Nigeria will continue its efforts to build solid partnerships for the ecological restoration and recharge of Lake Chad where more than 40 million people are facing hardship, President Muhammadu Buhari, has said.
Buhari said that the Lake Chad Basin, which used to be a region of productivity, food security and wealth for an estimated 40 million citizens living around the Chad Basin, has shrunk significantly from its original size due to Climate Change.
A statement by the presidency on Tuesday in Abuja said that Buhari made the commitment on Monday when he spoke on plan to mitigate climate change at United Nations Climate Action Summit with the theme, “A Race We Can Win. A Race We Must Win.”
“We are confident that this would improve the living conditions of the diverse nationals living in the area, promote inter-state cooperation, strengthen community resilience, as well as assist addressing the environmental and security crisis that threaten the region, its resources and inhabitants.
“The forty million citizens in the Lake Chad area expect this Summit to take into consideration their concerns. They anticipate that the outcomes of this meeting would include solutions to address the Climate Change impact in the Lake Chad area,’’ he said.
He said that it was imperative that collective climate actions was needed as an obligation under the Paris Agreement and to ensure a resilient future that would mainstream climate risks in our decision making.
Nigeria, he said, would develop a more robust sectorial action plan, and expand the scope of our Sovereign Green Bonds in line with intended upward review of the inclusion of the water and waste sectors by 2020.
In the water sector, Nigeria would issue a Green Bond for irrigation and construct multi-purpose dams for power, irrigation and water supply, he said.
“We will strengthen solid and liquid waste management systems to attract more private sector investors.
“We will take concrete steps to harness climate innovative ideas by including youths in decision making processes as part of our overall climate governance architecture. We will mobilize Nigerian youths towards planting 25 million trees to enhance Nigeria’s carbon sink,’’ he said.
He said that Nigeria was presently diversifying its energy sources from dependence on gas-powered system to hydro, solar, wind, biomass and nuclear sources.
“Nigeria is progressively working to realize 30 per cent energy efficiency and renewable energy mix by 2030. This is envisaged to lead to 179 million tons of carbon dioxide reduction per annum by 2030.’’
The government, he said, intended to develop a shelter belt across 11 States of the Federation spanning a distance of 1,500 km and 15km across through the Great Green Wall initiative.
According to him, the Nigerian Government has commenced the implementation of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Programme in Ogoniland, to recover the carbon sink potential of the mangrove ecosystem of the one thousand square kilometres (1,000 KM2) polluted site in the affected area.
Buhari told the summit that the Nigerian Government has introduced Climate Smart Agricultural Practices to unlock 74 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum, through relevant technologies, advocacy and best practices.
MM/GIK/APA