In this interview, Etim William, Director of the Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought Management Department of the Federal Ministry of Environment, talks about what is damaging Nigeria’s rangelands. He explains how desertification, land damage, and drought are making conflicts between farmers and herders worse and threatening food security in important agricultural areas.
What Does Your Department Do?
Mr William: Our department is called Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought Management. Our job is to fight desertification, fix damaged lands, and manage drought. These are our main responsibilities.
PT: In honor of World Desertification and Drought Day, what does the ministry want to achieve? What is the goal of the event?
Mr William: Desertification, drought, and land damage are global problems. Almost every country faces some sort of land damage. Desertification and drought also impact many nations. That is why the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was set up to tackle these issues.
Every year, this convention marks the fight against desertification and drought on June 17. The event aims to raise awareness about how drought, land damage, and desertification affect people, animals, and the environment. Life on land relies on the health of the land. We get food and natural resources from the land. Healthy land supports forests, plants, animals, and genetic resources. When the land is damaged, we lose biodiversity and species, both plants and animals. We also lose ecosystems and genetic resources. Food production will drop because we don’t farm in the air; we farm on land. This leads to food insecurity, hunger, and poverty. It can force people to migrate in search of better land, which creates competition for land and can lead to conflicts, including farmer-herder clashes.
This happens because there are not enough rangelands left; many have been damaged. Rangelands are often ignored when it comes to sustainable management. If we properly manage the rangelands, herders would be less likely to drive their herds through farms.
Do We Have Rangelands in Nigeria?
Mr William: Yes, we have rangelands.
PT: How many rangelands are there in Nigeria?
Mr William: I don’t know the exact number. The Ministry of Livestock Development may have assessed our rangelands, but I cannot tell you the exact figure.
PT: What are rangelands?
Mr William: They are basically grasslands and shrublands. We have grasslands all over the savanna, including the Guinea and Sudan Savannas.
PT: When you say some of these rangelands are damaged, what do you mean?
Mr William: They are overused. Sometimes people burn them. Many are turned into croplands, and fire is often used in clearing, which adds to land degradation. Some are also converted for urban development and other uses.
PT: Are there official rangelands in Nigeria?
Mr William: I think we have a few official ones, but I cannot provide details, as we do not directly manage rangelands. That is the job of the Ministry of Livestock Development. Our focus is on degraded lands and ecosystems under the UNCCD, which Nigeria has signed.
PT: What is Nigeria’s commitment to the UNCCD as a member?
Mr William: One of our commitments is land degradation neutrality. The convention focuses on restoring damaged lands, fighting desertification, and managing drought. All these issues are linked to land. The UNCCD is the only convention that treats land as a key factor in economic growth. That is why we need to restore damaged land.
PT: Does Nigeria have specific targets under the convention?
Mr William: Yes, we have a land degradation neutrality target.
Land degradation neutrality is a program created by the UNCCD to tackle land damage and reach neutrality, as set in Sustainable Development Goal 15.3.1. The target is to achieve land degradation neutrality.
PT: What does land degradation neutrality mean?
Mr William: Land degradation neutrality means there is no net land damage. It is about keeping land cover, productivity, and soil quality in good condition. We should not lose fertility, productivity, or quality of the land.
PT: You mentioned that some rangelands are damaged. Nigeria used to have grazing routes. How is your department helping to address degradation along these routes? Are there any successes you want to share?
Mr William: Most of these rangelands are in dry areas. This is where we focus, especially in places hit by desertification and drought. Most rangelands are affected by desertification, drought, and climate change. Our job to restore damaged lands, fight desertification, and manage drought includes these areas. So when we restore damaged lands, we also restore rangelands. That is how we help.
How Do You Restore These Lands?
Mr William: First, we assess the situation. We work with the states where the rangelands and drought-affected areas are found. We have what we call desertification frontline states. These are states heavily impacted by desertification. There are 11 frontline states where desertification is serious, including Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Adamawa, and Taraba, among others.
PT: What activities do you have in these states?
Mr William: Restoration. Restoration means planting trees, managing the land sustainably, and providing water systems in drought-affected areas. We have a technique for underground water storage. We set up systems that collect rainwater during the rainy season and store it underground for use during the dry season. We also plant trees using local varieties that can survive drought and low rainfall. These are some of the things we do. We restore damaged landscapes and provide water sources, including underground water systems. We also drill boreholes, including solar-powered ones. These efforts help lessen the effects of desertification and drought while restoring damaged landscapes.
