RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DYNAMICS: ROLE OF GIS IN MONITORING, ANALYSIS, MANAGEMENT AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT, CASE STUDY FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (NIGERIA)

OLAGUNJU, EMMANUEL GBENGA GEOINFORMATICS PROGRAM, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE, LINKOPING UNIVERSITY, LINKOPING, SWEDEN

PAPER FOR THE DEMO PRESENTED AT THE GEO-INFORMATICS 2006 CONFERENCE HELD AT THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY NATIONAL CENTRE, REXTON, VIRGINIA, USA

11 – 12TH MAY 2006

Abstract This paper is a typical innovative description of the work done on the role of GIS in the management of resources and environmental dynamics. The context of study was Nigeria which is a microcosm of the sub- Sahara Africa. It is noteworthy to state that this region of the world is richly endowed with both natural resources (water and land based) and environmental variables that are of global interest.

However, it is a disadvantaged region because of poor analytical, monitoring and management technology of these resources and the environment. Poverty, environmental pollution (water, oil and gas pollution etc) and biodiversity degradation (change in climatic conditions, global warming etc), poor livelihood security and disasters characterised this third world region. The impact of these indices of underdevelopment in his region jeopardises the realisation of neo-liberalization, sustainable development, globalisation, Millennium Development goals and global security.

This paper focused on discussing the role of GIS in the effective analysis of the natural resources (water, land etc) deposition/distribution in Nigeria, which is inequitably distributed. It also examined the interface between GIS and resource and environmental monitoring and developmental planning for policy formulation and decision making.

The role of GIS as a collation and analysis tool in monitoring key environmental variables that is essential for resource and environmental management was a subject of discussion as well as the development of the GIS technology in the country.

The specific relevant applications of GIS in water/natural resources and environmental management were stipulated. The current GIS capacity of region was also enumerated as a way of interpreting the current trend in this region and the challenges ahead for the full integration of the GIS technology into resource, environmental analysis and management and developmental planning in the country.

Conclusively: The recommended use of GIS technology in research, training and production of empirical data for policy formulation locally, regional and globally

Key words: GIS, resources, environmental variable, biodiversity degradation, developmental planning, remote sensing, and hydrology.

IntroductionNigeria as a microcosm of the sub- Sahara Africa is a region richly endowed with both natural resources (water and land based) and environmental variables that are of global interest. The contextual scenario of underdevelopment, poverty and poor technological capacity makes it a disadvantaged region. The complex environmental dynamics in the setting of poor analytical, monitoring capacity, and management of resources makes biodiversity degradation and environmental pollution the order of the day. In effect, constituting a global security threat; and serious challenge to the attainment/ implementation of the Millennium development Goals. Agricultural practice and other water based occupation which are the main source of livelihood in this region are jeopardised. The advent of GIS in the monitoring of environmental variables and management of the pollution is an issue for serious consideration in this region.

Agricultural and Environmental Resource Agriculture has been the mainstay of the economy in Nigeria, providing employment and source of livelihood for the increasing population. It accounts for more than 60 percent of the total labour force of Nigeria’s working population providing both formal and informal employment and contribute about 40 percent to the national GDP.

Available record had also revealed that there is potential for the development of the water resources in the country through irrigation to supplement the water requirements and needs of farmers for agricultural production activities in many areas in the semi-arid and arid regions. This is necessary in the areas where changes in the climatic conditions and inadequate rainfall require the provision of water for agricultural use through alternative means. However, while the water resources are unevenly distributed in the country, there is need for the efficient use and management of the available water resources and increasing the productivity use especially in the northern region of the country where there is increasing incidence of drought and competing need for water among the different sectors of the economy.

