A Case Study of the Lake Chad Basin Area (LCBA) & Niger-River Delta Basin (NRDB).
Authors: Òlúségùn Èhínfún (MBA, PhD. Candidate), and Paul R. Sachs (MBA, PhD.)
Abstract
Effective environmental management requires a coordinated effort between corporations, national stakeholders, and local communities. Such coordination can consider the different information that each party brings, structured in a manner that facilitates clear and complete communication. Using the examples of the Lake Chad and Niger Delta areas, this “model” of coordination is discussed. The successes and failures in those regions and the implications of actions taken are discussed as a guide for future environmental management.For example, environmental changes were leading to the receding of Lake Chad and subsequent impact on the economic livelihoods of persons in that region. Although this change was well-known, the governments did not show foresight in managing it. The lack of land and water management, in part, ultimately led to social and economic instability. This instability was particularly problematic because the region borders 4 countries (Chad, Niger Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria) in the Sahel. Moreover, it is one of a few contributing factors to the growth of extremism and terrorism in the region. In the Niger Delta, environmental degradation occurred due to an expansion of the oil industry, including both off and onshore prospecting, accompanying pipeline construction and destruction by disenchanted youths within host communities. Communities were disrupted and not compensated adequately. The communities’ fishing and farming activities were destroyed. Ironically, the economic development which the oil industry was trying to bring was offset by the economic losses to the local communities. This paper highlights how the reality of climate action, biodiversity/environmental management, and remediation can be integrated within sustainable social strategies by governments for corporate community relationships. Transforming development policy in least developed countries (LDCs) can, perhaps, achieve sustainable impact, spurring the adoption of joined-up governance, coupled with climate, and environmental policies. The participatory governance model being used in India is presented as one promising approach.
Introduction
According to Professor Kate Raworth of Oxford University (founder of Doughnut Economics Action Labs – DEAL), humanity is in the era of the Anthropocene. We have “become the greatest drivers of change at the scale of the earth system post World War II” when economies began to grow fueled by the availability of cheap fossil fuel with attendant growth in accompanying consumption patterns globally. Ultimately, this process has led to climate and ecological breakdowns with potential catastrophic consequences. Excessive consumption and consumerism patterns have impacted the environment adversely. Either by commission or omission, policies geared towards achieving broad-based economic development lacked the forethought of envisaging the underlying environmental externalities that result from such production and expansionist policies.(Al- Jazeera English Documentaries, January 2023).1
The question now is how policymakers can avoid further problems and reduce the negative impact of existing climate change and environmental problems (Okunola and Simatale (2023).2 It is proposed that implementation of effective environmental resource governance (ERG), management best practices and joined-up thinking among developing countries is a potential solution. This paper contends that coherent policies can be designed for such implementation. These policies require and ensure, as a sine qua non, coordinated efforts between cross regional governments with legal institutional frameworks and backing across Africa.
Why A Twin-Regional Focus?
This paper illustrates the problem and potential solutions by examining the Lake Chad and Niger Delta regions of West Africa largely because they have similar development challenges and accompanying environmental realities. They are situated geographically within some of Africa’s largest River Basin(s) Authorities (RBA) and represent two out of the eight River basins – Benue, Niger, Delta and Cross River, Osun, Imo-Anambra, Hadejia-Chad, Sokoto-Rima, Owena and Ogun basins3 – in a country with Africa’s largest population and economy. Both regions are facing erosion of their land and water resources, destruction of local fauna and flora, and either presently or historically suffer from the menace of non-state armed groups. In the Lake Chad Basin (LCB), security and environmental issues were partly aggravated and precipitated by the shrinking of Lake Chad (Serdeczny, O. et al. 2017)4 within the border areas of the Lake Chad Basin Area (LCBA) countries, with attendant soil erosions and drought extending from the outer edges of the Sahel/Sahara Desert. This area spans the length and breadth of the old Kanem – Bornu old empire. It is described as an oasis within the Sahel region, nestled on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. It sat at the crossroads of commercial activities from the period of the rule of various El-Kanemi(s) – traditional imperial rulers of their age (Martin B.G., 1969)5.
