By Omolola Pedro
The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullah has inaugurated a new governing council for the National Forestry Trust Fund (NFTF), to tackle the challenges militating against overall forestry development and a sustainable environment in the country. Abdullahi, who presided over the ceremony in Abuja, noted that the government had made a number of crucial moves toward resolving these issues, which include the creation and strengthening of policy as well as making changes to the institutional and legal frameworks. The National Forestry Trust Fund (NFTF) was established in the year 2019 as an example of improved funding for the forestry sector.
Other factors identified include increased investments in tree planting, technical capacity building and strengthening for stakeholders, and stronger collaboration with national and international partners. Specifically, the fund was created to address the critical issue of inadequate funding within the forestry sector by providing additional and complementary sources of funding to supplement government budgets. “It envisages funding support from international donors, corporate organisations, private sector, non-governmental organisation (NGOs) and individual resources for sustenance and to leveraging the seed fund from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permit to carry out forestry development activities in the past few years”, Abdullahi added. Meanwhile, the minister urged the council to mobilise resources for the trust fund to achieve its objectives, as forests play a critical role in climate amelioration.
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