President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to global financial institutions to support the One Planet Summit initiative and activate their $19 billion pledge.
The appeal is coming as eleven African countries, Nigeria inclusive, struggle to overcome economic crises, caused by the siltation of Lake Chad.
Speaking at a side event he convened at the ongoing UN conference of parties, COP15, in his capacity as the president of the Conference of Heads of State and Governments of the member states of the Pan African Great Green Wall Agency (PAGGW), Buhari said “the inter-basin transfer of water from Central Africa to the Lake Chad should be taken seriously,”
He also asked the secretariat of the agency, funders and the soon-to-be appointed consultant to carry out the measure as a way of restoring the socio-economy of the more than 30 million people of the Lake Chad basin area.
The funds if made available will be utilised for land restoration, tree planting, development of climate resilience infrastructure, and investments in small and medium-sized farms.
President Buhari also underscored the importance of recharging Lake Chad, now down to 10 percent of its water volume, as eleven Sahel African states discuss ways and means of accessing and utilising $19 billion pledged by donors for the activities of the PAGGW.
The president informed the meeting that “the drying up of the Lake Chad had destroyed fish farming, animal husbandry and crop agriculture leading to social and economic dislocation with serious consequences for peace in the basin area. This has led to migration to Europe by many, creating problems for you over there. These should engage your attention as a committee.”
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At the select meeting, which included international/development partners, Buhari said the pledged $19 billion fund will also support smallholder farmers, create an institutional framework to enhance security, stability, governance, and capacity building.
“All of you may wish to know that, in December 2021, I was elected to lead and drive the agenda of the PAGGW bloc for the next two years.
“This bloc, which includes Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, Sudan, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Mali, Eritrea, Djibouti, Burkina Faso and Chad is facing dire and present danger due to the devastating effect of desertification and drought which is impacting negatively on the security of our communities and the livelihood of our people. There is, therefore, an urgent need to confront these challenges associated with desert encroachment and drought,’’ he said.
Buhari requested more support for The One Planet summit initiative, and the political will to actualise the mandate.
“It is on this note that on behalf of member states, I welcome The One Planet summit initiative that pledges $19 billion to support the activities of the PAGGW which necessitated this very important engagement with you this morning.
“The purpose of this meeting, therefore, is to draw your attention to this pledge and to inform you formally, that member states want to trigger the process for accessing the funding by utilising the GGW accelerator window mainly to address the following: Land restoration & tree planting, investment in small and medium-sized farms/support to smallholder farmers, develop climate resilience infrastructure, an institutional framework to enhance security, stability and governance, and capacity building.
“I, therefore, call on you, especially the World Bank, African Development Bank and the One Planet Summit initiative to support this drive,’’ he said.
The president also called on the multilateral institutions to set up a task team to work with PAGGW.
“I will further request the partners, particularly the United Nations Conference to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and One Planet summit to advise on a suitable Financial Consultant for the PAGGW that can coordinate the process under the auspices of the UNCCD and PAGGW in a transparent manner.
In her remarks, Amina Mohammed, the deputy secretary-general, who represented the United Nations described the meeting as “a new era in the Great Green Wall programme,” and demanded from the agency, the 11 African nations involved as well as the group of donors under One Planet summit to move proactively “with scale and urgency” to set up a governance structure and focus on land restoration.
This was Buhari’s first assignment at the PAGGW conference of heads of state and government following his election to head the institution in December last year.
