In a bid to enhance environmental accountability and improve public awareness on climate issues, the World Bank has trained 17 journalists on Natural Capital Accounting and sustainability reporting in Abuja.
The training which ended on Thursday focused on equipping media professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to report effectively on the economic and policy dimensions of Nigeria’s natural resources.
Also, the training was part of a broader initiative to promote solution journalism—an approach that highlights how communities respond to societal challenges.
World Bank Environmental Specialist, Ahmed Abdullahi, explained that NCA is a framework designed to measure a country’s natural assets to better understand their value and role in sustainable development.
“NCA outputs are already being utilised in areas like watershed management, landscape planning, and climate-smart agriculture,” Abdullahi said.
He also noted that Nigeria had made progress in natural capital accounting, with efforts between 2015 and 2020 resulting in the development of land cover maps and physical asset accounts to track land use changes.
“Institutions are already utilising NCA outputs in areas like watershed management, landscape planning, and climate-smart agriculture,” he added.
Abdullahi highlighted the challenges in accessing relevant environmental data but expressed optimism about the positive impact of NCA on policy and planning.
“These efforts have contributed to environmental restoration initiatives, including forestry intervention planning,” he added.
One of the facilitators, Yekeen Akinwale, described solution journalism as an evidence-based reporting style that shifts focus from problems to how they are being addressed.
“It’s about telling stories that not only expose issues but also examine how people and systems are responding effectively,” he said.