With a drive to meet increasing demand for resource use through full exploitation of the available natural/water resources and the environment, there are challenges facing the country policy makers, resource managers, researchers and other players in employing appropriate tool for environmental/resource monitoring, analysis and management. The country is a disadvantaged region because of poor analytical, monitoring and management technology of these resources and the environment. Poverty, environmental pollution (water, oil and gas pollution etc) and biodiversity degradation (change in climatic conditions, global warming etc), poor livelihood security and disasters characterised this third world region. The impact of these indices of underdevelopment in the region jeopardises the realisation of neo-liberalization, sustainable development, globalisation, Millennium Development goals and global security.

The high rate of industrialization in the country and the crude oil exploration going on in the Niger delta region and other riverine areas in the country had also increased the rate of environmental pollution and biodiversity degradation with great environmental consequences. Changes in the climatic conditions in many parts of the region with incessant changes and alteration in the rainfall pattern had also resulted in many parts of the region becoming more arid with decreasing values of their aridity index. Over the years, there had been incidence of events of drought in the northern region with increasing pressure on available water resources and need for better management of the resources

Role of GIS in Resource ManagementWith many challenges facing the country in the efficient management of the water/natural resources and the environment in the country, there had been call for better techniques of environmental research, analysis and monitoring towards better policy formulation and development in the country. GIS stand as one of the potential tools for good environmental data collation, analysis and monitoring of the resources in the country. With the field of Geographical Information System cutting across different fields and areas of specialization, its application is very crucial and critical to finding solutions to modern day environmental problems and natural resources management. The application and integration of GIS technology into water and other natural resources management is very important in the effective monitoring, control and management of these resources.

There had been challenge for the adoption of hi-tech in the management of the environment and resources for monitoring, control and management purposes. The use of Information Technology and availability of software programs like the GIS program have a great role to play in resource management, environmental monitoring and control, spatial data processing, storage, indexing, retrieval, analysis and communication of spatial information of environmental resource data.

Remote Sensing (RS) data and Geographical Information System (GIS) is playing an increasing role in the field of hydrology and water resources development with relevant hydrological data been derived from remote sensing information. An advantage of using Remote Sensing data for hydrological modeling and monitoring is its ability to generate information in spatial and temporal domain, which is very crucial for successful model analysis, prediction and validation. However, the combined use of the GIS technology with remote sensing will allow large amount of spatial data management which requires an efficient system for processing such data to be executed with the GIS as alternatives for efficient management of large and complex databases. Information from satellites is becoming more and more important for environmental research; an important part of this information concerns water - an element most essential for man, its phases and peculiarities. Remote Sensing with its unique capabilities of synoptic coverage, repetitively and capturing features of inaccessible areas like reservoir water contours and crop water use zones (CWZ) can be effectively used in monitoring reservoir water use (water budgeting) and irrigated crop water use to assess the performance of main system management aspects of large scale irrigation systems (Jagadeesha, 2005).

GIS Development and training in NigeriaThe field of GIS which is relatively new is already gaining ground in the country with more training been organised for government and private sector participants on the use of GIS as a tool in resource and environmental monitoring and analysis towards good policy development and efficient management of resources. However, research findings had indicated that while many of the trainees had embraced the use of GIS as an efficient management and analysis tool, a high percentage of them lack the technical expertise in using the GIS tool in their different profession fro different applications. Training need had been identified in the area of having expertise in using GIS as an analysis tool in the different areas of its application.

There is need for greater awareness to be created at all levels of government of what is required to establish GIS. Adetoro (2002) identified different areas for improvement for increased use of the GIS in the country. These include the following:

1. Environmental agencies and government institutions that have dealings with spatial data should embrace digital system of keeping and managing spatial data.

2. There is need for briefings, training and re-training sessions among staff of government ministry and environmental protection agencies on the use of GIS as an analytic and management tool

3. The increased services of Geometricians are needed in the environment ministry at all tiers of government who will champion the responsibility of spatial data acquisition, processing, management and presentation of outputs in usable form.

4. The international body with their vast strength and power should encourage the developing countries to establish GIS in different areas of human endeavour through adequate funding.

