Nigeria’s conflict is a result of environmental devastation across West Africa

Nigeria is experiencing a major conflict between nomadic herdsmen and indigenous farmers. In 2016, the conflict led to the death of 2,500 people, displaced 62,000 others and led to loss of US$13.7 billion in revenue. In January 2018 alone, the conflict claimed the lives of 168 people

Integrating Ecosystem Services Approach in Achieving Development Goals: The Role of the Geographer

The ecosystem services approach is increasingly suggested as a way to achieve the sustainable use of ecosystem products and services. This concept was put firmly on policy agenda by The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report of 2003, even though its history dates back to the 1970s. This has drawn great attention to the study of ecosystem services. Studies in this field has been dominated by those interested in biophysical environment, exploring how natural sciences can protect and enhance goods and services necessary for human wellbeing. Others have focused on economics, measuring and communicating the value of ecosystem services and goods to spur government and other decision makers to take ecological gains and losses into account in decision making process. While this concept is widely adopted in countries such as United Kingdom, Netherlands and Australia, there is little or no attention to this concept and its integration into national and regional developmental objectives in Africa. In societies where the concept has been tested and adopted, geographers have been at the forefront of these developments. This begs the question what role does African geographer play in enhancing the ecosystem service approach in improving the lot of Africans. This paper explores the link between ecosystem services and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), identify potential areas of contribution of African geographers in assessing the relevance and adoptability of the ecosystem service concept in Africa especially in areas such as in mapping, visualization, the manipulation of data via geospatial information systems, generating information for capturing and measuring goods provided by natural systems, enhancing economic decision-making through the widespread promotion of market based instruments for conservation such as markets for ecosystem services and so-called payments for ecosystem services schemes. It is suggested that to achieve efficient outcomes, MDGs and other development goals need to be framed in the context of an ecosystems approach. Keywords: Africa, Geography, Ecosystem service approach, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs

Perceptions, knowledge, adaptation and socio-economic cost of climate change in Northern Nigeria

The objective of this paper is to assess the perceptions and determine the ability of farmers in rural Northern Nigeria to explain climate change, and to ascertain the socio-economic cost of climate change to them. The study also sought to understand how farmers have adapted to climate change and assess barriers to adaptation. The study is based on a survey of farmers in two rural communities in Northern Nigeria. The results reveal that the people generally associate climate change with changes in temperature, precipitation and vegetation. A significant number of farmers believe that temperature is increasing and that precipitation is declining. Those with the greatest experience of farming were more likely to notice climate change and have detailed explanation for its occurrence. The results also showed that there were important differences in the propensity of farmers of different age groups to adapt and there may be institutional impediments to adaptation. Although experienced farmers were more likely to perceive climate change, it is the younger farmers who were more likely to respond by making at least one adaptation, while the older ones often fell on safety nets of their social networks for survival. Although, large numbers of farmers perceive no barriers to adaptation, those that do perceive them tend to cite their age, lack of credit facilities, high level of illiteracy, high incidences of theft, soil erosion, large family sizes, lack of farm inputs and poor access to markets for their produce. About a fifth of the respondent although perceive climate change but are unable/fail to respond. This category may require particular incentives or assistance to do what is ultimately in their own best interests. While it is important to encourage improved farmer education, this alone is not adequate to enhance farmers’ adaptation to climate change. There is room for better adaptation if government intensify activities of extension workers and encourage planting of different varieties of the same crop which the farmers are used to cultivating, enhance weather forecasting potentials and make such information available to farmers to enable them adapt to changing planting dates. There is also need to integrate adaptation strategies to fit the peculiarities of the culture and customs of the societies concerned

Using emotion regulation to cope with challenges:a study of Chinese students in the United Kingdom

There is increasing research on the challenges that Chinese students experience during their time studying abroad, but limited studies have explored how they self-regulate their emotions to address these challenges. This paper identifies key stressors experienced by Chinese postgraduate students during their study in academic institutions in the United Kingdom as well as the emotion regulation strategies that they employed. Understanding the emotional experiences will provide important insights into Chinese students’ learning behaviour and their choice of different emotion regulation strategies when interacting with peers and academic tutors. Emotion regulation strategies believed to improve individual student experiences and their interaction with tutors and peers are discussed

Promoting acts of kindness on campus: Views of Chinese international students in the UK

There is increasing research on the challenges experienced by Chinese international students during their studies in the UK such as language barriers, social interactions, academic achievement, and psychological adjustment. This study proposes to understand these challenges through a kindness approach. It explores how sixty-three Chinese Master’s students from a British university interpreted the challenging and supportive features of their learning environment through the notion of (un)kindness. Drawing on 63 semi-structured interviews, the study reveals a range of ways these students experienced academic staff and student interactions as “unkind,” as well as their experiences of teaching materials, coursework feedback, and administrative support. It identifies three key factors that students perceive impede acts of kindness on campus. The findings offer important insight into the practice and the value of using a kindness approach to improve Chinese international students’ academic and social experiences in the UK

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

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$5,864/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

Status and outlook for climate resilient aquaculture in Kenya: Stakeholders perspectives

The impact of climate change on the aquaculture sector, which both supports livelihoods and is a source of nutrition in Kenya, is of concern. This study seeks to assess how stakeholders understand the impact of climate change on the aquaculture sector in Kenya, with a view to highlighting the steps needed towards enhancing the adaptation of aquaculture infrastructure to climate change. The study adopts a complementary mix of data collection methods (workshops, interviews, questionnaires, and field visits) implemented in four case study sites (Kakamega, Kajiado, Nairobi, and Kiambu). The findings of this study indicate that the most important climate hazard impacting aquaculture in Kenya is drought. It is estimated that about 40% of the potential growth of the subsector is lost due to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. However, only a handful of farmers have opted for adaptation measures mainly because they are considered expensive. Facilitating the adequate adaptation of aquaculture practice to climate change will require a focus on improving the fish production infrastructure, improved aquaculture feeds, and policy changes. Overall, this study shows that for the sector in Kenya to overcome the impacts of climate hazards and be resilient to future climate change, there is also a need to prioritise economic incentives and capacity building. The findings are timely and should serve as crucial stimulus for critical stakeholders towards developing infrastructures in tackling the present climate change challenges confronting the aquaculture sector in Kenya

Geo-spatial analysis of oil spill distribution and susceptibility in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

Oil spill occurrence during exploration, production and distribution can cause deleterious impact on the environment. Contamination of local streams/rivers, farmlands, forest resources and biodiversity in oil producing areas presents strong significant possibility of significant harm to human health. Geo-information technologies present new opportunities for assessing stress environment and ways of determining exposure susceptibility in such areas. The study assesses thegeographical distribution of oil-spills cluster and pattern using three geospatial techniques with ground data at 443 oil-spill incident sites from 1985-2008. The places with high (high-volume/large impact/close proximity to communities) and low incident (low-volume/less impact/fardistance) are related to the quantity of oil-spills identified within those communities considered susceptible to spill impact and possible exposure. While the average nearest neighborhood analysis showed a probability that oil-spill distribution in the area is clustered (ratio < 1 with index value 0.19), the Getis-Ord General G test indicated that the oil-spill with high quantities (volume) discharge are significantly clustered within every 400 m. The Moran’s I index indicted that there i