KEY TAKEAWAYS
- AFOLU contributes approximately 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it holds untapped potential to mitigate climate change through sustainable land use practices.
- Nigeria’s land-use activities such as deforestation, wetland drainage, and soil disturbance are accelerating carbon release, turning natural ecosystems into emission sources.
- Forests, wetlands, and soils act as carbon sinks, with mangroves and peatlands offering exceptional storage capacity due to their waterlogged, low oxygen environments.
- Community-led initiatives like the Ekuri forest project and the Great Green Wall demonstrate scalable land-based climate solutions, especially when supported by strong governance and funding.
- Key barriers to effective AFOLU implementation in Nigeria include unclear land tenure, weak enforcement, and limited technical capacity, underscoring the need for urgent policy reform and results-based financing.
INTRODUCTION
Every time we clear a forest, plough a field, or mine the earth, we are also making decisions about the climate. These everyday activities, collectively known as AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use), contribute approximately 22% of global emissions. (1) The crucial part is that land can either release carbon into the atmosphere or store it beneath the earth’s surface (in soils, sediments, and even underground water systems). The difference between these two outcomes could help determine whether the world meets global climate targets or faces adverse climate change. In Nigeria, where livelihoods heavily depend on land, these choices are immediate and personal.
Understanding AFOLU helps recognise that every person, community, and institution holds a piece of our climate future in their hands.
WHAT IS AFOLU
The Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) is a collective term that categorises human activities influencing the movement of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), between the Earth’s surfaces and the atmosphere. (2) Each time we choose to plant, to build, or which forest or wetland to protect, we’re shaping a global climate equation. This influence ranges from farming and livestock to forestry and the conversion or management of croplands, grasslands, savannas, wetlands, and settlements (1).
What makes AFOLU both compelling and consequential is its dual role. AFOLU “behaves like a swing”; meaning that, depending on how land is managed within the Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use sector, it can either be a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions (by degrading ecosystems like deforestation) or a carbon sink (by actively planting trees and managing land sustainably), thereby impacting the rate of global warming. (2) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments (2022) show that land use contributes roughly a fifth of total human greenhouse gas emissions(12). Yet, the land surface, through forests and soils, also absorbs a significant share of human-generated CO2 (Carbon dioxide) through a process called carbon sequestration, acting as a natural carbon sink (3). This global swing is not abstract; its fingerprints are visible in everyday Nigeria’s day-to-day land choices.
PATHWAYS TO CARBON RELEASE
The earth becomes a pathway to releasing carbon when living biomass is removed, soils are disturbed or drained, and water flows are altered. These disturbances release long-stored carbon from plants and soils into the air as CO₂, sometimes in a pulse (clear-felling or fire), or as a slow leak (degradation, drainage).
When forests are cleared, decades of stored carbon are released within months as oxygen reaches carbon that was locked away in wood and roots, converting it to carbon dioxide. Each hectare of tropical forest releases vast amounts of CO₂ (9), creating long-lasting damage since rebuilding equivalent storage takes decades to centuries.
On land, repeated ploughing, bare fields, and cultivating long-lived vegetation break the soil structure that protects organic matter. Air gets in, microbes speed up decay, and hidden carbon is released as CO₂ while erosion carries away the richest topsoil.
Draining organic soils (like peatlands and wetlands) is damaging because it removes the water that keeps the soil anaerobic, allowing microbes to mineralize the soil organic carbon (SOC), releasing large amounts of it as carbon dioxide (CO2). This process, known as soil carbon loss, occurs at rates exceeding natural recovery, causing the soil to lose the carbon accumulated over centuries and contributing significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. The same risk applies to coastal “blue-carbon” areas like mangroves, marshes, and seagrasses when their water levels are disturbed.
Alongside CO₂, land use releases methane from ruminant livestock & flooded rice, and nitrous oxide from fertilizers & manure gases that trap heat very effectively, so cutting them matters even where carbon stocks look unchanged. These pathways reinforce one another: clearing trees exposes soils to heat, wind, and erosion; fragmented forests dry out and burn more easily; drained peat can smoulder for weeks. Left unchecked, an environment can shift from a climate asset to a climate liability.
HOW LAND STORES CARBON
Land acts as nature’s carbon repository through interconnected systems that capture CO₂ from the atmosphere and lock it away for decades to centuries. Forests function as terrestrial carbon sinks, storing large amounts of carbon in the form of biomass, including roots, stems, branches, and leaves. The world’s forests store approximately 861 gigatonnes of carbon, with 44% in soil, 42% in live biomass, 8% in dead wood, and 5% in litter(8). The carbon stored in wood can last for decades or centuries, keeping it out of the atmosphere, while roots extend this storage underground, feeding soil organisms that build long-term carbon reserves.
