Nigeria risks worsening its water insecurity unless it adopts a comprehensive groundwater recharge system to conserve its freshwater resources, water expert, Prof. Donatis Adie, has advised.

Adie stated that Nigeria remained one of the few countries where fresh water flowed into the ocean without adequate mechanisms to capture and recharge underground water sources.

He asserted this while delivering a lecture titled, “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene System at the Frontline of Climate Action: Aligning NDC 3.0 with National Adaptation Priorities,” at the 3rd Annual Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Climate Change Conference held in Abuja yesterday.

According to him, several countries have developed systems that enable them to retain excess water and recharge groundwater reserves, a practice he said Nigeria must urgently adopt.

“There is a need for Nigeria to design and implement a groundwater recharge system,” Adie said, stressing that such a move would help preserve freshwater resources and strengthen the country’s resilience against climate change.

He explained that changing rainfall patterns, declining water availability and pressure on sanitation infrastructure have made effective water resource management a national priority.

Responding to questions after his lecture, Adie urged policymakers and stakeholders to move beyond discussions and take practical steps toward water conservation.

He disclosed that during his engagement with the relevant ministry, he was informed that groundwater recharge was being achieved through dams, but added that more comprehensive approaches were required.

He said improved groundwater recharge systems, alongside stronger water and sanitation infrastructure, would support Nigeria’s climate adaptation commitments.

Meanwhile, Mrs Adefolarin Ogungboye gave an update on the implementation status of the 2025 communiqué and action plans.

In her vote of thanks, the conference coordinator, Director of Hydrology and Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Abohwo Ngozi, commended the technical working group for integrating WASH into NDC 3.0.

MEANWHILE, the Federal Government and development partners, during the event, pledged to move beyond discussions and translate climate change dialogue into practical actions that will strengthen Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) systems and improve resilience across Nigeria.

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, said the conference was a strategic platform to advance implementation of climate adaptation measures, stressing that the climate crisis was fundamentally a water crisis.

The minister said climate change was already affecting access to water, sanitation and hygiene services through floods, droughts, changing rainfall patterns and declining water quality.

He said Nigeria’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) provided an opportunity to place WASH at the centre of national climate adaptation planning.

“Without water security, there can be no climate resilience. Without sanitation, there can be no public health resilience. Without resilient WASH systems, adaptation efforts remain incomplete,” Utsev said.

The Head of Advocacy, Policy and Communications at WaterAid Nigeria, Kolawole Banwo, commended the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation for sustaining the conference as a government-led platform for climate action.