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Montane Forest Research Station, Jos Plateau State Nigeria., Directly opposite University of Jos Medical science gate Bauchi Road, Jos (2026)

Q: What is the address?

Directly Opposite University Of Jos Medical Science Gate Bauchi Road

27/02/2026

Let's save the bees...

12/02/2026

Earth day

14/12/2025

Climate Change in Nigeria: From Talk to Action for Real Resilience

Written by Yuwa Dooyum Joshua

Climate change is no longer a future threat in Nigeria — it is already disrupting lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems. Erratic rainfall is destroying farms, floods are displacing communities, soils are losing fertility, and coastal erosion is swallowing homes. Yet, despite these realities, climate response is still dominated by talk shops and symbolic gestures.

Across the country, floods in states like Niger and Adamawa have claimed lives and farmlands, droughts in the North are shrinking food production, desertification is advancing, and coastal communities in Lagos are losing land to rising seas. If business-as-usual continues, the future looks increasingly bleak.

What Nigeria needs now is intentional, scalable, and sustainable action — not ceremonial tree planting, but real restoration of degraded lands, rehabilitation of abandoned mining sites, climate-smart agriculture, effective flood control, and serious waste reduction.

Key Solutions

Restore degraded lands through community-led rehabilitation and enrichment planting.

Strengthen food security by promoting climate-smart crops, small-scale irrigation, and farmer training.

Control floods with improved drainage, early-warning systems, and wetland restoration.

Reduce waste through recycling, composting, and circular economy initiatives.

Strengthen institutions and funding by fully implementing Nigeria’s climate policies and accessing climate finance.

Call to Action

Climate change is already hitting the most vulnerable Nigerians. Symbolic actions are no longer enough. Deliberate and practical climate action is not optional — it is essential.

Let us choose climate action, climate justice, and resilience, so future generations inherit a Nigeria that thrives, not just survives.

FrinMedia Official

23/09/2025

Emerging Impacts of Climate Change & Global Warming in Nigeria

Written by: Yuwa Dooyum Joshua

Extreme Weather Events

Nigeria is increasingly experiencing floods, droughts, and severe storms. In 2022 alone, floods displaced over 1.4 million people, destroyed farmlands, and disrupted livelihoods. These events heighten displacement, worsen poverty, and strain infrastructure (National Emergency Management Agency [NEMA], 2022).

Rising Temperatures

2024 was the first year global warming exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In Nigeria, rising temperatures accelerate crop failures, trigger heat-related illnesses, and reduce labor productivity, especially for outdoor workers such as farmers and artisans (World Meteorological Organization [WMO], 2024).

Melting Ice and Rising Seas

Though Nigeria does not have glaciers, it faces the consequences of global sea-level rise. Coastal communities, particularly in Lagos and the Niger Delta, are at risk of flooding, erosion, and saltwater intrusion into freshwater systems, threatening millions of livelihoods (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2023).

Ecosystem Disruption

Nigeria’s ecosystems face growing stress. Desertification in the north, deforestation, and biodiversity loss disrupt food systems and habitats. Communities dependent on land and forest resources are being forced to adapt or abandon livelihoods (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification [UNCCD], 2022).

Food and Water Insecurity

Climate shocks in Nigeria reduce agricultural productivity, limit water access, and drive malnutrition and hunger, particularly among children and women. The Sahel and Middle Belt regions are most affected, with herder farmer clashes intensifying as competition over scarce land and water grows (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], 2023).

Human Health Impacts

Rising temperatures and worsening air quality have fueled heat-related illnesses and respiratory problems. Climate linked diseases such as malaria, cholera, and Lassa fever spread faster in flood-prone and high-humidity zones, overwhelming health systems (Nigeria Centre for Disease Control [NCDC], 2023).

What’s Driving These Changes?

The increasing concentration of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and unsustainable land use remains the primary cause (IPCC, 2023).

THE URGENCY

Accelerating Rate: Human-induced warming is rising by 0.25°C per decade (WMO, 2024).

Broader Consequences: Even with aggressive mitigation, sea-level rise and ocean heating will persist for centuries (IPCC, 2023).

Vulnerable Areas: Nigeria is among the hardest hit in Africa, where climate pressures fuel insecurity, farmer herder conflicts, and mass displacement.

Practical Solutions for Nigeria

1. Policy & Governance: Integrate climate resilience into national security, agriculture, and urban planning.

2. Community Action: Support farmer cooperatives, women’s groups, and youth-led climate initiatives.

3. Technology & Innovation: Expand renewable energy, digital climate data, and smart irrigation systems.

4. Finance & Partnerships: Mobilize green bonds, climate funds, and public private partnerships for adaptation.

5. Peace building: Link climate adaptation to conflict prevention to reduce farmer herder clashes and displacement.

REFERENCES

Food and Agriculture Organization. (2023). The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2023. FAO.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2023). AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023. IPCC.

