By Rosemary Ogbonna

Minister of Environment Balarabe Abbas Lawal has warned that climate change impacts are intensifying globally, urging urgent action to prevent uncontrollable losses to livelihoods and biodiversity.

Lawal spoke at the 3-day Peer Learning Forum on National Adaptation Plan Processes in Conflict-Affected Countries, held in Abuja and co-hosted by the Federal Ministry of Environment and the NAP Global Network.

The event brought together representatives from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Liberia, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and other nations facing conflict.

Permanent Secretary Salihu Aminu Usman, who represented the minister, said Nigeria had committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 47% with international support.

While the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions focus largely on mitigation, he said provisions for adaptation had been aligned with Nigeria’s National Adaptation Plan, which is in its final validation stage.

“Adapting to climate change means taking action to prepare for and adjust to both the current effects and the predicted impacts in the future,” Usman said.

Lawal said conflict-sensitivity and peacebuilding had been factored into Nigeria’s NAP process, noting that farmer-herder clashes, cattle rustling and banditry could be linked to climate stress.

“Links between climate change and fragility mean it would be a mistake to ignore medium- and long-term adaptation needs in these peacebuilding contexts. Conflict-affected states also need to adapt to the impacts of climate,” he said.

He added that climate change and conflict often compound each other, and that adaptation could help break the cycle by improving social well-being and addressing root causes.

Director of the Department of Climate Change, Dr. Inionong Abiola-Awe, said Nigeria had integrated conflict-sensitivity and peacebuilding into its NAP and was working to identify medium- to long-term adaptation needs through a participatory and transparent process.

“Efforts are on to mitigate the effect of climate change, but 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 nor jeopardizing our security,” she said.

Alec Crawford, Director for Nature for Resilience at the International Institute for Sustainable Development and NAP Global Network Secretariat, said adaptation planning in conflict-affected contexts was complicated by competing priorities for funding and political attention.

 He commended Nigeria for hosting the forum and acknowledged financial support from the Government of Ireland.

Nigeria’s NAP, supported by the Green Climate Fund, builds on the earlier National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action established under the UNFCCC Cancun Adaptation Framework.