In a concerted effort to ensure that Cross River State derive the maximum benefit from the carbon credit from its forest, the State Government has begun the training of 200 personnel on the rudiments of forest carbon monitoring.
Speaking at the pilot scheme of the weeklong train - the - trainers 'REDD+ workshop for the first 35 personnel to fast track the process in Calabar, the State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, contended that the essence of the exercise was to build the needed capacity that would drive the implementation of the programme in the State.
In his words, "with our commitment to this initiative and with strong support of the Federal Government, we can actually create meaningful value for our forest communities and other communities in Cross River State", stressing that, "for us to really appreciate the value of this forest, we need to learn and take complete ownership because at some point, we have to be independent so that we can stand against any one that tries to think differently from this vision".
Imoke maintained that the effort was not aimed at just getting the immediate gain in carbon credit, but more importantly, protecting the forest for safety of the environment and appreciation of its value as an asset to the state, nation and to the world.
While lauding the Forestry Commission for its vision to build capacity in that direction, the Governor admonished participants to ensure that they translate their knowledge into practical programmes that would be of benefit to the public, especially the forest communities to guarantee sustenance of the exercise.
Imoke added that, "our challenge is education, to enable us scale up on what we are doing so that the communities take ownership as well as appreciate this effort so that our politicians and anyone who want to deplete the forest in whatever guise will not succeed as the essence of the exercise is to create real capacity for effective and proper management of the forest".
Chairman, Cross River State Forestry Commission, Dr. Odigha Odigha, explained that the workshop which drew participants from public, private and civil society organizations would go a long way in educating the forest communities and the larger society on the benefits of the forest carbon as well as expose them to global practices in the management and protection of the forest.
He added that experts from the Governors' Climate and Forest Task Force were in the State to take them through the fundamental knowledge of interpreting the REDD+ progress to let it be at par with it counterparts in the global arena.
Source: Cross River to Train 200 on Carbon Credit (http://www.crossriverstate.gov.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=247:cross-river-to-train-200-on-carbon-credit&catid=132&Itemid=682)