The World Bank has trained 17 Nigerian journalists on Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) and sustainability reporting, as part of efforts to enhance Nigeria’s capacity to monitor climate degradation using natural capital data.
The training session, held on Wednesday in Abuja, was designed to equip journalists with the knowledge and tools required to report effectively on the economic and policy implications of natural capital within the country.
This initiative forms part of a broader strategy to promote environmental accountability and raise public awareness through solution journalism.
Speaking during the session, Mr Ahmed Abdullahi, an environmentalist representing the World Bank, described NCA as a framework for measuring and valuing a country’s natural resources to understand their environmental significance.
He stressed the need for journalist training to bridge the societal knowledge gap around natural capital, highlighting the importance of capacity building and stakeholder collaboration.
According to Abdullahi, partnerships with key stakeholders have been instrumental in strengthening the capacity of government agencies involved in natural capital accounting.
He noted that Nigeria’s NCA initiatives have translated into practical applications supporting national development, such as tracking environmental degradation and guiding ecological restoration efforts, including forestry interventions.
Abdullahi acknowledged the difficulties in obtaining reliable data for NCA and pointed out that a hybrid approach utilising tools such as the SRCCI and the Global Forest Management Dataset has proven vital in addressing these challenges.
“Between 2015 and 2020, Nigeria developed land cover maps and physical asset accounts to monitor changes in land use,” he explained.
He further stated that the integration of NCA into policy planning, supported by active stakeholder engagement, is already yielding positive outcomes.
“Institutions are making use of NCA outputs in areas such as watershed management, landscape planning, and climate-smart agriculture,” he said, citing Kaduna and Nasarawa States as examples of where these efforts have been particularly impactful.
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The environmentalist emphasised the need to move beyond traditional metrics like Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by embracing a more inclusive view of the economy that accounts for forests, land, and water resources.
He called for a shift in journalistic focus from highlighting problems to reporting solutions, citing Nasarawa’s improved climate adaptation planning as an example.
Mr Yekeen Akinwale, Abuja Bureau Chief of The Cable, also addressed participants, offering insights into the role of solution journalism in environmental reporting.
He defined solution journalism as a rigorous, evidence-based approach that not only examines environmental challenges but also explores how communities are addressing them.
Akinwale underscored the importance of credible evidence and balanced storytelling, noting that highlighting successful community initiatives can attract partnerships, encourage replication, and uphold journalistic integrity.
One of the participants, Ms Helen Emmanuel from Blueprint Newspaper, expressed appreciation for the training, noting that it had deepened her understanding of NCA and solution journalism. She said she looked forward to gaining further insights into ecosystem reporting.
