By Chuks Oyema-Aziken, (Baku, Azerbaijan)
The Development Bank of Nigeria, DBN, on Wednesday said it’s expected arrangement with the Green Climate Fund, GCF, will bring succour to areas suffering impacts of climate change.
Head, Sustainability of DBN, Lola Awogbade disclosed this during a sidepastoralists event at the Nigerian pavilion at ongoing COP29 in Baku Azerbaijan.
The side event with theme “Addressing the Impact of Climate Change on Farmer-Herder Clashes in Nigeria” was facilitated by Honourable Terseer Ugbor, Deputy Chairman, Committee on Environment House of Representatives, Nigeria.
She lamented the impact of crisis induced by ecological challenges in some parts of the country.
The Executive Director of the Global
Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation, Dr. David Michael Terungwa, said the event is focused on addressing the farmer herder crisis in Nigeria.
“It further proved that this crisis is caused by climate change. The drying up of the Lake Chad, the migration of herders from the north down to the Benue Valley is responsible for this crisis and that we require a very holistic approach to solving this crisis.
“It is not a Christian-Muslim crisis as sometimes it is portrayed to be. It is an economic issue and it is an adaptation issue and so the documentary highlights the need for intervention, especially climate adaptation, support for the internally displaced persons and land use planning to ensure that both the farmers and the herders build climate resilience and work together.”
The initiative by the Office of the Deputy Chairman, Committee on Environment at the House of Representatives draws the nexus between climate change and farmer-herder clashes and proposes innovative and sustainable solutions to addressing the challenge.
This initiative is presented in collaboration with the African Energy Council (AEC), Women Environmental Programme (WEP), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) and OXFAM. The initiative seeks to attract funding to support displaced farming communities and help build capacity for adapting to climate change for farmers and pastoralists in Nigeria.
