FG to begin remediation of gully erosion sites

Speaking at the inaugural induction retreat of the NEWMAP project workforce in Uyo Akwa-Ibom State, Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku, supervising Minister of Environment, stated that NEWMAP activities would embrace a multi-scale and a multi-sector approach over the course of the next 8 years, with emphasis on reversing land degradation and remediation of gully erosion sites.Ishaku […]

Speaking at the inaugural induction retreat of the NEWMAP project workforce in Uyo Akwa-Ibom State, Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku, supervising Minister of Environment, stated that NEWMAP activities would embrace a multi-scale and a multi-sector approach over the course of the next 8 years, with emphasis on reversing land degradation and remediation of gully erosion sites.
Ishaku who presented the Project Implementation Manual (PIM), to the participating states, noted that “this state’s led intervention will commence initially in seven states of Abia, Anambra, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu and Imo and will subsequently scale out to other states in the country.”
According to him, “this project is a departure from the other erosion, land remediation projects done in the past”, adding that “as a category “A” Project, planned investments under the project will include strategic combination of civil engineering, vegetative land management and other watershed protection measures, and community-led adaptive livelihood enhancements.”
He said NEWMAP was conceived in 2010, through the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan when he requested the World Bank to support the country in addressing this ugly phenomenon in South-Eastern Nigeria. This intervention, he noted, “led to the Federal Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with the World Bank and its partner agencies, to come up with NEWMAP.”
He also commended the World Bank and its partners  for offering a facility of zero interest rate loan with a considerable moratorium of 10 years, saying; “a great milestone has already been achieved between 2010, when the project was conceived and the 16th of September, 2013 when it became effective.”
He appealed to participants at the NEWMAP project workforce retreat to see their coming on board “as a national assignment and a call to duty,” calling on the affected States to rally behind the federal government by playing their role towards achieving the desired results. According to him, “institutional framework should be adhered-to strictly, to ensure a smooth implementation of planned activities. Everyone should embrace the spirit of team work and result oriented tasks, in accordance with the content of the retreat.”
Earlier in his remarks, Task Team Leader, Amos Abu of the World Bank commended the federal government and the ministry for their resolute doggedness towards tackling the issue of erosion and land degradation.