Toward Climate-Resilient Development in Nigeria (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780821399231)

"If not addressed in time, climate change is expected to exacerbate Nigeria's current vulnerability to weather swings and limit its ability to achieve and sustain the objectives of Vision 20:2020 [as defined in http: //www.npc.gov.ng /home/doc.aspx?mCatID=68253]. The likely impacts include: - A long-term reduction in crop yields of 20-30 percent - Declining productivity of livestock, with adverse consequences on livelihoods - Increase in food imports (up to 40 percent for rice long term) - Worsening prospects for food security, particularly in the north and the southwest - A long-term decline in GDP of up to 4.5 percent The impacts may be worse if the economy diversifies away from agriculture more slowly than Vision 20:2020 anticipates, or if there is too little irrigation to counter the effects of rising temperatures on rain-fed yields. Equally important, investment decisions made on the basis of historical climate may be wrong: projects ignoring climate change might be either under- or over-designed, with losses (in terms of excess capital costs or foregone revenues) of 20-40 percent of initial capital in the case of irrigation or hydropower. Fortunately, there is a range of technological and management options that make sense, both to better handle current climate variability and to build resilience against a harsher climate: - By 2020 sustainable land management practices applied to 1 million hectares can offset most of the expected shorter-term yield decline; gradual extension of these practices to 50 percent of cropland, possibly combined with extra irrigation, can also counter-balance longer-term climate change impacts. - Climate-smart planning and design of irrigation and hydropower can more than halve the risks and related costs of making the wrong investment decision. The Federal Government could consider 10 short-term priority responses to build resilience to both current climate variability and future change through actions to improve climate governance across sectors, research and extension in agriculture, hydro-meteorological systems; integration of climate factors into the design of irrigation and hydropower projects, and mainstreaming climate concerns into priority programs, such as the Agriculture Transformation Agenda."

Author: Raffaello Cervigni
ISBN-10: 0821399233
ISBN-13: 9780821399231
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Language: English
Published: 06/28/2013
Pages: 212
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.84lbs
Size: 10.00h x 7.00w x 0.45d