PT: What challenges do you face while doing this work?
Mr William: The challenges are huge. One of the biggest is insecurity. These areas face banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping, so some places are not safe for us to reach. Sometimes we cannot go to those areas. In areas we can access, we sometimes find people vandalizing the projects after we set up plantations. They steal solar pumps and panels and damage the fences. We usually protect our plantations with wire fencing, but some people let cattle into the project sites, eating the seedlings. These are some of the challenges we face.
Another challenge is funding. The government has many issues to deal with, and many sectors need support. What we receive is very little, so we manage with the limited funds we have.
PT: How has working with international partners like the UNCCD and GIZ helped your work?
Mr William: Partnership has really boosted our activities. Sometimes, the UNCCD gives us funds for specific projects. For example, to assess the extent of desertification and land damage, we need data. The UNCCD helps us gather reliable data. The UNCCD also helped us set our target. The first phase of the target-setting process was supported by the UNCCD, during which we aimed to restore about 10 million hectares of damaged land. The second phase raised the target from 10 million hectares to about 19 million hectares.
The UNCCD has supported all these efforts. We also have other partners like the World Bank-supported Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project. This project addresses damaged landscapes in semi-arid areas, builds resilience against climate change, and promotes climate-smart farming. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) also supports us through a project called Action Against Desertification in the northern part of the country. With this project, about 5,000 hectares of damaged land were restored. These supports have greatly helped us fulfill some of our responsibilities.
Even today’s program, which marks World Desertification and Drought Day, was backed by partners like GIZ. We also got help from the Nigerian Bottling Company. These are some of the partnerships and support the ministry has received, which have improved our work.
PT: Looking ahead to the Conference of the Parties (COP), what is Nigeria aiming for? Is there a specific agenda?
Mr Williams: Nigeria will advocate for drought management at the COP.
Nigeria and other African countries want to push for a legally binding agreement on drought management. This is an African stance, and Nigeria supports it.
We want to establish a legally binding agreement for drought management, basically a drought protocol. This is one area Nigeria will focus on at the COP. Other areas include finance. We need to ask for more financial support to meet our national needs and fund our National Adaptation Plan. We also need support and partners to help us achieve land degradation neutrality.
These are some of the issues we will highlight.
PT: You mentioned finance. How much funding does Nigeria need over the next five or 10 years to boost efforts against land degradation and desertification?
Mr Williams: The amount isn't fixed because circumstances change. With inflation, something you can do with ₦10 today may cost ₦20 tomorrow.
The truth is that restoration needs a huge investment that no country can manage alone. We need support. We need to partner with international organizations for help.
PT: At the COP, will Nigeria negotiate as part of the African group?
Mr William: Yes. We have the African Group of Negotiators. Whatever the African position is, Nigeria supports it. We will not negotiate outside the African group's position.
PT: You mentioned that about 50 percent of our rangelands are damaged. How serious is the situation?
Mr William: It is very serious. If you listened to the Honourable Minister’s keynote address, it was said that about 50 percent of our rangelands are damaged.
PT: What do you think is causing the damage to rangelands in Nigeria?
Mr William: There are many reasons. Climate change is one. Others are unsustainable practices, overgrazing, deforestation, bush burning, competition for land, and overpopulation. Poverty also plays a role. Land-use changes, like turning rangelands into croplands or for infrastructure, add to the problem. Illegal mining is another contributing factor. There are many reasons.
PT: What changes would you like to see, especially going into the COP, in these badly affected rangeland areas?
Mr William: Just like this year’s World Desertification and Drought Day theme says, “Rangelands: Recognise, Respect, Restore,” we want more action. We want people to stop degrading rangelands. We want everyone to appreciate the value of rangelands because this issue has not received enough attention.
Through today’s event, we are trying to create awareness about the value and importance of conserving our rangelands. It is not just about talking; we want action. We want people to change their attitudes. The government alone cannot do it. We want everyone involved, including pastoralists, communities, NGOs, private organizations, international groups, and donor organizations. We want all of them to partner with the government to tackle the damage to rangelands. If we achieve this goal, our food security will improve, farmer-herder conflicts will lessen, biodiversity will recover, and we will better handle climate change impacts.
Let me give you an example. The Northeast Trade Winds from the Sahara carry dust. We experience this during harmattan, which is linked to damaged landscapes, rangelands, and forests. If our landscapes were well-protected with vegetation and trees, the effects of climate events like harmattan would be reduced. If we have enough resilience, the impacts of climate change would be lowered. These are the issues.
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