Harnessing benefits for climate change mitigation through irrigation-free indigenous tree restoration: sharing knowledge and building capacity. BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES MANUAL Version for institutional stakeholders
Creators: name: Favretto, Nicola
name: Dallimer, Martin
name: Stringer, Lindsay C
name: Ado, Saminu
name: Yakubu, Ibrahim Baba
name: Jibrin, Jibrin M.
name: Barau, Aliyu
Publisher: name: Bayero University, Kano & University of Leeds
Year: 2021

description: Northern Nigeria is subject to land degradation, driven by climate change and unsustainable land use practices. Poverty in the region is high, with land degradation exacerbated by migration, conflict and low recognition of the rights of women. Indeed, women are disproportionately impacted by poverty and land degradation partly because they are largely engaged in unskilled, labour-intensive agricultural work, lack access to finance, training and decision-making. The Nigerian government prioritises uptake of farmer managed natural regeneration of vegetation and irrigation-free indigenous tree restoration to mitigate climate change and deliver livelihood and poverty reduction benefits to smallholder farming communities.

To inform indigenous tree restoration, this training manual collates best practice guidelines covering the most appropriate approaches to irrigation-free indigenous tree species regeneration across northern Nigeria. It draws on desk-based literature review of material from peer-reviewed literature, alongside reports and experiences from northern Nigeria. The manual was developed during two co-creation workshops held in Kano and Jigawa states in August 2021. Workshops were attended by different stakeholder groups including smallholder farmer and women’s associations, traditional leaders, herbalists, extension workers and policy-makers. The manual was finalised after an expert review workshop held in September 2021, in which the manual’s guidelines were reviewed and further validated across stakeholder groups.

Two versions of this manual were produced. This version targets the institutional stakeholders, including donors and international organisations, policy and decision makers, NGOs, universities and research organisations. It includes Annexes summarising the costs and benefits of selected tree restoration practices (Annex I) and the financing mechanisms to support implementation and upscaling of selected practices (Annex II). A shorter, practice-oriented version targeting smallholder farmers, women’s groups and extension officers is also available.
description: Project background and funding 

This best practice training manual was produced as part of an international collaboration between Bayero University Kano (BUK), Nigeria, and Universities of Leeds and York, UK. The collaboration, funded by the UK PACT Green Recovery Challenge Fund, aims to develop innovative training to support cost-effective irrigation-free indigenous tree restoration within smallholder farms in northern Nigeria, accelerating emissions reductions. By working with stakeholders at all levels, the collaboration will facilitate Nigeria’s progress towards its Nationally Determined Contributions and the Sustainable Development Goals. The success of achieving international commitments that are linked to land, food production and climate change mitigation, depends on strategies that directly involve local participation. UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) is a £60m flagship programme under the International Climate Finance (ICF) portfolio. It is part of the UK’s £5.8bn commitment to International Climate Finance by 2021 to tackle climate change. The programme is funded by the Department for