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ANNIVERSARY : Taraba Records Major Environmental Gains Under Barde's Leadership.


By Jako Keke, July 18, 2026.

As the Commissioner of Environment and Climate Change, Hajiya Aishat Abdulazeez Barde, marks three years in office, her leadership is being credited with implementing far-reaching environmental and climate resilience initiatives that have strengthened forest conservation, expanded afforestation, attracted international climate funding and enhanced institutional capacity across Taraba State.

Since assuming office, the Ministry has recorded significant milestones in climate governance, sustainable environmental management and ecosystem restoration in line with Governor Agbu Kefas' development agenda.

One of the landmark achievements was securing a £50,000 grant from the African Climate Foundation, in partnership with the Society for Planet and Prosperity, to develop Taraba State's Climate Change Policy and Action Plan aimed at strengthening the state's response to climate change.

The Ministry also intensified advocacy on environmental sustainability by commemorating the International Day of Forests and World Water Day in March 2024, while hosting Ms. Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, Special Adviser to the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, who visited Taraba to assess climate impacts and explore funding opportunities for climate adaptation projects.

At the international level, Hajiya Barde alongside His Excellency, Dr Agbu Kefas and the Taraba Delegation, represented Taraba State at the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Dubai in 2023, and later participated in the Post-COP28 Summit in Abuja, where strategies for climate action and sustainable development were discussed.

The Commissioner also spearheaded one of the state's most ambitious afforestation campaigns with the launch of the planting of two million assorted economic trees across Nine Local Government Areas in Southern and Central Taraba State. The exercise, flagged off in Wukari in April 2024, was complemented by several tree-planting campaigns involving strategic partners.

Among the initiatives were the planting of 500 tree seedlings at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Sibre, 900 seedlings at the Nigerian Army's 6 Brigade Permanent Site in Jalingo, and another 500 assorted economic trees at Our Lady Queen of Consolation Monastery in partnership with ICCREA.

In a bid to improve the aesthetics and environmental quality of the state capital, the ministry beautified Jalingo through the planting of 1,296 masquerade trees along the Roadblock-Forest Roundabout corridor and also commissioned a garden at Taraba State University.

The Ministry also reforestated the Monkin forest reserve which was established in 1962.

The Ministry also kick-start the 2026 planting season with planting of tree across schools which is still ongoing.

Through the World Bank-supported ACReSAL Project, the Ministry embarked on extensive restoration of degraded forest reserves across the state. The interventions included the rehabilitation of over 650 hectares of gazetted forest reserves in Ardo Kola, Kurmi, Sardauna, Zing, Gassol, Bali Gashaka and Takum Local Government Areas.

The ministry also rehabilitated six forest nurseries, developed ten micro-watersheds and provided climate-smart agricultural inputs to farming groups in several communities to improve agricultural productivity while promoting environmental sustainability.

To strengthen institutional efficiency, the ministry renovated the ACReSAL Project office, installed solar-powered electricity and street lights, drilled solar-powered boreholes, procured ICT equipment, office furniture, vehicles, tractors and shredding machines for converting agricultural waste into animal feed.

Other infrastructure provided included security posts, office accommodation for desk officers of line ministries and the Taraba Environmental Protection Agency (TEPA), as well as solar-powered boreholes serving forest nurseries across the state.

The ministry also commissioned the ACReSAL Project Office at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change headquarters in Jalingo, further boosting the implementation of environmental restoration programmes.

Stakeholders have described the achievements recorded over the past three years as a major boost to environmental protection, climate resilience and sustainable development in Taraba State, noting that the ministry's interventions have positioned the state as an emerging leader in climate action and ecosystem restoration in Nigeria.

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