5. Good institutional framework should be established at all levels of governments down to individual who will be coordinating the affairs of producers and users of geo-spatial data.

The development of GIS education and training was pioneered in Nigeria at the University of Ibadan in 1996 with the establishment of the first GIS Laboratory and the introduction of a graduate programme at the Professional Master’s level in the country (Rasheed, 2005). This development was in response to the University Development Linkages Programme (UDLP), sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help universities in the United States develop and implement a variety of long term sustainable relationships with institutions in developing countries (ibid).

The main objective of the UDLP was to promote and support the collaboration of United States colleges and universities with developing country institutions of higher learning with reference to further the internationalization objectives of US universities and strengthen developing country institutions to more effectively meet the development needs of their societies. A total of fifteen UDLP awards were made in 1992 by USAID, one of which was the Iowa/Nigeria university development linkages project which links four institutions in Iowa State, USA with four institutions in Western Nigeria. The purpose of this was to strengthen institutional capacities for research and training in several key areas of GIS development, planning, management and analysis. The goals of the programme are summarized as follows:

1. To strengthen faculty and institutional capacities for research and training/education in seven priority areas of development policy analysis and development management and planning so as to respond better to national and community development needs;

2. To develop the capacity of seven inter-institutional, multidisciplinary cross-cultural development support teams in areas of development support communications, small-scale enterprises, indigenous knowledge, environmental monitoring, participation/decentralization in development, women in development, and spatial decision support systems to conduct development project design, implementation and evaluation assignments in an effective and efficient manner; and

3. To provide opportunities for Iowa faculty to participate in development-oriented activities in Nigeria leading to further internationalization and diversification of existing course curricula in Iowa institutions.

Different areas of research activities were selected for development in response to the complementary strengths of the participating institutions and their faculty research interests as well as for institutional commitment for sustainability of the project (Abumere et.al, 1997). Series of Development Advisory Team (DAT) training workshops and seminars were held in both Iowa and Nigeria with the purpose of training and developing a multidisciplinary development support teams consisting of US and Nigerian professionals with a full range of project planning, management, implementation, monitoring, and team performance skills the different research team used the workshops for project identification, design and

implementation, as well as the needed institutional capacity building in the participating Nigerian institutions (ibid). However, two of the research teams, the Environmental Monitoring and Management (EMM), and the Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) decided to merge and build their activities around a common technology of the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) (Abumere, et.al, 1997; Rasheed, 2005). The EMM group was concerned with monitoring and evaluating environmental aspects of development projects, including the development of efficient strategies for collecting and managing environmental data which would lead to the establishment of an environmental information system based on GIS and Remote Sensing technologies. The SDSS team focused on the development and implementation of a research and training programme based on GIS/spatial decision support systems to facilitate locational analysis of essential services and the establishment of a GIS laboratory at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan

Table 2: Student enrolment per academic year since 1995/1996 to 2002/2003.

Academic Session Student Enrolment Number of Applicant1995/1996 30 N/A1996/1997 30 N/A1997/1998 61 N/A1998/1999 68 N/A1999/2000 Session cancelled Session cancelled2000/2001 67 1432001/2002 66 1212002/2003 53 136

Source: Rasheed, 2005

While the doubling of the student enrolment in the 97/98 session may be attributed to the increasing awareness of the GIS training and the increasing exposure of most Nigerian professionals to GIS technology and methodology, the graduates of the programme were expected to promote the utilization of GIS technology in decision making in various fields of management and planning in Nigeria with admission preference given candidates who possess higher degrees and good working experience in relevant organizations such as government ministries, departments and agencies, non-governmental organizations, oil companies, academia, and the military (Abumere, et.al, 1997; Rasheed, 2005).

