ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS (HAZARDS) IN NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION

Man has always faced weather and climate vagaries and problems related to droughts. However, the recent problems of inadequate water quality, which effectively reduced the available resources, increased the severity of water deficits. Drought-related disasters have been more devastating than other natural hazards (earthquakes, volcanoes, etc), as far as deaths, suffering and economical damages are concerned. Apart from destructive direct effects, drought events have been followed by secondary, indirect calamities, such as famine, epidemics, fire, etc. Despite the progress in science and technology, man is still vulnerable to extreme drought events. The losses increase due to the continuing development of costly infrastracture, rise in population density, and decrease of the buffering capacities (deforestation, urbanization, drainage wetlands, etc). Understanding droughts, their occurrences, mechanisms, characteristics and regularities is of great importance for the design and management of water resources systems.

MEANING OF DROUGHT

A drought is a natural disaster of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground water. A drought can last for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region and harm to the local economy. Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing and subsequent bush fires. Periods of heat can significantly worsen drought conditions by hastening evaporation of water vapour.

CAUSES OF DROUGHT

1.     Land and water temperatures cause drought. As overall temperatures increase more water evaporates and severe weather conditions increase. Landscapes and crops need more water to survive and overall the demand for water increases. This is why it is so important to consider changes in ET when discussing water savings. You might be using more water or less water depending on weather conditions.

2.     Air circulation and weather patterns also cause drought. Key events like El Nino or La Nina help contribute to drought in areas. All the water we ever had we have today and it is stored in the air or on land. Weather patterns move the water in the air around. This is constantly changing.

3.     Soil moisture levels also contribute to drought. When soil moisture is depleted there is less evaporation of water to create clouds. Surface temperatures rise, more water is needed and less is available which contributes to a more severe drought.

4.     Drought can also be a supply and demand of water issue. When a region is growing rapidly the demand for water can exceed the supply. When weather conditions, temperatures or air patterns push a region toward a drought the demand for water by people can offset or worsen the situation depending on how the region reacts. Excessive irrigation is an excellent of people contributing to a drought.

5.     If the timing of water doesn’t match the agricultural season you may have too much water when you don’t need it and too little when you do need it. Proper storage and collection of water is key to counter balancing this cycle and clearly in the scope of human management.

EFFECT OF DROUGHT TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA

Generally speaking, drought has a vast effect on mass starvation, famine and cessation of economic activity especially in areas where rain fell agriculture is the main stay of the rural economy. Forced human migration and environmental refugees, deadly conflicts over the use of dwindling natural resources, food insecurity and starvation, destruction of critical habitats and loss of biological diversity, socio-economic instability, poverty and climatic variability through reduced carbon sequestration potential are common knowledge of the causes of drought.

Several research have been conducted on the effect of drought and they have come to terms that drought especially in Africa and with particular reference to Nigeria assert that several challenges such as the widespread poverty, the fact that Nigeria’s economy depend on climate-sensitive sectors mainly rain fed agriculture, poor infrastructure, heavy disease burdens, high dependence on and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, and conflicts are major reasons why drought often harm the Northern region of Nigeria.

Other forms of effect of drought was identified in the work of Jibrin such as low or no crop yields resulting in low food security index; mass famine; death of livestock; low groundwater levels resulting in dry wells (which needed to be dug deeper and deeper to obtain water for drinking); drying of lakes and dams; loss of biodiversity and impoverishment of ecosystem; acute shortage of water for domestic use and for livestock; decline in GDP; migration into urban areas; separation of families; and increased indebtedness. Other identified categories of drought effect includes; on agriculture and food security, on water availability, on biodiversity, and energy availability.

AREAS WHERE DROUGHT IS PREDOMINANT IN NIGERIA

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has placed eleven states in the northern part of the country under red alert following reports of possible adverse weather conditions in the areas.

The affected states include Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Jigawa and Kano in the North-West and Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa States in the North-Eastern part of the country.

The Director General of the agency, AVM Mohammed Audu-Bida (rtd) disclosed this at the weekend after a quarterly meeting of the zonal coordinators of NEMA in Abuja.

The NEMA boss said 11 states in the Northern part of the country have been sent early warning letters, detailing local government areas that may be affected and the population of the people in the areas.

Mohammed Audu-Bida listed the states to be affected to include Sokoto, Katsina, zamfara, kebbi, Jigawa and Kano in the North-West and Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa States in the North-Eastern part of the country.

Audu-Bida said the drought warning alert by the agency became necessary as a precautionary measure that would guide the states to make adequate planning including sensitization of farmers, contingency stockpiling and networking with focal institutions for effective mitigation on likely negative consequences of the climate condition.

The NEMA boss regretted that few states took the advice of the agency early in the year when it (NEMA) sent the last early warning to governors on likely flooding before the commencement of the rainy season that was heavy and erratic in various part of the country. He said consequences of inaction badly affected cities and town in coastal areas with the floods rendering over 150,000 Nigerians homeless and properties worth millions of Naira lost.

Audu-Bida said the agency apart from relying on relevant institution like NIMET in whether forecasting, it is equipped with latest remote sensing technology to forecast climatic changes and detect disaster prone spots. The state-of-the- arts equipments that use satellite technology include Geographic Information System (GIS) Laboratory and Corspas-SarSat in the Mission Control Centre (MCC) at the agency Headquarters in Abuja.

