Cross River seeks $25m at UN summit to tackle floods, attract investors
Cross River State delegates Martins Achadu and Catherine Ubi are at the UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, using the conference to court investors and seek $25 million for emergency response to the state’s July‑August 2026 landslides and floods. They presented the Cross River Restore Hope Initiative report and met with Nigeria’s Minister of Environment Balarabe Lawal and the Director‑General of the Nigeria Climate Change Council, Omotenioye Majekodunmi, who pledged federal support but warned about persistent illegal logging and urged stronger enforcement of forest laws. The delegation highlighted worsening erosion, flooding and pressure on biodiversity—including the Cross River gorilla—and said existing funding mechanisms cannot cope with the scale of damage. They said they had exchanged contacts with potential partners from the World Bank and other stakeholders, and plan to initiate formal discussions once back in Calabar to turn the pledges into concrete projects. With at least 65 Nigerian delegates approved for COP17 and Nigeria lacking a pavilion, the talks also feed into the Nigeria/Africa bloc’s push for sustainable financing for rangelands and a legally binding drought framework. The conference, themed "Restoring Land. Restoring Hope," ends today, 28 August 2026.