Desertification and Drought Risk Vulnerability: Potentials of Desertification and Drought Risk Management in Northern Nigeria (A Case of Sokoto, Kano, and Kaduna ).

Desertification and drought are natural phenomena yet their rate of increase and spatial coverage in Nigeria are being exacerbated by human activities. Such activities include unsustainable forestry and agricultural practices such as overgrazing, over- cultivation and wood cutting. Variation in climate especially precipitation and temperature are major determinant factors influencing desertification and drought in Northern Nigeria. Drought leads to drastic lowering of water table in the vulnerable areas while desertification results to a total decline in the productivity of land and a progressive reduction in vegetation cover until the land is rendered incapable of supporting any population. Addressing these negative consequences of drought and desertification requires effective environmental management actions to reverse the process