Browsing by Author "Amir Hamzah Sharaai"

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    Closing the policy-practice gaps in Nigeria’s desertification interventions: a qualitative document analysis of sustainable practice
    (Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning.Routledge Taylor &Francis Group, 2020) Abdullahi Mohammad Jalam; Amir Hamzah Sharaai; Mariani Ariffin; Norzalina Zainudin; Haruna Danladi Musa
    In Nigeria’s frontline states, the southward dryland degradation continues due to the failure of interventions to address the human and natural causes. This study provides a theory-driven evaluation to ascertain the causes of desertification intervention’s poor performance. It provides a conceptual model for scaling up interventions towards achieving the 2030 target 15:3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Guided by intervention theory, relevant policy documents on desertification control were analyzed via Qualitative Document Analysis and triangulated by a semi-structured interview, and secondary data with the aid of ATLAS.ti 8. Findings revealed that a weak integration of Sustainable Practice across the policy cycle is responsible for notable gaps in the areas of an absence of participation of Civil Society Organizations and the use of Indigenous Knowledge, non-involvement of local government, and poor community ownership. Others include monitoring lapses, and the non-inclusion of the Land Degradation Neutrality concept – leading to failure in the Sustainability of Policy Instrument. A pragmatic approach integrating multi-stakeholder participation, the establishment of grass-root structure, and situation awareness should be incorporated across the policy cycle. The need for the development of Key Performance Indicators for tracking the progress of the Pan-African Great Green Wall initiative is also required.
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    Deployment of performance indicators toward bridging monitoring gaps in Africa’s Great Green Wall
    (2023) Abdullahi Mohammad Jalam; Amir Hamzah Sharaai; Mariani Ariffin; Norzalina Zainudin; Haruna Danladi Musa
    Background: The health and productivity of the land across the Sahel are in declension due to desertification. This has lowered the quality of ecosystem services and has led to a vicious cycle of drought, famine, poverty, and insecurity in the region. As one of the flagship interventions of the UN’s decade (2020-2030) of ecosystem restoration to tackle desertification and respond to climate change, there are mixed reactions to the successes of the Great Green Wall (GGW) in Nigeria due to the failure of the sustainability of policy instruments. Methods: A two-round Delphi reached consensus on 42 sub-indicators under 14 indicators as indicated by Kendell’s (W = 0.509, P = 0.001) and high correlation between rounds (rho = 0.959, P = 0.001). The indicators were then deployed to assess the GGW in a questionnaire (n = 401) via a multi-stage sampling, and their performance was weighted using principal component analysis (PCA). Results: “Proportion of land reclaimed” was recorded as the highest-performing indicator due to the multifaceted afforestation program covering fodder and wood lot areas, while “dune fixation” has the least performance due to the lack of employment of ecological engineering tools. The findings showed that the presence of local jobs is not significant in raising the livelihood status above the poverty line. Conclusion: To meet the 2030 timeline, there is a need to scale up the implementation of the GGW and support the desert frontline states (DFS) with alternative energy to reduce the rate of deforestation.