The Edo State government has identified 129 gully erosion sites requiring urgent intervention as part of efforts to address worsening ecological challenges threatening communities across the state.
Chairman of the Edo State Ecological Funding and Management Commission, Amb Terry Igiebor, disclosed this to journalists in Benin City, on Friday, saying the sites were identified during a statewide assessment tour of 16 local government areas.
Igiebor said the assessment was aimed at identifying communities grappling with severe environmental challenges and determining the level of intervention required, adding that the commission had documented gully erosion, blocked drainage channels, deforestation and environmentally induced road deterioration.
Describing the situation in some rural communities as alarming, he cited cases of residents living dangerously close to deep erosion channels.
He recalled an incident in which a 57-year-old man reportedly lost his life in an erosion-related disaster, while some communities had also recorded cases of children being swept away by floodwaters.
The commission chairman assured that emergency locations identified during the assessment would receive attention before the next rainy season.
He said the commission was developing a one-year intervention roadmap, with findings from the exercise expected to inform the state’s 2027 budget.
According to him, the commission is also exploring funding opportunities through the Federal Government’s Ecological Project Office, the World Bank, the United Nations and other international development partners to tackle the ecological challenges.
Igiebor said the law establishing the commission provides for equitable distribution of ecological interventions across the state’s three senatorial districts, stressing that vulnerable communities would not be neglected because of their inability to lobby government officials for attention.
He added that the commission was planning environmental education and orientation programmes to sensitise residents on the causes of erosion and flooding, noting that indiscriminate waste disposal and blocked drainage channels contribute to the problems.
He said the commission would unveil its master plan and work schedule to guide communities on their responsibilities, stressing that tackling the root causes of ecological challenges would reduce the huge cost of environmental remediation.