…school plants 700 economic trees
Environmentalists have called for polices at federal and state government levels that allow for innovative and participatory approaches to managing plastic pollution, urging for increased use of digital solutions to drive recycling.
They also hailed Governor Godwin Obaseki’s efforts at urban regeneration, noting that the state government’s recent recalibration of state actors in the environment sector as well as the building of new towns will impact positively on the state.
This was the resolution at a public lecture to mark the 2018 World Environment Day organised by the Edo State Polytechnic, Usen, also known as the Edo State Institute of Management and Technology, in Edo State.
The Rector of the Polytechnic, Prof. Abiodun Falodun, said that the public lecture was organised to raise awareness and join the rest of the world in marking the day, noting that the school intends to engage the key issues in environment management as they relate to plastic pollution and help educate the people.
Prof. Falodun, who was recently appointed by Governor Obaseki to reposition the school as a center of excellence in technology and innovation, said there is a plethora of gains in the effective plastic waste management as well as tree planting in our environment.
According to him, “the Edo State Government led by Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki wants this school to serve as a viable centre to drive his urban/regional development agenda. Hence, we want to set the pace by beautifying and preserving the environment.â€
He called on state’s indigenes and residents to strive to keep the state clean and adhere to regulations on plastic disposal.
In a keynote lecture titled Fostering Participatory Model for Sustainable Management and Conservation of Plastic Wastes in Edo State, Nigeria,  delivered by an environmentalist, Dr. Ekeoba Matthew Isikhuemen, he noted that there was need for a participatory approach to solving the menace of plastic pollution.
The keynote lecturer, who is a lecturer in the Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management at the University of Benin, said state and federal governments must work together to ensure that policies are synergised.
The event culminated in the planting of over 700 different economic trees in the school premises.
