined for indiscriminate cutting down of trees in the forest.
In addition, the State Ministry of Communications has been called upon to intensify media awareness on the dangers inherent in indiscriminate felling of trees.
According to Barrister Magaji, some people he described as desperate elements, regardless of danger of their actions have continued to cut down trees for charcoal production, while unlicensed chain saw men walk freely in the state forests unchallenged.
Making his contribution, one of the co-sponsor, Sha’aba Gideon representing Edu Constituency, noted that charcoal production does not pose any danger to the environment in other parts of the world, the reverse is the case in Nigeria due to non adherent to rules guiding felling of trees, stressing that planting of trees including flowers will reduce effects of global warming.
Other lawmakers in their contributions described deforestation as a threat to the environment which is inline with sustainable development goal Thirteen.
Report says Kwara State has forest reserves with over five thousand square meters, but more than fifty percent of these forest reserves have been encroached by chain saw men and charcoal producers.
Abdulrazaq Bello
