Implementing Climate Change Policy in an African Megacity: The Lagos State Experience

Climate Change Policy


Climate Change Issue II March 2011



Implementing Climate Change Policy in an African Megacity: The Lagos State Experience continued...
Adedoyin Lasisi (Nigeria, ELP 2009)
Research & Development Dept, Office of Envir. Services, Ministry of the Envir. Lagos State, Nigeria.


Introduction
Cities generate no less than 40% of global GHG emissions and are extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts. Cities are vulnerable because they concentrate people and buildings into a relatively small area. More than 64% of Canadians live in urban centres of 100,000 or larger. Consequently, even a relatively contained weather event can affect a large number of people. Cities are also very dependent on their "lifelines" - transportation systems to move people and goods, communications systems, water and energy distribution, sewers and waste removal systems (McBean and Henstra 2003). The concentration of people and wealth in cities, and their dependence on these infrastructure systems make urban centres particularly vulnerable to weather extremes.

Climate Change and Lagos State
Lagos state is the smallest state in Nigeria, with an area of 356,861 hectares of which 75,755 hectares are wetlands. However, with a population of 17 million, the state has over five percent of the Nigerian population. If it maintains its current growth rate, Lagos state will be third largest megacity in the world by 2015 after Tokyo and Bombay. Metropolitan Lagos, covering 37 percent of the land area of Lagos State is home to over 85 per cent of the State population. The rate of population growth is about 600,000 per annum with a population density of about 4,193 persons per sq. km. In the built-up areas of Metropolitan Lagos, the average density is over 20,000 persons per square km. Lagos State faces particularly complex challenges due to its geographical and economic situation within Nigeria.
Drawing on the experience of small island countries (see, e.g., UNFCC, 2005), which have the same low-lying topography as Lagos State, the following consequences of climate change are the basic challenges currently being faced by the State. They are:
•Water resources: Water management challenges due to climate variability, climate change and sea level rise include increased flood risks, reduced freshwater, and impeded drainage.
•The coastal environment: The loss of land along the coastlines due to sea-level rise is likely to disrupt economic and social sectors in the state. Coastal erosion will have severe adverse impacts on agriculture, industry and on infrastructure of both Lagos State and Nigeria on the whole.

Coastal Erosion in Nigeria
•Agriculture and food security: As the climate changes, root and vegetable cultivation is likely to be affected by heat stress, changes in soil moisture and evaporation, and changes in extreme weather events such as storms and floods. Moreover, because of the proximity to the coast, most parts of Lagos' agricultural land will have challenges of sea level and saline intrusion, which will also have major adverse impacts on crop production.
•Human settlements and infrastructure: A rising sea level and changes in the patterns of extreme events such as storms and coastal flooding will put human settlements and critical infrastructure (airports, seaports, roads, power) at severe risk. Considering that metropolitan Lagos already has close to 15 million people and extremely high population density, the consequences to human settlements will be severe.

Our challenges
In the past years, the State has been faced with the following challenges as a result of climate change:
(i) Increased rate of Beach Erosion: Even through the Nigerian coastline has not been associated with any known disaster it has been undergoing burying erosion processes. The Victoria beach is the fastest eroding beach in Nigeria with average erosion rates of 20- 30m annually. A fundamental cause of the coastal erosion in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos coastal area, is the incidence of storm surges which generate the powerful waves whose impact on the sandy formation prove destructive. The storm surges are frequent during the rainy season at the Victoria recession, occurring mainly during the rainy season months and rarely during the dry season's months when some accretion takes place.
(ii) (ii) Flooding: Flooding of the low-lying beaches along the coasts of Africa and in particular the Eastern, West and Central African coasts has become an environmental problem in recent times. The flooding situation experienced in Lagos in recent years can be attributed to high waves tide, sea-level rise, and high precipitation associated with global warming and climate change.

Shoreline Protection Project
Our Efforts
In the past years, the Lagos State government has initiated various policies and programmes to help combat the effect of climate change. This includes: urban greening, tree planting, organization of international summits on climate change, establishment of climate change clubs in schools, development of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, etc.

Urban Greening to reduce GHGs
Conclusion
In conclusion, our world is so complex it is immensely difficult to predict what will happen next. Thus, it is paramount to prepare. With the impact of climate change facing many countries and cities of the world, the only solution is for governments to have in place policies and programmes to mitigate the effect of climate change.