The agency which recently increased its zonal office in the country to seven with creation of Abuja Office to cater for neighbouring states of Kogi, Niger and Kwara has increased monthly subvention to the zones just as it givens zonal coordinators executive powers and independence to initiate programmes and respond promptly to emergency situations in their zones towards disaster risk reduction.

METHODS OF CONTROLLING DROUGHT IN NIGERA

1. Assess your priorities. Survey your landscape: What areas or individual plants do you want most to save? Give top priority to irrigating established trees and shrubs; they’re virtually irreplaceable. Consider perennials a second priority.

2. Identify root zones. The roots of various plants grow to different depths; the trick is to apply just enough water to moisten the roots. Most tree roots are located in the top 2 feet of soil. The dripline of a tree or shrub, which runs around the perimeter of the canopy, outlines much of the root zone. Focus water there.

3. Try a root irrigator. The hose-end device has a needlelike shaft that injects water into the ground, irrigating roots directly so no water is lost to evaporation. Check garden centers for root irrigators like the one from Hound Dog Products (about $20; 800/694-6863). Insert the shaft 6 to 12 inches or deeper into the soil around trees and shrubs. After watering in one spot along the dripline, move the irrigator to another spot until you complete one round-trip. 

4. Check soil moisture. Dig down 1 foot with a trowel or spade and feel a handful of soil. An even easier way to test moisture is to use a sampling tube to “read” the soil. When you push the metal tube into the ground and twist it back out, it extracts a 12-inch or longer core, showing in cross section how wet or dry the soil actually is. If the top 2 inches of the soil sample are dry, it’s time to water. Sampling tubes are available from [XREF “http://www.forestry-suppliers.com” “Forestry Suppliers”] (from $40; 800/647-5368).

5. Irrigate slowly. Slow soaking limits runoff and encourages plants to develop deep root systems that are better able to tolerate drought. The heavier your soil, the more important slow soaking is in preventing runoff. Using an oscillating sprinkler to water large areas helps reduce runoff. But if you see puddling, turn the water off for an hour, then start again. To minimize evaporation, irrigate in the early morning or evening.

6. Build watering basins. Mound soil berms around young trees and shrubs such as roses to concentrate water on the root zones. Fill the basin with a slow-running hose so water soaks in.

7. Use soaker hoses. These porous hoses ooze water along their length. Run them among flowers and shrubs or along hedges or rows of vegetables. Coil them under the driplines of large trees; a good average length is 50 or 100 feet.

8. Apply mulch. Drought or not, spreading a layer of mulch over the soil around plants is simply good gardening. Mulch reduces evaporation, insulates roots from extreme temperature changes, and helps prevent weeds, which steal water needed by desirable plants. Spread a 3-inch layer of organic mulch such as compost or shredded bark around trees and shrubs; for flowers and vegetables, apply 1 to 2 inches. Gravel and other mineral mulches are also effective. 

9. odify lawn care. If local restrictions allow lawn irrigation, there are some things you can do to reduce the amount of water you apply. Set your mower to cut at the high end of the recommended range: 1 1/2 inches for bent grass; 2 inches for bluegrass and perennial ryegrass; 3 inches for tall fescue. Taller grass shades the soil, reducing evaporation. In early June, fertilize with 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of turf to strengthen grass before it becomes stressed. In July, cut back to a 1/2 inch of water every week; under this regime, lawns turn the color of straw and go semidormant through summer but bounce back after the weather cools.

10. Be water-wise with pots. Use glazed terra-cotta or plastic ones, which hold water better. For extra insulation, nest smaller pots inside larger ones, or bury pots up to their rims in the ground.

11. Harvest rain. Even in summer months, some rain usually falls on the Northwest, and roofs catch a lot of it. Channel runoff into a rain barrel, then use it to water container plants

PICTURES TO SHOW THE AREA IN NIGERIA EFFECTED BY BROUGHT

REGULATORY AGENCIES

Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) – defunct

Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN)

National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA)

National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA)

Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB)

REFERENCE

Baloutsos, G. (1993). Characteristics of Meteorological Droughts of the Last 132 Years in the     Plain of Attika, Greece, Geotechnical Scientific Topics, 4(2), Geotechnical Chambre of      Greece.

Blumenstock, G. (1942). Drought in the Nigeria analyzed by means of the theory of probability, Technical Bulletin. Department of Agriculture.

Campbell, D. (1968). Droughts, Causes, Effects, Solutions. F. W. Cheshire, Melbourne,          Australia.

Correia, F. (1987). Engineering risk in regional drought studies, in L. Duckstein and E. Plate  (eds), Engineering Reliability and Risk in Water Resources, Martinus Nijhoff,          Dordrecht.

Keddy, P.A. (2007), Plants and Vegetation: Origins, Processes, Consequences, Cambridge,          UK.: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521864800

Nyong AF, Adesina, Elasha BO (2007) The Value of Indegenous Knowledge in Climate          change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in the African Sahel. Mitigation and          Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 12: 787-797.

Loukas A, Vasiliades L (2004) Probabilistic analysis of drought spatiotemporal characteristics      in Thessaly region, Greece. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. European    Geosciences Union. 4: 719-731.