Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has commended President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the World Bank in their efforts towards the control of erosion menace in the South East zone.
The governor made the commendation through his deputy, Revd Raphael Nwoye during the state launch of the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) at Michael Okpala Square in Enugu.
Governor Chime said efforts made by the state and local government areas as well as constituencies to control gully erosion, before now, were at best partially or temporarily effective for reasons that included improper road designs, inadequate drainage systems and poor solid waste management in urban and semi-urban areas.
Others, he said were destructive and unsustainable land use practices that removed protective vegetation cover, over grazing, deforestation, cultivation of marginal lands and uncontrolled mining for building materials and climate change challenges.
The governor regretted that the menace of gully erosion had led to damage of infrastructural projects such as roads, highways, reservoirs and pipeline networks as well as natural assets like productive farms and forests
Noting that Enugu State had the highest number of erosion sites in Nigeria while Anambra State had the worst erosion sites, he however, expressed confidence that NEWMAP and World Bank would help the state in tackling the erosion menace as was done in China, Brazil and Israel.