GIS and Resource monitoring and analysisWhile the development of the GIS technology had taken a positive turn in the country, its application as a tool in monitoring and analysis in resource and environmental management had not been fully annexed as been expected. With population growth, agricultural, urban and industrial development placing increasing pressures on the environment, the process of managing and mitigating human impact on the environment requires tools and methods of analysis for collation, analyzing, modeling and monitoring diverse data on the environment for good policy formulation and development. With the increasing volume of spatial and non-spatial environmental data from the local, regional and national levels in the country, the application of GIS as a collation and management tool stand a great advantage for data analysis.

The application of Geographical Information System and remote sensing had been adopted by Shell Petroleum Development Company and other multinational companies involved in crude oil exploration

in the country in environmental research and analysis. One of the major areas of research where GIS is been used is in conducting integrated Environmental Impact assessments (EIAs) and generation of environmental evaluation reports. This is to help in the area of oil pollution management, waste management, rehabilitation of past impacted area and sites and improving environmental performance.The main objective of the use of GIS by the these companies and organization is to aim at making decisions in carrying out environmental awareness and educational campaigns, instituting a sustainable environmental monitoring of the company’s operations and activities, executing environmental sensitivity index (ESI) mapping of areas of operations, instituting a sustainable modern waste management efforts and initiative, effective management and respond to oil spillage and other environmental disaster in the region of operation as well as execution of systematic remedial actions of all impacted and polluted sites in the region of operation.

National GIS policy in NigeriaNigeria had come to realize the importance of GIS as a management tool and had come up with a national policy on GIS development in the country. With an increasing awareness on the use of geospatial data and information for decision making at all levels of government, the country had recognized the challenge of adopting policies aimed at promoting greater awareness and public access to standard and coordinated geospatial data production, management and distribution and establishing a geospatial data clearing house at various levels namely local, state and national in the country. With the goal of enhancing optimal use of geospatial data and information as a critical resource for decision making at all levels of government for sustainable national development towards poverty alleviation and improvement of infrastructural base and quality of life of the people, the National Geospatial Data Infrastructure was established which was backed up with a national policy.

The objectives for the establishment of the National Geospatial Data Infrastructure was to generate geospatial databases vital for developmental purposes through facilitation of cooperation and collation among geospatial stakeholders, establish institutional, legal, technical and administrative framework for geospatial data distribution, sharing and exchange, promote research, training, education and capacity building related to geospatial data production, management and usage, promote geospatial data and information production and dissemination for developmental purposes and elimination of duplication in the acquisition and maintenance of geospatial data.

The national GIS policy in the country had the following guidelines in its operation namely:1. Production, ownership/custodianship, achieving and maintenance of fundamental and thematic

geospatial datasets.2. Standardization of data production, transfer and exchange of hardware and software.3. Provision, standardization and maintenance of metadata for every geospatial data holding in the

national Geospatial Data Infrastructures.4. Executing legal issues related to ownership/custodian of datasets, copyright/intellectual

property, confidentiality, privacy and liability.5. Setting modalities for data access and data security6. setting modalities for organizational structure and arrangement of the National Geospatial data

Infrastructure with reference to recognizing the importance of management of datasets been close to source and posing a non-threatening ti the mandate of the stakeholders.

7. provision of Funding for the National Geospatial data Infrastructure 8. setting guidelines for the commercial aspect of the National Geospatial data Infrastructure with

regards to access to data and data fees on differential basis such as research/educational, government to government, commercial/private use of community, private and value-added datasets among others

9. provision of capacity building in terms of manpower and technological transfer10. promotion of synergy, amicable resolution of possible conflicts among geospatial related

national policies and legislation while ensuring the institution of geo-referenced data produced according to the National Geospatial data Infrastructure standard been part an component of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) mapping for all developmental projects in Nigeria.

