{"id":5961,"date":"2024-01-03T11:23:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T02:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/?p=5961"},"modified":"2024-01-03T11:34:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T02:34:24","slug":"nigeria-prioritizes-climate-action-to-mitigate-natural-disasters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/sdgs-2\/nigeria-prioritizes-climate-action-to-mitigate-natural-disasters\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Prioritizes Climate Action to Mitigate Natural Disasters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipsnews.net\/author\/leon-usigbe\/\">Leon Usigbe<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Climate disasters are happening at frightening rates in Nigeria, and the administration now says it will prioritize efforts to counter the effects of climate change.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ABUJA, Nigeria<\/strong>\u00a0(INPS Japan\/IPS NORAM) &#8211;  In 2022 alone, flooding killed at least 662 people, injured 3,174, displaced about 2.5 million, and destroyed 200,000 houses individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As far back as 2012, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/documents1.worldbank.org\/curated\/en\/809141468144274655\/pdf\/685560BR0P12490Official0Use0Only090.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">World Bank<\/a>&nbsp;reported that erosion was affecting over 6,000 square kilometres of land in the country, with about 3,400 square kilometres highly exposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back then, gully erosion was doing an estimated $100 million worth of damage each year, according to the team behind the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/documents1.worldbank.org\/curated\/en\/634871468291375668\/pdf\/E29240EA0P124904B0AFR0ESMF0P124905.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project<\/a>&nbsp;(NEWMAP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the NEWMAP, the country began working with the World Bank to rehabilitate degraded lands and reduce erosion and climate vulnerability in 23 states. The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/documents1.worldbank.org\/curated\/en\/809141468144274655\/pdf\/685560BR0P12490Official0Use0Only090.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">project<\/a>&nbsp;had&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctc-n.org\/resources\/nigeria-erosion-and-watershed-management-project\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">four work streams<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>1. Investing in erosion and watershed infrastructure to reduce land degradation,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2. Developing information services to strengthen erosion and watershed monitoring and disaster risk management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3. Strenngthening Nigeria&#8217;s strategic framework for climate action to promote low carbon development, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4. Supporting project management at federal and state levels with financial, social and environmental safeguards, outreach, and project monitoring and evaluation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegef.org\/projects-operations\/projects\/4907\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">outcomes reported in 2021<\/a>&nbsp;were positive: the project benefitted 35,000 people directly and more than 100,000 indirectly through small grants to community interest groups. The team trained 185,058 persons, 42 percent of them women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the first work stream, the project more than doubled the land under sustainable management, completed nearly five dozen participatory surface water management plans and reduced gully erosion considerably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the second, it made drafted environmental impact assessment guidelines and launched over a hundred automated hydrology and meteorology and flood early warning systems in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government is restoring lands in the northern states of Bauchi, Jigawa and Sokoto by planting thousands of tree seeds and seedlings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the third, the country issued green bonds to spark private investment in climate smart projects, such as distributing fuel-efficient cookstoves and developing solar-based electricity generators for rural health centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the fourth, the team tested the use of remote sensing, geographic information system techniques, and 360-degree cameras and drones for remote supervision and grievance resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, NEWMAP showed Nigeria\u2019s appetite for action and results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Calls for accelerated action<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, about 178 local government areas (LGAs) in 32 of 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory fall within the highly probable flood risk areas, according to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nihsa.gov.ng\/2023\/02\/28\/press-release-5\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency<\/a>&nbsp;(NIHSA). Another 224 of the country\u2019s 744 LGAs fall within moderately probable flood risk areas, and 372 fall within probable flood risk areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nigeria\u2019s more than 830 kilometres of coastline are increasingly threatened by floods, erosion, water and air pollution. Communities in the Niger Delta states bordering the Atlantic Ocean have lost or fear losing their homes and farmlands due to the eroding bedrock shielding the shoreline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forests are disappearing because of desertification. According to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fao.org\/in-action\/action-against-desertification\/countries\/africa\/nigeria\/en\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Action Against Desertification<\/a>, only half the forests that existed in 2007 remain in the area where it operates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Suleiman Hussein Adamu, minister of water resources through May 2023, had warned that floods would take a high toll on life and livelihoods, agriculture, livestock, infrastructure and the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The frequency of natural disasters in the country links to climate change, according to Alhaji Musa Zakari, director of human resource management at the National Emergency Management Agency, responsible for managing disasters in Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNigeria may need to re-examine some fundamentally new and more efficient approach to disaster management,\u201d Mr. Zakari said in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/news\/over-2-million-nigerians-displaced-by-flood-in-2022-says-nema\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">an interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>New approaches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In August, Nigeria\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ndc.gov.ng\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">National Defence College<\/a>&nbsp;(NDC) presented the government with its research findings, \u201cBuilding Climate Resilience for Enhanced National Security: Strategic Options for Nigeria by 2035.\u201d It recommended adopting strategies to achieve the short-, medium- and long-term objectives in climate adaptation programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vice President Kashim Shettima said the current administration was prioritizing climate change interventions to address desertification, coastal erosion and flooding by collaborating with relevant individuals and institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government shares the \u201cconcerns for the security implications of underestimating the devastations of climate change,\u201d he&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/naturenews.africa\/fg-will-prioritise-climate-change-interventions-vp-shettima\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>, while receiving the NDC report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of the government\u2019s strategy is to inform the public of preventive measures that save lives and reduce damage to property and infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, through the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.unccd.int\/our-work\/ggwi\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Great Green Wall<\/a>&nbsp;initiative, which aims to increase the size of arable land in the Sahel, the government is restoring lands in the northern states of Bauchi, Jigawa and Sokoto by planting thousands of tree seeds and seedlings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Said Vice President Shettima, \u201cIt is heartening to witness the alignment between [research] findings and our government\u2019s policy objectives, reinforcing our belief that a holistic and comprehensive approach is essential to tackling these challenges effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Source<\/strong>: Africa Renewal, a United Nations digital magazine that covers Africa\u2019s economic, social and political developments.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>INPS Japan\/IPS UN Bureau<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Original Link:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipsnews.net\/2024\/01\/nigeria-prioritizes-climate-action-mitigate-natural-disasters\/\">https:\/\/www.ipsnews.net\/2024\/01\/nigeria-prioritizes-climate-action-mitigate-natural-disasters\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0Leon Usigbe Climate disasters are happening at frightening rates in Nigeria, and the administration now says it will prioritize efforts to counter the effects of climate change. ABUJA, Nigeria\u00a0(INPS Japan\/IPS NORAM) &#8211; In 2022 alone, flooding killed at least 662 people, injured 3,174, displaced about 2.5 million, and destroyed 200,000 houses individuals. As far back [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,27,55,16,32,3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-environment-resources-energ","9":"category-goal15","10":"category-news","11":"category-regions","12":"category-sdgs-2"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5961"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5965,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5961\/revisions\/5965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}