Soils store carbon in the form of broken-down plant matter, making them the largest terrestrial carbon reservoir(10). 50-70% of soil carbon storage in forests occurs in roots and root-associated micro-organisms and fungi, creating a living network that continuously processes and stores carbon(11). Decomposition of biomass by soil microbes results in carbon loss as CO₂ from the soil due to microbial respiration, while a small proportion of the original carbon is retained in the soil through the formation of humus that gives healthy soils their characteristic color and structure.
Wetlands sequester carbon from the atmosphere through plant photosynthesis and by acting as sediment traps for runoff. Carbon is held in the living vegetation as well as in litter, peats, organic soils, and sediments that have built up over thousands of years. Wetland soils contain some of the highest stores of soil carbon in the biosphere because waterlogged conditions slow decomposition, allowing organic matter to accumulate rather than release back to the atmosphere. This makes wetlands, peatlands, and coastal blue-carbon ecosystems like mangroves exceptionally efficient at long-term carbon storage, often holding 3-5 times more carbon per area than upland ecosystems.
ADOPTING CLIMATE RESILIENT AFOLU PRACTICES IN NIGERIA
Nigeria’s vast landscapes are testing grounds for land-based climate solutions. With over 200 million people depending directly on land for farming, forestry, and fishing, the country faces the challenge of feeding its population while protecting the ecosystems that store carbon and regulate the climate. Across different regions, communities, governments, and organizations are implementing practices that demonstrate how land can shift from releasing carbon to storing it.
In the rainforest belt, Cross River State offers a clear on the ground example. The Ekuri community manages 33,600 hectares, the largest communally managed forest in Nigeria (5), adjacent to Cross River National Park. Since the early 1990s, villagers have mapped their land, set rules for use, and organized patrols to keep the forest standing. In 2004, the community won the UN Equator Prize for their forest management organization, and the Ekuri forest is part of the Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) pilot program established by the UN in Cross River State to channel international funding to forest conservation initiatives(4).
Across the northern states, including Sokoto, Kebbi, Kastina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, and Adamawa, the Great Green Wall through the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) has been working to address land degradation and desertification(6). Nigeria aims to rehabilitate 22,000 square kilometers of degraded land in the dry region and improve the livelihoods of over 20 million people by 2030 through the Great Green Wall initiative(7).
On the coast in Rivers State (Ogoniland), restoration is moving from clean-up to full replanting. Government updates describe hundreds of hectares of mangroves already replanted, with more planned, and journalists have toured nursery and planting sites. Independent studies of the eastern Niger Delta confirm that these waterlogged muds hold large “blue-carbon” stores, so keeping water levels right and stopping cutting protects both carbon and fisheries.
For soil and water, Anambra State shows what works where land is falling apart. Around Agulu–Nanka–Oko, engineers and communities have stabilized gullies with re-vegetation, check-dams, and better road drainage; research teams continue to map where new gullies might form so works can go in before the next rainy season.
These examples across Nigeria’s diverse environment show that land-based climate solutions can work when communities, government, and technical expertise align. From rainforest conservation to desert restoration, the country has pockets of success demonstrating how land can shift from releasing carbon to storing it.
CHALLENGES TO ADOPTING NATURE-BASED CLIMATE RESILIENT PRACTICES
Turning good land-use ideas into everyday practice runs into challenges. The first is who owns and controls the land. In many places, community and customary rights overlap with government titles. When boundaries are unclear or benefit sharing is vague, people are less likely to protect forests, restore wetlands, or invest in soil health. Even where rules exist, enforcement is uneven and short political cycles can undo gains made over years.
Money and incentives are the next roadblock. Tree planting, mangrove re-wetting, gully fixes and better livestock practices all need upfront cash and steady maintenance. Small farmers often can’t afford the early costs or the risk of trying new methods without a safety net. Where timber, charcoal or land conversion pays today, conservation pays later so projects stall unless there are reliable payments, accessible credit, or clear market rewards like premiums for deforestation free crops or trusted carbon payments.
Capacity and data gaps slow everything down. Extension services are thin on the ground; nursery stock and seed quality vary; and many local teams don’t have the tools to monitor forest loss, soil carbon, or wetland water levels consistently. Without routine, trusted measurement, it’s hard to target hotspots, prove results, or unlock results based finance. The same is true for clean cooking: switching from firewood to gas or other clean fuels depends on supply chains, cylinder access, and safety training and not just a policy announcement.
There are pressure points on the land itself. In the north, insecurity and grazing pressures can damage young shelterbelts and woodlots. In the Delta, oil spills, dredging and invasive species can undo mangrove gains. In the southeast, if roads and drainage upstream aren’t fixed, new gullies form even after repairs downstream. Across farm belts, uncontrolled burning and overgrazing keep landscapes in a degraded loop, making it harder for trees and soils to recover.
