The scale effect of economic development and freshwater quality in Nigeria: Environmental pollution of the Lower River Niger Basin

Ezeonyejiaku, Chigozie Damian; Obiakor, Maximilian Obinna; Nolasco-Javier, Dymphna; Ifedigbo, Ikem Innocent; Obiakor, Hamilton Chukwuebuka

doi:10.1080/20421338.2017.1380583

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…The approach, however, is unsystematically planned to enable the sustainability of other dependent urban functions and contain spillovers. The strategic implication of this uncoordinated development is that air quality will continue to deteriorate until Anambra State realigns land-use zoning priorities and balances economic development and the environment with appropriate sustainable regulatory instruments [6,65,66]. Our results are not an isolated incident, as similar outcomes have been reported elsewhere in Southeastern Nigeria.…”

Section: Air Quality Indexsupporting

confidence: 70%

Air Quality in Nigerian Urban Environments: A Comprehensive Assessment of Gaseous Pollutants and Particle Concentrations

Ezeonyejiaku

Okoye

Ezeonyejiaku³

et al. 2021

Curr. Appl. Sci. Technol.

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The rise in gaseous pollutants and particulate concentrations is a serious problem for the environment. This study examined the air quality within four urban areas (Awka, Ekwulobia, Nnewi, and Onitsha) in Anambra State, Nigeria. The concentrations of known air pollutants including suspended particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), methane (CH4), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia (NH3), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were assessed at various locations within the study areas using Aeroqual air quality monitoring devices, and the results were compared with the WHO air quality guidelines for health impact assessment. The air quality index (AQI) was interpolated from the pollutant concentrations in order to show hazard categories of air quality conditions over the study locations. The mean concentrations of SO2, CH4, and VOCs within the residential locations of Awka, Ekwulobia, and Nnewi were in the range of 200-8000 µg m-3 and exceeded WHO limits for air quality. While the levels of CO2, SO2, and CH4 (3.25-1,027,000 µg m-3) within the commercial locations of Awka, Ekwulobia, and Nnewi exceeded WHO limits, only VOCs (500-1100 µg m-3) within Awka and Ekwulobia exceeded the limits. The 62-181 µg m-3 and 40-295 µg m-3 ranges of PM2.5 and PM10, respectively within the Nnewi and Ekwulobia commercial locations were the only particle concentrations at which the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended limits for health aspects of air pollution were exceeded. The AQI calculations showed air quality within some of the locations may have potential risks for public health.

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Section: Air Quality Indexsupporting

confidence: 70%

Air Quality in Nigerian Urban Environments: A Comprehensive Assessment of Gaseous Pollutants and Particle Concentrations

Ezeonyejiaku

Okoye

Ezeonyejiaku³

et al. 2021

Curr. Appl. Sci. Technol.

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“…1). With a large basin of 14,010 km 2 , the river is the largest tributary of River Niger flowing 210 km below Lokoja [11]. The climate is tropical with annual rainfall exceeding 1500 mm per annum, temperature between 23 and 35 °C, and seasonal flooding makes it productive in terms of biodiversity and agricultural purposes.…”

Section: Location Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…River Niger is the largest river in Nigeria with major tributaries traversing various states and locations of the country. The Lower Niger River, which cuts across Anambra and Niger Delta, is significant and has been the subject of a recent review that has characterised the river ecology, spatial geography and biogeochemistry [11].…”

Section: Location Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several tributaries of River Niger and Anambra River flow through agricultural and industrialised areas reported to be contributing to contamination of its resources [5,11]. Both rivers are predominantly exposed to persistent problems of drought, deforestation, erosion, flooding, farming, fishing, marketing activities, waste disposal, sand mining and excavation and sewage disposal.…”

Section: Location Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both rivers are predominantly exposed to persistent problems of drought, deforestation, erosion, flooding, farming, fishing, marketing activities, waste disposal, sand mining and excavation and sewage disposal. Significant flanks of tributaries of both rivers are in spatial proximity to Onitsha metropolis that has a range of urban and industrial activities generating and dispersing effluents and municipal wastes to the environment [5,11].…”

Section: Location Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Noncarcinogenic risk assessment of ten heavy metals in nine freshwater species sourced from market-ready landing sites

2020

Self Cite

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The public health risks associated with consumption of freshwater species potentially contaminated with metals at Otuocha, Ose and Atani landing sites in Anambra State, Nigeria were assessed. Species comprising seven fishes (Malapterurus electricus, Clarias gariepinus, Tilapia zillii, Gnathonemus tamandua, Citharinus citharus, Oreochromis niloticus and Auchenoglanis occidentalis) and two edible snails (Bulinus globosus and Bulinus africanus) were analysed for ten heavy metals with known varying degrees of toxicities: arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). Results showed that concentrations of As (4.76 mg kg −1 ), Cr (1.54 -6.60 mg kg −1 ) and Hg (1.07 -2.66 mg kg −1 ) were higher than the FAO/WHO safe limits. The calculated target hazard quotient and hazard index values, representing quantitative estimates of noncarcinogenic risk of dietary exposure from freshwater species consumption, were below 1 for all metals, which indicate that freshwater species pose no noncancer risk from oral exposure under the environmental conditions of the study. Further studies across spatiotemporal scale are recommended to understand impact of season-location variables on metal concentrations in those freshwater species examined.

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Environmental and spatial determinants of fish community structure in an Afro‐tropical river ecosystem

Ugbor

Omoigberale

Amoutchi

et al. 2023

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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We investigated the relative influence of local environmental and spatial factors in structuring the community composition of fish at 15 sampling sites along the longitudinal gradient of the Lower Niger River Basin (LNRB) in dry and rainy seasons using distance‐based redundancy analysis and variation partitioning analysis. We collected a total of 3807 fish specimens representing 42 species. Our result indicated that the fish community composition differed between the upper and lower regions of the river. The communities in the upper region is influenced by high‐nutrient concentrations, while downstream sites were characterized by high concentrations of suspended solids. Variation partitioning revealed higher contributions of spatial than environmental predictors on fish community composition, with a higher total predicted variance in dry season. The variations in the community composition between upper and lower region may be attributable to the differences in the nature of anthropogenic activities within the regions, which influenced the local conditions differently. Differences in flow dynamics between upper and lower regions as attributable to black and white floods in the LNRB modify the connectivity between sites. Dispersal among sites may be more limited downstream than in the upper region, particularly in the dry season, because damming in the upper region also interrupts the natural flood regime such that there are low water levels in the lower region, which spatially isolate fish communities at certain sampling sites. The relatively higher total predicted variance during dry season may be attributable to the temporal differences in abiotic conditions between sites, which may have influenced site level community composition and abundance differently.

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The scale effect of economic development and freshwater quality in Nigeria: Environmental pollution of the Lower River Niger Basin

Cited by 5 publications

References 95 publications

Air Quality in Nigerian Urban Environments: A Comprehensive Assessment of Gaseous Pollutants and Particle Concentrations

Air Quality in Nigerian Urban Environments: A Comprehensive Assessment of Gaseous Pollutants and Particle Concentrations

Noncarcinogenic risk assessment of ten heavy metals in nine freshwater species sourced from market-ready landing sites

Environmental and spatial determinants of fish community structure in an Afro‐tropical river ecosystem

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