National Emergency Management Agency. (2022). Flood disaster situation report in Nigeria. Abuja: NEMA.

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. (2023). Annual epidemiological report 2023. Abuja: NCDC.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. (2022). The Great Green Wall progress report. UNCCD.

World Meteorological Organization. (2024). State of the global climate 2024. WMO.

20/09/2025

WASTE AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN NIGERIA: An Urgent Call to Action

Written by Yuwa Dooyum Joshua

Nigeria stands at a critical crossroad. With a population of over 220 million people and rapid urbanization, our waste challenge has become not just an environmental issue, but a climate emergency.

Every year, Nigeria generates about 32 million metric tonnes of solid waste (Punch, 2024). Shockingly, more than 40% of the food produced in our country is lost or wasted (Daily Trust, 2023). This means millions of tonnes of food are rotting away in dumpsites and landfills, releasing methane (CH₄) a gas more than 25 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide in heating the planet.

Plastics are another ticking time bomb. Nigeria produces about 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, much of which ends up in open dumps and drains (Radio Nigeria, 2024). When burnt a common practice in many communities plastics release toxic smoke and black carbon, a short-lived pollutant that is up to 900 times more powerful than CO₂ in driving global warming.

Our food system is equally at risk. Nigeria generates 183 million tonnes of agri-food waste annually (Salemdeeb et al., 2021). Instead of being treated as useless, this waste could meet up to one-third of Nigeria’s 2030 electricity needs if properly converted to bioenergy. Yet today, this potential is wasted, worsening poverty, pollution, and climate change.

This is not just data. This is a reality that affects farmers, market women, urban dwellers, and future generations.

Why This Matters

Climate impact: Waste contributes significantly to methane and black carbon emissions, worsening climate change in Nigeria.

Health impact: Open burning releases toxins linked to respiratory illnesses and cancer.

Economic impact: Food waste alone represents billions of naira lost annually, alongside wasted land, water, and labour.

What Nigeria Must Do (Solutions)

1. Stop food waste

Invest in cold storage, rural roads, and food preservation technology.

Launch consumer awareness campaigns to change wasteful consumption habits.

2. Ban open burning of waste

Enforce existing laws against burning and dumping.

Introduce community monitoring and penalties for violators.

3. Tackle plastics head-on

Enforce Nigeria’s planned ban on single-use plastics (Reuters, 2024).

Introduce bottle deposit-return schemes and scale up recycling industries.

Empower informal waste pickers as part of formal recycling systems.

4. Turn waste into wealth

Expand biogas and composting projects nationwide.

Convert agri-food waste into clean bioenergy.

Incentivize waste-to-energy technologies.

5. Strengthen governance and policy

Set national targets to cut methane from landfills by 50% by 2030.

Provide tax breaks for companies investing in waste-to-energy and recycling.

Improve waste data collection for evidence-based decision-making.

Call to Action

Nigeria cannot achieve climate resilience or food security without tackling waste. Every bag of rice lost, every plastic bottle discarded, and every refuse heap burnt is not just a waste it is a blow against our climate, our health, and our economy.

We must act now. Not tomorrow, not next year. The future of Nigeria’s children depends on the decisions we make today.

REFERENCES:

Daily Trust. (2023, October 10). How food wastage contributes to climate change. Retrieved from https://dailytrust.com/how-food-wastage-contributes-to-climate-change/

Punch. (2024, February 16). Nigeria generates 32m tonnes waste annually, says commissioner. Retrieved from https://punchng.com/nigeria-generates-32m-tonnes-waste-annually-says-commissioner/

Radio Nigeria. (2024, April 5). Poor waste disposal worsens climate change impacts on Nigeria. Retrieved from https://radionigeria.gov.ng/2024/04/05/poor-waste-disposal-worsens-climate-change-impacts-on-nigeria/

Reuters. (2024, June 26). Nigeria to ban single-use plastics next year. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/nigeria-ban-single-use-plastics-next-year-2024-06-26/

Salemdeeb, R., Font Vivanco, D., Al-Tabbaa, A., & Reynolds, C. (2021). Agrifood waste in Nigeria: Biorefining potential and contribution to energy targets. Journal of Cleaner Production, 294, 126263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126263

19/09/2025

The Hidden Danger of Cooking with Firewood: Equivalent to Smoking 400 Cigarettes a Day.

Written by Yuwa Dooyum Joshua

Introduction:

Across many parts of Africa and Asia, millions of households rely on firewood and other solid fuels for daily cooking. While culturally rooted and economically accessible, this practice poses serious health risks. Research shows that women cooking with firewood in poorly ventilated kitchens inhale smoke equivalent to smoking about 300–400 cigarettes every day (World Health Organization [WHO], 2018).

