Taraba ACReSAL Engages Stakeholders on Peace Building EWER Mechanisms.
By Christiana Babayo.
The Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) has concluded a training of stakeholders and committee members on peacebuilding and Early Warning, Early Response Mechanisms.
The training, which took place in Jalingo, drew participants from the three geopolitical zones in the state, particularly the local government areas where ACReSAL projects are carried out.
The State Project Coordinator, Dr. Yakubu Clement Giwa, who declared the training open said the move became necessary because peace is an integral part of development, and nothing can be achieved without peace in the local communities.
He also commended the state Governor, Dr Agbu Kefas for providing ACReSAL with the neccesary support to thrive and fulfill its mandate in the state.
“Most of the communities where we operate are affected by long-standing farmer-herder conflicts over meager resources, resulting in conflicts. Injecting peacebuilding into our project activities is necessary for people to come together, safeguard the environment, and adopt practices that revive the ecosystem.” He said
In an interview with ACReSAL’s Environmental Safeguard Specialist, Dr. Dahiru Umar, he said the environment is bedeviled by many factors that reflect negatively on the lives of the people in it, so there’s a need to deal with those factors head-on.
“This peacebuilding initiative is timely because of the fragile nature of the Northeastern region, which is characterized by many factors due to competition over meager natural resources.”
“These meager resources are also affected by the negative impact of climate change; hence, the need for us to focus on peacebuilding in some of these areas so that we can mitigate the impact of climate change in our region. We have to equip the people with the knowledge and skills of conflict resolution.” He explained.
The ACReSAL project in Taraba is funded by World Bank and implemented by the State Project Management Unit through the Ministries of Environment and climate change, Agriculture and Food Security, and Water Resources
