Research Paper on "Affect of Climate Change on Food Security in Nigeria"

Research Paper 25 pages (7581 words) Sources: 0 March 23, 2019

[EXCERPT] . . . .

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA: ISSUES AND WAY FORWARD

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

STUDY BACKGROUND

1. Man and the environment has co-existed for years since time immemorial. This is because man and the environment are inseparably linked in all aspects of human life, well-being and sustainable living. Thus, man makes use of the environment for his livelihood in a protective manner. Nevertheless, there has been enormous pressure on the environment especially in the later stages of the 20th century. This is due to accelerated human activities causing greater environmental degradation and endangering man’s future survival. In terms of the degradation of the physical and biological environment of spaceship of the earth, man’s existence has caused certain irreversible damages.[endnoteRef:1] This could be attributed to an exponential increase in the level of resource utilization, both renewable and non-renewable as a result of industrial revolution. [1: . Tilakasiri S L Water Land and Oeople in Climate Change Issues, Challenges and Perspectives Sri Lanka Neptune Publications 2016 p 12.]

2. Industrial revolution has brought about increase in the production of goods, food and consumption of energy. It created a dominant technology driven culture particularly in developed countries such as United Kingdom (UK), Canada and China among others.[endnoteRef:2] For instance, the climate index shows that the annual carbon dioxide emissions in the United States of America (USA), China and India were 10150.82, 5311.69 and 2430.8 million tons respectively.[endnoteRef:3] Consequently, human activities have changed the state of the environment. Over the last one hundred years or so, the use of fossil fuels e.g. oil and coal has steadily increased the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is due to the combination of carbon from the burning of the fuels and oxygen in the environment to form carbon dioxide. Although, the industrial revolution is aimed towards better living, it affects the environment and ultimately contributes to climate change.[endnoteRef:4] [2: . Caineng Z, Energy revolution: From a fossil energy era to a new energy era retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/natural-gas-industry-b/vol/3/issue/1 Accessed 5 October 2018.] [3: . Carbon Dioxide and other Greenhouse Gas Emissions". Our World in Data. Retrieved 5 October 2018.] [4: . Nasa Report on causes of Global Climate Change https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/ Acessed 7 October 2018.]

3. Climate change has brought about increase in environmental challenges like floods, erosion, drought, diseases, and desertification. These negative environmental outcomes have negatively affected agriculture over the years and subsequently affected food security. The negative outcomes have led to the creation of organizations locally and international which strive to contain the problems created climate change especially the lack of food security. These organizations include the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), and the UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program).[endnoteRef:5] The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was for a very long time the primary global agreement on dealing with climate change. The agreement was signed in 1992 at the Rio Summit and was subsequently ratified by more than 190 countries across the globe. It was the first real global agreement that got as many countries across the world involved in fighting climate change, preventing global warming, and mitigating the negative effects of climate change.[endnoteRef:6] [5: . Society of Environmental Journalist https://www.sej.org/initiatives/international-agencies/international-agencies Acessed 10 October 2018.] [6: . Documents from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (also known as UNCED or the Earth Summit).]

4. The negative outcomes of climate change are already being experienced in Western nations. Research shows that the USA will be affected more than other nations across the globe by the negative outcomes of climate change. According to a major new report, it is only in recent years that scholars have been able to develop reliable data and predictions that present reliable information on the economic damage caused by CO2 emissions.[endnoteRef:7] This is surprising considering that most already predicted that the worst affected countries could be in the developing world yet the study is showing that even the world’s biggest economies could be some of the worst affected by climate change. The study was based on finding how much countries lose via CO2 emissions (the social cost of emissions). The new study further shows that USA’s economy in fact stands to lose considerably from climate change. Other countries that the study found to be most affected by carbon emissions include India and China. [endnoteRef:8] [7: . Independent Newspaper https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-global-warming-effects-country-us-india-saudi-arabia-Acessed November 2018.] [8: ]