Problem Statement:

Biomass smoke from firewood contains toxic pollutants that are also present in cigarette smoke. These include carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formaldehyde, and benzene. Women, who are often the primary cooks, spend several hours daily exposed to these harmful emissions, with children nearby also inhaling the polluted air. This makes household air pollution a leading environmental health risk worldwide.

Consequences:

Prolonged exposure to firewood smoke leads to severe health outcomes, such as:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Lung cancer, even among non-smokers

Pneumonia in children, a leading cause of child mortality

Eye irritation and cataracts

Pregnancy complications, including low birth weight and stillbirths

Beyond health, dependence on firewood accelerates deforestation and contributes to climate change through black carbon emissions.

Way Forward:

Reducing household air pollution requires urgent policy interventions, community awareness, and affordable clean energy alternatives. Addressing this challenge not only improves public health but also promotes environmental sustainability, gender equity, and climate resilience.

Solutions:

1. Promotion of clean cooking technologies such as LPG, biogas, ethanol, and improved cookstoves.

2. Subsidies and financing mechanisms to make clean fuels and stoves affordable for low-income households.

3. Community sensitization campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers of biomass smoke.

4. Strengthening government policies to integrate clean cooking into energy, health, and climate strategies.

5. Research and monitoring to track progress and document health improvements.

References:

World Health Organization. (2018). Household air pollution and health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health

Smith, K. R., Bruce, N., Balakrishnan, K., Adair-Rohani, H., Balmes, J., Chafe, Z., ... & Rehfuess, E. (2014). Millions dead: How do we know and what does it mean? Methods used in the Comparative Risk Assessment of household air pollution. Annual Review of Public Health, 35, 185–206. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182356

15/09/2025

AFTER MINING CEASES, HEALING THE SCARS OF PLATEAU.

Written by Yuwa Joshua

That’s a very important question. Mining in Plateau State (especially tin, columbite, and other solid minerals) has left behind long-lasting effects on the environment and communities, even decades after the activities stopped. Let’s break it down:

Phrases / Suffering on Communities (Social & Economic Effects)

1. Abandoned mining pits now filled with water, creating hazards and drowning risks.

2. Loss of arable land — fertile farmlands destroyed or degraded by excavation.

3. Water contamination — rivers, wells, and underground water polluted with heavy metals.

4. Unemployment & poverty — once mining jobs stopped, communities were left without alternatives.

5. Health problems — respiratory diseases, skin infections, and heavy metal poisoning.

6. Migration & displacement — some families moved due to uninhabitable lands.

7. Insecurity & conflicts — abandoned pits serve as hideouts for criminals.

8. Cultural erosion — loss of community heritage due to land destruction.

Environmental Impacts Decades After Mining Ceased

1. Land degradation — deep gullies, erosion, and unusable farmlands remain.

2. Loss of biodiversity — forests cleared during mining are yet to recover.

3. Acid mine drainage — some pits release toxic water into streams.

4. Desertification tendencies — exposed soils make the land dry and infertile.

5. Deforestation — massive tree cutting for mining fuel has left landscapes bare.

6. Climate change vulnerability — degraded lands worsen Plateau’s sensitivity to rainfall patterns.

7. Water pollution — heavy metals (lead, tin residues) still leach into streams and groundwater.

8. Landscape scars — visible abandoned mining ponds, making the area unsafe and unattractive.

Solutions / Alternatives

1. Land reclamation & rehabilitation

Filling abandoned pits with laterite/soil.

Reforestation with native trees.

Soil treatment for heavy metal contamination.

2. Sustainable agriculture revival

Organic farming on reclaimed lands.

Agroforestry (mixing trees and crops to restore soil fertility).

3. Water management

Purification of contaminated ponds/rivers.

Rainwater harvesting to reduce dependence on polluted sources.

4. Alternative livelihoods

Skills training in renewable energy, crafts, and modern farming.

Eco-tourism (turning scenic mining ponds into regulated tourist sites).

5. Community-led monitoring & advocacy

Engaging youths/women in environmental clubs.

Demanding government/private sector support for reclamation.

6. Policy & enforcement

Strict environmental laws against future irresponsible mining.

Holding past mining companies (or their successors) accountable for cleanup.

7. Climate-smart alternatives

Renewable energy projects (solar farms in degraded lands).

Beekeeping, fisheries in rehabilitated ponds, or poultry farming.

In summary:

Mining has left Plateau State with poisoned waters, degraded lands, and socio-economic struggles. The way forward is rehabilitation + sustainable land use + alternative livelihoods so communities can recover both environmentally and economically.

Montane Forest Research Station, Jos Plateau State Nigeria.

27/02/2026

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