A ROADMAP FOR SUSTAINABLE (GREEN) DEVELOPMENT OF AKWA IBOM STATE OF NIGERIA(2016 – 2030) with Coverage of Climate Resilience, Creation of Green Jobs, and Assurance inclusiveness
developed
by
The Technical Team of the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources of the Government of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria under the patronage of DR. INIOBONG ESSIEN, Hon. Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, Akwa Ibom State
and
authorship/technical leadership
of
PROF. HILARY I. INYANG, NNOM
Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering and Science
and
Former Duke Energy Dist. Prof. and Director, Global Institute for Energy and
Environmental Systems (GIEES), University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC, USA
with contributions
by
The Corps of Resource Persons
active at
The First Akwa Ibom State Climate Change and Clean Energy Summit/Exposition, Uyo, AKS, Nigeria, July 26-30, 2016
August 28, 2016
There is now irrefutable evidence that global temperature has been increasing over
centuries, with significant anthropogenic contribution. Downscaling of several global climate
change models to detail circumstances in Nigeria’s coastal region where Akwa Ibom State is
located, indicates a projected temperature increase of 2°C that will manifest as more than 7
days per year with temperatures in excess of 38°C by the year 2065. This global warming
trend is setting in motion, several profound geohydrological, marine and ecosystem changes
with implications on socio-economic development of Akwa Ibom State in particular, and
Nigeria in general. Global climate change poses threats to the huge investments that Nigeria
and its constituent states are continuing to make in infrastructure across all sectors of the
economy, environmental security, livelihoods and social system stability. Akwa Ibom State’s
location in Nigeria as a coastal state with high population density and primary dependence
on agriculture and oil production, increases its risk factors as regards the impacts of global
climate change.
It is estimated that for a sea level rise of 1.0m which is expected by 2100, about 75%
of the Niger Delta could be lost. Even a modest global warming-induced accelerated sea level
rise (ASLR) of 0.5m, could cause a 35% loss in the land area of the productive parts of the
Niger Delta, including Akwa Ibom State. One of the stresses that are being imposed on the
State is the migration of residents from some riverine areas and creeks of the Niger Delta to
upland areas, including upland Akwa Ibom State. A combination of hazards, namely,
community conflicts, environmental pollution by oil, flooding of villages and erosion of
farmlands have forced this migration. Succinctly, the primary impacts of climate change that
are manifesting with increasing intensity, in the State are flooding, gully and sheet erosion,
saline intrusion due to sea level rise, heatwaves, crop losses, flooding, water r contamination
and pest spreading as ecological changes unfold.
Akwa Ibom State is rich in natural resources. It produces the highest quantity of oil and
gas in Nigeria and has a terrain that varies from arable rainforest in the central and northern
areas, to saline water swamp in the southernmost areas. These conditions make agriculture
and small-scale allied industries the largest income sources for the majority of residents of
the State. Akwa Ibom State is a culturally-rooted society. Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)
has made the ethnic groups that constitute the State to be resilient to environmental stresses
for several centuries. However, new circumstances imposed by climate change and hiccups
in the national economy threaten the livelihood of residents of the State.
The State’s biodiversity is threatened by both climate change and hunting of near
extinct animals in rural areas of the State. Also, rural farmers and other land developers still
cut down trees for fuel wood, thus baring the land for aggressive erosion in sensitive
environments. Comparative, remotely sensed images show that much de-vegetation has
occurred in Akwa Ibom State since 2007. These practices have become unsustainable.
Targeting sustainable development requires that traditional activities that have become
unsustainable be ceased. Continue Reading…
