Abstract
Ecosystem services are the very essence of the inhabitants of the North-East Region of Nigeria; hence the sustainability of these services is very important. The concept of sustainability is imprecise and reveals two main underlying issues which are intergenerational fairness and the moral responsibility of the current generation to its descendants on the one hand, and the role of assets provided by nature including forest and marine ecosystems in satisfying both current interests and the obligations we assume to the future on the other. Many benefits from ecosystem services accrue to the six states of Adamawa, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe, Bauchi and Borno in the North-East Region of Nigeria. The economic value of Hadejia-Nguru wetlands which forms part of the Kamadougou-Yobe River Basin of the Lake Chad Basin was estimated at over US$16 million per year. The estimated value of ecosystem services that can be attributed to inland watersheds and wetlands range between US$5000 and US$100,000 per hectare while coastal watersheds and wetlands were between US$500 and US$1,000,000 per hectare in 2007. The product of the national average of 0.284 tonnes/person/year of fuel wood consumption and number of inhabitants of 24,051,418 (2006 census projected to 2014) gave an estimated consumption of 6,830,603 tonnes/person/year for the six North-Eastern States. However, there are threats to the sustenance of ecosystem services, some of which include urbanization, progressive industrialization, overgrazing, exploitation of natural resources, depletion of wetlands, watersheds and insurgencies which have drastically reduced production of and accessibility to ecosystem services. These threats can be mitigated through development of framework for assessing demand and supply of these services, restoration of terrestrial and marine ecosystems through biodiversity approach, capacity building and forestry extension services to create awareness among the populace on the importance and value of ecosystem services.
Highlights
Ecosystem services which include provisioning regulating, cultural and supporting, are the very essence of survival of most inhabitants of North East Nigeria [1], [2], [3]
Between 2000 and 2010, an increase in Total Ecosystem Services Value (ESV) in Nigeria rose from N665.93 billion (2007US$) to N667.44billion (2007US$), 97.38% of which was contributed by cultivated land [6]
Desk research was conducted in deriving data from relevant agencies such as International Union of Forestry Organizations (IUFRO), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), United Nations Conference on Climate Change and Desertification (UNCCD), International Union on Conservation of Nature (IUCN), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Food Programme (WFP), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Afforestation Programme Co-ordinating Unit (APCU), World Bank Project, Forest Management Evaluation and Co-ordinating Unit (FORMECU), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), National Population Commission (NPC), International Programme on Climate Change (IPCC), consulted were relevant proceedings on international workshops, international journals and personal interface with relevant stakeholders on the subject matter
Summary
Ecosystem services which include provisioning (food, water, timber, fibre) regulating (carbon sequestration, biological pest control, floods, diseases, wastes and water quality), cultural (recreational, aesthetic and spiritual benefits) and supporting (soil formation, photosynthesis and nutrient cycling), are the very essence of survival of most inhabitants of North East Nigeria [1], [2], [3]. This region, experiences diminishing biomass and wide-ranging ecosystems degradation, bush burning, induced by advancement of cultivation, grazing and population pressures that have led to extensification/intensification of cultivation resulting in the contraction and restriction of space and options available to pastoral activities [4]. The objectives of this paper are to highlight the availability of ecosystem services in North-East Nigeria, the benefits that accrue to the inhabitants through these services, the major threats to the supply and demand of ecosystem services, the approaches to mitigate these threats
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