Finally, people must see the upside. If community rangers, women’s groups, youth and traditional leaders aren’t fully involved and if benefits don’t arrive on time, trust fades. Land-use projects work when they protect food and income today, not just promise climate benefits tomorrow. That means fitting solutions to local crops and customs, resolving land disputes early, and ensuring that those who do the work, the farmers, fishers, forest communities share fairly in the gains.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Nigeria stands at a crossroads: the next decade of land decisions will decide whether AFOLU becomes the country’s climate solution or its biggest challenge. The path forward requires action across these areas.
- Make governance urgent and accountable. Set clear, time-bound national goals for forests, wetlands, and soils that align with 2030 targets. Lock in strict protection for intact forests and mangroves. Use a simple “no net loss” rule: if high-carbon land is disturbed, restore land of equal or better value. Remove incentives that reward clearing.
- Accessing Climate Finance. Nigeria should initiate green projects that generate measurable emission reductions and also benefit the communities involved. By certifying outcomes, these projects can unlock revenue through carbon credits in voluntary and compliance markets.
- Manage and monitor what already exists properly. Give current projects simple operating manuals, annual workplans with named leads, and ring-fenced maintenance budgets. Run weekly satellite alerts for tree loss, fire, bare-soil expansion, and mangrove change; publish state scorecards so progress is visible to everyone.
- Cut sources and grow sinks on the same hectares. Enforce zero clearance of intact forests; re-wet and replant mangroves and peat-rich soils; make erosion control standard on public works. On farms, scale farmer-managed tree regrowth, agroforestry in cocoa/cashew belts, cover crops, residue return, reduced tillage, better grazing, and smarter nutrient use to cut methane and nitrous oxide.
- Pay for proven results and learn fast. Combine satellites with field checks to verify what works; pay communities and farmers for outcomes that last through the dry and wet seasons. Borrow field-tested playbooks from places with similar conditions (shelterbelts in drylands, natural tree regeneration on farms, mangrove hydrology repair, upstream-to-downstream watershed fixes), pilot them in a few states, then scale only after they pass cost-per-tonne, survival-rate, and community-benefit tests.
CONCLUSION
Nigeria’s land choices this decade will decide whether AFOLU remains a steady source of emissions or becomes a durable sink: today, deforestation, soil degradation, wetland drainage and poorly managed farm emissions are pushing the sector off course, but that can be reversed by protecting intact forests, mangroves and peat-rich soils; making erosion control standard on public works; and managing what we have with monitoring that’s credible on the ground and from space. Technology should be routine, weekly satellite/drone checks, simple early warning maps for erosion risk, and precision practices that cut CH₄/N₂O while lifting yields, while public awareness is prioritised, the private sector rewarded for conserving and restoring land, and results based finance flows to communities and smallholders who deliver verifiable outcomes. If the government, businesses and communities move together on these steps now, Nigeria can secure its forests, soils and wetlands for the next generation; delay will lock in a high emissions path and make every future choice harder.
REFERENCES
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- Izoukumor, N., & Razzaque, J. (2025). The Story of REDD+ in Nigeria: A Critical View of the Participation of Forest-Dependent Communities. African Journal of International and Comparative Law, 33(2), 284-311.
- World Rainforest Movement. (2013). Nigera: A unique example of community-based forest management at the Ekuri community. WRM Bulletin 195. https://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin-articles/nigera-a-unique-example-of-community-based-forest-management-at-the-ekuri-community
- Gadzama, N. M. (2017). Attenuation of the effects of desertification through sustainable development of Great Green Wall in the Sahel of Africa. World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 14(4), 279-289.
- PRNigeria. (2019, December 21). NAGGW to rehabilitate 22,000 sqkm of degraded land, improve 20mi livelihoods. https://prnigeria.com/2019/12/21/naggw-rehabilitate-degraded-land/
- Rawat, S., Kumar, N., Sharma, A. J., & Pant, S. (2025). Forest Degradation and Carbon Sequestration: Assessing the Global Scenario. In Climate Change Impact on Himalayan Biodiversity (pp. 425-445). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
- International Monetary Fund. (2011). Forest carbon sequestration and REDD+. In The Economics of Climate Change: Selected Readings (pp. 73–88). International Monetary Fund. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/downloadpdf/display/book/9781616353933/ch05.pdf
- Kutz, M., Stackhouse-Lawson, K., & Thompson, L. (2021). Soil carbon: What it is and why it is important. AgNext | Colorado State University. https://agnext.colostate.edu/2021/10/26/soil-carbon-what-it-is-and-why-it-is-important
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- IPCC. (2022). Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU). In Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/chapter/chapter-7
Very informative