OPTIMISING INCLUSIVE PARTICIPATION FOR CLIMATE ACTION AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NIGER DELTA: LESSONS FROM NORWAY AND NEW ZEALAND

Abstract

This article established the need for enhanced inclusive participation in climate action and sustainability in the Niger Delta, drawing on lessons from Norway and New Zealand. The Niger Delta holds enormous oil and gas resources and natural resources, including diverse forest and ecosystem species. Unfortunately, petroleum operations in the region have led to devastating environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, which has undermined climate efforts and severely limited progress towards sustainable development. While legal and institutional frameworks exist to provide for indigenous participation in environmental governance, it was revealed that the Niger Delta still lacks extensive indigenous participation in climate action and sustainable development. The current poverty, lack of awareness, rentier mentality, and gaps in legal and policy implementation, among other factors, have limited the inclusive participation desired in the region. Thus, the practices of jurisdictions such as Norway and New Zealand in guaranteeing indigenous and inclusive participation in climate action and sustainability provided recommendations to optimise inclusive participation across the region. These included legal and regulatory reforms to mandate indigenous participation and co-governance; extensive environmental/climate education; local capacity building and poverty reduction; the integration of indigenous knowledge into environmental/climate policies, strategies, and practices; and enhanced transparency.