Ondo State Government is prepared for the climate change and has taken steps to address the menace, the State Commissioner for Environment, Sunday Akinwalire has declared

Akinwalire declared this while opening a one-day multi-disciplinary workshop for all stakeholders and state actors across ministries and agencies of government on climate change

The workshop organized by Ondo State Ministry of Environment in conjunction with Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA), as part of the climate change adaptation assessment of five selected public-private partnership (PPP) projects currently running in the state.

The Commissioner said the government has procured excavators to manage flooding across the three senatorial districts of the state

He stressed that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led administration has zero tolerance for illegal felling of trees and erection of structures on flood planes.

While also noting that the state government has enlisted local governments across the state to benefit from opportunities from the World Bank among funding agencies, Akinwalire added that the state has also prioritised the management of the public waste system in the interest of the citizenry.

The Climate change experts team leader for the projects, TPL Osunsanmi Gbolabo, said in a comprehensive report that the PPP projects were profiled, assessed on the basis of climatic changes, and hazard mapping for impact and vulnerability since the issue of climate change is taking the front burner on the global scene.

According to him, there is the possibility of significant impacts from flooding, heat stress, and water stress, among others, thus the need to take steps to mitigate impacts on project communities as a global action against climate change.

He also emphasised the need to go back to the drawing board and set up green parks in project communities, manage water resources, properly utilise waste products, and encourage farmers to plant drought-resistant cocoa seedlings, among others.

Representative of the Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency, Mr. Richard Adeola Alonge stressed that it was high time for organisations to have partnerships with government to factor in climate change adaptation reports.

He used the opportunity to note that his agency is currently working on about 52 projects across different senatorial districts in the state, assuring all stakeholders that the goal is to bring about the development of the state.

The event, which featured a Technical Presentation of one of the consulting Team Dr Ajayi Vincent, a meteorologist expert, who expressed concern that extreme weather forecast for 2070 shows a rise in temperature, precipitation and climate variability also witnessed contributions from stakeholders and responses from the representatives of the five selected PPPs.

This all-important workshop has in attendance representatives from Rex Forestry Limited, an afforestation and wood processing company; Johnvents Industries Ltd., a wholly indigenous agribusiness involved in value chain production, processing, manufacturing, and distribution of cocoa products; Sudit Oil & Chemicals, an oil palm industry; the ODSG 30MW Power Plant designed to generate a total of 30 megawatts of electricity; and Araromi-Ayesan Oil Palm, the 5 selected PPP projects in the state.