Database DevelopmentDatabase development is a crucial requirement for the adoption and integrated use of GIS in any organization or establishment. Database development is very crucial in GIS modelling, analysis and mapping as it allows all possible features in the specific map area to be captured, described and also allow the possibility of running basic query languages for geospatial evaluation of the area of study (Gumos, 2005). Geospatial data storage in Nigeria is stored mostly in analogue form by the various government agencies involved with geospatial data collation and storage with the characteristics problem of unnecessary overlaps and duplication, lack of accessibility to various users and varying standard and formats with no coordinated production, management and dissemination of the geospatial datasets. While there is still a long way to go in digitalized database development, some institutions and organisations are already playing positive roles in efficient and effective database development in the country.

One of the institutions playing a challenging role in database development and promoting effective use and adoption of GIS in Nigeria is the Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS) established in the country in 1972 under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The Centre is a joint project for some participating African countries including Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. The Centre had the mandate for training, research and offering consultancy and advisory services in Geo-informatics.

The specific objectives for the establishment of the centre include:1. To provide theoretical and practical training in the field of geo-informatics, integrating

photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information system, cartography and airborne geophysical surveys.

2. to conduct seminars, workshop and short term courses with a view to providing an opportunity for disseminating of information in the field of geo-informatics.

3. to provide studies and research in the field of geo-informatics4. to provide advisory and consultancy services upon request on geo-informatics matters

including instrument maintenance, to government of the member states and government institutions and other survey and mapping organisations in the African region.

The consultancy unit of the institution had been developed to providing opportunities fro exchange of information and experience in the field of geo-information production and management and promoting research studies in collaboration with other research institutions and institutions of higher learning in the field of geo-informatics. The institution also had a good technical department saddled with the responsibility of rendering technical services to clients including maintenance and installation of computers and software as well as in photogram metric instruments installation and maintenance.

Other institutions and organisations in the country that had well developed GIS database include:1. Shell Petroleum development Company

2. Geographical Information System Research centre at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

3. federal office of Survey, Abuja4. National Remote Sensing Centre, Jos, Nigeria5. Regional Centre for Training for Aerospace Survey, Ife, Nigeria6. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria

ConclusionThe field of GIS had a critical role to play in the use of geospatial data and information in national developmental issues, resource management, environmental monitoring and control, regional integration and international cooperation. With the field of GIS critical to the development of various sectors of the economy including petroleum, solid minerals, forestry, agriculture, transport and aviation, environment security, defense, tourism, population census, monitoring and control education, health and water resources management, its use as a decision making tool in the decision making process is of paramount importance which had been recognized by the government in Nigeria and other Africa nations.

However, while the integration of the GIS technology is in the development stage in the country, positive steps had been taken by government and other stakeholders involved in the development and promotion of GIS use for research, training and production of empirical data for policy formulation at the local, regional and national towards environmental monitoring and management, resource management and developmental planning. The institution of a national GIS policy in the country and establishment of the National Geospatial data Infrastructure is also playing a critical role in database development and promotion of use GIS among different stakeholders for various goals and aims as well as the production and dissemination of geospatial data in the country.

With GIS as a tool for spatial data collation, processing, storage, indexing, retrieval, analysis and communication of spatial information, its use in the country for natural /water resources and environmental research, monitoring, analysis and management has a positive role to play in the effective monitoring, control and management of theses resources towards finding solutions to the modern day environmental problems and natural resources management.

While some major organizations like the Shell Petroleum Development Company had been using GIS in environmental research in the country, its use at the local, regional and national level as a decision making and management tool had not been fully integrated and developed as the government institutions and agencies saddled with the responsibility of environmental and resource management in the country had not fully annexed the opportunities available through the use of the GIS technology in the management of the environment and natural resources. However, there are expectations that having professional GIS consultants and experts will go a long way in developing the field in the country for meeting future task and demand and solving modern day environmental and natural resources management problems. There are also challenges to be met in the area of Database development in the country with the implementation of institutional framework guidelines already set in place for the full integration of the GIS technology at every facet and levels of government and organisation in the country for better decision making and policy formulation and development.

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