Environmental & Social Management Plan

Climate change is already having an impact in Nigeria. Weather-related disasters have become more frequent in the past four decades and the trend continues. In 2010, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported that over 250,000 Nigerians were displaced by flood disasters that ravaged many communities across the country. Weather-related disasters, especially flooding, are reported, almost daily in the country’s news media. Other parts of the world are also experiencing increasingly severe weather-related disasters. Drought-induced famine and locusts, and an increase in the number of extreme heat days, have also affected Niger and northern Nigeria. These recent events highlight just how vulnerable Nigeria could be in a future with more frequent and severe extreme weather events.

Delta state is not left out of these unfolding and changing events, from the southern delta landscape to the northern fringes and highlands, the weather disparity is quite profound and interesting. These broadly sparse lands are affected by rise in temperature causing near drought event with characteristic insect/pest attacks, excessive rainfall leading to erosion and gully formation to rise in sea level in the south which affects livelihood, oil installations, schools (education) and an undesirable increase in freshwater salinity. Indeed, the effect of climate change is as palpable as it is spoken of yet while staying same or increasing we must learn to get as adaptive as possible, taking advantage of prescribed measures emanating from studies or adopting local ingenious practices that will ensure we are able to match if not surmount these changes.

The objective of the Special Climate Change project is to improve communities’ resilience to an array of variability in erstwhile predictable event that has ceased to be consistent. These events have changed the sequence and expectations of the average individual who depends greatly on provisions of their natural environment. This project also aims to provide sustainable livelihood amongst men and women who are faced with the retrogressive effect of Climate Change. In other words, it should address ecosystem degradation that causes shortage of water and foods. It is not strange to people even in remote and rural communities that the prevailing changes in their ecological environment has resulted in increased pest attack, recurrence of natural disasters, health challenges, human conflict and migration. These reactions clearly show that the average individual is very vulnerable to a host of Climate Change precipitated events affecting their natural environment, agricultural systems and fresh water resources.

This project has carried out the following activities in response to climate change agenda;

• Increased local communits resilience through sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry by establishing Special Climate Change demonstration farms in two communities viz; Obomkpa and Ukwu-Nzu.
• Provided Solar Powered Borehole in Ubulu-Uku, Obomkpa and Ukwu-Nzu community
• Provided Solar powered rural electrification system for three community Primary Health Care Centers at Ubulu-Uku, Jesse and Owanta
• Drip irrigation system for the Climate Change Demo farms at Obomkpa and Ukwu_Nzu communities 
• Provided waste bins to cater for poorly disposed refuse in the community that pose health and environmental hazards
• Fenced Climate adaptation demo farms for security of the crops within and to prevent encroachment by herders.