The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that holistic policies initiated by his administration will preserve nature and build sustainable food systems to engender sustainable development in Edo State.

The governor said this in commemoration of 2024 World Environment Day celebrated by the United Nations and its sister agencies.

He noted that the government has been deliberate and intentional in pursuing policies that protect the State’s biodiversity, flora and fauna, as well as its food systems.

According to him, “We have, over the years, been very intentional with preserving the environment and this has driven the way we implemented policies on land use and environmental sustainability.

“One of the key things we did was to work with data. This was why we embarked on a forest cover study to ascertain how much of our forests have been depleted due to human activity over the past decades. The discoveries were startling but it also served as the kick-off point of the quest to restore these covers and also think about how to put them to good use.”

He noted that the theme for this year’s World Environment Day, “Land restoration, desertification and drought resistance,’ are apt as it captures the government’s move to leverage its heritage in palm cultivation to repurpose its deforested land.

According to him, “We launched the Edo State Oil Palm Programme as a key policy of the government to arrest deforestation. We have worked with private sector partners to develop 70,000 hectares of land in the first phase and have earmarked another 40,000 for a second phase. These forms part of our efforts to sustain a formidable food system and also promote commercial agriculture in the State."

“The private players who get the allocation are mandated to reforest 20 percent of the total land as reserves, which is well within the plan on environmental sustainability,” Obaseki added.

The governor added that the resuscitation of the Urhonigbe Rubber plantation is also part of the grand plan, noting that the several tree planting initiatives have been launched with non-governmental organisations in the State as part of government’s reforestation strategy.