CITAD Launches One Million Indigenous Trees Campaign Across Northern Nigeria

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has launched a one-year campaign to plant one million indigenous trees across the 19 states of Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to tackle deforestation, desertification and environmental degradation.

The campaign, which began on Wednesday in Jama’are Local Government Area of Bauchi State, will run from September 2, 2026, to September 1, 2027.

CITAD Executive Director, Mr Y. Z. Ya’u, said the initiative would combine large-scale tree planting with a pilot forest restoration programme designed to rehabilitate degraded forest areas.

As part of the pilot phase, CITAD and its partners planted 100 trees in a previously forested area of Jama’are to demonstrate the potential for restoring degraded ecosystems through sustained intervention and community participation.

“We are not only interested in planting one million trees and counting them; we also want to see how we can restore areas that have been degraded and lost their forest cover,” Ya’u said.

The exercise covered Kwanar Digiza, Jogayel and Government Arabic College, Jama’are, with officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), forest guards and members of host communities participating.

Indigenous species planted included mango, baobab, tamarind, Borassus aethiopum and shea trees.

Ya’u said environmentally fragile communities would receive priority, while indigenous tree species suitable for local conditions would be promoted to improve survival rates and strengthen biodiversity.

He added that CITAD would deploy digital technology to map planting locations, collect data and monitor the growth and survival of trees throughout the campaign.

According to him, media platforms would also be used to raise awareness about tree planting, biodiversity conservation, environmental protection and climate resilience.

Ya’u called on governments, traditional institutions, development partners, civil society organisations, schools, youth groups and local communities to support the initiative.

He stressed that the success of the CITAD One Million Trees Campaign would depend largely on community ownership, effective monitoring and collective responsibility for protecting the environment.

The initiative forms part of CITAD’s broader efforts to promote community-driven solutions to environmental challenges and build a greener, more climate-resilient Northern Nigeria.