Latest reports show that the Federal Government has validated the country’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Document to tackle climate-related challenges in the country.
Malam Balarabe Lawal, who is the Minister of Environment, said this at the High-Level Validation Workshop on Nigeria’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Document on Wednesday in Abuja.
The NAP document was validated before submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ahead of COP 30 in Belem, Brazil.
Lawal, who was represented during the workshop by Mr Mahmud Kambari, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, expressed worry over climate change manifests from changing weather patterns such as drought and desertification, to rising sea levels, inundation of coastal lands by sea water and flooding.
“Climate Change is the defining issue of our time, and we are at a defining moment, permit me to draw your attention to the fact that Nigeria is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,”he was quoted as saying. “These challenges he worried that they come with adverse impacts on food security, human health and settlements resulting in increased loss of lives and property.
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Speaking further, he said that the challenges of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale, adding that If drastic and decisive actions were not taken now, coping with these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.
He stated that these impacts are projected to become even more severe under future climate change scenarios, noting that while efforts are on to mitigate the effects of climate change, the need for adaptation is also very important so that we can adjust our systems and operations to these effects without affecting our daily activities.
“Nigeria is presently formulating its NAP as a means of identifying medium to long term adaptation needs, developing and implementing strategies and programmes to address those needs in a participatory and fully transparent approach,” Abiola-Awe said.
He reiterated that addressing climate change is one of the cardinal agenda of the present administration.
Also speaking, Mr Gift Gewona, the Task Manager, United Nations Environment Programme in Nigeria, said that the NAP document is a living document that allows Nigeria to plan for its short-term, medium-term and long-term activities to ensure that the resilience of communities are gained.
Story was adapted from NAN.
