Nigeria's abundant solid minerals constitute some of the largest known deposits in recent years under different categories. With the activities in the sector characterized by production and a growing environmental decline often overlooked. This research uses a mix scale approach of descriptive statistics and GIS methodology in analyzing the ecological impacts of mining in Nigeria. Emphases are on the issues, environmental and spatial analysis of the trends, factors associated with the issues and current efforts. The results not only reveal large deposits and changes in production, Nigeria's mineral deposits showed continual growth much of the time despite a few declines. area left with green cover. The other burden of pollution risks involves the 1,000 abandoned mine ponds, alongside 1,100-4,000 tin and columbite mines left behind from the mining booms of past eras in the 1960s and spread all over Jos, Plateau. These threats are compounded further by the 400 fatalities from lead poisoning triggered by illegal quarrying in Zamfara in 2010. The GIS mapping of the trends showed clusters of areas prone to hazards and the dispersion of solid mineral potentials in the nation with the impacts linked to socio-economic elements. For mitigation, the study offered suggestions ranging from education to regular assessment of ecological liabilities and the need for policy enhancement.

With water resource planning assuming greater importance in environmental protection efforts, analyzing the health of agricultural watersheds using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) becomes essential for decision-makers in Southern Texas. Within the area, there exist numerous threats from conflicting land uses. These include the conversion of land formerly designated for agricultural purposes to other uses. Despite current efforts, anthropogenic factors are greatly contributing to the degradation of watersheds. Additionally, the activities of waste water facilities located in some of the counties, rising populations, and other socioeconomic variables are negatively impacting the quality of water in the agricultural watersheds. To map the location of these stressors spatially and the extent of their impacts across time, the paper adopts a mix scale method of temporal spatial analysis consisting of simple descriptive statistics. In terms of objectives, this research provides geo-spatial analysis of the effects of human activities on agricultural watersheds in Southern Texas and the factors fuelling the concerns under the purview of watershed management. The results point to growing ecosystem decline across time and a geographic cluster of counties experiencing environmental stress. Accordingly, the emergence of stressors such as rising population, increased use of fertilizer treatments on farm land, discharges of atmospheric pollutants and the large presence of municipal and industrial waste treatment facilities emitting pathogens and pesticides directly into the agricultural watersheds pose a growing threat to the quality of the watershed ecosystem.

Fuel based lighting made up of kerosene continues to find essential use in West Africa. In Nigeria where tens of millions regularly use kerosene, adverse environmental health effects remain widespread much of the time given the mixed results. These include rising mortality and morbidity often associated with fire hazards from kerosene explosions, destruction of properties, burns, compromised vision, indoor air pollution, asthma and the disproportionate exposure of infants and women to the risks of recurrent kerosene hazards. With hospital emergency cases involving complications from kerosene hazards on the rise, adulterated products in the face of loose regulations and mass poverty has surged over the years. In all these, very little research exists to assess the risks from fuel lighting incidents and their impacts from a mix scale perspective using GIS. Accordingly, this paper analyzes the growing risks from kerosene disasters in Nigeria. Emphasis is on the issues, the trends, factors and impacts using mix scale techniques of GIS and descriptive statistics to map and track the trends spatially. Preliminary results using descriptive statistics reveal kerosene hazards in the form of fatalities through household explosions as well as health and environmental risks. Just as impact analysis identified pollution threats, the GIS mapping pinpointed the spatial dispersion of the risks and elements associated with kerosene hazards. With all these attributed to several elements from ineffective policy to economic conditions, the paper offered several remedies consisting of the need for education and enlightenment campaign, coupled with improved emergency response to fire hazards and the strengthening of policy. In highlighting the extent of kerosene hazards in the country, there is opportunity for resource managers and decision-making to build from it and design proactive measures to mitigate future disasters for the safety of citizens.

Nigeria's vast areas of land under rice cultivation did not augment self-sufficiency and that prompted a policy shift towards increased local production with some effects. From that, Niger state emerged and remains a major contributor to agricultural productivity in the country. Despite being a major hub with vast acreages and the third largest rice producing state of the nation, it is faced with several sectoral challenges impeding rice farming. Yet very little has been done over the years to assess the trends in local rice production to gauge yield potentials and develop new models for improved decision making capability. Accordingly, this paper adopted a mix-scale technique of descriptive statistics and GIS to analyse changing trends in rice production in Niger state. There is a focus on the issues, temporal profile of agricultural trends especially rice production and other crops, the factors and mapping of selected indices. The result shows that despite notable drops in the 1990s, production and land under rice for Niger state surpassed most of its neighbors in every category from 2006 through 2010. During these periods, Niger state's land under rice cultivation increased notably as well. The GIS mapping of the trends points to dispersions and changes in land under rice cultivation and production as well as indicators located within the larger agricultural structure coupled with widespread diffusion of fertilizer use in the state. With the changes attributed to post-harvest losses and the lack of storage devices and socio-economic and miscellaneous elements from climate change to others. The paper recommended several remedies including the need for storage and bulk handling devices to open up rice markets, the design of geospatial and land information management systems and constant monitoring of ecosystems adjacent to rice farms.

Since the discovery of oil in the Niger Delta region, the sector's contribution to Nigeria's economy came at a huge environmental cost involving recurrent spills resulting in the spewing of oil into sensitive ecosystems. In the process, gas flaring from the industry has accelerated at an alarming rate and degrading the fragile mangrove ecosystem. The problems are characterized by widespread pollution of water resources and threats to the surrounding ecology in the form of deforestation, loss of habitats, and damage to biodiversity. Yet very little has been done to fully assess the impacts on the Delta region. In that light, this research uses mix-scale methods of GIS and descriptive statistics to assess the environmental liabilities of petroleum activities in Southern Nigeria from 1963-2013. Emphasis is on the issues, ecological analysis of the impacts, factors and spatial analysis. While the results point to changes in production and ecosystem degradation prompted by the concentration of greenhouse gases, rise in CO 2 emissions, widespread incidents of gas flaring and oil spills.