Brig-Gen Jeremiah Faransa, chairman, Taraba task force on environmental protection, public safety and prohibition of deforestation, has said that the activities of illegal miners in the state have caused irreversible damage to the environment, making it susceptible to global warming.

Mr Faransa, who disclosed this while briefing journalists on Wednesday in Jalingo, noted that the unfortunate realities of the damage to the environment have started manifesting following the long draught that was experienced in the state in August.

He warned that if drastic measures were not taken expediently, the level of desert encroachment on the state would be worse than that of Borno in a few years to come.

He said that the 21 forest reserves in the state had been reduced to nothing, with some turned to farmlands or illegal mining sites.

“The level of destruction done to the state can never be undone. All the 21 forest reserves have been destroyed.

“Some have become farmlands or mining sites. If you go to most of the sites, you will shed tears at the magnitude of damage done to the environment.

“The law provides that if you excavate for mining, you must cover up at least 80 per cent of the excavation afterwards. None of the miners in the state is doing that.

“Even the Corporate Social Responsibility that they owe the host communities is not regarded. Most of them are foreigners who don’t even have the right papers to be in the country.

“Our operation is based on environmental protection and public safety. We would not want what happened in Ogoni land to happen to Taraba.

“The reality of climate change and global warming is staring us in the face and we must face the reality and take proactive measures urgently.

“We have witnessed it this year, and if we don’t do what is needed now, Taraba may become worse than Borno in terms of desert encroachment.

“We are not stopping investors in the mining sector from coming. We just want to ensure that things are done right, and we will soon come up with guidelines that miners must follow.

“I am aware of the outcry that we are arresting people with charcoal. Yes, We are arresting charcoal dealers because people are coming from Abuja to park it there for their business.

“And so several trucks of charcoal are leaving the state. We don’t have issues with charcoal that is meant to be used in Taraba, but we can not encourage indiscriminate falling of trees just because someone somewhere wants to make a profit,” he said.

(NAN)