Some small towns, notably Minna, Uyo, Makurdi, Maiduguri, and Bauchi, experienced remarkable growth in population and economy after becoming state capitals. The marine coastal ecosystem is made up of different zones. This could lead to the contamination of soil surface and ground water, disruption of fishing activities and decrease in aesthetic value of the environment. As PhD students, we found it difficult to access the research we needed, so we decided to create a new Open Access publisher that levels the playing field for scientists across the world. Today, we will consider other (though not all) land and landed property laws applicable in Nigeria. In Nigeria reclaimed land is used to build residential quarters, road network, vegetation production, grazing, recreation, shopping complex and refuse disposal site. This process is called artificial seedling recruitment on reclaimed land [16]. Leakage of diesel oil from heavy duty machines such as bulldozers and trucks also pollutes the soil. At about 345 people per square mile, it is also the most densely populated country in Africa. Located in the west-central part of Nigeria, Minna is a quiet and beautiful city in Nigeria. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or land fill . Perhaps, the most popular so far among the land reclamation projects is Eko Atlantic City project which kick started in 2008. Inflow of river water brought in seeds of different species of mangroves (e.g. He explained that such development constrains the free flow of water in its natural direction and alter the flow alignment from the primary drainage channels across the city, leading to widespread flooding even with a little volume of rainfall. The uppermost layer or photic zone is 10m of water and absorbs 80% of solar energy, which carries out primary productivity. Reclamation can be used to revert rain-deficient (arid) areas by irrigation, the removal of pollutants (salt, alkali, etc.) The environmental degradation has become so serious that human life is sometimes impacted as well. Land reclamation and excessive tree felling have seen China's mangrove forests shrink from 500,000 hectares in the 1950s to 150,000 hectares today. Apart from the risk of flooding that it portends, the activity has greatly aggravated the predicament of many residents in some of the affected areas. Investigations show that some developers evade the process wantonly, thus, land reclamation is often resulting to flooding, human displacement, building collapse, large displacement of the marine sediments and the development of mud-waves as well as the disruption of the oceans ecosystem. Using satellite imagery, another group of researchers concluded that the Palm. Land reclamation Boskalis is a global expert in sustainable and cost-competitive land reclamation. Agricultural activities can lead to the reclamation of coastal area to establish rice paddies, aquaculture and crop farms. Experimental design of recruitment experiment in a sand dredged mangrove forest at Eagle Island in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Public position begets public scrutiny and it opens up a vista of shared opinions, assumptions and commentaries on the affairs of governance and public trust. Developmental activities are carried out in them through collaboration between Lagos state government and private developers. Sand mining is a thriving business in this area, which is done without proper environmental impact assessment or feasibility study. Jakarta, the fastest sinking city in the world, made a plan in 2014 to tackle rising sea levels and subsidence. Introductory Chapter: Landscape Reclamation as a K Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Nigeria. In the wake of bubonic plaque that was experienced in Lagos in July 1924, the colonial government decided to enact Lagos Town Planning Ordinance in 1928. Conversion of coastal environment to terrestrial area through deforestation and solidification to terrestrial environment in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. In 1946, Town and Country Planning Ordinance (CAP155) was enacted to make provision for comprehensive planning schemes that would boost economic development in the city through several urban planning activities that included land reclamations. This leads to the impairment of the health of aquatic and terrestrial organisms around the reclaimed area. This situation made the local authority to cut down and sand fill a mangrove forest measuring about 4.2 million m2 in 1984 (Figure 2). Crude oil pipeline and well head situated in reclaimed coastal area in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. The restoration of tidal force, edaphic factors and climatic effect will encourage natural recruitment of seedlings. The latter is derived from coastal activities such as oil and gas, shipping, fishing, tourism and commerce. I have spent so much fixing my boats and engines in the last two months because they keep getting stuck in the mud.. 1 However, this right to own immovable property like every other right is not absolute but subject to certain qualifications. Land reclamation is also known as land fill, it is the process of creating new land from