Coping and adaptative strategies for building community based flood resilience (A case study of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria)

Orubite, Ngo

Abstract

Flood-prone communities often employ coping and adaptive strategies as a response to the frequent flood events they experience. These coping and adaptive strategies are derived from their indigenous and experiential knowledge. Flood prone communities over time have learnt several ways to cope and adapt to flooding through their cultural and local ability and capacities. The Niger Delta communities in Nigeria are located in a deltaic region that is increasingly flood prone. These communities have experienced frequent flood events for decades but still reside there as the majority of the residents in the communities have a sense of belonging and are not willing to permanently relocate. Communities rely on their coping and adaptive strategies, however with predicted increasing frequency and severity these strategies are not adequate to the risk they face and there is a lack of coordinated strategy planning or support to mitigate this increasing risk. Through critical evaluation of the existing coping and adaptive strategies of the Niger Delta communities the research sought to create an operational framework for improving community-based flood resilience.
The research employed a mixed-method design, which included questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions with local communities and the responsible agencies, the research approach was interpretive. Data were collected in seven communities in the region and analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.
Findings reveal that the Niger Delta communities have coping and adaptive strategies that they employ in managing frequent flood events and these strategies are not documented elsewhere. These strategies have enabled communities to stay in their flood prone locations where their livelihoods are and can be seen as adequate when the flood event is not severe. When the flood event is severe, it typically exceeds their coping and adaptive capacity, resulting in extreme impacts that can be categorised as a disaster. In these circumstances, the community members are reliant on the reactive government flood management strategy that does not see their coping and adaptive strategies as a resource. They study also found that the Niger Delta communities have transitions from coping to adaptation with regards their building methods and some of the food preservative methods. The novel community-based flood risk management framework developed in this study incorporates the local coping and adaptive strategies present in the communities to address both regular and severe flood events. The framework integrates community-based coordination activities and identifies complementary actions for the local and national government agencies. The framework was validated by the community members and can be concluded to be innovative and viable.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Nov 29, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 5, 2024
• Keywords: Coping Strategies, Adaptive Strategies, Community-based flood risk management, Community Resilience
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11469694
• Award Date: Sep 5, 2024