By Jonathan Ugbal
The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Program (GEF/SGP), a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) funded program has spent USD30,000 on the training of 100 youths in Odukpani local government area of southern Cross River State on initiating sustainable livelihood alternatives to reduce pressure on the forests.
USD30,000 when converted to Naira at the rate of 306.35 as at April 12, 2017 is NGN9,190,500.00k.
Vanguard reports that the national coordinator of the GEF/SGP, Ibironke Olubamise in an interview in Abuja on Tuesday said Peace Point Action (PPA), a nongovernmental organization handled the execution at a creek beach community in Odukpani with the project, “focused specifically on women and youths, including the physically-challenged in the community.”
“The project will reduce mangrove forest loss through sustainable income generating activities such as the establishment of snail farms.
“The community is primarily reliant upon wood logging, fishing and small-scale farming as its major source of livelihood. “Due to logging and clearing of farmland, most forests are being encroached; thus contributing immensely to the problems of climate change in the community,’’ she said.
Olubamise who said the youths were trained on using fuel efficient wood stoves, maintained that the project would build the community’s capacity to support efforts aimed at curtailing deforestation as trainees have been empowered on forest conservation and sustainable management of the mangrove forest.
The coordinator said the program serves as a financial mechanism for several multilateral environmental conventions that cover most global environmental issues.
Also, She said that the focus of GEF/SGP includes accelerating action against biodiversity loss, climate change, deforestation, degradation of international water bodies, land degradation and chemical pollution.
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