CHAPTER 3: COCIN’S THEOLOGY ON ECOLOGY
4.4 Workshops for Communities and Tree Planting
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Therefore, considering which type of tree that will suit each community is commendable because it will help maintain the soil fertility.
Another factor that drives CCDP’s environmental education is “to increase the resilience of communities to climate change” (CCDP Report 2016: 11). Umar Dahiru the Director of the African Desertification Control Initiative admits that global warming is responsible for many current environmental problems in Nigeria such as drought, decrease in crop yield, forced migration and loss of biodiversity (Cotthem 2008: 1). Food and Agricultural Organisation confirms the decrease in crop yield in Africa generally and in Nigeria in particular, is as a result of climate change. (Daily Trust, 7 September 2017). Creating awareness on tree planting therefore will strengthen the capacity of the communities to have the resilience to reduce the impact of such challenges.
The CCDP’s report has indicated that the tree planting campaign was carried out in 15 communities and 3 500 tree seedlings were distributed as well. The report further states that the organisation was able to reach out to 1 721 people, with a gender distribution of 817 women and 904 men (CCDP Report 2016: 11). Below are some pictures showing CCDP engaging various communities in town hall meetings in Panyam district and other surrounding communities on the significance of tree planting.
Fig. 5(a) Fig. 5(b)
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Fig. 5(c) Fig. 5(d)
Fig. 5(e) Fig. 5(f)
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Fig. 5(g) Fig. 5(h)
Fig. 5(a–d): Workshop and distribution of tree seedlings to Kinat community for planting after the sensitisation workshop and (e–h) the process repeated in the Hurum community.
These photographs confirm that CCDP is contributing to reducing deforestation.
Because the organisation not only gives theoretical education, but also makes donations and does the planting of trees, these activities always follow after all the workshops whether in schools or in the communities.
Apart from the sensitisation to communities by CCDP in Panyam district and its environs, other studies reveal that other non-governmental organisations in Nigeria are involved in similar projects of tree planting, which is an indication that deforestation is a strong environmental problem facing Nigeria (Anongo 2012; ITF 2014; Afolabi et al.
2015; Christon-Quao and Uangbaoje, 2016; BSWP, Abdulwahab, Adegun and Morakinyo, 2017). Awareness of tree planting is potentially achieving the desired impact in some of these communities. For example, in Awgu a suburb in Enugu State in the South East of Nigeria, an International NGO, International Tree Foundation (ITF), partnered with a local NGO, Women in Development and Environment (WIDE) to train
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specifically women with skills in grafting and tree propagation (ITF 2014). The project raised awareness about the value of the conservation of indigenous forests. The Coordinator of WIDE is determined in saying: “I will teach other grassroots women in my community to propagate and plant fruit trees” (ITF 2014: 1). While this project is commendable, the problem with it is that it places emphasis only on fruit trees without considering planting other trees for the sake of the environment. Furthermore, many Nigerians depend on firewood for cooking, so if priority is placed more on fruit trees, then in the near future this community may be faced with the unavailability of firewood.
Another thing to note again is that the project excludes men and focuses on empowering women only. In most Nigerian communities from my experience, men are the ones who own land. Therefore, if they do not involve them in the programme of such magnitude then it may fail to succeed.
Similarly, in Kaduna State in the North West of Nigeria, another NGO, GreenAid, donates thousands of different species of tree seedlings to Unguwar Kudu (Uangbaoje 2016). The Christian Reformed World Relief Committees (CRWRC), a Christian NGO, undertook a tree planting awareness campaign and planted trees in Saya village in Plateau State (Pam 2011). Also, in Adamawa state in North East Nigeria, projects by NGOs on tree planting in some communities in the state have great potential for curbing some of the effects of climate change and deforestation in the country (Christon-Quao 2016; Omorogiuwa 2017; Dickson 2017).
The Federal Government of Nigeria also supports the project of tree planting as a way of combating deforestation and climate change. The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme is being used for such a purpose. NYSC is a one-year compulsory service by young graduates from Nigerian universities (Abdulwahab 2017: 1). These young people after graduating from different Nigerian universities, are posted to different states away from their home states to serve for a period of one year. In the course of their service year, they normally have one day a week for community service.
The scheme in recent years has been collaborating with the Federal Government so that these graduates will plant trees in their respective locations where they are serving
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the nation. This is to make them tree planting ambassadors to their host communities (Abdulwahab 2017: 2). This project fosters and promotes afforestation in the country as one way of mitigating the problem of deforestation.
The above is evidence that the Federal Government, NGOs and FBOs are contributing in creating awareness in communities in Nigeria so as to minimise deforestation.
Adegun and Morakinyo (2017) propose the Federal Government allow the following points:
❖ State and local governments should have the main responsibility of introducing policies that would lead to more greening in Nigeria’s cities, of which urban tree planting projects should be promoted on streets and beyond.
❖ There should be programmes to plant trees in neighbourhoods and to create vegetated play parks, community gardens and other forms of green open spaces.
❖ There should also be a push for gardens to be created – for food as well as aesthetic reasons – including inside houses, on the roof or on the walls.