Climate change increasing vulnerabilities in rural communities,

may threaten people’s jobs and livelihoods- says Earth Hour Champions 2014 #WalktoMali

Author: Mamadou Edrisa Njie reporting from Gusua, Nigeria

Earth Hour Team in Gutsura village, Zamfara State, Nigeria

 

The most vulnerable groups in Nigerian society that are clashing with climate change are the rural poor as they often depend on natural resources for their livelihoods, for instance from agriculture, fisheries and forestry.
 Now man-made climate change poses an additional challenge, increasing the vulnerability of rural communities; the impacts of climate change currently predicted for rural communities in Nigeria is in the rise and rain-fed grain crops, and a rising number of extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods and desertification is the uppermost of climate vulnerability.

These impacts will vary strongly in their extent and form around the country. To cope with the risks, therefore, interventions will have to be specially tailored to suit the different states and regions especially the villagers of Gutsura located in Zamfara State, North-West of Nigeria.