By Asmau Ahmad
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has stressed the role of women journalists in its plans toward achieving Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
NDCs are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of these long- term goals; it embodies efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The acting Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs Halima Bawa-Bwari made this known during a virtual meeting by UNDP-NDC Support Programme, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Mrs Halima said that the programme would help create platforms to consistently engage and communicate the opportunities in the NDCs to women in the media.
She said that one of the four aims of the programme was to increase private sector involvement in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
According to her, it will also meet up the country’s NDC targets through either participating in mitigation and adaptation projects or by adopting climate-friendly measures in its operations.
“It seeks to understand the needs of women journalists in their expected role in the NDC implementation process.
“The Department of Climate Change under the ministry will ensure that capacities of participants are strengthened to adequately engage and participate in the ongoing NDC revision and implementation process, including any other related climate change actions,” she said.
She noted that climate change was disrupting national economies and costing the world heavily. Nigeria had her fair share of the associated consequences of climate change, resulting in poverty, unemployment and inequality, resource conflict and food insecurity,” she said.
She said that with the growth rate of about 2.5 per cent and with an estimated 200 million people, population explosion had put significant pressure on the natural resource base available in Nigeria.
She, however, said that it had resultant decrease in fallow land, intensified land use, declining land productivity, rapid soil losses and disruption of water resources.
She recalled that the Federal Government had signed the NDC under the Paris Agreement in 2015 and ratified same in 2016.
She said it served as part of efforts to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and contain the impending humanitarian crisis.
The director added that in 2018, Nigeria received the backing of the UNDP’s NDC Support Programme to advance the implementation of its NDC.