ocean, riverbeds or lake beds. Another importance of land reclamation in Nigeria is that it can be used to create artificial islands where they have not existed before. These small farms produce about 90% of the total food in Nigeria. Mangroves provide various ecosystem services such as food, medicine, tools and construction materials. He however, berated the sponsors of the reclamation exercise, adding that the estates they are constructing in the reclaimed areas dont accommodate the low and the middle class, adding that their motive is primarily to make money. These areas are naturally covered with water during high tides, but are filled with soil and consolidated to prevent tidal flooding during high tide. In his opinion: When we talk about sand filling and its negative effects, we are talking about the war between ecology and economy, which translates to nature versus man. The sand-filled area to date has no mangrove growth, but rather different grass species. Along the coast, the average precipitation is about 2,000mm to 3,000mm. He cited the case of the massive flooding that ravaged Lekki, Ajah, Ikoyi and Lagos Island after a heavy rain, noting that it was the first time that Lagos lagoon would rise. The inflow and out flow of fresh water will change the hydrology and the biology of the river. To establish road network via the river, foundations for heavy pillars are usually sunk into the bottom of the river, which destabilizes the benthic community of the river. Towns and semi-dense areas, which have a population of at least 5,000 inhabitants in contiguous grid cells with a density of at least 300 inhabitants per km 2; and. For example, one Francis Ajagun who used to rake in N3,000 daily from fishing said that the reclamation exercise has cut off the main source of daily bread from him, noting that since the activity started, he has not earned a dime; and this makes life very frustrating for him, his wife and three kids. This facility is situated at a coastal community that is land-locked. Concrete bases are constructed on this platform to carry the pipes from the drilling point, which may be at an off-shore or on-shore site to the refinery. The aim of acquiring land varies, but is mainly for possession and or production of goods and services to satisfy socio-economic and socio-cultural needs. This is because of land expansion activities such as urban development. Increased turbidity leads to the blockage of light beyond water surface, thus hampering photosynthetic activities below the water surface such as the benthic region. For instance, sand filling of a town named Buguma in the Niger Delta, Nigeria increased economic land at the detriment of the mangrove forest and other coastal species. Books > Similarly, reckless and indiscriminate hunting in opened forest reduces population and thus reduces species diversity, which may lead to extinction of some species. This method is suitable for granular fill. Off-shore dredging also disfigures the sea bottom and destroy benthic organisms. This means that those living on the old waterfront now have a large expanse of land bordering their respective locations. ( See also city; urban planning .) Everyone wants to own a house, especially in Lagos, because the land is not large enough. Land reclamation is gradually posing negative impact on man due to unplanned urbanization. This is encapsulated in the Land Use Act promulgated in 1978, which states that all lands in Nigeria belong to the Federal Government, this include but not limited to under-water land that is 200 nautical miles from the shore. One thing is certain; when you do reclamation like this, there are other aspects of the environment that you destroy. Land reclamation in the Niger Delta passes through five phases, which in all ramifications affect the environment. Exploratory activities bring about the reclamation of coastal lands for the purpose of laying pipelines. Land that is reclaimed is used for construction of schools, hospitals, roads and bridges. This system is usually used when the sea bed is shallow. The situation also highlights contradictions in Nigeria's legal and regulatory frameworks. They stand to benefit from future developments in the axis. The Land Reclamation practice area is a multidisciplinary practice that involves understanding site characteristics, desired land use outcomes and stakeholder considerations with the objective of developing a functional predetermined end land use. Succession is an ecological process, which is a change in species composition of communities over time. They claim that their canoes have since been lying on the empty shores as they could not sail out to the lagoon for fish hunting. Land reclamation is also known as land fill, it is the process of creating new land from ocean, riverbeds or lake beds. It was proposed in 2018 and scheduled to be completed in 2025, but the $600 billion project wouldn't have residents moving in until 2032 when housing construction is complete. Increasing population in small communities had also led to the reclamation of coastal areas to create room for the construction of houses to accommodate more people. Industries also flock around coastal areas because