Early Warning System and Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Prevent Flooding in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

The challenges of climatic change impacts are global. Developing countries, especially Africa, are mostly affected. This is because African economy is predominantly agrarian with rain-fed and climate-dependent agriculture being the predominant occupation. Poverty and low technological development add to the glaring impacts of climate change effects in African countries like Nigeria. Available evidences show that Nigeria, specifically Ibadan, is already being embattled with extreme weather scenarios like flooding. Majority of published literatures on the perennial occurrences of flooding in Ibadan metropolis linked the causes of this climate change scenario to anthropogenic activities like improper municipal waste management and buildings along flood plains and river beds, among others. The thrust of this chapter is to investigate the factors causing perennial flooding occurrences in Ibadan metropolis. Causes of perennial flooding occurrences in Ibadan metropolis was evaluated through published literature on flooding occurrences in Ibadan. The chapter highlights flooding occurrences and its effects among communities close to Ogunpa River. The chapter concludes by stating the importance of early warning system (EWS) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) as climate change mitigation options needed to cope with future occurrences of flooding. These mitigation options were recommended to the state government to adopt in providing a holistic approach to reducing flooding occurrences in Ibadan.