By Bon Peters,
PORT HARCOURT/Nigeria: The Rotary Club of Port Harcourt ECO has embarked on a groundbreaking initiative to invest over 10 million naira in safeguarding the environment of Rivers State and securing a sustainable future for its people. The club’s primary focus revolves around the protection, preservation, and enhancement of the local environment by undertaking extensive tree planting initiatives.
During the Tree Planting exercise themed “Tree Planting As a Strategy For The Mitigation of Climate Change,” held at the Eastern Bypass in the Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers State, Rtn Dr Anthony Ikpor, President of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt ECO, underscored the environmental challenges faced by the state. “Rivers state is an industrial hub of oil and gas in Nigeria where there is increasingly gas flaring, hydrocarbon pollution, soot, and other industrial wastes that have significantly contributed to climate change,” Dr. Ikpor remarked.
Citing the alarming statistics on climate change impact in Nigeria, Ikpor emphasized, “Nigeria is facing significant health and environmental threats and risks losing over $100 billion annually from the impact of climate change.” He highlighted the far-reaching consequences of climate change, which encompass a spectrum from heightened hunger, poverty, and disease burden to migration, conflict, and insecurity within Nigeria.
Expressing concern over the dire ramifications of climate change on infrastructure, coastlines, desertification, water scarcity, erosion, and revenue loss for states and the national government, Ikpor stressed the pivotal role of combating these effects. “Climate change possesses the potential to imperil the nation’s economic development and reshape its social, geographical, and political landscape,” he warned, outlining the Rotary Club’s commitment to allocating financial and human resources exceeding 10 million naira to counter these adversities.
Ikpor further elucidated on the significance of tree planting as a mitigation strategy against climate change, citing its role in carbon sequestration, windbreak, sustainable biodiversity maintenance, oxygen provision, energy conservation, water pollution prevention, and soil erosion control.
The initiative received accolades from Sir (Hon) Allwell Ihunda (JP) DSSRS, the Mayor of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, who commended the Rotary Club’s efforts. “The tree planting initiative is commendable for sustaining a healthy environment,” Ihunda affirmed, pledging continuous collaboration with the Rotary Club to uphold their shared objectives.
In a bid to ensure the trees’ protection and preservation, Mayor Ihunda assured that the council would actively safeguard the planted trees and replace any inadvertently felled due to specific circumstances, aligning with the commitment to maintain a flourishing environmental ecosystem.
Echoing similar sentiments, Rtn Davis Okarevu, the immediate past President of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt ECO, expressed elation at witnessing the fruition of the initiative. He urged other organizations to emulate the club’s dedication to environmental conservation and protection.
The event culminated in the formal flag-off of the tree planting campaign by Mayor Allwell Ihunda, attended by representatives from the Rivers State Ministry of Works, Ministry of Environment, and distinguished members of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt ECO.
