Abstract:
InWest Africa, the impacts of flooding are becoming more severe with climate warming.
Flood-prone communities in Kogi State in north-central Nigeria are affected by annual flooding
and some extreme flood events. The negative impacts remain a major obstacle to development,
environmental sustainability, and human security, exacerbating poverty in the region. Reducing and
managing the impacts of flooding are increasingly becoming a challenge for individual households.
Analysing vulnerability to flooding (a function of exposure, susceptibility, and lack of resilience) and
identifying its causes using an index-based approach to achieve sustainable flood risk management
were the focus of this study. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data from
400 households in 20 purposively selected communities. Based on expert opinions and an extensive
literature review, 16 sets of relevant indicators were developed. These indicators were normalised and
aggregated to compute the flood vulnerability index (FVI) for each community. This was then used
to compare, classify, and rank communities in terms of their vulnerability to flooding. The results of
the study showed that the selected communities were at varying levels of the risk of flooding. Four
of the communities including the Onyedega, Ogba Ojubo, Odogwu, and Ichala Edeke communities
were found to have very high vulnerability to flooding compared to others. Several factors such
as poor building structures, lack of evacuation and flood management measures, over-dependence
of households on agriculture, lack of diversification of economic activities, and weak household
economic capacity were identified as causes. These findings are useful for developing flood risk
reduction and adaptation strategies, such as ecosystem-based approaches, to reduce current and
future vulnerability to flooding in Nigeria and other developing countries with similar conditions.
Description:
A Publication submitted to the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, the Université de Lomé, Togo in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management
