The Federal Authorities says desertification and land degradation are threatening the livelihoods of over 40 million Nigerians and have already impacted 43% of the nation’s whole landmass, roughly 923,000 sq. kilometres.
The Minister of Environment, Mr. Balarabe Lawal, made this recognized on Friday in Abuja at a Nationwide Dialogue themed “Restore the Land: Unlock the Alternatives.”
The occasion was organized by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Improvement (CJID) beneath its Local weather Change Mission, with assist from the Federal Ministry of Setting.
The dialogue was held to commemorate the 2025 World Desertification and Drought Day (WDD) in addition to Sand and Mud Day.
Represented by the Ministry’s Everlasting Secretary, Dr Mahmud Kambari, the minister described land degradation as a world disaster.
Lawal famous that dryland degradation had resulted within the lack of 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil globally, considerably decreasing meals manufacturing and threatening meals safety.
Citing the United Nations Conference to Fight Desertification (UNCCD), Lawal stated that greater than two million hectares of land have been misplaced yearly to desertification, land degradation, and drought.
“Regardless of this, it’s estimated that 300 million hectares of land might be required to fulfill meals demand by the yr 2030,” he stated.
He defined that the 2025 WDD theme emphasised the significance of investing in sustainable land administration practices to stop and reverse land degradation.
The efforts, he stated, additionally tackled broader challenges corresponding to {economic} and meals insecurity, water shortages, and local weather change.
Lawal harassed that attaining Nigeria’s socio-economic progress targets wouldn’t be potential with out environmental safety and sustainable administration of land and pure sources.
He added that the federal government was prioritizing environmental points and had developed establishments, insurance policies, motion plans, programmes, and tasks geared toward addressing land degradation, desertification, and associated environmental threats.
Additionally talking, Mrs Regina Nwaneri, Director of the Division of Desertification, Land Degradation, and Drought Administration, stated Nigeria, as a celebration to the UNCCD, remained dedicated to combating desertification.
Nonetheless, she warned that present land restoration efforts weren’t at a scale adequate to fulfill pressing nationwide and world wants.
She famous that despite UN projections that one billion {dollars} was wanted every day from 2025 to 2030 to fight land degradation, present investments in restoration efforts fell in need of that aim.
Nonetheless, she acknowledged the Nigerian authorities’s ongoing investments in land restoration and drought administration.
Earlier, Mr Ifeanyi Chukwudi, Senior Mission Supervisor at CJID, said that the centre was working with related ministries and stakeholders to advertise scalable, policy-driven interventions.
He added that CJID was additionally supporting analysis and the media in elevating consciousness of drought and desertification challenges.
“We now have engaged greater than 500 journalists throughout Nigeria and the Lake Chad area to highlight land points and convey them to the forefront for policymakers’ consideration,” Chukwudi stated.
He known as on the federal government to carry land customers accountable, notably organisations that extracted pure sources with out approval, correct land assessments, or adherence to regulatory procedures.
