Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
French Government has confirmed its readiness to collaborate with Ogun State Government on Land Degradation Neutrality Transformation Project, to restore 108,000 hectares of forests in Imeko and Aworo Games and Forest Reserves.
Ogun State Commissioner for Forestry, Tunji AKinosi, made this known, yesterday, when he received a French delegation, led by Sonia Darracq in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Akinosi explained that the restoration project tagged: ‘Ile Dotun’, would not only support conservation, but boost economic growth by creating employment and improving human development initiative in the communities.
“Project ‘Ile Dotun’, will certainly create a greater awareness on available opportunities to improve people’s livelihood, through a responsive business environment and viable economic conditions which will allow for more Public Private partnership in the state,” Akinosi said.
He added the project would integrate the people of the various communities into the project, adding that 30 percent of the proposed conservation area would be released for the people’s livelihood to make them richer through their participation in afforestation.
In her remark, Darracq, who is also the regional agricultural councillor for Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Togo, said apart from the partnership in the area of aquaculture with training and capacity building in agricultural value chains, high degree of focus would be on forest conservation.
She pointed out that premium would be placed on non-timber products and other key areas of forest resources to fulfil the agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, which centred on achieving Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030.