The frequency and consequences of extreme flood events have increased in recent times, having huge impact on the socioeconomic well-being of nations with the most significant impact being felt at the community level. Flooding is the most common environmental hazard in Nigeria, particularly Lokoja, with the frequency, intensity, and extent likely to increase due to the effects of global warming leading to climate change such as sea level rise, more intensive precipitation levels, and higher river discharges. While destructive impacts of flood events continue to increase, flood managers in Nigeria have continued to implement a top-down approach towards mitigating these impacts, without involving affected communities in planning and implementation of mitigation strategies. This study therefore employed a participatory approach to determine the causes and impact of flooding in the study area. Participatory research tools such as key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and questionnaire surveys using the purposive sampling method were deployed to elicit data on the perception of the communities about the causes and impact of flood events. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed to elucidate the major causes and areas of impact while qualitative analysis was carried out to corroborate the results and to make for a robust outcome. The Chi Square Test analysis was performed to empirically establish a relationship between the impacts and flooding. Results show that major causes of flooding are the release of water from dams (83% in Adankolo, 97% in Gadumo, and 100% in Ganaja), overflow of rivers, and heavy rainfall while flooding affects economic concerns, property and basic amenities. The Chi Square Test analysis determined empirically that a relationship exists between several areas of impact and flood occurrence. The research concludes that participatory flood research approach can provide flood man

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Between 1981 and 1994, Nigeria lost 3.7 million hectares of its forests. It is estimated that less than 4% of Nigeria's rainforest cover is left. Reckless use and abuse of the forest reserves in Nigeria lead to degradation. However, the relationship between forest degradation and climate variability has not been clearly elucidated. This study assesses the trend of forest degradation between 1986, 2002 and 2014 in the study area and also examines the correlation between forest degradation and climate variability using temperature and rainfall parameters. Classification of Landsat images (TM 1986, ETM+ 2002, and OLI 2014) and change analysis using NDVI values of three-timed period were performed to observe forest degradation in the study area. NDVI values were calculated by combining bands 4 (near infrared) and 3 (visible red) for Landsat TM and ETM+ and bands 5 (near infrared) and 4 (visible red) for Landsat OLI using the spatial analysis extension in ArcGIS environment Linear regression statistical analysis was employed to determine the correlation between forest degradation and climate variability. The results show a fluctuation in the trend of forest degradation, while a positive correlation coefficient of 0.58 shows that there is a relationship between forest degradation and temperature and rainfall variability. The study concludes that though there is a positive correlation between forest degradation and climate variability in the study area, the relationship is weak and not strong enough to make generalizations.