National Agency targets 25m people by 2020 for Great Green Wall projects

The Great Green Wall, an African-led project with an epic ambition to grow an 8,000km natural wonder of the world across the entire width of Africa, would improve the livelihoods of over 25 million people in the Northern states of Nigeria by 2020.

Director General of National Agency for Great Green Wall, NAGGW, Mr. Goni Ahmed disclosed this while receiving members of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment and Habitat on oversight visit.

He told the lawmakers that the projects, which is aimed at providing food, jobs and a future for millions of people who live in the region on the frontline of climate change are being implemented in eleven frontline states most affected by desertification.

Ahmed, who gave the names of the states as Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, said they are focusing on achieving natural resources conservation and development; strengthening social infrastructure, especially in rural areas, and diversification of economic activities to improve living conditions of the rural communities.

According to him, with the framework of the GGW programme, the target is to rehabilitate about 22,500square kilometers of degraded land in the dry region of the country and develop the livelihoods and boost climate change mitigation and adaptation.

“Since initiative commenced in 2013, Nigeria has been able to provide sources of clean water to over one million people in the affected areas by constructing 157 Boreholes with reticulation facilities, animal drinking troughs along GGW passage”, he said.

He further stressed the need to follow up and actualize the various commitments made by world leaders in order to maintain a common platform and vision for the GGW Programme at the UNFCCC COP 22 in Marrakech, Morocco.

In his remarks, Chairman, House Committee on Environment and Habitat, Obinna Chidoka, who called for capacity building between lawmakers and the agency, requested the list of projects in 2017 budget so that they can intervene for their execution.