Environmental Expert, Somuvie Advocates Tree Planting to Solve Food Insecurity
Participants at the one day Table Talk in Abuja
By Reporter
The Ecosmart Climate Action Initiative (ECAI) on Friday, the 9th of feburary, 2024, convened a roundtable discussion in Abuja, focusing on the impacts of climate change on health, air quality, and food security in Nigeria.
The event featured expert panelists from various sectors, highlighting issues such as the increasing unpredictability of weather patterns, the absence of air quality monitoring systems, the need for sustainable environmental policies, and the importance of natural agriculture practices.
Dr. Ayorinde Olusanya David who spoke on mental health, emphasized the link between climate change and health issues such as persistent malaria symptoms and mental health challenges.
Discussions on air quality was by Ugo Ejidoh and he traced the significance of air quality monitoring in combating climate-related deterioration and highlighted the lack of such systems in Nigeria. While Dr. Michael Nwoko stressed the importance of sustainable environmental policies and praised efforts by individuals like Senator Ned Munir Nwoko in advocating for climate action.
Samuel Robert Kwasari on the other hand, underscored the importance of food quality and advocated for natural agriculture practices to mitigate climate change impacts.
The founder of ECAI, Sonia Somuvie, announced the organisation’s plans to launch a 50,000 tree planting project to address climate change effects. The environmentalist emphasized the benefits of tree planting for air quality, soil enrichment, and food security.
Somuvie disclosed that her organization aims to achieve the 50,000 trees target through community services, advocacy, collaborations with other Non Governmental Organizatios, NGOs, youth networks, government support, and private sector involvement.
The iron mentalist event saw participation from various stakeholders, including government representatives, students, business leaders, media personnel, and health and environmental advocates, highlighting the broad interest and engagement in climate change issues in Nigeria.
