Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziak Salako has said that the Northern region of the country is more vulnerable to climate change impact because of the low precipitation it experiences and the resultant desertification.
Speaking at the launch of a Report on Mapping Climate Change Impact, Policy and Action in Nigeria’s 36 States including FCT, Iziak maintained that the challenges associated with climate change are not the same across the country.
According to him, the low rainfall in the north exposes the region to aridity, drought and desertification, which impacts negatively on the large rural populace, who are mainly peasant farmers.
He also noted that southern Nigeria which experiences high rainfall is vulnerable to flooding and erosion. The minister said;
“Vulnerability analysis demonstrates that states in the North experience higher degrees of vulnerability to climate change than those in the South.
“The pattern of vulnerability to climate change also corresponds to the dominance of climate-sensitive agricultural activities. The northern regions of Nigeria, which have higher degrees of rurality, are more vulnerable to climate change. The north-central region has the lowest sensitivity, likely associated with its relatively stable seasonal rains and the presence of a large distribution of lakes that allow for year-round irrigation.
“The most exposed region is the northeast, as exposure factors vary across the country. Declining precipitation that affects water supply in rain-fed agriculture is an exposure issue of priority in the north, while water loss due to high soil porosity is a key concern in the southeast, which also experiences high exposure.”
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