Climate Action Strategies, Practices and Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities for Locally-led Adaptation in Nigeria

The document evaluates Nigeria's climate adaptation landscape, contrasting high-level national policy frameworks with iterative, indigenous practices at the local level. While Nigeria has established ambitious frameworks like the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), implementation is hindered by a 'top-down approach' that excludes local stakeholders, alongside gaps in finance, technology, and capacity. Case studies in Ogun, Lagos, and Anambra states demonstrate that local communities are already implementing Nature-based Solutions (NbSs) and traditional adaptation methods—such as biogas production from cassava waste and the use of bitter leaf juice in aquaculture—that align with national goals despite a lack of formal policy awareness. The authors argue that integrating these locally-led initiatives into national frameworks is essential to prevent climate impacts from increasing GDP losses from 5% to 30% by 2050.

• Nigeria's national climate policy landscape includes several ambitious frameworks, such as the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Framework, and the Nigeria Climate Change Act (CCA) 2021, aimed at promoting "low-carbon, climate-resilient and gender-responsive sustainable socio-economic development."
• Despite the existence of various Adaptation Policy Frameworks (APFs), the NDC is noted to lack a "critical adaptation focus."
• Local communities in Nigeria employ indigenous and traditional knowledge to adapt to climate change in ways that align with national policies, even when the communities have "limited knowledge of national and regional policies."
• In Owode, Ogun State, women farmers are implementing Nature-based Solutions (NbSs) by converting organic agricultural residues from cassava processing and livestock into biogas to reduce "overdependence on energy from forest biomass."
• Fish farmers in Abesan and Shagari Estates, Lagos State, use specific adaptation strategies to combat groundwater acidity and fish mortality, including the use of "bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) juice as a natural antibiotic."
• Smallholder farmers in Abatete Town, Anambra State, utilize Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and NbSs to manage gully erosion and flooding, such as planting "erosion-resistant trees on sloping terraces" and using "periwinkle and palm kernel shells for erosion control."
• The implementation of Nigeria's adaptation frameworks is obstructed by a "top-down approach" that excludes women, persons with disabilities, CSOs, indigenous people, and local governments from decision-making.
• Nigeria currently loses approximately 5% of its GDP to climate impacts, a figure that could potentially increase to 30% by 2050 without urgent adaptation measures.

APA

Okeke, C. U., Butu, H. M., & Okereke, C. (2023). Climate Action Strategies, Practices and Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities for Locally-led Adaptation in Nigeria. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/climate-action-strategies-practices-and-initiatives-challenges-and-opportunities-for-locally-led-adaptation-in-nigeria

Chicago

Okeke, Chukwueloka Udechukwu, Hemen Mark Butu, and Chukwumerije Okereke. Climate Action Strategies, Practices and Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities for Locally-led Adaptation in Nigeria. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2023. https://afripoli.org/climate-action-strategies-practices-and-initiatives-challenges-and-opportunities-for-locally-led-adaptation-in-nigeria.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Okeke |first1=Chukwueloka Udechukwu |last2=Butu |first2=Hemen Mark |last3=Okereke |first3=Chukwumerije |title=Climate Action Strategies, Practices and Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities for Locally-led Adaptation in Nigeria |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=15 March 2023 |url=https://afripoli.org/climate-action-strategies-practices-and-initiatives-challenges-and-opportunities-for-locally-led-adaptation-in-nigeria |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{okeke2023climate, author = {Okeke, Chukwueloka Udechukwu and Butu, Hemen Mark and Okereke, Chukwumerije}, title = {{Climate Action Strategies, Practices and Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities for Locally-led Adaptation in Nigeria}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://afripoli.org/climate-action-strategies-practices-and-initiatives-challenges-and-opportunities-for-locally-led-adaptation-in-nigeria}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }