Effects of Climate Change on Household Water Sources in Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract:

The broad objective of the study was to assess the effects of climate change on household water sources in Benue State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study was designed to: identify the sources of water for households in the area, ascertain the perceived effects of climate change on water resources; identify the intra-household role in water provision for different household need; determine the household water demand management strategies occasioned by climate change; ascertain the approaches to community water management in the area; and ascertain possible strategies for ameliorating the effects of climate change on water resources in the area. A conceptual framework was developed for the study. The study was carried out in Benue State, Nigeria. There are three agricultural zones in the area namely: Central zone, Eastern zone and Northern zone. Eastern and Northern agricultural zones were purposively selected because of the exiting records of evidence of climate changes effects on water resources in the two zones. Multistage sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents. A total of one hundred and sixty (160) respondents were randomly selected. However only one hundred and fifty six (156) copies of questionnaire where used in the analysis. The data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentage and mean statistic. The findings showed that the mean age of the respondents was 46.1 years; the mean household size was 13 persons and the mean number of years spent in the community was 29.5 years. Well within homes (45.4%) and rivers (streams) springs (20.5%) were the major sources of water for households in the area. The perceived effects of climate change on water resources include: decrease in quantity of fish in water bodies (M=3.93), increased conflict over water resources (M=3.72), increased energy and time spent on water collection (M=3.63), increased wilting of crops in the field due to moisture stress (M=3.57), increase in the amount of money spent on water (M=3.43), decrease in the quantity of surface water (M=3.39), loss of some fish species (M=3.33), decrease in groundwater level (M=3.32), decrease in groundwater quality (M=3.29), increase in waterborne diseases (M=3.29), shrinking of surface water (M=3.18), drying up of rivers and lakes (M=33.16), increased spread of water related diseases (M=3..04), increased in frequency of drought (M=2.67) and low rainfall intensity (M=2.59). Women were found to be responsible for providing household water for drinking (67.8%), cooking (71.3%), laundry (66.1%), bathing (65.5%), home clearing (65.5%), irrigation of farms (6.3%), while boys were responsible for the provision of water for livestock (26.4%),. Every gender in the household provided water for household fish farms (2.9%), and for household crafts (4.6%). The water demand management strategies adopted by households include: reducing the number of baths per household member (M=1.98), reducing number of times dishes are washed per day (M = 1.97), watering of gardens in the morning and evening only to reduce evaporation, use of drought tolerant crops in home gardens (M=1.94), gray water re-use (M=1.91), use of alum in purifying water (M=1.56), and use of low flush toilets (M=1.54). The community water management approaches used include: construction of wells (99.4%), collective clearing of flora around water bodies, regulating the period of water fetching by community members (93.6%), prohibition of cloth washing in certain parts of water bodies (93.5%), security watch over water sources (92.9%), prohibition of bathing in streams (89.7%), prohibition of bush burning around water bodies (86.1%), and prohibition of vegetable farming around water bodies (55.8%). The strategies for ameliorating the impacts of climate change on water resources management (M=3.91), clarifying the legal entitlement to water for all users (M=3.91), participatory risk assessment involving local people and all other stakeholders (M=3.90), provision of water supply infrastructure such as pipe borne water and boreholes (M=3.89), provision of capacity building opportunities for women to diversify their sources of livelihood (M=3.89), engaging the beneficiary community for which water provision is planned (M=3.8), encouraging local watershed management (M=3.88), organizing gender specific technical training programmes on water resources management (M=3.88), modification of irrigation techniques (M=3.88), creating awareness to the people as to the impacts or the impending impacts of climate change on water resources (M=3.87), provision of new irrigation schemes and dams (M=3.86), traditional breeding of crops, forage, livestock and fishery species for improved resistant to climate stresses such as drought and flooding (M=3.85), proper enforcement of laws on watershed protection (M=3.84), afforestation initiatives (M=3.83), modification of coping calendars (M=3.82), mainstreamng gender in community water management (M=3.79) and avoiding gender bias in household water provision (M=3.77).