Kaduna Climate Stakeholders Seek Joint Action On Environmental Challenges

Civil society organisations (CSOs) working on climate-related issues in Kaduna State have called for stronger collaboration with the government to tackle environmental challenges confronting the state and develop a common agenda ahead of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31).

The stakeholders made the call yesterday during the Kaduna State Climate Parley: “Harmonising Interventions and Financing for COP31,” which brought together CSOs across the state to review ongoing climate-related interventions and identify gaps requiring collective action.

At the parley, one of the co-chairs of the Civil Society (CS) Group on Climate Governance under the Kaduna State Climate Accountability Mechanism, Musa Suleiman, said the meeting aimed to harmonise climate-related interventions in the State and develop a united position ahead of COP31.

Suleiman, who also works with Follow Taxes, Transparency and Accountability in Totality, Popularity and Uniformity, said the stakeholders planned to develop a policy document or communique that would capture the local realities in Kaduna, identify feasible solutions and present them at COP31.

Suleiman stressed the need for civil society organisations and the government to jointly develop strategies to address Kaduna’s peculiar climate challenges, noting that political commitment and government will were required to ensure effective implementation.

Also speaking, the Programme Officer, Bridge That Gap, Hope for Africa Initiative, Zinta Istifanus, said the parley provided an opportunity for civil society organisations across Kaduna to review their climate-related activities and identify ways of improving their interventions while supporting the government in tackling climate change.

Istifanus identified deforestation, poor waste management, flooding, erosion and loss of viable farmland as some of the environmental challenges confronting the state.

He expressed concern over the rate of deforestation in Kaduna, saying trees were being felled faster than they were being replaced through tree planting.

He added that poor drainage systems had contributed to flooding and erosion across the state, resulting in the loss of viable farmland and creating further implications for communities and public health.

Istifanus also raised concerns about contaminated water and polluted air, among other environmental issues affecting residents’ health and well-being.

He, however, said addressing the challenges required collective action, stressing that no single organisation could provide the solution alone.

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nest Africa AI Innovation Lab, Yazid Mikail Salahudeen, said the parley provided an opportunity for stakeholders at the subnational level to synergise their activities and approach COP31 with a common agenda.

According to him, a consolidated agenda would enable stakeholders to engage meaningfully at COP31 and align their projects with existing climate finance commitments. He explained that stakeholders needed to agree on their demands on climate adaptation, mitigation and financing, particularly frameworks that would decentralise climate finance and make it more accessible to communities implementing climate-related projects.