The Nigerian Government announced it is launching a policy with the World Bank to reduce desertification in Nigeria’s remediate wetlands.
The policy would be called to establish Agro-Climate Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACRESAL), programme, which would be launch in partnership with the World Bank.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Environment, Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi, at the 16th meeting of National Council on Environment, in Abuja on Thursday.
What the Minister said
The Minister revealed that it would improve the semi-arid areas in the country, stating that the ministry had commenced discussion on the establishment of a National Institute of Environmental Studies, to provide ideas on addressing environmental challenges.
This comes as President Muhammadu Buhari assumed the leadership of the Pan African Great Green Wall (PAGGW) to address land degradation in the country.
“Accordingly, Mr President is driving the funding initiative under the Great Green Wall (GGW) accelerator to fund each country’s priorities.
“Closely aligned to the objectives of the PAGGW is the need for a robust tree planting campaign.
“The president launched the campaign on the sidelines of the PAGGW Council of Ministers Meeting on June 16.
“States are encouraged to drive their tree planting campaign so that they collectively can meet the 25 million trees target by 2023.
“There is no better time to reset our relation with nature than now,” he said.
The Minister stated that FG is committed to ensuring that Nigerians all live in harmony with nature and brighter hope of sustainable development, as the world was being confronted with enormous environmental challenges.
He called for urgent collective step-up action by everyone, irrespective of social status, religion, or political leaning, for drastic restoration of the natural ecosystem.
The minister gave assurance that the government would continue to provide every necessary support required to ensure a successful journey to net-zero emission.
“Government is committed to ensure that we all live in harmony with nature and brighter hope of sustainable development,” he said.
The Representative of Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Nigeria, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, said “The vision of Nigeria aligns with FAO global efforts in supporting its member countries in their efforts to climate change adaptation and mitigation, working towards climate-resilience and low-emission agri-food systems.
Dr Jean Bakole, Country Representative and Regional Director, United Nations for Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), said UNIDO will continue to provide technical support to Nigeria in achieving a net-zero status through the promotion of clean technology and renewable energy.
What you should know
Recall Nairametrics reported in December 2021 that Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has taken over the Presidency of the Pan African Great Green Wall (PAGGW) in Africa.
FG stated that “This means that within the period, Nigeria will work assiduously towards addressing the problems of land degradation, food security, desertification, climate change, depletion of the forest ecosystems and biodiversity in Africa, among others.
The FG also launched a Deep Decarbonisation Project (DDP) that would enable Nigeria to tackle environmental issues related to climate change. The DPP will implement a national research and capacity-building project for the implementation of a Deep Decarbonisation Pathway Programme (DDPP) in Nigeria.
