By Faridat Salifu
Nigeria has taken a fresh step to strengthen its fight against desertification and land degradation with the inauguration of a new United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Reporting Technical Committee aimed at improving national data on degraded land and ecosystem recovery.
Inaugurating the committee in Abuja, Minister of Environment Balarabe Abbas Lawal said accurate and credible environmental data would be critical to reversing the country’s growing land degradation challenge and supporting sustainable land restoration efforts.
He warned that land degradation poses a major threat not only to the environment but also to food production and national development, stressing that protecting land resources must remain a national priority.
According to the minister, the committee has been tasked with generating reliable information that will guide government interventions, policy decisions and restoration programmes targeted at degraded landscapes across Nigeria.
Lawal also called for stronger collaboration between the committee and key environmental stakeholders, agencies and departments to ensure coordinated action on land recovery.
Highlighting practical solutions to the challenge, he pointed to alternative cooking energy and increased tree planting as key strategies for reducing deforestation and restoring damaged ecosystems.
He described the assignment as critical, urging committee members to remain committed and deliver a reporting process that supports effective environmental action.
Earlier, Director of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought Management Department, Regina Nwaneri, said the committee’s inauguration reinforces Nigeria’s commitment to global environmental obligations under the UNCCD.
She noted that beyond meeting international reporting requirements, the exercise offers Nigeria an opportunity to showcase progress, identify gaps and strengthen interventions in sustainable land management and ecosystem restoration.
Nwaneri urged members to work collaboratively to produce a comprehensive national report that accurately reflects Nigeria’s efforts in combating desertification, land degradation and drought.