The Director, Desert Research Monitoring and Control Centre (DRMC), Prof. Hassan Galal has said that all hands be on the integration of fields of sciences to fight desertification and environmental hazards in the North. According to him, about 50 per cent of the states in the country are affected by desert encroachment at 600 metres per annum. Galal raised the alarm Thursday in Damaturu, while announcing 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) affected by desertification in the last decade. He further disclosed that Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kano and Gombe, Bauchi, Borno and Bauchi states in the Northeast are currently engulfed by the desert. The buffer states include Taraba, Niger, Kwara and Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. He noted that the 10 desert affected states also have high populations that cover 38 per cent of total landmass of the country. He attributed the southward encroachment of desert to the “non-mitigations of desertification” in communities by the Federal and State Ministries of Environment. While lamenting on desertification, he said:
“Most of the desert affected communities and towns in the north have been buried by sand dunes,” warning that there is already a lot of pressure on degraded farmlands and orchards. Galal cited the Tulo-Tulo sand dunes that buried the 2,000 herding and farming community with rich natural resources, including potash. He noted that the 600-metre encroachment of desert has also led to the migration of 20.8 million people with their livestock to the South. On mitigating desert encroachment, he said: “The usual method of controlling desert encroachment is the annual tree planting campaigns. “They are mostly anchored by the state governors among other federal government initiatives.” The initiatives, according to him, include the Great Green Wall project that cuts across several countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Galal, who doubles as the Head of Department for Geology at the State University; said that unless a ‘multidimensional approach’ was adopted, desert encroachment could spread to North Central and Southern states. “There must be behavioral change towards the protection of the environment,” he said, warning that the phenomenon would continue to harm the fragile ecosystem. Continuing, he added:
“To mitigate desert encroachment, we need integrated and complete work of all disciplines. “This integration between all the fields of science should serve together to enhance the environment and to restore the ecosystem again.” He warned that contrary to this, it could lead to soil degradation and deterioration in addition to losing biodiversity and biomass. “We also need to increase the level of awareness on the value of protecting the environment as well as dangers of tree felling for firewood and charcoal.” He said that it is high time to desist from conventional methods and devise means of teaching people on the dangers of massive tree felling. “We should reiterate the importance of planting trees by the young ones in communities,” he said. He therefore urged desert affected countries to seek international support to stop the spread of sand dunes in the Sahel region of Africa. A resident in the Machina Council of Yobe state, Audu Isa; lamented that the effects of desertification are visible on the people and their livestock, including the oasis that were buried by sand.
