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From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
Environment experts have advocated the education and empowerment of local government officials and the people in local communities with basic knowledge of climate change issues for them to design community-based mitigation and adaptation solutions.
Stakeholders gave this suggestion at a two-day training on climate action mitigation for selected local community people of Ologba and Egba in Agatu and Fiidi Market in Makurdi alongside selected local government officials in both Agatu and Makurdi Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
The trainings were organized by Community Links and Human Empowerment Initiatives, (CLHEI), working in partnership with International Alert and funded by the Irish Government for powering peace through the Climate Action project.
Dr Steven Hemba and Dr Sewuese Apeverga, who facilitated the training sessions in Makurdi and Agatu respectively, said the training is meant to equip the community people and local government officials with a better understanding of the climate change issues that will enable them to adopt effective community-based climate mitigation actions, thereby reducing the conflicts related with climate change.
The deputy head of personnel and administration, Agatu Local Government Area, Mrs Justina Ugboku, said the training has enabled them to understand the climate change issues as it impacts their communities and is better informed, as local government officials, to support informed policies related to mitigation and adaptation solutions.
Executive Director of Community Links, Dr Helen Teghtegh, explained that climate change impacts different communities in different ways and that it is only when local people and local authorities know and understand the climate change issues around them that they can take the relevant climate mitigation actions.
