Provisioning ecosystem services provided by the Hadejia Nguru Wetlands, Nigeria – Current status and future priorities

• Main Authors: A.O. Ayeni, A.A. Ogunsesan, O.A. Adekola
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-09-01
• Series: Scientific African
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227619306854

The Hadejia Nguru Wetlands (HNWs) located in the Sahel zone of Nigeria support a wide range of biodiversity and livelihood activities. Providing strategic management information that aids understanding of the changing values of the wetlands is a key principle for their prudent use. This is even more important in a society where the value of wetlands is not fully appreciated. This study assesses the status (resource users, monetary values, threats to and management options) of the HNWs with a view to providing important information for their sustainable management. Data was collected through questionnaire survey, focus group discussions, informal interviews and field observations. The main services provided by the wetlands include farming (mainly rice, maize, cowpeas and millet in the wet season and sorghum, tomatoes and wheat in the dry season), collection of materials (mainly doum palm – Hyphaene thebaica and fuelwood), fishing, grazing and hunting of water birds. The monetary contribution of fishing to participating households was highest at US$5864/household/year while that of fuelwood at US$427/household/year was the lowest financial contributor. The study found that the monetary value of doum palm collection has declined by 23% and farming by 45% over a 20 year period, while fuelwood value has increased by 119%. The impacts posed by invasive Typha grass and dam construction were identified as the major threats to the HNWs. These have led to scarcity and competition for resource and hence conflicts. Therefore, we suggest a management approach that designs a resource use calendar especially for farmers and herders as a means of reducing conflicts. Keywords: Conflict, Economic value, Livelihoods, Resource users, Wetlands change