5. Over the last one or two decades, China has been the biggest emitter of CO2 and other heat trapping gases to the atmosphere. In fact, some studies shows that its emissions far surpass the emissions from other countries. For instance, just in 2017, the country is thought to have emitted a mind-boggling 11,700,000,000 metric tons of CO2 and other gases. This is estimated to be about 25% of the world total. Of the 11.7 billion metric tons, 9.2 billion tons are CO2, the gas that has brought the worst damage to the environment. The 9.2 billion tons emitted by China are more than what all the industrialized countries in the European Union plus the United States emit annually. The massive emissions from the country are thought to already be affecting food production systems in the country because of the negative changes they have brought about to the climate and to the environment. One of the biggest changes is the rising temperatures (global warming). Rising temperatures have shortened the times of the year for food growth resulting in poor yields. In several regions, climate change has resulted in seasonal droughts that have put stress on available water resources. As it is evident, the environmental changes have strongly threated food security. This was one of the reasons why safeguarding food security was one of the key pillars of the 2015 Paris Climate Change accord.[endnoteRef:9] [9: . Shuai Ib et al Impacts of climate change on agriculture: Evidence from China Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Volume 76, 2016, pp. 105-124]

6. Climate change has particularly affected food security in Africa. For instance, Kenya’s agricultural systems have been negatively affected by climate change. Tea, one of Kenya’s top exports, has been strongly affected by climate change. This is because climate change has resulted in unpredictable rainfall and more instances of hail storms that have negatively affected productivity and tea crops in the country’s tea growing regions.[endnoteRef:10] As of now, more than half a million tea growers are already facing a bleak future because of this. Officials in the country are already questioning the viability of the tea crop and wanting to take steps to prepare for the future. Also, more than 500,000 farmers of tea have experienced erratic rainfall, greater frost and high temperatures that have threatened their livelihood.[endnoteRef:11] For instance, post-harvest losses have been estimated at 50% of previous totals. Officials are attributing this to climate change. Once crops have been harvested, the unusual rains dampen the crop yields and result in mould growth, due to reliance on weather (sun) for drying farm produce.[endnoteRef:12] [10: . Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. 2016. Kenya facts and figures 2016. ] [11: . Stephens, W.; Othieno,. Climate and Weather Variability at Tea Research Foundation of Kenya. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 61 p 219.] [12: ]

7. As it is evident in the last couple of paragraphs, climate change has emerged as one of the biggest challenges to the world in the 21st century. Its negative outcomes are being experienced in almost every corner of the globe including in the developed and in the developing parts of the world. Countries that are poor and with less resources to fight climate change (low coping capability) have been worse affected. Nigeria, a developing nation with a huge population of more than 180 million people, is among the worst affected countries. Some of the negative effects of climate change experienced in the country include increase in occurrences of drought especially in the north, increase in flooding, extreme weather events, reduction in fresh water sources, increase in sea level, less reliable rainfall, and rise in temperatures.[endnoteRef:13] These negative outcomes driven by climate change have affected the lives of tens of millions of Nigerians. One of the authorities directly dealing with some of the outcomes is the country’s emergency response organization – NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency). According to NEMA, nearly half a million people were affected by flooding in 8 states of the country in September 2018. At least about 108 people have died in the flooding, with a further 192 injured.[endnoteRef:14] More than thirteen thousand housed were destroyed or damaged. Also, at least 140,000 persons ended up getting displaced by flooding. Details of the affected states are as contained at Annex A. [13: . https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/10/03/impact-of-climate-change on Nigeria acessed 16 March 2019.] [14: 14. http://floodlist.com/africa/nigeria-floods-september-2018-Accessed Dec 18]

8. The foregoing indicates that the country is quite vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change. All the six different geopolitical zones of the country have been found to be vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change. Nevertheless, there are differences in vulnerability levels and sources of vulnerability between the zones. For example, the South-West and the South-South zones have been primarily affected by changes brought about by deforestation and rising sea levels. In contrast, the North-West and the North-East zones have been primarily affected by heat stress, desertification, and drought, while the North-Central zone has been affected by over-grazing and deforestation. The last zone, the South-East zone, has been negatively impacted by land degradation, flooding, and erosion.[endnoteRef:15] [15: ]

