In Nigeria, over 70 million people are directly or indirectly experiencing the negative impact of drought and desertification
The Nigerian government, in partnership with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), is set to hold a national dialogue to commemorate World Desertification and Drought Day.
The dialogue, themed; "Her Land, Her Rights: Advancing Gender Equality and Land Restoration Goals", is scheduled to hold on Tuesday (today) in Abuja, Nigeria's federal capital territory.
The conversation which will be anchored by CJID has the Federal Ministry of Environment representing the government.
According to the organisers, the event will convene a high-level meeting to assess progress in combating land degradation and outline the way forward for Nigeria's efforts to resuscitate and restore healthy land.
The dialogue, they said, will feature a panel session to discuss the "role of media in addressing desertification, land degradation and drought in Nigeria" and will furthermore highlight the roles of the government institutions in promoting responsible governance of land and forest tenure in the context of national food security principles.
The dialogue, they added, will also appraise how civil society organisations can be empowered to promote land tenure discussion in the context of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
The organisers said: "While land continues to deteriorate, land use transformation is occurring at a quicker rate than at any other period in human history.
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"People must be aware that desertification, land degradation, and drought have direct consequences in their daily lives. Therefore, the yearly commemoration of this event aims to emphasise that this problem may still be tackled via increased community participation and cooperation at all levels"
Land use transformation
In today's rapidly changing world, the transformation in land use is transpiring at an unprecedented pace. Over the last 50 years, this transformation has occurred faster than ever before, with scientific evidence showing that the process is observable over remarkably short periods.
In Nigeria, over 70 million people are directly or indirectly experiencing the negative impact of drought and desertification, which is threatening their livelihoods and widening inequality gaps of over 55 million people, especially across the 11 frontline states that are mostly faced with this threat.
Globally, 23 per cent of the land is no longer productive, amounting to more than 2 billion hectares, including more than half of all agricultural land, affecting the livelihoods of over 3.2 billion people, or 40 per cent of the global population.
