Alhaji Yusuf Danbayo, an environmentalist and coordinator of a tree planting campaign in Gombe, has appealed to residents of the state to plant trees in order to check desertification and erosion menace in the State.
Danbayo told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Friday that the evidence of desertification in the state had compelled him to mobilise groups and individuals to plant trees so as to protect the environment.
He said he sponsored the planting of thousands of trees in Gombe, because environment is the common heritage of the people that should be preserved by all means.
“Flood has affected so many places and it is still affecting them.Therefore, we will use our knowledge, our strength and the limited resources we have to preserve our environment through afforestation,” he said.
The environmentalist said trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen,improving air quality and climate amelioration among other things.
He also said trees provide additional necessities such as shelter,and the value of tree continues to increase and more of its benefits are being discovered.
Danbayo stressed the need for religious leaders to participate actively in the tree-planting campaign by advocating the importance of trees in the environment threatened by desertification.
According to him, failure to plant trees massively in Gombe was posing a lot of environmental challenges, especially during rainy season when flood destroys many lives and property.
(NAN)
