Victor Uzoho
To help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15, which seeks to promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, combat desertification and halt land degradation and biodiversity loss, the Rotary Club of Lekki Phase 1 has taken its tree-planting campaign to some parts of the community.
The tree-planting initiative, which is a yearly programme of the Rotary Club International, and usually marked globally in August, is positioned to tackle some effects of climate change and contribute to the achievement of urban-related SDGs.
Specifically, the President of Rotary Club of Lekki Phase 1, Mrs Ifeoma Anieze-Corona, said the tree planting initiative is one of Rotary’s service areas, aimed to save the environment and indirectly help save life.
Speaking with Sustainable Economy at the tree planting event held at Oral Estate in Lekki Peninsula II, to mark the yearly programme, the President said the Club does not only plant trees but also monitor and nurture them.
“What we do is when we want to plant trees we partner with people within our area of service. In all these new estates, most of them are just there without trees and for our concern for the environment, we just approach them. Also, we plant these trees in the areas where they can be monitored,” she said.
We think the major concern of humanity is to have shelter, food and livelihood, but little by little, the environment is threatening all of these, either directly or indirectly.
She however complained of bureaucratic bottlenecks the Club experiences before some of its projects are approved, and called on the state government to shorten the process to enable the Club to carry out humanitarian works in state-owned public institutions.
“For instance, when you want to go to the hospital to do anything you have to go to the government first and sometimes it is really delayed. Also, when we go to the schools to distribute educational materials, you have to get permission first.”
In his remarks, a former Assistant Governor, Rotary District 9110, Kayode Aderinokun, said the programme is Rotary’s contribution towards the efforts in managing the environment.
He said: “The environment is becoming a very important concern. To some people, environmental issues are remote matters. We think the major concern of humanity is to have shelter, food and livelihood, but little by little, the environment is threatening all of these, either directly or indirectly.
“Global warming has come back home, not just to our doorstep, it has entered our living rooms and bedrooms. Everywhere is ravaged by floods. When it rains in Lagos, our hearts are in our mouths. The government can do so much but we the people can do more through advocacy and compliance.
“The advocacy aspect of environmental management is becoming cogent and important, and Rotary International President, Mr Shekhar Mehta, said one of his priorities is to be conscious of our environmental issues, and he symbolically admonished us to plant trees. This is our own symbolic intervention to save our environment and save humanity.”
Also, the Public Image Chair of the Club, Okechukwu Nnoli, said tree planting should not be left to the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the government alone, but should be done at all levels.
He said: “Tree planting is very vital right now as we have a serious pandemic and apart from that, we have a global warming issue. All these things are all interrelated in one way or the other especially in the aspect of global warming and desertification, with more emphasis on sustainability of the environment, which indirectly gives sustainability of life generally.”
