The United Nations (UN) has stated that the world is currently far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which aims to provide access to water and sanitation to everyone by 2030. It was no surprise that the World Water Day – observed earlier in on March, 2023 – took on a new urgency. Its theme, “Accelerating Change” is an urgent call-to-action to governments, organisations, and individuals to consider how their actions can significantly alter the current climate trajectory and ensure that everyone is provided with the basic human right of safe water access.
The African continent is currently facing a crisis of water scarcity. This is majorly due to climate change-induced shifts in temperature and rainfall patterns. The impacts are being felt across the continent and are being manifested through extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and the changing hydrological cycle. This is contributing to growing levels of water insecurity throughout the region.
Hence, unless concrete measures are taken to tackle critical water-related challenges, the possibility of accomplishing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa may eventually diminish.
For Nigeria in particular, the changing climate is undoubtedly adding undue stress to water resources that are already stretched beyond their capacity due to inadequate infrastructure, ineffective water management, and inadequate government funding.
Nigeria was regarded as the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa in 2014. It is classified as a developing country with a lower-middle-income economy and possesses great potential for further expansion. According to data from 2021, GDP per capita was approximately 2,065.75 USD, demonstrating Nigeria’s increasing economic strength and its capacity for sustained growth in the future.
Some of the obstacles to economic development that are continuing to plague Nigeria are insecurity, inadequate energy supplies, lack of access to food, and high rates of unemployment are some of the main. Apart from these difficulties, the current global changing climate is also having a huge impact on the country.
What the numbers say
According to the findings of a global attitudes survey conducted by Pew Research Centre in 2015, when the Paris Agreement was ratified, 65% of Nigerians expressed significant worry and concern regarding climate change – surpassing the 48% who were concerned about global economic instability. A separate research to assess the level of climate anxiety among Nigerians revealed that many have harboured feelings of helplessness in the face of the destructive effects of climate change.
Nigeria’s disrupted water cycle has had a significant impact on the availability of drinking water for its population. This has caused an array of health risks arising from dehydration and water-borne diseases such as cholera. Official national figures suggests that Nigeria has 60 million individuals without access to clean water, 112 million without adequate toilet facilities, and 167 million without handwashing stations with soap and water located nearby. According to UNICEF, a staggering 26.5 million Nigerian children, i.e., 29% of the total child population, live in an extremely vulnerable state when it comes to water scarcity. Poor water service levels and the risk of water scarcity often overlap in significant areas. The communities residing in such areas rely on surface water, unimproved water sources, or water that can take more than 30 minutes to collect.
On the other hand, cities throughout the sub-Saharan Africa including those in Nigeria are seriously facing recurring and catastrophic dangers of flooding. From 2000 to 2019, floods were responsible for 64% of all disaster incidents in the region. In 2022, Nigeria alone witnessed extreme flood events that forced 1.4 million people to flee their homes and resulted in an estimated 4.2 trillion Naira worth of damages.
In October 2022, nearly 10% of Nigerian residents were affected by flooding. The deluge in the state of Bayelsa for instance, was one of the worst of its kind in the region. According to the state government, flooding in Bayelsa State caused the displacement of more than 700,000 people. Almost 50% of the population in Kogi state, where the Niger and Benue rivers, Nigeria’s two largest rivers, converge, were affected, along with almost 40% of the population in neighbouring Anambra state. In Yobe state, a flood around the Yobe River impacted over 25% of the population in the northern part of the country.
Climate change is expected to bring increased and more intense precipitation to the southern region. This will result in a further aggravated state of soil erosion which is already having catastrophic consequences for the region. Reports of severe landslides in the south-eastern states of the country have drawn greater attention to the potential impacts of climate change on erosion.
The coastal areas of Nigeria are increasingly being impacted by natural extreme events such as sea surges and tidal waves, resulting in significant morphological changes. The expected acceleration of sea level rise (ASLR) due to global warming is projected to range between 0.5 and 1 meter this century. This will further result in an increased risk of coastal hazards, such as flooding and erosion. For the Niger Delta region, a 0.5m ASLR could result in the loss of about 35% of the very highly productive delta. Meanwhile a 1.0 m ASLR by 2100 could lead to the loss of up to 75% of the delta according to estimates.