9. Considering that the Nigerian economy is largely dependent on its oil and agricultural sectors, it is crucial for the country to develop a comprehensive climate change policy to guide how it will act to address the negative effects of climate change. If the situation is not addressed, climate change could derail efforts to eradicate poverty in the country. Climate change it could also affect the sustainability of development in the country. What is encouraging is that the country already has a vision (Vision 20) in place to increase renewable energy sources and to invest in alternative fuel sources by 2020.[endnoteRef:16] To achieve the vision, the Federal government and several CSOs (Civil Society Organizations) formulated the National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action on Climate Change for Nigeria (NASPA-CNN). The plan was designed to reduce vulnerability and the adaptive capacity and the resilience of the nation to the negative effects of brought about by climate change. [16: ]

10. Additionally, in furtherance to Nigeria’s commitment to addressing issues of environmental change, the INDC (Intended National Determination Contribution) was adopted in 2015.[endnoteRef:17] INDC demonstrated the Country’s resolve to promote sustainable economic growth while reducing pollution caused by carbon. In the same vein, President Muhammadu Buhari stated during the COP 24 conference in Poland in 2018 Africa contributed little, if any to the climate change menace but were suffering its consequences. The President cited the case of the Lake Chad, down from twenty-five thousand square kilometers to twenty-five hundred square kilometers, 10 per cent only of its established size.[endnoteRef:18] This is jeopardizing the livelihoods of 40 million inhabitants of the basin found in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. The consequences of these on the ecosystems are extreme poverty, the displacement of people and inadequate food supplies.[endnoteRef:19] [17: ] [18: ] [19: . https://leadership.ng/2018/12/07/president-buharis-major-principles-on-climate-change/ accessed March 2019.CHAPTER 2LITERATURE REVIEW19. This part of the study looks at the primary concepts, links, arguments, and variables relating to the study. The primary concepts are food security and climate change. The links investigated in this chapter are those between the primary concepts. This chapter also looks at previous landmark studies on the two primary concepts and other issues related to the… READ MORE

How to Reference "Affect of Climate Change on Food Security in Nigeria" Research Paper in a Bibliography

Related Research Papers:

Alternative Energy and Changes in the Pattern of Economic Development the Case of Lagos Nigeria Dissertation

Alternative Energy and Changes

Alternative and Changes in the Pattern of Economic Development the Case of Lagos Nigeria

Over the last several decades, the international community has been focused on… read more

Dissertation 35 pages (11334 words) Sources: 35 Style: Harvard Topic: Economics / Finance / Banking

---

Organic Farming in Saudi Arabia Environmental Term Paper

Organic Farming in Saudi Arabia

Environmental and Socio-Economical Prospects and Challenges

Appendix a, Signature

Appendix C, Statement of Permission to Use

The author thanks XXXXX for research assistance.

Organic Farming… read more

Term Paper 12 pages (3480 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Agriculture / Food / Culinary

---

Cities in International Politics Research Proposal

City Diplomacy: The Increasing Role of Cities in International Politics

Over the past several decades, there has been a tendency for cities to be involved internationally and this is stated… read more

Research Proposal 69 pages (18927 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Government / Politics

---

satisfactory site? Modern warehouses, similar to manufacturing Essay

Unwanted merchandise is taken out of stock and returned back to the original manufacturer through the process of an authorized level (Bizmove, n.d.).

A proper unit control must entail maintenance… read more

Essay 48 pages (17589 words) Sources: 38 Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

Applied Logistics and Supply Chain Management Dissertation

oil and gas industry in Libya is also directly reliant on global prices that are based on supply and demand; and any revenues generated at a given point in time… read more

Dissertation 70 pages (19369 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>