Neighbourhood Environment Watch Foundation (NEW-F), has planted 500 tree seedlings at Ogada-Edda and Ohatekwe Edda communities in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi.
Dr Kelechi Okezie, Executive Director of the foundation disclosed this to the in an interview with our correspondent on Monday in Abakaliki.
Okezie who spoke on the activities of his organisation in areas of forest management and environmental protection said that the exercise was in continuation of its Strengthening Local Advocacy Against Climate Change (SLACC) in the state.
According to him, the programme aims at mobilising local actions against climate change and inspires actions towards forests conservation and sustainable environment in Ebonyi.
The environmentalist emphasised the need for preserving indigenous trees and called on the community members to nurture the trees as their economic, social and environmental benefits were enormous.
He called for strategic and intentional management of the forests and their biodiversity, realising the enormous benefits humanity stood to benefit from such action.
Okezie explained that the benefitting communities donated their lands for the trees underscoring the importance of forest conservation and sustainability.
The executive director who decried the indiscriminate cutting down of trees in parts of the state said that most trees had gone extinct urging communities and governments at all levels to take converted efforts against deforestation.
He said that the United Nations in recognition of importance of forestry in maintaining biodiversity had designated March 21 annually as International Day of Forests.
” This day is recognised annually to raise awareness about the importance of all types of forests and to promote their sustainable management, conservation and development.
“There should be a commitment to protecting the environment; a local tree called “akparata” in one of the communities has gone into extinction due to the activities of Chinese people who deceived the people in cutting and selling to them this hard wood.
“Today, the akparata tree is no longer seen in any part of the community and same is the fate of most other local trees in many of our forests,” he added.
Okezie who also spoke on the 2025 World Environment Day being observed June 6 annually called for the protection of the environment and urged the people to shun activities that were likely to engender environmental abuse, degradation and pollution.
