SEO Riders:
– Traditional knowledge in agroforestry, wetland restoration seen as critical for carbon sequestration.
– Experts urge integration of Indigenous practices into national climate policy and finance.
– NG govt prioritizes mangrove and forest NBS, anchored in Climate Change Act and NDC commitments.
Experts are urging Nigeria to harness indigenous knowledge and nature-based solutions as core to its emission reduction strategy under the Climate Change Act 2021. Practices like agroforestry, wetland restoration, and traditional fire management—informed by Indigenous communities’ deep ecological understanding—offer proven pathways to sequester carbon, enhance resilience, and safeguard biodiversity. Community-based land management techniques, such as mangrove conservation and circular agroforestry, are estimated to contribute significantly to Nigeria’s NDC targets and help meet goals of restoring carbon sinks under the national carbon budget framework.
To institutionalize these traditional approaches, policymakers recommend embedding Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for Indigenous communities, expanding direct climate finance access, and incorporating such practices into national adaptation and mitigation programs . Nigeria’s National Council on Climate Change is already championing Mangrove Breakthrough Initiatives, technical assessments, and stakeholder townhalls designed to unlock climate funding tied to Indigenous-led conservation. Proponents argue that without scaling these culturally rooted solutions, Nigeria risks lagging in its carbon budget delivery and green transition ambitions
