Climate Change Adaptation in Nigeria: Strategies, Initiatives, and Practices

Nigeria is highly vulnerable to climate change, facing risks from drought, flooding, and sea level rise that threaten food security and economic stability. While the government has established frameworks like the National Adaptation Plan, implementation at the local level is limited by poor funding, lack of skilled personnel, and a reliance on international finance. The paper advocates for Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) to ensure climate actions are inclusive and aligned with community needs.

• Nigeria is ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries globally, specifically placed 7th by Verisk Maplecroft in 2016 and 161 out of 182 by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) in 2021.
• Climate impacts in Nigeria manifest as droughts and desertification in the north, and flooding and sea level rise in the central and southern regions, leading to food insecurity, forced displacement, and conflict between nomadic herders and farmers.
• The Nigerian economy faces significant financial risk from climate change, with econometric estimates suggesting potential losses between USD 100 billion and USD 460 billion by 2050 if adaptation is inadequate.
• Despite having a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) framework and other policies like the 2021 Climate Change Act, there is a gap in implementation at the community level, with sub-national governments often lacking the funding and skilled personnel to align local actions with national plans.
• Nigeria relies heavily on external funding for climate action, with foreign loans, aid, and grants financing more than 50% of adaptation and mitigation activities, primarily through multilateral financial institutions like the World Bank and AfDB.
• The paper proposes Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) as a sustainable solution to bridge the gap between national policy and local needs, noting that efficient adaptation can provide returns of up to six dollars for every dollar invested.

APA

Chukwueloka, & Okereke, C. (2022). Climate Change Adaptation in Nigeria: Strategies, Initiatives, and Practices. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/climate-change-adaptation-in-nigeria-strategies-initiatives-and-practices

Chicago

Chukwueloka, and Chukwumerije Okereke. Climate Change Adaptation in Nigeria: Strategies, Initiatives, and Practices. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2022. https://afripoli.org/climate-change-adaptation-in-nigeria-strategies-initiatives-and-practices.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chukwueloka |last2=Okereke |first2=Chukwumerije |title=Climate Change Adaptation in Nigeria: Strategies, Initiatives, and Practices |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=10 October 2022 |url=https://afripoli.org/climate-change-adaptation-in-nigeria-strategies-initiatives-and-practices |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chukwueloka2022climate, author = {Chukwueloka and Okereke, Chukwumerije}, title = {{Climate Change Adaptation in Nigeria: Strategies, Initiatives, and Practices}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://afripoli.org/climate-change-adaptation-in-nigeria-strategies-initiatives-and-practices}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }