Minister Links Evironmental Problems To Erosion

The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Mailafiya, has identified soil erosion and associated hazards among the most serious environmental issues causing major economic, social and environmental problems in the country.

Speaking through the director of soil erosion in the Ministry, Alhaji Maina Wada, a workshop organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), under the aegis of ‘keep the environment safe’ in Port Harcourt at the weekend, the minister explained that erosion and micro-watershed management at scale required strong commitment of all stake holders involved in erosion management.

According to her, erosion management could be sustained if planned and implemented at watershed level and at scale.

Therefore she advocated that adequate sensitisation should be carried out to ensure community participation in the project.

Mailafia said effective advocacy and sensitisation should be done, tackling the issues is capital intensive and time consuming; so it should be done properly. She said plans are underway to finance erosion projects in five South Eastern States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.

Earlier, the chairman of the body, Chief Okey Amadi explained that the workshop was to enable stakeholders learn the techniques and map out strategies to tackle the challenges posed by erosion in erosion prone areas in the South Eastern states.

He enjoined the federal government to partner with World Bank and other global bodies to assist the areas prone to erosion and ecological problems.