Climate Change: Nigeria needs to improve capacity, resilience

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today. It is exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and inequalities in Nigeria. It poses significant threats to human health, food security, economic development, and environmental sustainability. Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous and largest economy, is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to its diverse ecological zones, high dependence on natural resources, and low adaptive capacity. 

The country has a population of about 211 million people, of which 70 per cent live in rural areas and rely on agriculture. However, climate change is reducing the length and reliability of the rainy season, increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and causing land degradation, soil erosion and low farm output.  

These factors are negatively affecting crop production, livestock rearing, fishing and forestry activities. It is observed that greater parts of the country are currently experiencing drought, while floods have devastated the nation in the previous years. These nasty experiences could be the reasons for the sudden rise in prices of staple food crops across the nation.  

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Nigeria has experienced an increase in average temperature of about 1.3°C between 1961 and 2010, and is projected to experience a further increase of 1.4°C to 5.8°C by 2100 under different scenarios. Rainfall patterns are becoming more variable, with increasing rainfall in coastal areas and decreasing rainfall in continental areas.

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These changes have resulted in more frequent and intense droughts, floods, storms, heat waves, and sea level rise, affecting various sectors such as agriculture, water, energy, health, and infrastructure. 

Some of the observed and probable impacts of climate change in Nigeria include: 

• Reducing crop yields and livestock productivity due to heat stress, water scarcity, pests, diseases and soil erosion. This is leading to food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty and social unrest. 
• Increasing risk of waterborne and vector-borne diseases such as malaria, cholera, typhoid and dengue fever due to higher temperatures, flooding and poor sanitation. This could affect the health and well-being of millions of people, especially children and the elderly. 
• Reduce availability and quality of freshwater resources due to reduced rainfall, increased evaporation, saltwater intrusion and pollution. This is already affecting domestic settings, agricultural, industrial and hydropower as well as ecosystem services. 
• Increasing coastal erosion and flooding due to sea level rise and storm surges. This may have the consequential effect of damaging infrastructure, property, livelihoods, and ecosystems in coastal cities such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Warri. 
• Increasing desertification and land degradation due to reduced vegetation cover, soil moisture and biodiversity. This is affecting the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on land resources for agriculture, forestry, grazing, tourism and causing the displacement of more than 2 million people. Moreover, these effects of climate change have contributed to the emergence and escalation of conflicts between farmers and herders over land and water resources, especially in the central and northern regions of Nigeria. These conflicts have also displaced more than 1.8 million people and caused thousands of deaths. 
• Increased vulnerability of socio-economic groups such as women, children, the elderly, the poor, and the displaced due to their limited access to resources, information, technology, and decision-making. This is exacerbating existing inequalities and conflicts in the country. 

But are these challenges being addressed by Nigeria’s submission of its first Adaptation Communication (ADCOM) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in October 2021? The document communicates adaptation priorities, actions, needs, plans and progress to the international community, as well as provides input to the global stock-take and assesses progress made.  

As Nigeria is not a passive victim of climate change, the country has to take urgent proactive steps to enhance its adaptive capacity and resilience to the changing climate, both at the national and sub-national levels. 

There may exist other opportunities to address climate change through mitigation and adaptation measures that can enhance development prospects – such as: 

• Promoting low-carbon development by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector (the largest contributor), deforestation and land-use change (the second largest contributor), transportation (the third largest contributor), waste management (the fourth largest contributor), and other sectors. This could be achieved by improving energy efficiency; increasing renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass; reducing gas flaring; promoting public transportation; implementing afforestation and reforestation programs; enhancing waste management practices etc. 

To be continued on www.dailytrust.com

Ahmad, FMA2, off Yaya (Petel) Abubakar Road, Fadamar Mada, Bauchi  Email: [email protected]