LASPARK to plant 10m trees in Lagos by 2020

The Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) plans plant 10 million trees in the state by the year 2020, the Managing Director of the agency, Titilayo Anibaba, said on Tuesday.

Aninbaba was speaking against the backdrop of the Tree Planting Day celebrated on July 14 of every year.

“Our state is a small state, densely populated, has a lot of environmental challenges vulnerable to the issue of climate change because of the terrain, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, maze of Lagoons.

“So, Lagos has come to terms with that reality that we cannot just fold our arms; we need to put environmental issues at the forefront of all our policies.

“So, we have planted five million, eight hundred and thirty-five thousand, four hundred and twenty-three trees from 2008 till 2014 and we want to hit the 10 million mark by 2020.“

Anibaba said that increased sensitisation of the public to the benefits of planting planting had encouraged partnership with individuals and corporate organisations.

“It is not only government; we now have people that are partnering with us. We have people celebrating (their) 70th birthdays by planting seventy trees.

“So, people are beginning to see that trees have so much benefit. Some are measurable, some you cannot measure, but they are so important in communities, especially in an urban environment like Lagos.

“We have captured two hundred and ninety-seven beautiful sites. Out of that seventy-three are from the private concerns.“

Anibaba said that Lagos was named one of the most improved and green-compliant cities in the world at the 2012 Environmental Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

She said, “This recognition is evident and an indication of progress since the inception of planting of trees in the state eight years ago.“

The director said that most of the states in the South West zone of the country had begun planting trees in their environments.

She, therefore, urged other states in the country to emulate them.

LASPARK is an agency under the Ministry of Environment.

It is charged with the responsibility of aggressive tree-planting campaign to complement the landscaping and beautification programmes of the state government.

(NAN)