Communicating climate change in Nigeria – Daily Trust

There is increasing scientific evidence and growing concern about climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions and recognition of their significant adverse impacts on humans, the local environment, economy, and safety. During the last decade, many planning researchers have focused on growth management and sustainability and have not always seen these factors as directly connected to climate change. Climatological research over the past decades has proved that the Earths climate is changing in response to anthropogenic increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Thus, global warming can be considered as one of the priority environmental risks generating long-term hazards for society and so they requires efficient political response.

Climate change policy is the principal response to the problem of global warming and thus climate change policy studies should stressed the importance of integration of climate change issues in all our sectors.

However, policies on climate change can help to achieve a lot so as to as enhanced energy security and environmental protection targets.

Therefore, for government to effectively implement policies and measures and to monitor progress in achieving climate change mitigation targets, we need to use a wide mix of policy instruments, including regulations, economic and fiscal instruments, and voluntary agreements, raising public awareness because the consequences of lack of action by the worlds nations including Nigeria, is that, the planet will be warmer, sea level will rise, and patterns of rainfall will change. But the future is also partly uncertain — there is considerable uncertainty about how we will arrive at that different climate. Will the changes be gradual, allowing natural systems and societal infrastructure to adjust in a timely fashion? Or will some of the changes be more abrupt, crossing some threshold or tipping point to change so fast that the time between when a problem is recognized and when action is required shrinks to the point where orderly adaptation is not possible?

Nigeria is one of the countries expected to be most affected by the impacts of climate change through rising sea level along her coastline, intensified desertification, erosion and flooding disasters and general land degradation. Nigeria is losing huge amount of money worth billions of naira as a result of the catastrophe while, at least, 80 per cent of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta region of the country will be displaced due to the low level of the region. Nigeria is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and the countrys fragile economy makes the local ability to respond difficult. Nigeria has a variety of ecosystems, from mangroves and rainforests on the Atlantic coast in the south to the savannah in the north bordering the Sahara. Whether dry or wet, those ecosystems are being battered by global warming. While excessive flooding during the past decade has hurt farming in coastal communities, desertification is ravaging the Sahel. Traditionally, desertification in the Sahel has been blamed on overgrazing practices of the local population. But it has been discovered that the real problem is climate change.

Rainfall in the Sahel has been declining steadily since the 1960s and this has resulted in the loss of farmlands and conflicts between farmers and herdsmen over ever decreasing land. Many different communities, including fishermen, farmers and herdsmen, are now confronted with difficulties arising from climatic changes. The livelihoods of people are being harmed, and people who are already poor are becoming even more impoverished. Climate refugees are the result, as the changes make some land unlivable and affect water supplies.

Nigeria is experiencing adverse climate conditions with adverse impacts on the welfare of millions of its population. Persistent droughts and flooding, off season rains and dry spells have sent growing seasons out of orbit, in a country dependent on a rain fed agriculture. Alarm bells are ringing with lakes drying up and a reduction in river flow in the arid and semi-arid region of the country. The result is fewer water supplies for use in agriculture, hydro power generation and other uses.

Nigeria will be worst hit by the effects of Climate Change. Droughts are getting worse and climate uncertainty is growing, Climate change is an unprecedented threat to food security. Arid and semi-arid areas in northern Nigeria are becoming drier, while the southern part of the country are getting wetter. Global warming means that many dry areas are going to get drier and wet areas are going to get wetter. Many are going to be caught between the devil of drought and the deep blue seas of floods. Unless climate change is tackled, all the best efforts to help this great country could come to nothing. One of the biggest threats is growing climate unpredictability, which makes subsistence farming difficult.

The impact of the change will be difficult to handle and it will be potentially very long lasting. The disproportionate impact on Nigeria will be for a combination of reasons. Global warming will be greater over land than over sea because land retains heat more than water.

Now with 25 years of United Nations Climate Change Conference. Is it a talk show? Are there progresses made so far? For how long will the annual event continues? For Nigeria, how far have we gone with our Nationally Determined Contribution? But we should also note that most decisions taken during United Nations COPs meetings will affect African growth and transformation but it will also be an opportunity for Africa to take advantage if we intend to do well because resources are very sufficient. Therefore, climate change will affect African development if we are not been careful but however, private sector has a role to play to drive this crusade.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that mankind contributes to climate change through activities connected with emissions of climatically relevant gases. Hence, to manage the situation, reduction measures of climate gases and other relevant actions, are urgently necessary on all levels of government as well as the involvement of the stakeholders in other to address this climate change phenomenon.

Professor Idris is Dean, Faculty of Environmental Science, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Nigeria

Related

Download Daily Trust News App