What Policy Options can Promote
Climate Change Awareness andAdaptation in Niger Delta Regionof Nigeria?
African Technology Policy Studies Network

TECHNOPOLICY BRIEF | No. 28
Thaddeus Chidi Nzeadibe
Chukwudumebi L. Egbule
Nnaemeka A. Chukwuone
Victoria Chinwe Agu

What Policy Options Can Promote Climate
Change Awareness and Adaptation in Niger
Delta Region of Nigeria?

Thaddeus Chidi Nzeadibe
University of Nigeria Nsukka,
Enugu State, Nigeria

Nnaemeka A. Chukwuone
University of Nigeria Nsukka,
Enugu State, Nigeria

Chukwudumebi L. Egbule
University of Nigeria, Nsukka,Enugu State, Nigeria

Victoria Chinwe Agu
National Fadama Coordination Office
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and WaterResources, Abuja., Nigeria

The African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is a multidisciplinary network of researchers, private sector actors andpolicy makers promoting the generation, dissemination, use andmastery of science, technology and innovation (ST&I) for African
development, environmental sustainability and global inclusion.
ATPS intends to achieve its mandate through research, capacity
building and training, science communication/dissemination andsensitization, participatory multi-stakeholder dialogue,knowledge brokerage, and policy advocacy.
Published by the African Technology Policy Studies Network
P O Box 10081, 00100 GPO Nairobi Kenya
2011

Published by the African Technology Policy Studies Network

ISBN: 978-9966-030-07-8

Table of Contents
Acknowledgement

4

Introduction

5

What policy gaps constrain climate change
awareness and adaptation in the Niger Delta?

5

How much knowledge do Niger Delta farmers
have about climate change and its impacts?

6

What are the sources of climate climate-change
information and how important are they to thefarming communities?

6

What gaps exist in initiatives to promote climatechange awareness and build adaptive capacitiesof farming communities?

6

Scoping the gaps for policy and advocacy

7

Conclusions and Policy Recommendations

7

What Policy Options can Promote Climate Change Awareness and Adaptation in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria? | 3

Acknowledgement
This policy brief was produced as part of the implementation of the African
Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) Phase VI Strategic Plan, 2008 – 2012
funded by ATPS Donors including the Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken (DGIS)
the Netherlands, Rockefeller Foundation, amongst others. The authors hereby
thank the ATPS for the financial and technical support during the implementationof the program. The Authors particularly thank the ATPS Climate Sense Program
Director, Dr. Kevin Urama (ATPS); and the Program Coordinators including Prof.
Francis Mutua (ATPS Kenya); Dr. George Essegbey (ATPS Ghana), Prof. Eric
Eboh (ATPS Nigeria), Dr. Nicholas Ozor (ATPS), and Ms. Wairimu Mwangi (ATPS)
for their technical support during the research process.

4 | What Policy Options can Promote Climate Change Awareness and Adaptation in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria?

Introduction
The Niger Delta region of Nigeria is known to be especially vulnerable to climatechange impacts because of its fragile ecosystem and human activities such asgas flaring that have heightened the propensity of climate change and its impacts
in the region.
The agricultural sector in the region could be gravely endangered if nothing isdone to adapt to the climate change phenomenon. However, in seeking to evolve
innovative adaptive measures to climate change, it may be pertinent to ask thefollowing policy research questions:> What policy gaps constrain climate change awareness and adaptation in theNiger Delta?
> How much knowledge do Niger Delta farmers have about climate change
and its impacts?
> What are the sources of climate climate-change related information and how
important are they to farming communities?
> What gaps exist in initiatives to promote climate change awareness and build
adaptive capacities of farming communities?
Arguably, there is an urgent need to formulate and implement policies to raise
more awareness about climate change and its impacts. In addition, making
information on climate change adaptation more widely available and more easily
accessible to farmers in the Niger Delta region appears imperative and cannot be
over-emphasized.

What policy gaps constrain climate change
awareness and adaptation in the Niger Delta?
The main policy gaps that currently constrain climate change awareness andadaptation in the Niger Delta include lack of policy on climate change in Nigeria,
tardiness in the enforcement of regulations aimed at halting anthropogenic
activities that exacerbate climate change, absence of a statutory body charged
with coordination of climate change information or promoting adaptation
measures in Nigeria, weak or non-existent linkages of existing structures withareas most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as the Niger Deltaregion, lack of a comprehensive adaptation framework for climate change at
What Policy Options can Promote Climate Change Awareness and Adaptation in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria? | 5

National, Regional, State or local levels and limited capacity of universities forclimate change research and advocacy.

