The problem of gully erosion in Nigeria has been a long standing issue and various attempts at different times have not yielded desired result probably due to lack of proper planning. Secondly, inadequate or insufficient commitment by matching, funding with the severity of the problem and thirdly due to lack of technical indepth and experience in handling gully erosion and also dealing with the issue of erosion as a one-off thing.
It is against this backdrop that the Federal Government of Nigeria initiated an innovative program known as the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), funded by the World Bank, Special Climate Change Fund and Global Environment Facility. NEWMAP’s objective is to reduce soil vulnerability to erosion and the development of sustainable environmental & land management practices across 23 States implementing the Project in Nigeria. The impact of climate change and the human causal factors (e.g. sand mining, improper control of stormwater, deliberate deforestation, burning of bushes including the inappropriate termination of water channels) have been responsible for the increased rate of erosion land degradation in the State.
Besides, a sharp catalyst is a friable soil inherent in many southeastern states, especially Anambra State. Whenever there is any torrential rainfall, the catastrophic effects are mostly unimaginable.
With each passing year, uncontrolled stormwater flow threatens lives and properties as the existing gullies become widened and more menacing. Impacts are mostly in the form of severe flooding and rapid landslides, forming deep ravines- characterized by fatalities, displacement of people, loss of livelihood, damage to critical infrastructures, destruction of farmlands, and losses creating an onset of hunger and disease outbreak, especially in poor communities.
According to the Anambra State Governor, Chief. Willie Obiano, the State is the second smallest state in Nigeria with a landmass of 4,844 sq. km. “Because of erosion, we have lost and still losing so much land to erosion. With Lagos state expanding in the ocean by coastal reclamation, Anambra state may easily be the smallest State today”.
To reassure stakeholders in the state of his commitment to delivering on promises, Gov. Willie Obiano throughout his 7 years in office has embarked on massive rehabilitation of gully erosion corridors through multiple approaches, collaborating with State Ministries of Works, Environment, and the innovative Project NEWMAP
NEWMAP Approach
NEWMAP’s intervention involves a combination of hard and flexible structures that include civil works and bioremediation complemented with the human factor. Bioremediation is the use of biological material and biological procedure to remediate or mitigate an environment devastated by gully erosion or indeed, all types of soil erosion. By integrating real and bioremediation, multipurpose trees, shrubs, and grasses are chosen and carefully planted. Such interventions are laced with proper drainages to suck –off the stormwater. This has proven to be very useful because of its ability to address, prevent, and reverse land degradation for the long-term. Some of the plants’ species that are good for soil protection include; Vetiver; Bahama; Bamboo; Jatropha; and Moringa.
So, while the civil work deployments put a stop to the deteriorating situation in the targeted gully sites, the livelihood program (human factor) free people from putting additional pressure on the land. This was general viewed as a game-changer.
Covid-19 and the use of technology in project monitoring and supervision
As part of its effort at navigating through the Covid-19 challenges, NEWMAP is making use of geospatial and related technology for planning/design, implementation, and supervision of projects. The tool of Geographical Information System (GIS) is used to detect gaps, sources, and direction of flow of streams and rivers in a watershed. Impacts are also identified by map overlays showing areas affected. GIS is also used in detecting gully length and point of discharge of water while the 360-degree cameras and technical resources allows project staff to document projects with immersive images to enhance remote supervision. This comes with an oculus (headset) for the State and Federal Executives with the mandate of monitoring and supervising all Bank funded project on a portfolio basis. This ensured compliance to the COVID-19 pandemic home-based work guidelines and travel restrictions.
Current Effort in Anambra State.
Anambra State targeted to remedy and rehabilitate some of its existing gullies through NEWMAP. The Project launched on the 26th of June 2014, commencing in Anambra with a counterpart funding of over 500 million naira. The state government action was a clear demonstration of commitment and absolute good faith in the Project. The World Bank quickly scaled up its support to encourage the State.
