Nigeria Backs IOM's Climate Migration Initiative

The Nigerian government, through Mr. Balarab Lawal, the Minister of Environment, has committed to supporting the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in its initiative to address climate-induced migration in West Central Africa. This pledge was made at a recent regional conference in Lagos, where Lawal emphasized the need to bridge the gap between climate policy and financing.

The conference's theme focused on migration and climate action, highlighting the urgent need for investments to combat worsening environmental challenges such as desertification, coastal erosion, and flooding. Lawal noted that climate-related impacts disrupt livelihoods, forcing people to migrate and become displaced.

He referenced Nigeria's national adaptation plan, which provides a long-term framework for climate resilience, prioritizing agriculture, water management, disaster risk reduction, and urban resilience. Ms. Sylvia Ekra, the IOM Regional Director for West Central Africa, stated that climate change is already reshaping livelihoods and migration patterns, with two million people displaced by disasters and an estimated 32 million expected to be forced to move internally by 2050 without effective climate action.

Massimo De Luca, head of the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, reaffirmed the EU's commitment to supporting IOM's activities related to climate migration.