Blue Carbon: Cross River Unveils Plans To Establish Marine Protection Area
By Uket Oka, Calabar
The Cross River State Ministry of Environment has unveiled plans to establish a Marine Protected Area as well as promote sustainable use of mangrove ecology.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Hon, Hon. Moses Osogi, announced the initiative during the Environment Cluster meeting of Chief Executive Officers from the environment sector to align their action plans, held in Calabar, the State capital.
Hon. Osogi, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs RoseMary Onah, said the objective of the meeting was to reconcile cross-cutting activities, define clear roles for lined Minstries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and ensure effective planning.
The Commissioner thanked the State Planning Commission for the critical role in drawing a road map for the cluster and urged all staff to ensure the actualization of government’s objectives on environment management.
In his presentation, the State Director of Ecology and Biodiversity, Mr. Sonigitu Ekpe, highlighted the Ministry’s goal to achieve a blue carbon ecosystem, contributing to Nigeria’s National Determined Contribution (NDC) and the Paris Climate Agreement.
Ekpe enumerated some of the Ministry’s 42 planned activities including dislodging of effluent by removing pollutants from the environment and desilting major channels by clearing waterways in Calabar metropolis.
Others are assessment of mountains and marine biodiversity to evaluate ecological richness of the state and biotechnical intervention which entails applying biotechnology to environmental conservation as well as ensure green space development by creating sustainable urban areas.
Also speaking, the Commissioner 1 in the State Planning Commission, Dr. Bassey Okim, commended the Ministry’s efforts in actualizing set goals, stressing the importance of aligning budgets with action plans and submitting monthly progress reports.