Despite this, Gov. Obiano is still inspecting the Nnewichi Erosion site with signing a contract for further repairs.
NEWMAP today has done tremendous work on 13 sites across the State with some sites already completed while others are on different stages of completion. Their percentage of job completion is as follows:
St. Thomas Aquinas / Neros Plaza, Awka Erosion Site – 100% completed
Location – latitudes 6° 14′ 10.2605″ N and Longitude 7° 05′ 48.0216″ E
Measurement- Length 122m, Average Width 18m, depth 8m
Hectares of land recovered- 17.21Ha
Population Impacted – 5,097 inhabitants
Amachalla, Awka Erosion Site – 100% of work completed.
Location – latitudes 6° 13′ 21.9974″ N and Longitude 7° 05′ 17.1944″ E
Measurement- Length 50m, Average Width 30-40m, depth 20m
Hectares of land recovered- 13.249Ha
Population Impacted – 5,072 inhabitants
The New Heritage – Omagba, Onitsha Erosion Site – 97% of work completed
Location – latitudes 6° 08′ 55.8089″ N and Longitude 6° 49′ 10.7972″ E
Measurement- Length 400m, Average Width 25m, depth 15m
Hectares of land recovered- 10.98Ha
Population Impacted – 27,035 inhabitants
Ekwueme Square/ Federal High Court Erosion Site – 100% work completed in the first phase. Location – latitudes 6° 14′ 17.6606″ N and Longitude 7° 04′ 55.4838″ E
Measurement- Length 0.32 & 0.05km, Average Width 20m, depth 16m
Hectares of land recovered- 3.49Ha
Population Impacted – 5.023 inhabitants
Ugamuma Obosi Erosion site, – 39 of work completed. Location – latitudes 6° 06′ 52.4157″ N and Longitude 6° 50′ 15.4225″ E
Measurement- Length 4.303m, Average Width 17.7m, depth 5.1m
Hectares of land recovered- 25 Ha
Population Impacted – 13,700 inhabitants
Ikenga-Ogidi Erosion Site – 75% of work completed. Location – latitudes 6° 09′ 54.8608″ N and Longitude 6° 50′ 58.1200″ E
Measurement- Length 1.697m, Average Width 5.87m, depth 4.7m
Hectares of land recovered- Ha
Population Impacted – 17,140 inhabitants
Enugwu-Ukwu Erosion Site – 75% of work completed. Location – latitudes 6° 10′ 0.0680″ N and Longitude 7° 01′ 6.2909″ E
Measurement- Length 1.927.87m, Average Width 5.86m, depth 4.7m
Hectares of land recovered- 12.5Ha
Population Impacted – 10,000 inhabitants
Abidi-Umuoji Erosion Site – 99% of work completed. Location – latitudes 6° 07′ 46.6670″ and Longitude 6° 54′ 0.0200″ E
Measurement- Length 2.400m, Average Width 23.5m, depth 23.1m
Hectares of land recovered- 3.87Ha
3.3km length of asphalt paved road.
