GIFSEP Produces Climate Change Risk Register for Adamawa

Daji Sani in Yola

The Executive Director of Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), Mr. David Michael, has said that his organisation has produced a Climate Change Risk Register (CCRR) for Adamawa State.

According to Micheal, the register would aid the state to identify the locations of disasters associated to climate change and provide adequate solutions to mitigate the disasters before it happened, especially flooding that has been identified as the highest risk in the state.

While speaking to journalists shortly after the public presentation and validation of Climate Risk Register and Adaptation Planning  for Adamawa State at Madugu Hotel, Yola, in collaboration with Oxfam, the executive director said that the risk register also help state government in planning and gives adequate solutions to climate change risk mitigation.

He said  that going by their findings they discouraged farmers from the complete use of agro-chemicals for farming activities but used manure for crop production in order to preserve the fertility of their lands and preserve easy erosion because of the weakness of the soil caused by the excessive used of these agro-chemicals.

He said that the register encouraged trees planting and the preservation of trees and animals by introducing some stringent measures those violating the state laws, adding that  GIFSEP is happy that the Adamawa State Government has already queued in by enacting a law on the ban on the uses of firewood and charcoal and cutting down of trees.

Also explaining the methodology used to come up with a CCRR for the state, the executive director explained that the process began last month where GIFSEP trained communities to go into their various communities and their local government areas to identity the climate change risks within the LGAs.

“And we finally harmonised all the risks together to produce the climate change risk register for Adamawa State, which is the second state after Nassarawa State to have a state wide climate change risk register in the country.

“The climate change risk register is very important because when you will know the locations where these risks, which will enable you to make preparation to reduce disasters when they happened.”

He said that the risk register is not only for the state but also to the members of communities to identify the climate change associated risk within their localities where they are located and also try to mitigate the risk themselves.

Michael said that the exercise conducted in the state showed flooding, hot weather and short rainy season as the highest CCRR and many others followed.

Also speaking, the Head of Climate Change, State Ministry of Environment, Mr. Musa Usman, commended GIFSEP for a job well done and for providing the state with the CCRR to plan and mitigate any associated climate change disasters issues before it happened.

He said that the state government was ready to partner with GIFSEP to reduce the risk associated to climate change disasters.

He also advised the residents to stop blocking water ways with waste materials that would force the water to overflow into houses.