By Abbas Nazil
Nigeria has an opportunity to attract financing for land restoration and drought resilience following major funding initiatives announced around UNCCD COP17, but the country must first develop credible, investment-ready projects, Professor Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin has said.
Ifatimehin said announcements of US$1.3 billion in new and pipeline finance for land restoration and drought resilience across 23 countries, alongside the Drought Resilience Investment Facility, DRIF, which aims to mobilize up to US$400 million, demonstrate growing momentum for financing land and drought interventions.
He, however, cautioned that the announcements should not be interpreted as automatic allocations to Nigeria.
According to the rapid policy brief prepared by Ifatimehin after COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, the emerging financing landscape means Nigeria must treat access to finance as a project-preparation challenge rather than simply a shortage of financial resources.
He said credible data, project pipelines, de-risking arrangements, revenue models and effective project preparation would increasingly determine the ability of countries to secure land and drought finance.
Ifatimehin recommended the creation of a Nigeria Land and Drought Project Preparation Task Team, or the assignment of the responsibility to an existing inter-ministerial platform, to develop projects to a financier-ready stage.
He also urged Nigeria to engage with the UNCCD Global Mechanism and relevant international financing institutions to determine eligibility requirements, available financing windows and project-preparation conditions.
The institutions identified in the policy brief include the Drought Resilience Investment Facility, the International Drought Resilience Alliance, the Resilient Green Drought Resilience and other relevant mechanisms, as well as the Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, African Development Bank, World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development and bilateral partners.
Ifatimehin said Nigeria should prioritize investable areas including dryland and rangeland restoration, water efficiency and storage, climate-resilient agriculture, soil health, early-warning and digital services, drought insurance and risk transfer.
He also identified Great Green Wall landscapes and sustainable value chains as areas that could form part of an investment pipeline.
The expert said the country should use the first 100 days after COP17 to move from project ideas to a structured pipeline containing clear project sites, baselines, implementing institutions, safeguards, measurable land and water outcomes and financing structures.
The proposed post-COP action plan recommends that Nigeria develop a screened pipeline of eight to ten land and drought investment concepts within 31 to 60 days, with three to five selected for full preparation.
Within 61 to 100 days, three to five investment-grade concept notes should be prepared and financier consultations initiated.
The policy brief also recommends a Nigeria Land and Drought Finance Roundtable involving multilateral development banks, climate and environmental funds, private finance institutions and development partners.
According to Ifatimehin, such engagement should result in partner commitments, further due diligence and clear project-preparation assignments.
He said the financing opportunity must also be supported by stronger national data systems because credible evidence would be important for both investment appraisal and accountability.
The policy brief recommends a common geospatial and statistical baseline covering land degradation, drought exposure, restoration progress and water stress.
It further calls for data-sharing protocols among relevant federal agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Environment, UNCCD focal structures, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, the National Space Research and Development Agency, the National Agency for the Great Green Wall and the National Emergency Management Agency, alongside agriculture and water institutions, universities and participating states.
Ifatimehin said consistent baselines and geospatial monitoring would help Nigeria demonstrate the additionality and permanence of restoration investments as well as their livelihood benefits.
He also urged the country to localize implementation by involving states, local governments, communities, women, youth and pastoralist groups in the design, implementation and monitoring of land restoration and drought programmes.
The policy brief said selected demonstration landscapes should cover dryland and rangeland, agricultural soil-health and watershed or erosion contexts instead of spreading limited resources across too many pilot projects.
It recommended participatory land-use planning and safeguards addressing tenure, mobility, women’s access, community rights and conflict sensitivity.
Ifatimehin said the ultimate objective should be to develop a pipeline of bankable programmes that can move beyond the concept stage to appraisal, approval or financial close.
The policy brief noted that COP17’s financing announcements provide a strong policy signal, but Nigeria will have to compete for available resources on the basis of project quality, credible data, safeguards, risk-sharing and bankability.
It therefore urged Nigerian authorities to begin preparing immediately rather than waiting for the next UNCCD conference.
With Egypt scheduled to host COP18 in 2028, Ifatimehin said Nigeria has roughly two years to demonstrate measurable progress in land restoration and drought resilience while positioning itself for emerging international financing opportunities.