Population Impacted – 16,274 inhabitants
Nkpor Flyover Erosion Site – 52% of work completed. Location – latitudes 6° 09′ 9.2293″ N and Longitude 6° 49′ 42.8554″ E
Measurement- Length 1.545m, Average Width 505m, depth 20m. Hectares of land recovered- 5Ha
Population Impacted – 11,000 inhabitants
Nnewichi Erosion Site – 91% of work completed. Location – latitudes 6° 02′ 46.5307″ N and Longitude 6° 55′ 13.4267″ E
Measurement- Length 3.730m, Average Width 110m, depth 27m. Hectares of land recovered- 40Ha. Population Impacted – 52,824 inhabitants
Ojoto Erosion Site – 95% of work completed. Location – latitudes 6° 06′ 7.3828″ N and Longitude 6° 53′ 49.7679″ E
Measurement- Length 3.950m, Average Width 41m, depth 33m. Hectares of land recovered- 28.48Ha. Population Impacted – 6,694 inhabitants
Ire-Obosi Erosion Site – 67% of work completed
Location – latitudes 6° 06′ 56.9499″ N and Longitude 7° 09′ 12.6790″ E
Measurement- Length 4.150m, Average Width 103m, depth 53m
Hectares of land recovered- 4.58Ha
Population Impacted – 5,000 inhabitants
Umudunu/Uruokpala, Abagana Erosion Site – 57% of work completed
Location – latitudes 6o 100 42.97900 and Longitudes 6o 530 46.22040E
Measurement- 7.9km
Hectares of land recovered- 3.9Ha
Population Impacted – 8,352 inhabitants
The State has in addition to the above secured World Bank support in carrying out all the required studies. In this way, over 20 engineering designs with a public display to allow for input from the communities to ensure the delivery of a fit-for-purpose intervention, according to global best practices.
Livelihood Programme.
As part of its human angle to environmental sustainability, the Livelihood Support and grassroots economic empowerment is an integral component of the NEWMAP project. The essence is to improve on the livelihood of people who live in the shadows of these gullies.
To count some of its achievements, the Project has supported the creation of about sixty-two (62) cottage industries (otherwise known as Community Interest Groups – CIGs in NEWMAP parlance) in first four (4) of these erosion ravaged communities involving 1255 community members of which 60% are female, thereby reducing poverty and improving the wellbeing of community members.
Members of the CIG have been adequately trained and empowered on such issues as Simple Bookkeeping, CDD approaches, and Soil Conservation, and have been equipped with the capacity to operate/manage such vocations as Poultry, Fishery, Pig Farming, Metal Fabrication, Palm Oil Processing, Cassava Processing, and Snail Farming. They have as well extended these skills to the operation of their businesses.
Many of these CIGs are doing very significant. They have improved the standard of living of the members (and their households): Uzoamaka Poultry Abagana which has produced up to 5 cycles, Izukanma Fishery Abagana, Oganiru Fish Farm Abagana, Ofuobi Piggery Omagba, Ijezie Scouring Powder Omagba, and Blessed Iron Bender Omagba.
CIGs formation in other sites is in progress, especially with priority on Waste Management.
Climate Change Activities
The Project has undertaken a study to mitigate the perennial flooding in Onitsha and it environ, known as the Onitsha Urban Storm Water Management Master Plan. The study has proposed measures that will ensure effective management of storm runoff in Onitsha and adjourning towns to mitigate it’s environmental, social and health impacts. The Master Plan has a proposing 3-phased solution to stormwater problems in Onitsha and adjourning cities.
To ensure the sustainability of these investments, the Household and Community Rainwater Harvesting in Anambra state are also being implemented by the State through NEWMAP.
It seeks to address rainwater runoff which is the leading factor in soil erosion and to conserve water for domestic and agricultural purposes. Giving the State’s high vulnerability to soil erosion, this activity will help nip gully emergence in the bud. Prevention will be the most effective approach of controlling the menace of erosion in Anambra state.
Stakeholders have lauded NEWMAP for its innovation, the distribution of 1280 Low Carbon/Carbon Efficient Cook Stoves (Institutional, Double Burners Bio-gel, Single Burners Bio-gel, Environ-fit and Briquette) to some communities, schools and other public institutions in the State. Project beneficiaries have acclaimed that the “stoves significantly helped to reduce the incidences of tree felling and high carbon emission: Mr. E.I Akabueze Deputy Comptroller of Corrections Awka Custodial Center Nigeria Prisons Amawbia, agree that the stoves were of great value.
He said “before using the low Carbon Stoves, the correction center depended on firewood of about an N100,000 – N120,000 every month. However, now the quantity has reduced by half because of the less wood the stove requires to cook.
