Problems and Options of Integrated Water Resources Management in Nigeria: Administrative Constraints and Policy Strategies

Abstract

Nigeria has greater challenges when it comes to water development and management. The current water resources development and supply status is unacceptably low and needs a major transformation. With the rapid growth in population, urbanization, industrialization and competition for economic development, water resource has become vulnerable to depletion and degradation. Management of this valuable resource is determined by its acceptability and utilization in terms of quantity and quality. Due to imbalance between demand and availability, management approaches are facing various ethical dilemas. This paper therefore considers the water supply and sanitation situation in the country and the challenges facing the sector. The paper calls for institutional reforms and review of policy targets, define key elements for the development of action and investment plans as well as provide some guidelines in order to minimize duplication and maximize effectiveness. The paper also suggested strategies and viable framework/agenda for sustainable water supply and emphasizes that the machinery of water resources development and management needs an urgent overhauling with the aim of streamlining the overlapping functions of the various agencies that have operated the system up till now. More importantly, the paper suggested integrated approaches/strategies for sustainable management as well as offers relevant policy recommendations for water resources management in Nigeria.

Seasonal Variation and Bacteriological Pollution of River Amba of Nasarawa State, Nigeria

“…The values for coliform population from this study are higher than the WHO (2006) and NAFDAC (2001) recommended standards. Hence, there is the need for institutional reforms and review of policy targets as well as provide some guidelines as suggested by (Nwankwoala, 2014). Similarly, the results generally revealed that the portions of River Amba assessed in this work were within safe limits for irrigation and fishing activities but not for direct domestic utilization.…”

Stakeholder Engagement and the Sustainable Environmental Management of Oil-Contaminated Sites in Nigeria

“…Access to safe drinking water was the highest ranked value by all stakeholders. This result was not unexpected because the majority of the local population lacks access to safe drinking water (Etim et al 2013 Although Nigeria possesses a national water policy (FGN 2004), it has not achieved its goals of providing equitable and safe water resources due to weak enforcement and implementation (Nwankwoala 2014). Weak enforcement and implementation are central tenets of environmental policy in Nigeria.…”

Use of stakeholder engagement to support policy transfer: A case of contaminated land management in Nigeria

“…The majority of the local population lacks access to safe drinking water This issue highlights the need for multiple policies to operate in concert. Nigeria's national water policy, which aims to ensure availability, conservation, and equitable distribution of safe water resources to the population (FGN, 2004) has not achieved its goals due to weak enforcement and implementation (Nwankwoala, 2014). Transfer of contaminated land policy that could complement existing water policy might provide a correlated benefit.…”