Climate Change Awareness, Adaptation Strategies, and Mitigation Initiatives in Selected Ministries of Benue State Government, Makurdi, Nigeria

Climate change awareness, adaptation strategies, and mitigation initiatives in selected ministries of Benue State Government was studied. Multistate sampling was adopted, with four ministries selected from Makurdi offices while 114 respondents were randomly selected from the study. Personal interview with respondents was done with Google forms containing semi-structured questions for data gathering. Demographic characteristics of respondents showed majority were male (61.4%), within the 36-45 age range (49.1%), and Christians (98.2%). Most respondents were married (79.8%), employed in civil service (96.5%), and had postgraduate degrees (82.5%). Awareness of climate change was high (100%) and adaptation awareness was at 75.4%. There was a high level of awareness (100%). Monitoring systems (56.3%) and government funding (46.4%) were observed as gaps in climate change knowledge. Implementation (90.7%) and capacity building (87.5%) were noted as major challenges related to climate change efforts. Behavioral changes (52.6%), afforestation/reforestation (36.8%), and the implementation of government policies (22.8%) were most common mitigation measures employed by the ministries. Adaptation measures by the ministries include: water resource management (25.4%), community education and awareness (19.3%), and urban planning and design (19.3%). Also, adaptation strategies (32.5%) reported identified as the most crucial method for building resilience. Others include, community engagement (20.2%) and urban/rural planning (19.3%). The study identified increased funding and government responsibility (50.0%), public involvement and support (5.88%), and agricultural support (8.82%) as areas requiring improvement in mitigation climate change. Furthermore, addressing implementation challenges (90.7%) and enhancing capacity building (87.5%) were highlighted as critical factors. Respondents' sources of information were primarily traditional media (TV, newspapers, radio), followed by social media and government publications. Deforestation was identified as the main contributor to climate change (65.8%) in Benue State besides greenhouse gas emissions (26.3%). In conclusion, the findings from this study emphasize the need for enhanced awareness, capacity building, and effective implementation of climate change adaptation strategies to address the challenges posed by climate change.