Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has stated that his government will be deliberate in its efforts to curtail deforestation to reap greater benefits from the state’s rich biodiversity.
He stated this while signing into law a bill to establish a Climate and Green Economy Commission.
Otu said it is another bold step by his administration to foster a sustainable environment through the protection of the rich and yet fragile ecosystem of the state.
He noted that the law is aimed at preserving the rich biodiversity of the state.
“For us in Cross River State, environmental consciousness among the citizenry is simply our way of life. Almost all our actions are guided by the principle of ‘living at peace with nature.’
“There’s a need to mitigate the natural catastrophes that our geographical zone is prone to. To this end, we have undertaken the planting of millions of trees in our depleted forests.
“We have halted and reversed community-based deforestation activities by adopting sustainable farming practices.”
According to Governor Otu, “the key element of the nature-positive strategy is the regeneration method.”
He disclosed that they have also adopted controlled logging of wood in the rainforests.
He maintained that “when our forests and other biodiversity hotspots are restored and protected, carbon will be assimilated, biodiversity enriched, and air purified for our wellbeing.
“The signing of the Climate and Green Economy Bill today is therefore a sign of our renewed drive towards the Nature-Positive Strategy (NPS).”
Cross River State, apart from hosting the largest rainforest in the country, has become the first sub-national to set up such an important commission, deliberately taking measures to address the issue of climate change.
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