Assessment of the Impacts of Climatic Factors and Economic Variables on Mangrove Ecosystem in Upenekang and Iwuochang, Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the impacts of climate change and economic variables on mangrove ecosystem in Upenekang and Iwuochang of Ibeno Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State in a bid to understand the extent at which this ecological zone had contributed to the socio-economic well-being of the rural dwellers as well as its effects on the immediate environment. 200 copies of questionnaires were administered to respondents in the study area who were farmers, fishermen, fish traders, fuel wood dealers, boat builders and many others. Climatic variables like water temperature, salinity, rainfall, air pressure, pH, and tidal elevation were determined across ten sampling points. Questionnaires as well as semi-structured interviews were employed for the study in order to test for the hypotheses sets out for the study. The data generated from field study was further processed using chi-square to ascertain whether there is significant effect of rainfall on mangrove productivity using multiple regressions. The results indicated that the computed F value of 0.873 is greater than the significant F value of 0.151 and this indicates that there is a significant effect of rainfall and climate variability on mangrove productivity in the study area. The result produces Pearson Chi-Square value of 275.673a, degree of freedom (df) of 24 and a P-value (2-sided) of 0.000 indicating that there is significant impact of mangrove on economic development in the study area.