The Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP) has trained 40 membrrs of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the platform of Nasarawa State Network on Environment and Climate Justice (NASNECJ).
The training was meant to equip them to effectively advocate for climate justice.
GIFSEP is implementing a five-year project in the state, known as the African Activists for Climate Justice (AACJ), in partnership with Oxfam, and support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of the Netherlands and Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.
The GIFSEP Project Officer for AACJ in the state, Mr Joseph Ibrahim, said on Wednesday in Lafia that the training aimed at strengthening the civil space around climate justice in the area.
According to him, the training aimed also at building the capacity of CSOs to enable them to sustain engagement with government and other relevant stakeholders around climate change and climate justice.
Ibrahim said that the organisation had earlier established the NASNECJ to work as an advocacy group to engage stakeholders on the need to design policies that would ensure climate justice in the state.
“We established the NASNECJ but the network has not really been functioning properly.
“So, there is need to build their capacity and identify grey areas to strengthen the network to be able to engage government more effectively.
“We are also hoping that the group will be coordinated with a leadership structure that can be more responsive and responsible for engaging with relevant stakeholders in the state,” Ibrahim said.
He further said that GIFSEP had been engaging government and community leaders in the 13 Local Government Areas of the state on how to adapt to climate change issues and build resilience.
“We are already in the process of documenting and scaling up some of those indigenous knowledge that we have got from the communities on how they have been adapting to climate change effects,” he said.
Also, Mr Tine Agernor, the Lead Facilitator at the training and Programme Manager, Eunice Spring of Life Foundation, said the training aimed at creating a platform for transformational change in the context of climate justice.
“This training will help participants to track and report the outcomes of climate actions and community engagement.
“It will also hold stakeholders accountable for their commitments to sustainability as well as empowering citizens to drive climate actions in their communities,” Agernor said.
Dr Degree Umar, a lecturer in the Department of Geology, Federal University of Lafia and participant at the event, said the training would create space for CSOs to engage relevant stakeholders towards addressing climate change impacts.
