February 16, 2018

The Federal Ministry of Water Resources has called for a special budget to fund research and capacity building activities in efforts to tackle the impact of climate change in the country.

The ministry made the call in a communique issued at the end of its workshop on the “Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources Management’’, a copy of which was given to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.

The communiqué, signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Musa Ibrahim, underscored the need for adequate sensitisation and awareness of all stakeholders on the impact of climate change.

“There is the need for adequate budget to fund research, capacity building and procurement of state-of-the-art equipment in the field of climate change by all tiers of government.

“Communities should be involved and encouraged to participate in the development and management stages of the projects for sustainability,’’ it said.

The communique listed the lack of strong political will, the lack of synergy and stakeholders’ collaboration as well as the non-nonchalant attitude of citizens on the effects of climate change as part of challenges facing the water sector.

It also said that paucity of data for effective planning of water resources projects ought to be addressed so as to facilitate efforts to coordinate and manage groundwater resources.

It stressed the need to discourage deforestation, saying that the promotion of afforestation projects would help to protect the environment for the benefit of all citizens.

The communique said that if pragmatic efforts were not made to minimise the impacts of climate change, it could threaten the livelihoods of the people.

It called for the introduction of climate change subjects in the curricula of the country’s primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.