NEWMAP-EIB Project Coordinator, urges more plantation of Erosion-Resilient Crops, Trees to protect environment

Participants at the retreat

Gab Alokwe

Awka 

The National Project Coordinator of the European Investment Bank-Assisted Nigeria Climate Adaptation, Erosion and Watershed Project (NEWMAP-EIB), Engineer Anda Ayuba, has called on Nigerians to plant erosion-resilient crops and trees to help protect the environment from devastation. 

He made this appeal during a three-day capacity-building retreat held in Abuja, where he also emphasized the importance of citizen engagement to elicit citizens cooperation during project implementation.

Engineer Ayuba charged stakeholders in the NEWMAP-EIB project to assess project sites to determine whether they meet the selection criteria, how they affect lives, infrastructure, general environment and ensure effective community participation and ownership. 

He also urged the staff to monitor projects being executed to ensure compliance to the specifications and standards.

A resource person at the event, Dr. Israel Oladipo delivered a lecture on work ethics, describing it as a people's attitudinal change and internal commitment to produce excellent results. 

He emphasized the importance of integrity, honesty, transparency, and teamwork in achieving desired success in any organization. 

He also suggested rewards for excellence and consequences for failure.

Ferdinand Fada, who spoke on conflict resolution, challenged organizational leaders to communicate organizational goals to their staff and define every role given to subordinates. He emphasized that communication and engagement are vital to achieving a peaceful ambience in the workplace.

The Project Coordinator of NEWMAP-EIB in Anambra State, Professor Philip Phil-Eze, promised to implement the roadmap of the NEWMAP-EIB project in Anambra State and vowed to maintain the trajectory in project delivery without compromise.

During a recap session, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for Anambra State, Mr. Humphrey Anazodo, described indicators as measurable variables that track progress towards objectives. He explained that output refers to the actual product or services of an intervention, while impact refers to the long-term result of an intervention.Mr. Humphrey noted that the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the NEWMAP-EIB which encompasses the M&E Plan, the Logical Framework and appropriately adapted Results Framework will ensure effective, efficient and sustainable achievement of the Project Development Objective (PDO).

Dr. Ejike Onuchukwu, the Environmental Safeguards Officer for the Anambra NEWMAP-EIB, emphasized the importance of effective grievance redress mechanism, social and environmental safeguards systems to sustainable delivery of the PDO.

In a vote of thanks, the representative of the Federal Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Balaraba Lawal, thanked foreign donors, the Federal Government, and participating states for their commitment to the successful implementation of the project.

The retreat was aimed to equip stakeholders with the necessary skills and knowledge to implement the NEWMAP-EIB project effectively. The project is expected to restore degraded landscape  and empower vulnerable communities across participating states.