Drivers of climate variability
Since pre-industrial times (1850-1900), Africa’s climate has undergone more warming when compared to the global average. This phenomenon has resulted in a faster sea-level rise along African coastlines and has led to more frequent and severe coastal flooding, erosion, and salinity in low-lying cities. In general, the pace at which sea levels are increasing near Africa is greater than the worldwide average, as pointed out in the IPCC AR6 report.
Nigeria is acutely feeling the impacts, with longer periods of drought and more frequent flash floods becoming a reality for its citizens. These events are caused by natural factors such as changes in circulation patterns of the ocean, La Niña and El Niño cycles as well as shifts in atmospheric pressure systems. Lake Chad which is situated near the Sahara Desert and shared by Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger has experienced a significant reduction in its total surface area because of climate variabilities. The water levels in the lake dropped by 90% from 25,000 sq. km in the 1960s to 1,350 sq. km in the 2000s. This caused a decrease in cultivable land, a decrease in fish production, grazing areas, a loss of biodiversity, and the subsequent deterioration of the livelihoods of people.
The IPCC AR6 report states that the rise in mean temperatures across Africa can be attributed to climate change caused by human activities. Moreover, experts in environmental issues have suggested that the flooding currently affecting Nigeria is the result of higher-than-normal rainfall and an overflowing dam in Cameroon. However, they have also pointed out that inadequate drainage infrastructure has worsened the situation. Examples of activities triggered by humans which includes deforestation and burning of fossil fuels, have released large volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This has trapped heat from the sun thus, making worse the already critical situation. Additionally, agricultural runoff has aggravated the situation further still by introducing additional pollutants to the environment. A recent publication from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that Nigeria has experienced an increment of 8% in its average annual temperature since 1950 because of its high levels of CO2 emissions.
Possible Mitigation Measures
Granted, statistics do suggest that Africa has contributed very little to global greenhouse gas emissions even though it is very vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Yet, African and Nigeria in particular must play a huge part in mitigating the climate change burden. Nigeria is among the 53 African nations that recently submitted their final and revised copies of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Among other things, the revised NDC prioritises adaptation needs in the water sector however, its audacious and ambitious provisions should be cautiously weighed against current socio-economic realities and the reciprocal commitments from those of the developed countries. This is partly because of lack of sufficient research to sufficiently close the gaps from the not-so-perfect numbers that comes from the NDC reports. Although Nigeria has mentioned the need for climate service in the NDC documents, it does lack coverage from early warning systems designed to handle extreme weather events and climate change impacts. This is as a result of improper functioning of its National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs). Another challenge that hinders the implementation of NDCs is limited access to finance, which is further worsened by a deficiency in national resources for budgeting and mobilisation of resources.
To address the shortcomings of current climate monitoring methods and insufficient coverage, it is possible to mitigate the situation by depending more on the expertise of indigenous people and by making sure that communities and villages are involved in some decision-making. Recent research has provided evidence of the remarkable value of Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) in Africa. There is proof that indigenous knowledge has been implemented on a small scale to address various types of risks caused by human activities, natural factors, and socioeconomic conditions. These include hydro-meteorological hazards like floods and droughts, as well as health concerns.
The government can further strengthen ILK by providing a platform to foster awareness of climate change at the community, state, and national levels, and involve local professionals in understanding climate change. These can be achieved by providing relevant information and interactive workshops. The government should also evaluate the risks and vulnerabilities in a sequential manner by ensuring that other social and economic pressures specific to each location are considered.
The private sector can aid in the research efforts for watershed management and ensure that the results are put into action. They can also help build the necessary skills and knowledge for community members to effectively manage watersheds in their respective areas, while also providing support for sector improvement by providing training and raising awareness on the subject of climate change.
Author Bio:
Dr Eyo Eyo, is a researcher and lecturer in Engineering at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol United Kingdom. He is a sustainability advocate and has published several articles on how to address climate change using machine learning and artificial intelligence.
