The Federal Government through the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has linked the current poverty and insecurity situations facing the country to the impact of land degradation.

The minister made this known in her speech at the ongoing United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16 in Saudi Arabia.

The minister noted that the challenges of land degradation and desertification extend beyond environmental concerns; they threaten the very fabric of our communities, economies, and health.

“Across Nigeria, the impact of land degradation is felt acutely across the six Geopolitical Zones, creating a terrible cycle of poverty and insecurity.

“In the northeast , which is in close proximity to the Lake Chad Basin, climate change intersects with conflict, forcing millions of people to flee their homes.

Women and children who constitute 80% of these displaced populations face heightened risks of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), forced and early marriages, disrupting education and worsening poverty”.

She said expanding desertification continues to undermine agriculture and water resources in the North West, while In the southern regions, particularly in the Niger Delta states, climate change manifests in rising sea levels, coastal erosion, flooding, and biodiversity loss.