By Najib Sani, Gombe
A non governmental organisation in Gombe State known as ‘Foundation for Youth Awakening and Empowerment’ (FOYAE) has launched an initiative to combat devastating environmental degradation and gully erosion in Kundulum, a community in Akko local government area of the state.
As part of the initiatives, the foundation sensitised members of the community on Tuesday on the implementation of their intervention in tackling the disaster.
Executive director of the organisation, Linda Alabura, said the project would be carried out with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP).
She said the sensitisation aimed to build resilience and tackle land degradation in the community.
According to her, the sensitization programme brought together community members, including their district head, farmers, youth, women, and religious groups to educate them on the project and the role they will play in its implementation and sustainability.
“A community environmental protection committee will be set up, comprising representatives from various community groups, to oversee the project’s implementation and ensure its sustainability”, she noted.
Also speaking, the programme officer of the non governmental organisation, Eskebe Ishaku, stated that the organisation would during the sensitisation meeting teach community members measures and strategies to improve land capacity and tackle land degradation.
She also said other interventions include; building stone walls and planting approximately 1,500 trees to prevent escalation of erosion in the area.
Ishaku further pledged that water boreholes would be drilled for irrigation purposes and also as a source of water for the community.
“The project was initiated based on community demand, following an assessment that revealed serious erosion and land degradation issues in the community”.
One of the participants, a traditional leader for farmers in Kundulum, Sani Usman, who holds the title of “Sarkin Noman Kundulum”, promised that farmers would assist in planting, irrigating, and nurturing the plants to be provided by the foundation to ensure the project’s success.