How much knowledge do Niger Delta farmers haveabout climate change and its impacts?
Current research indicates that although there is a high level of awareness ofclimate change in the region, knowledge of Niger Delta farmers on the adverseeffects of the changing climate leaves much to be desired. In fact, as much as
60% of farmers know little or nothing about climate change and its impacts.
Knowledge of climate change impacts is related to availability and accessibility of
information on the phenomenon.

What are the sources of climate climate-change
information and how important are they to the farming
communities?
The mass media, though the main sources of climate change information to thefarmers, has not lived up to its responsibility of informing and educating thecitizens on climate change issues. The power of CBOs such as the well-attendedWomen's August Meetings in Igbo-speaking areas of the Niger Delta and theinfluential faith-based organizations has yet to be harnessed to spread the news
on climate change.

What gaps exist in initiatives to promote climatechange awareness and build adaptive capacities offarming communities?
Climate change awareness and adaptation campaigns and advocacy
enterprises by NGOs and civil society groups in the region have not targeted andinvolved farmers. Initiatives to build capacity of farmers in Niger Delta for resilient
adaptation to climate change are currently lacking. There seems to be little
awareness of the existence and work of Climate Change Committees in theNational Assembly.

6 | What Policy Options can Promote Climate Change Awareness and Adaptation in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria?

Scoping the gaps for policy and advocacy
In the light of the above, it becomes imperative to:> Formulate a comprehensive climate change policy at national, state and local
levels will be a necessary first step towards dealing with the challenge ofclimate change in Nigeria.
> Harness the mass media in influencing attitudes and behavior. Programmes
dedicated to climate change should be aired regularly on radio and television
stations preferably in local languages. Awareness programmes which
illustrate the impact of climate change, through jingles on television, radioand drama would be apposite.
> Note that as of August 2010, Nigeria has a tele-density of 58.52 withmobile GSM having 74,074,793 active lines (Data from:http://www.ncc.gov.ng/subscriberdata.htm; accessed 01:11:10).This implies
that mobile telephony is accessible to at least half of Nigeria's population.
Telecommunication operators in Nigeria could as part of their corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) send short messages (SMS) on climate change totheir clients from time to time effective way of bringing climate change
information to Nigerian farmers.
> Mainstream climate change into Nigeria's development goals namely the 7point Agenda and Vision 20:2020 will make socioeconomic and politicalsense because a clear link has been established between global poverty andclimate change.
> Strengthen existing institutions to undertake research and policy advocacy
into challenges of climate change and adaptation measures.
> Strengthen the capacity of implementing agencies through training andretraining of personnel.

Conclusions and Policy Recommendations
Cognizant of the need to increase the level of awareness of the climate change
phenomenon and to build the capacities of farming communities in the Niger
Delta for resilient adaptation, the following policy recommendations are made:> Immediate establishment of a statutory body to be named National Climate
Change Commission of Nigeria to coordinate policy and programmes on
climate change adaptation at the national level. Similar bodies at the state andlocal levels are also recommended.
What Policy Options can Promote Climate Change Awareness and Adaptation in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria? | 7

> Immediate convocation of a national conference to formulate climate change
policy in Nigeria. To get maximum political support for this, it is recommended
that this policy conference be organized under the auspices of the Presidency.
> Improved funding for postgraduate training and research in universities
already running programmes in climate change and related subjects.
> Harnessing the power of the media, faith-based organizations, CBOs increating more awareness and enlivening the climate change debate.
> Regular and frank engagement of National Assembly Committees on Climatechange with the Nigerian public in Town Hall Meetings and communication ofactivities of the Committees in Nigerian languages. This will go a long way inimproving public perception and awareness> Telecoms operators should be encouraged as part of their corporate social
responsibility (CSR) to send SMS regularly to their clients on climate change
and adaptation measures for climate change.

8 | What Policy Options can Promote Climate Change Awareness and Adaptation in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria?

The African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is a multidisciplinary network of researchers, private sector actors andpolicy makers promoting the generation, dissemination, use andmastery of science, technology and innovation (ST&I) for African
development, environmental sustainability and global inclusion.
ATPS intends to achieve its mandate through research, capacity
building and training, science communication/dissemination andsensitization, participatory multi-stakeholder dialogue,knowledge brokerage, and policy advocacy.

African Technology
Policy Studies Network
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ISBN: 978-9966-030-07-8