As the world is groping with the gigantic challenge of climate change, while its impact keeps ravaging the people and land, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) is set to launch the Nigeria Climate Justice Alliance (NCJA) in Abuja on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th July 2023.
NCF is the foremost environmental NGO dedicated to nature conservation and biodiversity resources management for over 40years, while NCJA is a coalition of vibrant civil society organisations with track records of climate actions across the country with proven potentials to accelerate climate justice issues.
A statement by NCF explained that the NCJA will be inaugurated in Abuja towards strengthening civil society voices in tracking, monitoring, and supporting sub-national and national governments in the delivery of climate actions and plans.
The Alliance, which will be the first indigenous coalition on climate justice in Nigeria, will empower civil society members to lead community-driven climate and nature-based solution projects across the country. It will also establish a strong voice on climate justice bringing together over 50 civil society organisations to chart a pathway for climate justice in the next five years.
A Zero Draft of the NCJA Strategy and Plan (2023-2027) will be presented and reviewed among the founding members creating opportunity for consultation and providing input that will make it a robust strategy.
NCF’s Director General, Dr. Joseph Onoja said: “We are not called the foremost nature conservation NGO just for the title, we mean business. Conservation in Nigeria is what we breathe, hence the need to be innovative, adventurous, smart and pacesetting. This is one of our ways to deal with the issue of climate change, creating a vibrant platform, and bringing everyone on board for the betterment of people and nature”.
NCF said that the two-day workshop would also be used to highlight major climate change challenges that need drastic and urgent practicable solutions that will set a new agenda in the discourse of mitigation in Nigeria.
In the past decades, NCF activities have directly and indirectly influenced better performance in building carbon footprints and its associated biodiversity. Sustainable resource use improved agricultural practices, and improved energy use for household and economy are among the areas NCF have been exploring in tackling climate change.
As part of her new strategy, NCF will go beyond advocacy and indirect contribution to taking lead in developing best practices to convert climate change issues to opportunities for nature conservation, efficiency in household energy use, waste management and collaboration with others for positive policy actions.
