Self-Reported Experiences of Climate Change in Nigeria: The Role of Personal and Socio-Environmental Factors

Idowu Ajibade,Vincent Kuuire,Gordon Mcbean,Isaac Luginaah,Frederick Armah

doi:10.3390/cli3010016

Abstract

In this study, we examined the individual and socio-environmental factors that mediate differential self-reported experiences of climate change in coastal communities in Lagos, Nigeria. Binary complementary log-log multivariate regression was used to model residents’ experiences of changing rainfall patterns, ocean surges, and flood events. An analysis of both compositional and contextual factors showed that there were urban communities where vulnerability to flooding tends to be clustered, and that this was not fully explained by the characteristics of the people of whom the community was composed. This study, thus, underscores the importance and complex nature of the interaction between personal and socio-environmental determinants in shaping climate change experiences and vulnerability of individuals across coastal neighbourhoods. Key findings suggest certain sub-populations as well as geographic clusters in Lagos require special attention from disaster mitigation experts and policy makers.

Highlights

Climate change impacts are usually exacerbated by a combination of climate stressors and other factors, such as socio-environmental conditions, disease outbreaks, environmental degradation over time and other not discernible social factors e.g., governance and institutional policy which creates inequalities and tensions over access to resources [1,2]
The section presents our theoretical framework followed by the data collection technique, and measures of self-reported experience of climate change and explanatory variables used in this study
Significant differences exist among the various age groups in terms of their reported experiences of the three outcome measures

Summary

Introduction

Climate change impacts are usually exacerbated by a combination of climate stressors (e.g., drought, storms, floods) and other factors, such as socio-environmental conditions, disease outbreaks, environmental degradation over time and other not discernible social factors e.g., governance and institutional policy which creates inequalities and tensions over access to resources [1,2]. The impacts of climate change are expected to disproportionately affect coastal areas where population density is high and still increasing [3]. In this context, Africa is considered to be especially vulnerable. Climate change is one of the most serious environmental and human threats undermining development and environmental sustainability especially in West Africa where several million people regularly suffer impacts from droughts and floods [6]. Forty percent of the population of West Africa lives in coastal cities, and it is expected that the 500 km of coastline between Accra and the Niger delta will become a continuous urban megalopolis of more than 50 million inhabitants by 2020 [7]. The probability that sea-level rise could increase flooding, on the coasts of Western Africa is high [8], and may have implications for health [9] diarrhoea, cholera and malaria [10,11]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion