Nigeria is pushing for stronger drought management measures and increased investment in land restoration as countries negotiate solutions to desertification, land degradation and drought at the ongoing 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Balarabe Lawal, minister of environment, who led the Nigerian delegation, joined the African Group of Negotiators to advocate for critical structural shifts.
Speaking on the need for legally binding drought protocols, Lawal said it was necessary for countries to take up proactive drought management measures and move away from reactive emergency responses.
According to the minister, noted that roughly 50 percent of Nigeria’s total land area is impacted by degradation, with approximately 23 percent formally recorded as degraded.
Lawal also stressed the urgent necessity of expanding adaptation financing, closing observation gaps, and strengthening early warning systems to protect agricultural belts, rural livelihoods, and pastoral communities.
Aligning with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, the minister said restoring degraded grazing routes is vital for alleviating pressure on natural resources and mitigating long-standing farmer herder conflicts.
Lawal said land degradation, desertification, and drought pose direct threats to national food security, water stability, and regional migration patterns across Nigeria’s frontline dryland states.
