Climate Variability and Basin Management: A Threat to and from Wetlands of Komadugu Yobe Basin, North Eastern Nigeria

Authors

  • A. S. Umar
  • B. A. Ankidawa Senior Lecturer

Keywords:

Climate, Variability, Threats, Wetlands, Kumadugu, Basin, Management and hydrological processes

Abstract

The paper describes the effects of climate variability and non-adequate management of wetlands of Komadugu Yobe Basin (KYB) and the strategic significance of the sustainability of the KYB. Basically about 50% of the 84,000Km2, which make up the basin, is comprised of wetlands. These wetlands, the most notable of which is the Hadejia- Nguru Wetlands, support a wide range of ecological, economic and hydrological processes, which not only directly support the livelihoods of over seven million people, but also host biodiversity of global significance that has qualified one of them to serve as Nigeria’s premier Ramsar site. The paper goes to describe threats to the integrity of the wetlands resulting from climatic variability, dam operations, population pressure, bad management practices, break down of traditional control mechanism, obsolete and ambiguous legislation, institutional failures, and conflicting resources use policies. The most outstanding impact of the threats on the wetlands is the creation of a favourable condition for invasion by Typha grasses, accentuated by variations in rainfall which now occupies over 200 Km2 of prime farm lands, and fishing ground. Typha has also contributed to the blockage of several channels. The paper further describes the impact of the present induced condition of the wetlands on the economic, ecological, and hydrological integrity of the KBY. The most outstanding of these impacts include a ten-fold increase in poverty levels in the areas of the Hadejia- Nguru Wetlands, zero contribution of the Hadejia tributary to the Yobe River, and heightened levels of conflict over resources. Data on climatic and the socio-cultural and economic background of respondents were collected from six randomly selected villages located near the wetlands in the six States covered by the basin. The climatic data were collected from the archives of KBY and upper Benue River Basin Development Headquarters, Yola   and interview schedule where. 20 respondents randomly selected in each of the sampled villages were interviewed, making a sampled population of 120 people in all. The data collected were analyzed using mean and simple percentages. The result revealed that majority of the respondents have farming as major occupation and they need wetland resources for their farming activities. This is followed by fishing, both of which are attributes of the wetlands. The last part of the paper proposes a pilot intervention measure, which will proportion a flow in to the wetlands; this will enable water to flow into the blocked channels and reduces the excess water inundation in to the other channels. The pilot intervention will also pilot institutional reforms geared towards empowering stakeholders to play leading roles in the management of water resources of the basin. The paper concludes with recommendations for some institutional reforms in the management of the KYB to avert the recurrence of the threats, as well as to facilitate sustainable management of the land and water resources of the basin.

Author Biography

B. A. Ankidawa, Senior Lecturer

Department of Agric. & Environmental Engineering, SEET, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, Nigeria

Senior Lecturer

References

• Acharya, G., Bdliya, H. and Berbier, E. (1997). Valuing the Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands of Northern Nigeria. Report for IUCN- the World Conservation Union, Department of Environmental Economic and Environmental Management, University of York, Wellington, York, London.

• Adams, W.M. and Hobbs, G.E. (1998). Hydrology and Sustainable Resources Development of a Sahelian Floodplain Wetlands Resources of the Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands Conservation Project to IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and RSPB, Sandy, UK.

• Adams, W.M., Hobbs, G.E. and Berntt, T.P. (2005). Potential Impacts of a Warming Climate on Water Availability in Savanna Regions of Nigeria. Nature 428 (607): 303-07.

• Adejokun, J.A. (1996). The Three Dimensional Structure of the Inter Tropical Discontinuity over Nigeria. Nigerian Meteorological Services Technical Note, 44: 39.

• African Development Bank (2014). Preparation of Strategic Action Plan for Water Resources Development in the Komadugu-Yobe Basin. Project Appraisal Report. 69pp.

• Ankidawa, B.A., Tanko, J.A. and Umar, A.S. (2015). Climatic Variability and River Benue Discharges in Yola and Garoua, West Africa. Journal of Environment, Ecology, Family and Urban Studies, Vol.5, Issue 1, pp. 1 – 14.

• Ayoade, J.O. (2002). Agroclimatology. Evans Publishers, Ibadan, Nigeria.

• Bdliya, H. and Chiroma, M.J. (2003). Downstream Impacts of Basin Level Water Management in the Komadugu-Yobe Basin on the Hydrology, Ecology and Economy. Paper presented at the 29th IWC Conference, Abuja October, 2003.

• Bdliya, H., Chiroma, M.J. and Adams, W.M. (1997). Towards a National Policy on Wetlands Conservation and Sustainable Use: The Significance of the Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands Conservation Project. In the Nigerian Journal of Policy and Strategy Vol. 92 Nos. 1&2 June/December, 1997.