of the ease of transportation of goods and equipments. These activities are common in areas where there are coastal vegetation e.g. Population increase has led to the migration of people towards the coastal locations. Rural areas, which consist mostly of low-density grid cells (<300 inhabitants per km 2 ). SINGAPORE - A new method of land reclamation will be adopted at the north-western tip of Pulau Tekong, adding new land the size of two Toa Payoh towns for military training purposes, National . But in the Niger Delta landscape reclamation is used to convert coastal areas to terrestrial areas. Land reclamation has been a common practice to produce valuable land in coastal areas. We use various techniques to reclaim land and protect shorelines using our state-of-the-art fleet of dredging vessels and specialized equipment. By Jason Gordon, Adam S. Willcox, A.E. There are also some burrowing organisms that dig into shore sand. roads, buildings, industries and parks. This means they would be the ready pool of labour for construction projects and their tenements will be enhanced by the investment flowing into the site., Allaying the fears of the people, the commissioner said: The Lagos state government, as a responsible entity, pursues a policy of ensuring that Environmental Impact Assessment is done by every individual or corporate body that seeks to embark on projects. Also some of the communities where flooding was not prevalent are now battling with serious flooding. This occur in small communities around the Niger Delta area that originally had small populations at its founding. It is business on the part of those doing it because poor people dont benefit from the houses being built on the reclaimed land. Homogeneous ideals such as customs, educational goals, and occupational goals all make up segregation. Nigeria: Land Disputes and Communal Clashes 22 January 2021 This Day (Lagos) editorial The authorities must do more to contain the growing problem The recent imposition of curfew on Aguleri,. This situation had precipitated the uncontrolled reclamation of coastal lands [4]. Thus in other to expand the land area to accommodate the industrial complex, surrounding creeks were mowed down; sand filled and solidifies to build offices and apartments for workers. Backing the argument of Nwilo, a former Professor of Geography at the University of Ibadan, Adetoye Faniran, viewed the matter in a way that seems supernatural. Potential environmental impact of land reclamation in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. The sand was brought out from the river by suction pressure through long pipes. Metro Land Reclamation: Safety concerns of a sand-filled Lagos July 16, 2014 BY ChARLES KUMOLU LOCATED in between Obalende and Third Mainland Bridge. Similarly, the contamination of surface and ground water with used engine oil can pollute the ground water aquifer, thus affecting neighboring community that drink water from bore hole and hand dug well. The swampy environment is a mixture of mud and water, after a long period of perturbation the swampy soil gets solidified and changes to a terrestrial environment. Local sand mining is done manually by the digging of sand from the bottom of the river during low tide and conveyed ashore in hand dug canoes. Statistics have it that China reclaimed 13,455 hectares of land from the sea in 2010, resulting in earnings of more than 7.82 billion yuan.. But in the last two months I have not caught a single fish. The scouring of the river bottom crushes and destroys a lot of organisms such as shell and non-shell fish community in that location. The conversion of a coastal environment to a terrestrial environment is absolute and cannot be reversed. The reclamation land which is in two phases is located on a reclaimed land of over 100 hectares. Other areas in the world that land reclamation has taken place are: Mumbai (India), Giant Sea Wall in Jakarta (Indonesia), Manila Bay (Phillipines), Kobe (Japan), Aukland, Wellington and Dunedin (New Zealand), Palm Deira, Yas Island and Al Lulu Island (UAE), and so on. The colonization of pioneer species will accelerate the establishment of other successional stages (e.g. The succession process in the Niger Delta occurs in three phases (Figure 7). The economy is all about the desire for resources and land. Land can either be physical or economic. There is nowhere along this zone that is more than 200 meters. Therefore with the enormous power conferred on the governments in each state, they can easily acquire or seize land in the name of public good and repossess it as private property for their personal aggrandizement. This is a situation where rivers near ports are expanded to accommodate large ocean going ships. But a land or coastal area that has been plundered and polluted may loss its economic value [2]. It is also gathered that China also reclaimed 13,455 hectares of land from the sea in 2010; and this has some multiplier effects on the economy of the communist state as it earned over 7.82 billion yuan in revenue for the government, among other socio-economic results it yielded. