Efforts to combat desertification must go beyond government

The on-going efforts to tackle the ravaging impact of desertification must span beyond government, be inclusive, be devoid of corruption and address community level poverty says an article published in the Journal of Ecology and the natural environment. The article Drought, Desertification and the Nigerian Environment: A Review was written by Olagungu Temidayo Ebenezer of […]

The on-going efforts to tackle the ravaging impact of desertification must span beyond government, be inclusive, be devoid of corruption and address community level poverty says an article published in the Journal of Ecology and the natural environment.
The article Drought, Desertification and the Nigerian Environment: A Review was written by Olagungu Temidayo Ebenezer of the Ecology and Environmental Biology Unit of the Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan, noted that the Nigeria Government has been making efforts aimed to combating environmental problems of drought and desertification.
These efforts include national policies, legislative framework, sectoral programmes and partnership with local and international organizations that is saddled with fighting desertification. Nigeria has developed many policies and programmes, received partnership in form of finance, technical assistance, loans and capacity building from partners such as World Bank, IAEA, IFAD, CIDA, UNDP, UNIDO, China Government, Japan international Agency (JICA), Agricultural Development Company Limited, Israel and the UNEP/GEF.
The directive of the emirate of the Northern Nigeria by the Anglo-French Commission in 1937 to embark on tree planting to stop desert encroach in the region was probably the foremost desertification combating effort in the country.
In 1977, in other to examine the problem of desertification and check desert encroachment in the arid zone of Nigeria, Federal Government set up the Arid Zone Aforestation Project. This project launched tree planting campaigns and forestry projects to check deforestation.
Tree seedlings were produced and distributed which led to the establishment of Shelter Belts along the Northern borders of the country. During the administration of Major General Muhammadu Buhari in 1984, Tree Planting Campaigns was used as an instrument to enlighten and motivate people on the negative effects of desertification and the need to combat it.
Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) was established in 1988 under Decree 58 after the Nigerian government had signed the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), an important step towards addressing desert encroachment in the country. States Environmental Protection Agencies (SEPA) were thereafter established in the 36 states including the Federal Capital with mandate to address environmental problems which include desertification Nigeria signed the Desertification Convention on the 31st October, 1994, and ratified same on the 8th July, 1997 thereby qualifying the country as a party to the convention with effect from October, 1997. The creation of the Department of Drought and Desertification Amelioration in 1999 in the Federal Ministry of Environment was to strengthen the existing institutional arrangement for more effective coordination of activities of Nigeria Government towards the implementation of the CCD. National Action Plan (NAP) of Nigeria which is part of the National Economic and Social Development and Environmental Protection Plan was developed. NAP compiled strategies and submitted it to the Secretariat of the UNCCD Bonn, Germany, which are to help in environmental education and management, public awareness, poverty alleviation and provision of alternative sources of energy among others.
These strategic policies include, National Policy on Environment, National Agricultural Policy, National Energy Policy, National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) and State Environmental Action Plans (SEAPs), National Tropical Forestry Action Plan, National Conservation Strategy, Natural Resources Conservation Action Plan, National Water Resources Master Plan (1995 to 2020), National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, The Green Agenda of the VISION 2010 Report, National AGENDA 21, National Action Programme to Combat Desertification, National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) and National Policy on Women.
In 2005, former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo initiated a Global Tree Planting Project to halt desert encroachment in 46 local government areas in the country’s desertification frontline states. The programme was expected to generate economic activities for the citizens of the states involved and urge them to desist from felling but rather plant trees. Several of such projects was also initiated in some of these states such as the ₦5.2 million project of Gidauniyar Jihar Kastina in Katsina State, Sure-P Programme in Sokoto State for 5 km tree planting in each local government of the state and collaborative programme of Jigawa State and the United State to harness the potential of Gum Arabic to fight desert encroachment and reduce poverty in the state.
Legislative framework was also enforced to encourage the execution of these projects in Nigeria. Despite these efforts by the Nigeria Government, significant success in remedy desertification in the country is yet to be achieved due to the following factors:
Poverty:
The fragile semi-arid land of Northern Nigeria is unyielding to the efforts to reclaim it from desertification, due to the threat pose by the growing poor population in the area. The local people meet their needs from the natural environment by burning the scanty bush area for game, deforest for firewood, and their livestock overgraze the available vegetation.
The 2010 poverty survey by the National Population Commission showed that the North-west and Northeast geo-political zones, which are desertification frontline states, had the highest poverty rates in the country with 77.7 and 76.3%, respectively, relative to the national rate of 69.1%. The poverty condition will continue to impede the government reclamation efforts if holistic approach is not put in place to alleviate poverty in the country.
Solutions:
Solution to the problem of desertification must target all aspects that relate to the problem. Though some desert conditions are irreversible even if all anthropogenic causes are stopped now, but some are reversible.