In her commitment to extending the reach of climate justice to communities most affected, The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) embarked on a community outreach program that seeks to spotlight the experiences and stories of communities in Lagos State who have borne the brunt of climate change. The objective is to amplify their voices and narratives for meaningful action.
This initiative is part of the African Activists for Climate Justice (AACJ) project, which seeks to help communities in Africa seek climate justice and hold their governments and other duty-bearers to account. The project, which will be working with 20 communities across the country, flagged off its engagement in Lagos State with a visit to the Afowo Apa riverine community in the Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State. The community is a fishing community and also the location of a world Bank-supported aquaculture project with fish cage culture infrastructure and preservation facilities.
HEDA’s Executive Secretary, Sulaimon Arigbabu, explained the importance of community outreaches when addressing a group of women and youth whose livelihoods are directly impacted by extreme weather events. He stated that climate change is an existential threat to humanity and thus requires that everyone take action to combat the phenomenon and to help affected communities cope better. He informed the community people that this initiative is about helping to strengthen their voices as they demand appropriate climate response from their various governments.
