Prior to the entry into force of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, certain national and state laws, regulations and institutions relating directly or indirectly to desertification control were already in place in Nigeria. These laws include the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) Decree, the National Parks Decree 101 of 1991, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Decree 86 of 1992, the Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic in Fauna and Flora) Decree of 1985, the Land Use Decree of 1978 and the National Water Resources Decree of 1993. Some of the institutions responsible for implementing these laws and regulations are policy-making bodies while others are involved in implementation of government policies and projects to prevent and mitigate desertification. The now defunct Federal Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1988 and charged with responsibility for environmental protection, biodiversity and natural resources conservation, including policy matters relating to desertification control. The Agency was the National Focal Point for the CCD in Nigeria.
In 1999, as part of the measure to strengthen the primary national institutions with responsibility for the environment, the new democratically elected civilian government created the Federal Ministry of Environment with the defunct FEPA as the nucleus of the new Ministry. The Federal Ministry of Environment has a range of technical departments, including: Department of Forestry; Department of Soil Erosion, Flood Control and Coastal Zone Management; Department of Environmental Assessment; Department of Pollution Control and Environmental Health; and Department of Environmental Conservation.
Other institutions relevant to desertification control include the following: Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Federal Ministry of Water Resources; Centre for Arid Zone Studies, University of Maiduguri; and Centre for Energy Research, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto.
Responsibility for the desertification-related matters is also held below the national level in the individual states of Nigeria. The primary institution that is charged with responsibility for desertification control at the state level is either the Ministry of Environment or Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, depending on the state. Other institutions relevant to desertification control include the state Environmental Protection Agencies (SEPAs) charged with the responsibility of protection of the environment and biodiversity conservation in the various states. The state Environmental Protection Agencies and the state Ministries of Environment or Agriculture and Natural Resources in the eleven frontline states prone to desertification are members of the National Coordinating Committee on Desertification Control (NCCDC), which provides leverage for effective national coordination of the activities of these various institutions.
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