By Ezra Musa
Kaduna – Dr Piman Hoffman, an environmental expert, Director, African Climate Reporters, on Friday called for tougher punishment against deforestation to combat the effects of climate change.
Hoffman made the call while answering questions from journalists in Kaduna.
He said that all NGOs and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in 54 African countries had been encouraged to help communities raise more awareness on global warming, desertification, deforestation and environmental degradation.
Hoffman said there was need to engage more NGOs and CSOs in the region to save communities from issues that had to do with combating climate change and desertification in relation to humans and wildlife.
“The NGOs were encouraged to help developing countries mitigate carbon emissions and vulnerable populations that still need help in adapting to the impacts of climate change.’’
Hoffman said NGOs were trained to convince and motivate people at the grassroots to plant trees on self-help basis without expecting any help from anywhere.
He said this would promote the sense of ownership in them and they would look after each seedling till it became a tree.
The director suggested that each NGO in the communities should be called and a representative of registration authority should mobilise them to fully participate in the
tree plantation campaign.
Hoffman said the African Climate Reporters was planning to start the distribution of over 100,000 trees annually to remote areas with the aim of educating rural dwellers on the importance of trees in their communities.
He called on government to support recycling and to drastically cut down price of kerosene to make it more affordable so people could stop cutting down trees. (NAN)