The federal government has approved $8.5 million under the Presidential Initiative on Afforestation for the afforestation and restoration of degraded forests and other critical landscapes across the country.

President Bola Tinubu disclosed this at the first international conference on afforestation and reforestation which took place in Brazzaville, Congo from July 2nd – 5th, 2024.

Tinubu, who was represented by Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal said the presidential approval is in addition to other similar programmes like the Great Green Wall Pan African Program and Agro-Climatic Resilience Semi-Arid Landscape (ACReSAL) being implemented and have resulted in the restoration of over 1.5 million hectares of degraded forests.

He also said over 1,428.9km of Shelterbelts covering 4,286 hectares have been established.

The president said more than 200,000 forest community members have been empowered and more than 3 million jobs created for the youths.

He stated: “Nigeria has gone a long way and we are making progress in contributing to the reversal of forest cover loss through sustainable forest management and massive afforestation. “As part of our determination to upscale forest financing and increase forest cover, the government has recently approved the sum of 8.5 million US Dollars under the Presidential Initiative on Afforestation. These funds are mainly for the afforestation and restoration of degraded forests and other critical landscapes across the country. Nation