The Borno government says it will plant five million trees in 2023 across the state.

Governor Babagana Zulum disclosed this on Wednesday while presenting the 2023 budget to the Borno parliament.

Mr Zulum, who lamented the delay recorded on this year’s tree planting campaign, said preparations had begun in earnest for the 2023 exercise.

“The Ministry of Environment was created by the state government to proffer solutions to environmental problems ranging from deforestation, desertification, soil and land degradation, floods and soil erosion, as well as solid waste management,” stated the governor.

He explained that “during the period under review,” his government distributed “thousands of tree seedlings of assorted types to control desertification as well as restore the vegetation lost as a result of climatic factors.”

Mr Zulum added that the administration “undertook free distribution of different types of seedlings to schools, communities and individuals to plant and protect the environment and improve the green culture.”

He stressed that the measures were necessary “to stop desertification as well as provide windbreaks and shelter, the ministry of environment undertook the planting of trees at the Borno State University Teaching Hospital along Damaturu road in the state capital.”

The Borno governor also said that to discourage firewood use, the state would distribute ‘wonder boxes’ (coolers) to women for cooking.

Mr Zulum said the government, in collaboration with the World Bank-assisted NEWMAP project, undertook measures to control flooding and erosion in Gwoza and the desilting and evacuation of drainage in Maiduguri and its environs in 2022.

He also noted that the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA) conducted fumigation to curtail the outbreak of diseases such as malaria, cholera, etc.

(NAN)