CLIMATE Change: Impact in Nigeria
Declining rainfall in desert-prone areas in the northern part of the country is steady.
The loss of farmlands and conflicts between farmers and herdsmen over and ever decreasing land in Nigeria is increasing desertification rate.
People in the coastal areas of the country who used to depend on fishing, have also seen their livelihoods destroyed by the rising waters.
Adapting to climate variability and mitigating its impacts is, therefore, essential for living .
However, there is needs to understand climate change and what to contribute to it, and how we can adapt and reduce our vulnerabilities. Gloria Usman writes.
Peoples’ livelihoods are being harmed and the people who are already poor are becoming even more impoverished.
Climate refugees are being created, as the changes in global warming make some land un-livable and affect water supplies.
As Global warming continues to increase in the average surface temperature of the earth due to the change in climate change. The Global warming cause the rise in sea levels.
As oceans warm and glacier melt, thereby threatening agricultural productivity and human settlements.
Other impacts may include change in rainfall patterns as currently experienced in the frontline of northern states in Nigeria and exacerbation of soil erosion, storms, floods and drought.
The ultimate result in all these could lead to food crisis, as well as those of weather, energy and the general environment throughout the world.
It is evident that the consequences of climate change are severe and has the potential of affecting all natural and human systems and may be a threat to human development and survival socially, politically and economically.
Nigeria has a variety of ecosystems, ranging from mangroves and rainforests on the Atlantic coast in the south to the savannah in the north bordering the Sahara.
Dry and Wet whether, those ecosystems are being battered by global warming, while
excessive flooding during the past decade has affected farming in coastal communities.
Traditionally, desertification in the Sahel has been blamed on overgrazing practices of the local population. But it has been discovered that the real problem is climate change.
Nigeria is one of the countries In Africa identified as the most vulnerable and has been at the receiving end of the impact of climate change. Nigeria has little or no capability to cope with the impacts of climate change.
The country is suffering from the consequences of climate change most of which is attributed to the developed country.
This, invariably, bring about increased poverty burden and health related diseases.
Thereby, survival is becoming more difficult in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Nigeria as well as many African countries will be the hardest hit by the negative impacts of climate change.
As a developing country, Nigeria is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and the country’s fragile economy makes the local ability to respond difficult.
a news report recently revealed that Nigeria will lose close to $9 billion as a result of the catastrophe, while at least, 80 per cent of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta will be displaced due to the low level of the oil-rich region.
Nigeria is not a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions when compared with industrialised countries, but it is a major supplier of oil and gas to countries with high greenhouse gas emissions.
The exploitation of gas and oil for export from the Niger Delta contributes to global warming, damages the environment and hurts communities living near these projects.
Oil fields in Nigeria’s Niger Delta contain crude oil mixed with very large amounts of gas.
Major oil companies operating there separate the oil from its associated gas at flow stations, where the gas is simply burned off, serving no useful purpose and contaminating the air and lands of local communities.
However, the effect of gas flaring has been dramatic: continuous noise, continuous light from gas flares, higher temperatures, acid rain, retarded crop yield, corroded roofs and respiratory diseases.
The gas flared in Nigeria contains high amounts of methane and carbon dioxide (major greenhouse gasses) is also a major contributor to global warming. It produces more emissions than the rest of sub-Saharan Africa combined.
As Nigeria’s economy continues to improve, its per capita greenhouse gas emissions may approach those of the developed nations of the world today.
This combined with continued gas flaring and a large population will further worsen Nigeria’s standing as a key emitter of greenhouse gases globally.
Human activities, primarily burning of fossil fuels for transportation and energy production, are increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere trapping heat and causing global warming, climate change and sea level rise.
In Nigeria, agriculture is the main sources of food, and a major source of industrial raw material, and the means of earning foreign exchange.
It employs close to 70% of the Nigeria’s population. Agricultural practice in the country is predominantly rain-fed and therefore particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Nigeria has a population of about 140 million impacting on the physical environment through various activities within the area of 923,000 square kilometres.
This couple with variability in elements of climate such as rainfall and temperature exposes the country to the impact of climate change.
This is because Nigeria’s economy is highly dependent on income generated from the production, processing, export and consumption of fossil fuels and associated energy-intensive products.
In spite of this huge implication of climate change response measures for Nigeria’s economy, it is appalling that there is no visible demonstration of the preparedness of the government to tackle this issue.
The social implication of climate change for Nigeria is multidimensional. A study projection by Awosika et al in Jekwu Ikeme (2001) suggests that Nigeria will experience massive “environmental refugee” migration.
For a 1-m rise, more than 3 million people are at risk, based on the present population.
The estimated number of people that would be displaced ranges from 740,000 for a 0.2-m rise to 3.7 million for a 1-m rise and 10 million for a 2-m rise.
The most vulnerable is the coastal region of the country and about 20 million Nigeria’s live in these coastal cities.
Similarly, most of the economic activities that form the backbone of the nation’s economy are located within the coastal zone.
Already Nigeria has experienced definite shift in the long-term rainfall mean towards more arid conditions.
This should be accompanied by an inbuilt mechanism for stock taking and reassessment of progress towards the objective.
Climate change is indeed a global problem and everyone's business . Therefore, there is the need for serious attention and approach from everyone to take proactive measures to cope with climate challenge.
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