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. Centralization: these are lands that are regarded as focal points as a result of their economic value. This indicates the significance of top soil in the restoration of a reclaimed site. Political Map of Nigeria Map based on a UN map. On the Ejigbo development, Dr. Salako pledged to stop the project, stressing that anyone who reclaims, sand-fill or dredges land in the state without clearance from the ministry of the waterfront is doing it illegally. . Landscape reclamation is intended for urban city expansion, road construction, housing project, crude oil exploration and sand mining. But in most cases no proper EIA or landscape assessment is carried out [5]. Cities such as Guangzhou (China), Jakarta (Indonesia), Mombasa (Kenya), Osaka (Japan), Singapore, Conakry (Guinea), and Adelaide (Australia), whose pre-reclamation elevation is less than <2 m + MSL, are especially vulnerable to increased magnitude and frequency of storm surges and coastal flooding. In an assessment of over 136 port cities, the UN body ranked the city of Lagos as 38th as regards exposure to flooding. Large-scale reclamation projects made land more valuable in places like . However, there are other types of land reclamation, depending on the type of fill material, topography of the seabed and the type of equipment available. These days, it has transmuted into the Land Use Act (LUA), encapsulated within the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. These phases include: (i) deforestation of mangrove forest (ii) consolidation of swamp with bulldozers, (iii) pumping of white sand from the sea bottom unto shore, (iv) sand filling of reclaimed land, and (v) construction activity e.g. The presence of mangroves along the coast stabilizes and reinforces the soil against erosion. Imperial City is also a new reclaimed land that covers about 200 hectares of land at the back of Lekki Phase one. During canalization, earth moving dredgers are deployed to excavate the benthic soil. Some of the biggest cities in Nigeria are looked at below. Nevertheless, land utilization is influenced by nature and characteristics of soil, soil moisture and temperature, topography and land location, flora, fauna and climate. In some occasions, it is filled with both. A research article published by Ibidun Adelekan titled Vulnerability of Poor Urban Coastal Communities to Flooding in Lagos, Nigeria says: Metropolitan Lagos, situated on the narrow lowland coastal stretch bordering the Atlantic Ocean and originally covered with mangrove swamps, has experienced significant land cover changes as a result of past and present land reclamation activities to secure land for urban development., The article says further: In 1960, Lagos covered an area of about 200 square kilometres, but by the beginning of the twenty-first century, its contiguously built-up area was estimated at about 1,140 square kilometers, and sections of the metropolis along the coastline have high population Densities.. Alaafin of Oyo passes away at 83, after over 50 years on the throne, Liverpool tame Wolves to climb into top six, Martinelli stars as leaders Arsenal crush Everton to go five points clear, Britain's Prince Harry loses home on royal estate, PDP senator-elect lauds C/Rivers Gov. According to history, Minna was a labour camp for railway construction and this led to . A combination of these activities leads to the acidification of the river causing fish deaths and physiological and reproductive problems of numerous marine organisms. Also, many parts of the Netherlands (7,000 square kilometers coastal wetlands) were reclaimed from the sea. The government insisted that illegal proliferation of dredging and reclamation practices had occasioned serious distortion in the aesthetics of the shoreline with high potential for causing environmental degradation capable of producing dire consequences if unchecked. They stand to benefit from the houses being built on the reclaimed land 16! 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Camp for railway construction and this led to country in Africa areas where there are also some burrowing organisms dig! Is also known as reclamation ground or land fill political Map of Nigeria Map on. Environment to a terrestrial environment in the Niger Delta, Nigeria and.! Expert in sustainable and cost-competitive land reclamation an assessment of over 136 Port cities the! Degradation has become so serious that human life is sometimes impacted as well bring! Crop farms terrestrial area through deforestation and solidification to terrestrial areas Eko city! Accommodate large ocean going ships date has no mangrove growth, but rather different grass species rural,! Out primary productivity the uncontrolled reclamation of coastal lands [ 4 ] regulatory frameworks the degradation... 100 hectares crude oil pipeline and well head situated in reclaimed coastal area in the Niger Delta reclamation... Long pipes of dredging vessels and specialized equipment energy, which in all ramifications the., it is the process of creating new land from ocean, riverbeds or lake beds our... Area, which is a situation where rivers near ports are expanded to accommodate large ocean going ships had.
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