By Abbas Nazil
Rising sea levels and worsening floods are forcing Lagos Island and Apapa communities to resort to environmental action as climate change reshapes daily life.
Coastal erosion, blocked drainage, and waste mismanagement have combined with sea-level rise to create constant flooding risks, leaving residents to organise their own responses where government efforts fall short.
A new 18-month initiative, the Citizen-Led Accountability Mechanism for Mitigating Climate Change Impact (CLAIM), is placing environmental resilience at the centre of its strategy.
Led by the Lagos State Civil Society Participation for Development with support from Bread for the World, the programme is training youth and civil society groups to confront climate threats by promoting sustainable waste management, drainage clearing, and grassroots monitoring.
At a validation workshop in Lagos, participants including market women, entrepreneurs, and local officials refined a training manual tailored to community realities.
Organisers stressed that adaptation cannot be abstract but must reflect how people interact with their immediate environment.
Dr Olushola Adeoye of the Nature Care Resource Centre noted that climate change is not distant but already transforming ecosystems, flooding homes, and polluting water systems.
He emphasised that resilience begins with simple environmental practices such as recycling, tree planting, and improved waste disposal.
Project manager Omolara Olusaye said CLAIM is designed to stop residents from being passive victims of environmental change and instead make them active protectors of their surroundings.
In Apapa, where floods repeatedly damage small businesses, digital advocate Tanimola Yusuf Dauda highlighted that blocked drains and unmanaged waste directly worsen flood impacts, making environmental responsibility essential.
The project, running until September 2026, positions young people as environmental stewards, training them to monitor local ecosystems, raise awareness, and push for policies that protect vulnerable areas.
Government representatives acknowledged that official capacity alone cannot address environmental challenges of this scale and welcomed citizen-led partnerships as crucial.
By combining grassroots accountability, civil society expertise, and government support, Lagos communities aim to transform fragile coastal environments into resilient spaces where adaptation is driven from the ground up.
