‘Why Nigeria should leverage on $4bn Mangrove Breakthrough initiative’

• ‘Why Nigeria should leverage on $4bn Mangrove Breakthrough initiative’

The National Council on Climate Change Secretariat (NCCCS) has said Nigeria should leverage on the Mangrove Breakthrough initiative launched at the COP27 towards raising $4 billion in sustainable finance for mangrove conservation and reforestation.

The Mangrove Breakthrough is a community of action dedicated to sustainably managing and increasing mangrove cover by 2030 by catalyzing a $4 billion shared global goal.

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NCCS, Dr Nkiruka Chidia Maduekwe, who stated this, said Nigeria’s mangrove forest is indicated as the largest in Africa and third largest in the world, covering approximately 5% of the global mangrove forest.

“Given the drive towards utilising nature-based solutions as critical mitigation and adaptation strategies to addressing climate change, Nigeria’s mangrove forest provides an easy win with its remarkable capacity for carbon sequestration and contribution to coastal resilience, amongst others.

“In addition, Nigeria’s mangrove forest has the potential to serve as a hub for global climate finance, through the carbon market.”

While noting that the international community is grappling with the climate crisis, she said Nigeria, situated in one of the global hotspots of high human vulnerability, continues to experience the adverse impacts of climate change, namely, droughts, rising temperatures, erosion, deforestation, flooding, desertification and increasing sea levels.

Dr Maduekwe, who spoke during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, recently, said in fulfillment of its mandate, the NCCCS has adopted a theme for the year 2025, which is anchored on Section 27 of the Climate Change Act 2021; “Amplifying Nature Based Climate Solutions.”

To kick-start this, she said the NCCCS is embarking on a technical site visit to the Mangrove Forest located majorly in the Niger Delta region of the country.

According to her, the technical visit allows the NCCCS to have an aerial assessment of the impact of climate change on the mangroves, foster collaboration in driving reforestation and conservation of the mangrove, socialise the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Carbon Market Policy, and engender a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach in the NDC 3.0 review process.

“Also, it showcases the mangrove forest across the Niger Delta as part of a comprehensive strategy to enhance understanding of ecosystem services, strengthen local partnerships for sustainable mangrove conservation, inform carbon credit systems, and foster disaster risk reduction to develop financing strategy for the benefit of the state,” she added.