Nigeria Embraces Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Growth

Strategic Insights -

Nigeria, Africa's second-largest economy, is confronting various environmental challenges, from floods and heatwaves to droughts, erosion, deforestation, and the shrinking of Lake Chad. These disasters strain the country's ecosystems, livelihoods, and economy. To effectively tackle these crises, Nigeria is embracing Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) as a pathway to sustainable economic growth. By valuing natural capital, often overlooked in traditional economic measures like Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Nigeria aims to integrate environmental values into national policies and investments.

Key Takeaways:

  • Nigeria is partnering with the World Bank's Global Programme on Sustainability (GPS) to build institutional capacity for NCA and integrate environmental values into national policies and investments.
  • The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is coordinating NCA efforts in Nigeria, in collaboration with the United Nations Statistics Division and a multi-agency technical working group.
  • Supported by GPS, Nigeria has developed national land accounts, ecosystem accounts for Nasarawa and Kaduna states, and analyses on tree cover loss and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • An ongoing study is examining the links between natural capital, poverty, and gender.
  • NCA efforts in Nigeria have steadily evolved over the past six to seven years, guided by a high-level steering committee chaired by the secretary to the government of the federation and the NBS chief executive.
  • Nigeria is preparing to adopt the 2025 system of national accounts (SNA) framework by 2026, aligning with global best practices and the country's broader development agenda.
  • Geospatial data is essential for early warning systems and disaster preparedness, according to Olaide Aderoju, a research engineer at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).
  • Natural capital serves not only as carbon sinks but also as key materials for adaptation and mitigation strategies, highlighting its importance in supporting Nigeria's nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and national adaptation plans (NAPs).

Statistics:

  • Nigeria's NCA efforts have spanned six to seven years.
  • The country has developed national land accounts, ecosystem accounts for Nasarawa and Kaduna states, and analyses on tree cover loss and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • An ongoing study is examining the links between natural capital, poverty, and gender.
  • Nigeria aims to adopt the 2025 system of national accounts (SNA) framework by 2026.
  • Geospatial data has been identified as essential for early warning systems and disaster preparedness.

Sources:

  • National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
  • World Bank's Global Programme on Sustainability (GPS)
  • United Nations Statistics Division
  • National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)
  • National Council on Climate Change (NCCC)
  • National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) webinar, November 2024
  • World Bank's programme lead on sustainable development, Vinay Vutukuru, at the June 5 conference on natural capital accounting.