NCF partners bankers’ committee on National Theatre’s mangrove restoration

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has partnered with the bankers’ committee to restore the mangrove and wetlands in the National Theatre. The Director General, Dr Joseph Onoja, who announced the development at the NCF Green Ball event held in Lagos, said the organisation has planted over 5000 mangrove seedlings in the area.

Onoja said the purpose of the Green Ball is to bring partners together and raise funds for different issues, adding, “Last year, we looked at mangrove restoration through the Green Recovery Nigeria programme, planted over 20,000 mangroves within communities along the coastal region, especially Lagos, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.

“We’re calling for more people to join us as we work for nature and the environment. We also use the opportunity to continue to enlighten about environmental issues that are happening and this year, we concentrated on the three Rio Conventions – the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Desertification (UNCCD),” Onoja said.

He said NCF intends to create a synergy and ensure a common solution, “so that resources that can be used to take care of one can also be used to take care of all. And we don’t want the situation whereby, while we’re combating one issue, we’re exacerbating another.”

The DG said NCF is also working closely with the government as a member of the National Council on Climate Change and Cross River Council on Climate Change.

Chairman of NCF’s National Executive Council, Hon Justice Raliat Adebiyi, said Climate change is real and requires action. “All these events that we’re experiencing are as a result of environmental issues such as plastic pollution, waste disposal, burning fossil fuels, and energy.”

He made a case for the transition to clean energy. “I believe that more and more each day, we’re all seeing it, it’s coming close to us. Let us plant trees, and have a green environment,” she added.