The federal government has warned that land degradation such as desertification may cause food insecurity if urgent steps are not taken to tackle it.
Yusufu Idris, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment who stated this in Abuja at a national dialogue organized to mark the World Desertification and Drought Day, said land degradation increases environmental hazards, climate change crises and loss of biodiversity and ecosystems.
The theme of the dialogue for 2023 World Desertification and Drought Day is “Her Right, Her Land: Advancing Gender Equality and Land Restoration Goals’.
Idris said women should be given more access to land and other related assets, “it’s time for women and girls to be at the forefront of global land restoration and drought resilience efforts”.
“Equitable land rights for women and vulnerable groups are critical for sustainable land restoration”.
In his comments, Director-General National Council on Climate Change, Dr Salisu Dahiru noted that gender mainstreaming will enhance combating the challenges of climate change, stressing that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change had a section that focuses on gender.
Also contributing, Dr Tobi Oluwatola, the Executive Director, Center for Journalism Innovation and Development, Abuja noted that lack of ownership and control of land resources by women exposes them to hunger, poverty, displacement and gender-based violence.
In a remark, the National Project Coordinator of the World Bank’s Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes ACReSAL Abdulhameed Umar explained that “Women and girls are largely in a disadvantaged position, the project has different support systems aimed at empowering the women”.
Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.
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