The Minister of Environment, Engr. Balarabe Abbas Lawal, has emphasized the need for a holistic approach to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought in Nigeria.
The Minister made the call at a workshop to review the National Policy on drought and desertification, held at Reiz Continental Hotel in Abuja on July 2, 2025.
Engr. Lawal noted that desertification, land degradation, and drought are global challenges that aggravate economic, social, and environmental problems such as poverty, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and forced migration.
In his keynote address Engr. Lawal stated that Nigeria is not exempted from these challenges, with an estimated 50-75% of some states in the country affected by desertification.
He further emphasized that the policy review must take into consideration emerging environmental concerns and gaps that need to be bridged, noting that the reviewed policy document must be based on participatory and bottom-up approaches, with decisions taken with the full participation of every stakeholder, including affected communities.
The Minister highlighted the importance of basic principles such as precautionary and proactive measures, inter and intra-generational equity, sustainable development, and gender equity in the policy review. He also emphasized the need for the policy to take cognizance of policies on agriculture, mining, urban development, climate change, and other relevant sectors.
The Minister expressed gratitude to the World Bank for providing financial support for the policy review through the ACReSAL Project.
In his welcome remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mahmud Adam Kabari, urged stakeholders to actively participate in the review process and work together to craft a policy that will mitigate the threats of drought and desertification and unlock the potential for a more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable Nigeria.
Spark News Naija reports that the policy review is a critical step forward in Nigeria’s commitment to safeguarding the environment and ensuring a sustainable future for its citizens.