The Federal Ministry of Environment has reiterated its commitment to ecological restoration and climate resilience across the 19 northern states of Nigeria through strong policies and strategic interventions.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement meeting in Sokoto, the National Coordinator of the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, Abdulhamid Umar, emphasised the Federal Government’s determination to address environmental degradation and climate change-related challenges in the region.
Umar explained that ACReSAL is a six-year, World Bank-assisted project dedicated to restoring degraded landscapes, improving environmental sustainability, and enhancing agricultural productivity across Northern Nigeria.
He noted that the region faces several challenges, including high poverty rates, low literacy levels, environmental fragility, resource degradation, weak institutional capacity, poor agricultural productivity, and increasing climate risks such as desertification and water scarcity.
He further highlighted that the project is designed to combat desertification, restore degraded lands, and protect ecosystems crucial for agriculture and biodiversity conservation.