Several hundreds of villages in Northern Nigeria have been swallowed up through encroachment of the Sahara Desert.In a new report from Development Association for Renewable Energy (DARE), the Executive Director, Mr. Yahaya Ahmed, who led a baseline survey on the effect of climatic change and desertification, revealed that some 200 communities have been displaced by desert encroachment. The communities span across 11 states bordering Republics of Niger and Chad.It was discovered that the Sahara Desert is advancing South wards at the rate of 0.6 kilometre per annum, resulting in the loss about 350,000 hectares of agricultural land mass to the desert and consequent displacement of farmers in villages. Experts believe that an estimated area of 75million hectares in the North is threatened by desertification. This places pressures on water, arable land and food resources, and may give rise to over-grazing, leading to violent conflict among communities vying for resources. Other consequences include increase in poverty, loss of livelihoods and grave dangers to food security. Nigeria has in the last 30 years witnessed a gradual but consistent encroachment of drought and desertification arising from the disappearance of large body of water and high activities of dry sand in the Northern part of the country. Drought is also a major headache. According to Nigeria's National Meteorological Agency, the rainy season in the North has dropped to 120 days from an average of 150 days when compared with the frequency of rainfall 30 years ago. The result of this is the drop in crop yields by as much as 20 percent. Even Lake Chad, the largest body of inland fresh water is also heavily devastated by desertification with enormous economic losses and negative impact on the people within the vicinity. Undoubtedly, the vagaries of climate change have begun to take their toll and it has brought in its wake crisis of human survival, social, and economic development. Added to this, is the indiscriminate destruction of arable and fertile land areas through tree felling for energy, bush burning and overgrazing by herdsmen. The over-exploitation of vegetation by communities has served to intensify the problem. A 2002 Report from the Federal Ministry of Environment noted that: 'Nigeria plunders its forest by more than 30million tonnes for firewood annually due to pressure on the urban poor who resort to the cheapest means of cooking. The rate of fuel wood consumption far exceeds replenishment rate.' Nine years later, disaster has struck with 200 communities being wiped away in North Nigeria. The crisis created by desert encroachment, calls for urgent action. First, the extent of the damage must be determined. The recently-launched Nigeria Satellite (NIGERSAT 11) should be used to monitor and provide real time information on the distribution of environment resources and incidence of land degradation. Also the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) with its drought forecasting system should develop early warning systems in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment. While there should be annual state of the Environment report to facilitate monitoring and evaluation of projects, there must also be desertification mapping and auditing, using satellite technology. These strategies will help define and situate the environmental challenges for proper targeting of efforts. There is need for extensive sensitisation campaigns to create awareness about the hazards of excessive felling of trees. In this regard, kudos should be given to Fight Against Desert Encroachment (FADE), an NGO founded by a notable environmentalist, Dr. Newton Jibunoh, for unwavering commitment in sensitising Nigerians about the negative impact of climate change. Greening of the environment should be seen as a paradigm of sustainable development that would renew and replenish the earth to enable it serve humanity longer. Corporate bodies should be encouraged to take up greening and afforestation as part of their social responsibilities. As an incentive, there should be tax incentives for companies that embark on greening. There is urgent need to start and sustain a tree-planting campaign to bring national consciousness to the dangers of rapid depletion of the nation's vegetation and the need to adopt a more sustainable use of the forest resources by replanting trees to recover the fading cultivable lands owing to desert encroachment. It is important for tree-planting exercises to be sustained, nurseries to be nurtured and seedlings should be provided gratis, especially to affected communities. Effort must be made to implement scientific and technical activities for desertification control and drought mitigation. These include the promotion of appropriate water harvesting technologies, efficient utilisation of fuel wood, as well as development and popularisation of alternative and renewable energy technologies (solar, biogas, coal, et al). The promotion of alternative sources of fuel is a globally recommended approach to addressing the local high demand for wood-fuel. Nigeria has a number of environmental laws relating to desertification, but their enforcement has been hampered due to factors which include inadequate funding, insufficient trained personnel and inadequate facilities. For the improvement in law enforcement, we recommend regular training of the enforcement personnel to update their knowledge, provision of adequate facilities and reviewing and updating relevant environmental laws and regulations to conform to present day realities. We recommend an upward Constitutional review of the amount available to the Ecological Fund to effectively implement its mandate. The time has come for Nigeria's political class and leadership to show more than just a passing interest in the matters concerning the environment. They must include pertinent issues of the environment and afforestation to create awareness and early orientation about the significance of the environment to lives and sustainable development, as part of their campaign manifestoes. This will indicate
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