Nigeria’s Minister of Environment on Friday handed over ranger vehicles to the National Park Service, while describing the ‘tremendous strides’ made by the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) as key to building community resilience and increasing sustainable landscape management practices.
He said this aligns perfectly with the ministry’s vision for environmental sustainability and biodiversity conservation.
Balarabe Abbas Lawal revealed this at the Handover Ceremony in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
The deployment of the vehicles is aimed at improving significantly the NPS’s effectiveness in combating dangerous trend of poaching and preservation of the wildlife.
The Minister said the vehicles will “improve patrol capacities and real-time monitoring”.
“It will boost surveillance and rapid response to potential threats to our National Parks located in 11 states”, Mr. Lawal said.
He said the handover of the vehicles to the NPS is a proof of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to enhancing the capacity of the NPS in providing transportation for the Park Ranger Guards, National Park Personnel, Tourists to the Parks, and Researchers.
He further said the ACReSAL project under his leadership as Chairman of the Federal Steering Committee, has procured and distributed ICT equipment to various ministries, departments, and agencies at both federal and state levels, significantly improving operational efficiency and effectiveness.
“Additionally, office buildings and conference halls of some MDAs are being renovated, providing a more conducive environment for implementing environmental policies, plans, and programs for sustainability of the (ACReSAL) Project”, the Minister enumerated.
He said a total of 1,003,000 persons have benefited from the project since commencement in 2022, with 49% being female. The project has also promoted peace-building and conflict resolution efforts through the engagement of Search for Common Ground.
He commended the ACReSAL Project team and the World Bank for their tireless efforts to the NPS, urging that they utilize the resources at their disposal efficiently and ensure that they serve as catalysts for strengthened conservation and sustainable development for the good of Nigerians.
The National Project Coordinator of the ACReSAL Project, Abdulhamid Umar said the eleven vehicles will service each of the national parks across the country.
He said with the acquisition of the vehicles, the days of kidnappers hiding in forests are over.
He also said the ACReSAL Project has intervened in the construction of seven guard posts in selected National Parks and “this can only be achieved under the dynamic leadership of the Minister”.
The Conservator-General (CG) of the NPS, Ibrahim Musa Goni in his remarks, said one of the National Park Service’s visions is to promote ecosystem restoration and vegetation recovery.
He said the NPS will ensure that every degraded area in all national parks are recovered.
Goni said the NPS has received 20 KVA solar project which powers its headquarters, ICT equipment, complimenting the already existing ones from ACReSAL.
He said five ranger posts are under construction in seven national parks (four old national parks and three new national parks.
ACReSAL is a World Bank-financed project designed to tackle the pressing issues of land degradation and climate change in 19 states of northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).