Nigeria climate necessitates the urgent development of community resilience. This is to protect the country’s future from climate change. This need arises at a time when the rising effects of climate change have made the delicate balance between land, soil, and climate a crucial focus point for global concern.
The shifting climate in Nigeria has far-reaching repercussions for the country’s future. As the world grapples with shifting weather patterns, rising temperatures, and increased environmental vulnerabilities, Nigeria’s proactive measures to improve climate resilience demonstrate the country’s commitment to protecting its people’s well-being and guaranteeing the sustainability of its natural resources. This begs the question, are these efforts yielding results?
Yet, one can’t deny that Nigeria’s diverse strategy emphasizes the urgency of addressing climate change and the importance of establishing a resilient way forward, from sustainable land management methods to community-driven adaptation strategies. As Nigeria’s climate continues to change, addressing its impacts on land and soil is critical to ensuring agricultural system productivity, biodiversity preservation, and overall ecosystem resilience.
Nigeria’s economy is based on agriculture and land use. Sustainable land management techniques and attempts to recover damaged soils are critical components of climate change mitigation and developing a more sustainable future for Nigerian communities.
Nigeria Climate: The case of Land, soil, and climate change
Nigeria’s climate has led to land degradation, which is a severe problem in Nigeria, affecting the entire country and causing repercussions such as drought, sand dunes, desertification in the northern portion of the country, and soil erosion in the southern section.
Nigeria’s netland productivity dynamics
According to the UNCCD, more than 4633.6sq km of forestland was lost between 2000 and 2010, with 3447.1sq km converted to shrubs, grasses, and poorly vegetated regions and 1185.7 sq km converted to farmland. The area of bare land and other regions has grown by 0.8 sq km. In terms of the land production dynamic, 3603.4 sq km of forestland exhibited diminishing productivity, while 178,62 sq km showed early indicators of decline.
It was also discovered that the country’s average soil organic carbon stock is 37 tons/ha. The conversion of forest area to other land use has resulted in a total soil organic carbon loss of 1,307,187 tons, accounting for 0.04% of the national soil carbon pool.
Nigeria land use NetArea
In addition, desertification, which is inextricably linked to land degradation in Nigeria’s arid, semi-arid, and subhumid dry zones, is spreading and endangering the livelihoods of more than 40 million people. Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Yobe are among the states impacted.
These states account for around 35% of the total land area of Nigeria and provide a significant amount of the country’s livestock populations and crop output. A continuing increase in desertification consequently portends bad news for Nigerian communities and the country’s overall progress.
How is Nigeria responding?
Nigeria has introduced a slew of laws, policies, and regulations concerning Land Degradation Neutrality in response to land, soil, and climate change, including the National Policy on Environment, the National Drought and Desertification Policy, the National Policy on Climate Change, and Nigeria’s Agriculture Promotion Policy, among numerous others. This is part of its effort to improve climate resilience to save its people’s future.
Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are the primary agencies in charge of implementing land and soil control in the country. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development oversees programs aimed at increasing agricultural production and eliminating poverty in rural regions. Thus, educating them on how to use the land for effective agricultural yield.
Undoubtedly Nigeria’s most important climate adaptation goal is to reduce food and nutrition susceptibility while increasing resilience to climate change. Especially as regard land and soil. To accomplish this objective, the National Agricultural Resilience Framework (NARF) provides an effective policy foundation.
The National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) can also contribute to the resolution of farmer-herder disputes. This can foster mutually beneficial connections and minimize the need for damaging competition between these two essential stakeholder groups as over-greasing on land can wreak havoc on the land.
Through its Mangroves for Life effort, the country pledged to restore mangroves that could protect the land. After decades of pollution from oil spills and environmental degradation in the region, the federal government began restoring mangroves in Ogoni territory in May 2021.
This initiative to restore mangroves, as reflected in the NDCs, will also assist address natural catastrophe concerns such as coastal flooding. This could also help to restore Nigerian lands and soil.
The climate change bill, which intends to adopt nature-based solutions and boost REDD+ projects, should potentially enable the concrete and successful execution of government policies and programs aimed at naturally tackling climate change.
Nigeria’s proactive initiatives to improve climate resilience by focusing on land, soil, and climate change are important steps toward ensuring the well-being and future of its people. By recognizing the complicated interplay of these factors, Nigeria is tackling not only the current issues caused by climate change but also building the groundwork for long-term prosperity.
The country is preparing itself to offset the negative consequences of climate change, maintain food security, and protect its natural resources through strong regulations, innovative farming techniques, and community participation.
As the country grapples with the complexity of climate change, its commitment to resilience offers an inspirational example of proactive action that can benefit both current and future generations. Nigeria paves the way for a more climate-resilient world by encouraging collaboration at the local, national, and international levels, providing a pattern for others to follow in the worldwide pursuit of a sustainable and safe future.
