REFLECTING on the new Nigeria few weeks after fuel subsidy removal, one could see vividly the shenanigans that had dogged subsidy on petroleum marketing in Nigeria. The removal has foisted inflation, but we are told it is for a while. However, this is a tangible reason for us as Nigerians to collectively combat desertification and drought in our country and, by extension, all over the world. June 17 is a day set aside to promote public awareness on international efforts to combat desertification with the aim of achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) through strong community involvement. So, this day is known as ‘World Day of Combating Desertification and Droughts’. For this year, the global focus is on women’s land rights, essential for achieving the interconnected global goals on gender equality and land degradation; neutrality by 2030 as well as advancing other Sustainable Developmental Goals, under The slogan: “Her Land, Her Right.” This focus elicits some germane questions: Could the yearning for gender equality be a reality in the face of desertification and drought?
Could it mean that women are not only managers of all that they are, but also managers of land? How is a woman expected to change an arid land to a fertile one? The important message from this year’s celebration is that investing in women’s equal access to land and related assets is a direct investment in their future and the future of humanity. Talking about desertification and drought, drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions. A drought can last for days, months or years. Drought often has large impacts on the ecosystems and agriculture of affected regions, and causes harm to the local economy. Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing and, subsequently, wildfires. Periods of heat can significantly worsen drought conditions by hastening evaporation of water vapour. Desertification is a type of land degradation in dry lands, in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become arid. (Wikipedia). It is a process of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas due to various factors including climate variation and human activities.
Reduction and sterilization of lands is a result of persistent fragile ecosystem due to man-made activities and variations in climate. An ecosystem is a system consisting of biotic and abiotic components that function together as a unit. The biotic components include all the living things, whereas the abiotic components are the non-living things. Thus, every country is going through the process of desertification on their large pockets of lands as they increasingly become arid, losing their bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. Desertification is significantly caused by ecological and environmental pollution like overgrazing, deforestation, farming practices, excessive use of fertilizer and pesticide, overgrazing, when too many animals continue to graze in a particular spot, it makes it difficult for the plant to grow back, which makes it lose its former green glory. Deforestation is a related problem, the result of people’s need for trees or wood to make houses and do other tasks. Farming practices (ineffective use of land by some farmers) may result in stripping the soil of its nutrients before moving on to another plot of land, leaving the former deserted.
Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, in the long run, turn an arable land to arid land. Overdrafting of ground water is, excessive pulling up of ground water from underground aquifer. Its depletion causes desertification. Also, urbanization and other types of land development : as areas become more urbanised, there are fewer places for plants to grow and development has caused people to go through and kill plant life, thereby causing desertification. As the days get warmer and periods of droughts become more frequent. Stripping the land of resources – If an area of land has natural resources like natural gas, oil or minerals, people will come and mine it, and as time goes on, this act will strip the soil of its nutrients and eventually kill the plant life. Some lands had got damaged by natural disasters, including droughts. In such cases, people can only work on rehabilitating the land after the damage. Soil pollution and over population, desertification has negative impact on humanity. Farming becomes next to impossible if an area turns desert, it will be impossible to grow substantial crops there without special technologies and lots of money expended. This result to farmers selling such lands and leave the desert area. Decrease in crop yields and making farmers lose their source of livelihood.
Farm produce will become more scarce and animals will also go hungry, resulting into food shortage. Poor water quality, plant life has a significant role in keeping the water clean and clear. Over population, migration of people and animals from desert areas to another area where they can thrive will lead to crowding and overpopulation. Poverty is on the loose where desertification and droughts are not fought against. Endangerment and Extinction of species. Some species of plant and animals may die overtime and may even lead to their extinction. The Ogun State government, in the course of the years, engaged the state populace on climate change mitigation and adaptation, e.g climate smart agriculture and nature based solutions both in the university and local government areas. It engaged in Climate Change and Nigeria Erosion and Water Management Project (NEWMAP) and worked on the Reducing Emission in Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)+ project; served as a member of National Adaptation Plan Project under Federal Ministry of Environment which was facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly Nigeria, and also facilitated climate smart agriculture in cassava production and processing with GIZ.
In all of this, the contributions of the female gender in combating desertification and droughts cannot be overlooked. It is amazing that the strength of women/female children is still recognized and appreciated in the Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG), as they are bitten harder by the effects of desertification and droughts. They disproportionately suffer from lack of food, water scarcity and free migration that result from mistreatment of lands.
- Bukky, is an Information Officer in the Ministry of Information & Strategy, Ogun State.
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