Nigeria Reaffirms Commitment To Environmental Governance, Land Restoration

Nigeria has reiterated its strong commitment to advancing global environmental governance, biodiversity conservation, and land restoration in line with the objectives of the Great Green Wall Initiative across the Sahel.

The renewed commitment focuses on tackling climate change, enhancing regional ecosystem partnerships, and expanding implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative to reverse desertification across Nigeria’s northern frontline states.

The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), Saleh Abubakar, announced this during the 8th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Abubakar was part of Nigeria’s delegation to the high-level international gathering led by the Minister of Environment, Mallam Balarabe Abbas Lawal.

According to the NAGGW Director General, the agency’s participation in the global event demonstrates the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to tackling the growing impacts of climate change in Nigeria, especially in the 11 frontline states affected by desertification and environmental degradation.

He also reaffirmed the agency’s dedication to enhancing collaboration with international development partners and stakeholders to garner support for Nigeria’s Great Green Wall Initiative and other environmental restoration programmes.

The NAGGW boss noted that the initiatives aim to combat desertification, restore degraded lands and ecosystems, improve livelihoods, enhance food security, and build resilient communities across affected regions.

Abubakar also called for greater support from international partners to enable the agency to effectively combat desertification in northern Nigeria, restore degraded ecosystems, and enhance local communities’ involvement in environmental sustainability efforts.

The Great Green Wall Initiative remains one of Africa’s leading environmental programmes, focused on restoring degraded landscapes, promoting sustainable livelihoods, and reducing the negative impacts of climate change across the Sahel region.

Essentially, the GEF Assembly, which brought together world leaders, policymakers, environmental experts, development partners, and stakeholders to discuss urgent environmental issues and sustainable development priorities worldwide, is part of the overall effort to ensure a sustainable environment.

The Assembly serves as a strategic platform for advancing international cooperation on climate action, biodiversity conservation, land restoration, sustainable agriculture, and environmental sustainability.

It would be recalled that the 8th Global Environment Facility Assembly took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 30 May to 6 June 2026, coinciding with the 2026 World Environment Day, held every 5 June. It is among the most important environmental governance events of the decade.

Nigeria was prominently represented at the GEF Assembly, which discussed environmental sustainability inseparable from development. Other vital issues, such as climate resilience, support for food security, healthy ecosystems, and protection of water resources, were also discussed.

As experts noted during the Assembly, environmental protection enhances public health and economic opportunities.