Scorecard of Excellence
Indeed, this multi-scale Project has provided substantial economic relief to the communities whose ancestral lands and livelihoods are under consistent threat of destruction by gully erosion. At the same time, the Project has improved flow of traffic in most of the project areas with access roads to improved livelihoods for all stakeholders and project beneficiaries; developed landscape vista, as well as job opportunities for both skilled and un-skilled labors.
For against the target of reclaiming 7.7714 hectares, the Project has reclaimed 41.439 hectares. In terms of Bioremediation 2.156 hectares has been covered across the three pioneer erosion sites in the State; St. Thomas Aquinas/Neros Plaza, Amachalla and Omagba, Onitsha sites. Besides 54.45 hectares of land have also been reclaimed/stabilized across the ten new erosion sites including Abagana and palliative intervention at the Federal High Court/Ekwueme Square Awka sites.
The Project while reclaiming the degraded lands also ensured that fit for purpose drainage channels are constructed. So far, 499m kilometer length asphalted paved access roads with stormwater collector channels at St. Thomas Aquinas/Neros Plaza erosion site and 778.6m range asphalted paved access roads with stormwater collector channels on both sides at Amachalla erosion site.
According to Dr. Joy Agene, the NEWMAP Task Team Leader,& World Bank Operation Specialist, Dr. Joy Agene, “the accomplishment of NEWMAP is a product of collective effort that brings to bear the best of Engineering designs and Practices, the best of bio-remediation measures, afforestation, community vigilance ownership and participation and a highly mobile, highly motivated project implementation team and the visionary leadership and ownership of the State Government, all of this came together to provide the transformational results that we are getting in Anambra State ”
To further support this assertion, NEWMAP’s National Project Coordinator, Dr. Salisu Dahiru emphasized that Anambra state stands out in terms of achievement because of the governor’s commitment from the inception of the Project. According to Dahiru, Anambra state is now being copied by other participating States. Every State now considers the commitment of extra resources to accelerate engineering design of additional sites: an approach that contributed to the speedup of implementation of degraded areas in the State.
Salisu explained further that, “the spirit of partnership, the spirit of community mobilization and the spirit of oneness in terms of implementation of the Project and this combine to provide the much-needed success that is already achieved in Anambra state. This is why many states are adopting the Anambra style in fast-tracking development of bankable designs to accelerate construction activities in their respective project sites”.
On the experience gained in the implementation of the project, Michael Ivenso, the State Project Coordinator asserts that NEWMAP as a project provides real-life experience for anyone who is involved at the stakeholder’s level. He believes that NEWMAP, through the support of the state government, has dramatically assisted the people. Stating that untold hardship characterized the devastation and the suffering experienced by people, especially women and children, who live under the shadows of these gullies. “However, the Project has been able to impact tremendously on the lives of beneficiaries.
“It has been tremendous. I know the precarious State of our beneficiaries before the intervention and the progress we have made. It gives me great joy. It is a life-changing experience, the sense of fulfilment is overwhelming, and I experience this every time I am inspecting sites that we have completed. I see people whose houses have been saved – like Mrs. Theresa Okoye at Nkpor, Mr. Innocent Obasi at Omagba, Mrs. Florence Anagbogu in Amachalla. I could name them unending. These are real people whose houses would have been severely affected but for the intervention of NEWMAP. They are delighted people today. The best part of this job is when you can save those living within the shadows of the Gullies from the impending catastrophe. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve.
Nothing can provide that kind of satisfaction. It is an exceedingly difficult job, but it is a noble one. We are greatly encouraged by the leadership and support of His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano, who ensures that NEWMAP gets all the counterpart funding needed to succeed.”
Indeed, NEWMAP throughout its activities in Anambra State, has succeeded in improving the physical environment and living conditions. The project has had wider impact on the affected communities by providing economic livelihoods to the poor and affected people, addressing flooding and poor management of solid wastes, and restoring degraded lands. NEWMAP’s innovative approach has proved a veritable model for future intervention to ensure the sustainability of our environment.
