The Federal Government has begun the validation of nine Strategic Catchment Management Plans aimed at improving water resource management, restoring degraded landscapes and strengthening climate resilience across several states.
The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the World Bank and other stakeholders under the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes Project.
Speaking during the presentation and validation workshop held in Abuja, Managing Director of Mecon Engineering and Services Ltd, Chuka Ofodile, explained that catchments represent natural watershed boundaries whose development should be guided by the water resources available within them. “What these catchments are are natural water, what we call watershed boundaries, and these watershed boundaries are economic zones propelled centrally by the water resources within them, and these water resources determine the future of the catchment,” Ofodile said.
He added that factors such as geology, mineral deposits, population and culture also influence how catchment areas evolve over time. “Water resources, water reservoirs don’t have state and even international boundaries,” he noted, stressing that planning around river systems should go beyond political borders.
According to him, the plans aim to create economic zones anchored on sustainable water use while promoting long-term development for communities within the catchment areas.
Ofodile also emphasised the importance of validating the plans to ensure local ownership and participation in project implementation. “So validation is ownership because most of the time you find that projects, interventions, and implementations come from the top, and then the people at the local level just look at it and say it is not mine, it is their business,” he said.
He explained that technical committees made up of stakeholders from each catchment area would guide the execution of projects across short-, medium- and long-term timelines while ensuring continuous monitoring and evaluation.
Also speaking at the event, Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, said the initiative is designed to address environmental challenges affecting communities across northern Nigeria. “As we meet here in Abuja, millions of our fellow citizens in the 19 Northern States and the FCT face tough daily battles: advancing deserts, unreliable rains, degraded farmlands, and shrinking water bodies,” he said.
“These are not abstract problems; they threaten the food on our tables, the income of our farmers and herders, and the stability of our communities.”
Lawal said the ACReSAL project represents Nigeria’s response to environmental degradation and climate pressures, with the goal of restoring landscapes and strengthening community resilience.
National Coordinator of the ACReSAL Project, Abdulhamid Umar, represented by communications officer Awwal Wara, said the programme is supported by $700 million in funding from the World Bank.
He noted that the project focuses on tackling desertification, shrinking water resources and degraded farmlands in semi-arid regions. “Today, we come together not just as officials or experts, but as people who care deeply about the land that feeds our families, the water that sustains our villages, and the future we want for our children,” Wara said.
According to him, 11 catchment management plans have already been validated, while the current workshop is reviewing the remaining nine covering several ACReSAL states.
The plans are expected to guide investments in reforestation, improved water management and climate-smart agriculture aimed at protecting the environment and strengthening livelihoods.
