LAND DEGRADATION AND ITS IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE NIGERIAN GUINEA SAVANNAH: INSIGHTS FOR SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT

 

Land degradation (LD) is worsening in the Nigerian Guinea Savanah (Adenle et al., 2020)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ-UhaTlXZA
 

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Social–Ecological Archetypes of Land Degradation in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah: Insights for Sustainable Land Management

Ademola A. Adenle and Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

The Nigerian Guinea Savannah is the most extensive ecoregion in Nigeria, a major food production area, and contains many biodiversity protection areas. However, there is limited understanding of the social-ecological features of its degraded lands and potential insights for sustainable land management and governance. To fill this gap, the self-organizing map method was applied to identify the archetypes of both proximal and underlying drivers of land degradation in this region. Using 12 freely available spatial datasets of drivers of land degradation—4 environmental; 3 socioeconomic; and 5 land-use management practices, the identified archetypes were intersected with the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived land-degradation status of the region, and the state administrative boundaries. Nine archetypes were identified. Archetypes are dominated by: (1) protected areas; (2) very high-density population; (3) moderately high information/knowledge access; (4) low literacy levels and moderate-high poverty levels; (5) rural remoteness; (6) remoteness from a major road; (7) very high livestock density; (8) moderate poverty level and nearly level terrain; and (9) very rugged terrain and remote from a major road. Four archetypes characterized by very high-density population, moderate-high information/knowledge access, and moderate-high poverty level, as well as remoteness from a major town, were associated with 61.3% large-area degradation; and the other five archetypes, covering 38.7% of the area, were responsible for small-area degradation. While different combinations of archetypes exist in all the states, the five states of Niger (40.5%), Oyo (29.6%), Kwara (24.4%), Nassarawa (18.6%), and Ekiti (17.6%), have the largest shares of the archetypes. To deal with these archetypical features, policies and practices that address increasing population in combination with poverty reduction; and that create awareness about land degradation and promote sustainable practices and various forms of land restoration, such as tree planting, are necessary for progressing towards land-degradation neutrality in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/1/32 

https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13010032

Remote Sensing | Free Full-Text | Social-Ecological Archetypes of Land Degradation in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah: Insights for Sustainable Land Management | HTML (mdpi.com)

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Insights for policy-based conservation strategies for the Rio de la Plata Grasslands through the IPBES framework

Gorosábel, Antonella, Estigarribia, Lucrecia, Lopes, Luis Filipe, Martinez, Ana Maria, Martínez-Lanfranco, Juan Andrés, Adenle, Ademola Andrew, Rivera-Rebella, Carla, & Oyinlola, Muhammed A.

Abstract: The Río de la Plata Grasslands (RPG) are one of the most modified biomes in the world. Changes in land use and cover affect the RPG’s rich biodiversity. In particular, the expansion of crops, overgrazing, afforestation, and the introduction of exotic species pose a major threat to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES). In this study, we applied the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) conceptual framework as a new lens to approach biodiversity conservation enactments in the RPG. First, we systematically reviewed published scientific literature to identify direct and indirect drivers that affect the RPG’s BES. Further, we conducted an extensive analysis of management policies affecting the BES directly in the region, at a national and international level. We conclude by offering recommendations for policy and praxis under the umbrella of the IPBES framework.

Keywords: Land Use Change; Biodiversity; Ecosystem Services; Drivers, Nature’s Contributions to People.

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Human-induced land degradation dominance in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah between 2003 – 2018

Ademola A.Adenle SandraEckert Chinwe IfejikaSperanza Oluwatola I.Adedeji DavidElliso

 Abstract

Land degradation poses a persistent challenge to ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah (NGS). While both human activity and climate variability have been implicated as degradation drivers, the lack of research fuels dispute over the status of land degradation in the Savannah and its drivers. Detailed correction evidence on the contributions of rainfall and human activities to land degradation can, however, help identify appropriate measures to address land degradation. MODIS vegetation “greenness” and TAMSAT rainfall data were employed to achieve the following objectives: (i) provide empirical insights on the pattern of savannah vegetation dynamics; (ii) control for rainfall effects in Savannah degradation; (iii) characterize the extent, severity and geography of human-induced land degradation. The selected statistical techniques proved useful for highlighting the spatio-temporal dynamics of degradation in the NGS. Controlling for the effect of rainfall on vegetation greenness produces a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) residual that allows to estimate the human impact on land degradation. Despite no indication of a worsening rainfall regime, inter-annual variation in vegetation greenness exhibits a consistently negative, declining trend. This continuous, negative, declining trend in the NDVI residual strongly suggests ongoing biomass loss in the NGS is the result of unsustainable human activity. Observed improvement is attributable to existing land management programmes (afforestation and the planting of drought tolerant species) initiated by states in the zone. In sum, approximately 38% of the NGS land area, including protected areas such as Kainji Lake National Park, are becoming more degraded, while 14% and 48% of the remaining area shows either improvement or no real change, respectively. These results serve as a baseline information resource for tracking future land use activities, land degradation and potential pathways for achieving more sustainable land management.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2020.100360

Impressions from Fieldwork on Land degradation in Nigeria

Among other things in Nigeria, land degradation and its impact is social-economic and ecological threatening, particularly in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah (NGS) zone of the country. This is why Adenle Ademola A. (Ph.D student)  is focusing his research on assessing Land Degradation and its Impacts on Ecosystem Services in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah with a special focus on Insights for Sustainable Land Management. The study questions were to be analyzed using a hybrid method of remote sensing techniques along with surveys, focus group discussions and interviews to collect data, which was quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed to capture degradation episodes in the Nigerian Guinea savannah. The necessitated fieldwork was conducted for six months between January, 2019 - June, 2019.

Land Degradation Neutrality - Potentials for its Operationalisation at Multilevels in Nigeria

Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Ademola Adenle, Sébastien Boillat  

Abstract

This paper examines the operability of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept in a developing country context illustrated with the case of Nigeria, a country highly ranked as undergoing biomass degradation. While LDNoffers an approach to monitor land degradation, through net-gain in land cover, land productivity and soil organic carbon, its operationalisation poses methodological, implementation and governance challenges. Based on a review of literature, available spatial datasets and the analysis of national policies, we examine the dynamics of land degradation and the prospects of LDN in Nigeria. We identify land pollution and gully erosion as further relevant indicators for LDN in the Nigerian context. We found that current institutional arrangements are largely unconducive and incoherent for operationalising LDN. Despite Nigeria’s international commitments, current national policies with relevance to LDN are vague and fragmented, based on several old laws, and have important gaps for monitoring due to inadequate data, skills and expertise, inadequate coordination, and the lack of national LDN baselines. The limited power of the national environmental agency, and the lack of political will to change this situation compound the challenges. However, two promising entry points for operationalising  LDN include incentivizing and monitoring Sustainable Land Management practices (SLM) of local resource users according to agro-ecological zones, and mainstreaming SLM into initiatives in its agriculture and environment sectors.These insights can inform the operationalisation of LDN in other African countries.

LINK https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1YPXI5Ce0rVuhm 

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