Empowering Women's Land Rights as a Climate Change Mitigation Strategy in Nigeria

Authors

Cate Baskin, Northwestern Law

Abstract

This article focuses on the intersection between gender and land rights as they relate to climate change in Nigeria. Decisions about land use, such as biodiversity management and farming techniques, impact the quality of the land and peoples’ ability to live off it. This article will show that women are better situated to utilize techniques which sustain the land. Despite this, women have historically been denied land rights in Nigeria, creating a disconnect between the women who cultivate the land and the men who own it and leading to unsustainable use of agricultural land in Nigeria. Climate change is only accelerating this trend. This article argues that legally recognizing and enforcing the land rights of rural women in customary tenure systems in Nigeria has the potential to mitigate the most drastic effects of climate change in the region, while also improving living conditions.

Recommended Citation

Cate Baskin, Empowering Women's Land Rights as a Climate Change Mitigation Strategy in Nigeria, 20 Nw. J. Hum. Rts. 217 (2022).
https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njihr/vol20/iss3/2