Osun State Government in collaboration with its foreign partners had flagged off reforestation programme for one of its forest reserves, Ago Owu Forest Reserve, with a call on host communities to co-operate with officials to ensure success of the initiative.

Speaking during a meeting held with the representatives of the host communities, the state Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Mr. Mayowa Adejoorin, solicited for their support towards a successful data gathering to get basic information that would be filled into the project development document.

Adejoorin, in a statement by the Information Officer of the Ministry of Environment, Bunmi Badiora, Adejoorin, while declaring open data gathering and capturing meeting held with heads of communities around Ago Owu Forest Reserves, listed “the gains of reforestation, urging the residents to key into government’s policies on the climate change by planting more trees.”

Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Richard Oyegbami, the Commissioner also advised residents to maintain a clean and safe environment free from toxic gasses that could be harmful to the society.

He commended the residents for the eagerness showed towards the project, urging them “to ensure that the trees that will be planted are protected for the purpose for planting them to be realised.”

Giving more explanation about the project, the leader of the Nature Based Solution of the AhDrabad Noblesse Green, Carbon Investment Project, Dr. Edu Efe, said the group was in the State for the commissioning of data gathering and capturing by getting the necessary baseline information that would be filled into the project development document for Ago Owu Forest Reserves.

The expert, who maintained that there were many benefits of reforestation, told the participants that the cocoa and other cash crops would do better if, nurtured under the covering of trees.