• Bdliya, H.H., Barr, J. and Fraser, S. (2006). Institutional failures in the management of critical water resources; The case study of the Komadugu-Yobe Basin in Nigeria. Paper for seminar on Water Governance- New perspectives and Directions 20th-21st February, 2006, Heaton Mount, Bradford, U.K.

• Berbier, E. (2004). Climate Change in Contrasting River Basins: Adaptation Strategies for Water, Food and Environment. Oxfordshire, UK and Cambridge, Mass; CABI Publishing.

• Carter, R.C. (1995). A Policy Framework for Surface Water and Shallow Groundwater Allocation, with Special Reference to the Komadugu-Yobe River Basin, Northeast Nigeria. In Public Administration and Development Vol. pp 103-120.

• Dauda, A.B. (2014). Salvaging wetlands ecosystem in Nigeria: Towards ensuring sustainable fish production. Nature and Science, 12(9): 61-67.

• Diyam, Y. (1998). Yobe Basin Water Resources Study. Report on Stage 1a part 2. Hydrological Studies, Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA). Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands, Northeast Nigeria. Hydrological Analysis.

• Goes, B.J.M. and Zabudum, A.N. (1999). Hydrology of the Hadejia-Jama'are-Yobe River Basin: 1998/9. Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands Conservation Project, IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Nigeria.

• Hollins, P., Arranz, R. and McCartney, M. (2003). Application of the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model to assess future water demands and resources in the Olifants catchment, South Africa. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute.101 pp. (IWMI Working paper 112).

• IUCN-HNWCP (1999). Water Management Options for the Hadejia-Jama’are-Yobe River Basin. IUCNHadejia-Nguru Wetlands Conservation Project, Nigeria.

• IWACO (1985). Study of the Water Resources in the Komadougou-Yobe Basin. Nigeria - Niger Joint Commission for Cooperation Niamy, Niger Republic.

• JEWEL (2003). Apprasial of hydrological information on the the Komadugu-Yobe Basin in the light of JEWEL’s Project Needs. Unpublished Report by Prof L. Oyebande, June 2003. DFID Jigawa Wetlands Livelihoods (JEWEL) Project, Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria.

• Jibrin, J.M. (2007). The FMWR-IUCN-NCF KomaduguYobe Basin Project for Improving Land and Water Resources Management. End of Project Phase Evaluation Report. 37pp.

• Jimin, A.A., Magani, E.I. and Usman, H.I. (2014). A comparative identification and species characteristics of aquatic macrophytes for dry and rainy seasons of the floodplains of River Benue at Makurdi. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences, Vol. 5, No. 4, p. 479-496.

• Komadugu Yobe Basin Project (KYB) (2008). Equitable and Sustainable Management of Land and Water Resources of the Hadejia-Jama'are-Komadugu-Yobe Basin. http://www.kyb-project.net.

• Millingan, J. (2007). The Small Reservoirs Project: research to Improve Water Availability and Economic Development in Rural Semi-Arid Areas, In: Kittisou., Ndulo, M., Nagel, M. and Grieco, M. (eds). The Hydropolitics of Africa. A Contemporary Challenge. Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2007).

• Okali, D. and Bdliya, H.H (eds) (1997). Biodiversity of the Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands: Report of a survey. Unpublished report.

• Oladipo, E.O. and Salahu, S. (1993). Spatial and Temporal Variations of Rainy Days and Mean Daily Rainfall Intensity in Northern Nigeria. Mausan. 44 (1), 85-95 pp.

• Olaniran, O.J. and Sumner, G.N. (1989). A Study of Climate Variability in Nigeria based on the Onset, Retreat and Length of Rainy Season. Intl. Jour. of Climatol.9, 253-269 pp.

• Tanko, A.I. (2003). Improving Land and Water Resources Management in the Komadugu Yobe River Basin – Northern Eastern Nigeria & South Eastern Niger. FMWR-IUCN-NCF Komadugu Yobe Basin Project Mid-Term Project Evaluation Report, pp. 1-30

• Thompson, J.R. and Goes, B.M.J. (1997). Inundation and Groundwater Recharge in the Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands, Northeast Nigeria. Hydrological Analysis.

• Thompson, L.M. (1995). Weather and our Food Supply. Center for Agricultural and Economic Report 26, Iowa University.

• Turner (1985). The classification and distribution of Fadama in central northern Nigeria, Z Geomorph N F Suppl. Bd, 52, pp. 87-113.

• Walter, E. (1985). Climatic and Environmental Change in Africa during the last two Decades. Climate Research 17: 123-124 pp.

Downloads

Published

2016-04-16

How to Cite

Umar, A. S., & Ankidawa, B. A. (2016). Climate Variability and Basin Management: A Threat to and from Wetlands of Komadugu Yobe Basin, North Eastern Nigeria. Asian Journal of Engineering and Technology, 4(2). Retrieved from https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJET/article/view/3345

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2016): April 2016

Section

Articles

License

  • Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
  • It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
  • The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
  • The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  • The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.