The Niger River Delta Basin (NRDB) is a vital, at-one-time pristine biodiversity & environmental resource including sources of water, fauna & flora, forests, lakes, rivers, creeks, and coastal areas. The Nigerian state’s (mis) management of its extractive land resources (oil, gas, minerals) has had serious security, socio-economic and constitutional implications for this region and for Nigeria’s estimated 213 million people (World Bank IBRD-IDA Data: Nigeria, 2023)6. There has been alleged illegal oil bunkering by corrupt government officials in the national oil company, perhaps in concert with some parts of its security establishment. This is coupled with indiscriminate oil drilling, refining and the illegal activities of unemployed youths pilfering crude oil pipelines, which run through host communities (Igwe U.,2022)7. Ultimately selling illegal crude on the black markets, but also leading to extensive environmental and social destruction. This a consequence of having had their main sources of livelihood (artisanal fishing) – via rivers, creeks, coastal waters- damaged and despoiled by crude oil spillages from pipelines of oil majors/ multinational oil corporations (MNOCs), local communities have been devastated.
Geo-Strategic Implications
These regions are located within the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea geographical areas (Joint Development Zone JDZ exclusive economic zone)8 respectively. On a geo-strategic level, the country-focus in this paper is on Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and country by population size. The case study regions are vital development basins. The Lake Chad Basin Area (LCBA) is a regional development framework which consists of 4 neighboring countries working together via the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) in providing solutions to development challenges around transboundary water management and food security. The Niger River Delta Basin (NRDB) spans 6 states within Nigeria with massive oil and gas reserves, but also rich fauna and flora, biodiversity, and natural habitat. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) administers development programs and solutions for the peoples of the South – Southern region of Nigeria- where most of the oil and gas resources that funds the Nigerian state is derived from. The importance and implications of the LCBA and NRDB are particularly strong due to their socioeconomic development potential. The regions highlight governance challenges in terms of balancing environmental and security challenges in West Africa, the Sahel, and Equatorial/Central Africa. Furthermore, the regions illustrate how transboundary Issues and environmental issues interplay in their impact on economic and political development.
Environmental Impact
Background & Context
There exists a political impasse akin to a frozen conflict in both the Lake Chad Basin Development Area (LCBA) and Niger River Delta Basin regions (NRDB). This paper argues that coordinated efforts between government, corporations, local communities and other stakeholders are key to ameliorating socio-economic challenges, poverty and privations within the transboundary communities embodied by these regions. Lake Chad and Niger Delta oil-endowed settlements have had their fauna and flora despoiled by natural and man-made environmental degradation. Ultimately, these are the visible consequences of the dearth of effective environmental management practices by the authorities within both regions. The sources of livelihood in both regions, in the forms of artisanal fishing and farming, have been largely destroyed by a mixture of water erosion and land degradation around the Lake Chad Basin Areas (LCBA), Bdliya H.H. and Bloxom M., 2013).9 On the other hand, there exists long-lasting impacts due to a combination of activities of crude oil multinational corporations (MNCs), displaced fishermen, farmers and unemployed youth who turn into crude oil profiteers damaging oil pipelines to extract oil for sale on the ‘black market’ (Yusuf, K. 2022).10 Ironically, the mix of economic development and environmental deterioration has not in any way decreased nor has it increased the well-being of the local communities. In doing so, the changes have fueled the rise of terrorism which then has become a constant undercurrent of instability in the regions.
Lake Chad Basin Area (LCBA)
The Lake Chad Basin Area is a geographically low point in the Sahel region. The lake is fed by various rivers and a critical water source amid the dry Sahel region. It is strategically located at a crossroads of the borders of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger Republic. Since 2009 (Ekhomu, O., 2019),11 severe community displacements resulted from the Boko Haram (The Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad-JAS) insurgency, ultimately disrupting the social, economic and geo-political balance of the region.This terrorism entity which later splintered with one arm metamorphosing into the Islamic State in West Africa Province -ISWAP (Wilāyat Garb Ifrīqīyā) has been the bane of existence for agrarian and fisherfolk communities in the 4 countries around the Lake Chad Basin area (LCBA).12
Niger-River Delta Basin (NRDB)
The Niger River Delta Basin comprises several regions in southern Nigeria. It has historically been an area of varied economic activity and, as a result, is a densely populated area. Petroleum processing began in the region in the 1950s and the area has since developed extensively with the industry making Nigeria a chief oil producer for the world. Catastrophic crude oil spillages in and around the 9 states of the oil polluted riverine areas of the Niger-River Delta Basin (NRDB) have occurred. Compounding these problems is the absence of effective participatory governance and an implementation of oil and gas resource devolution (sharing) arguments with the community. Militant restiveness that has developed can be seen as a by-product of this mismanagement within the NRDB. Knowing that they produce most of the foreign exchange income for the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), communities in the NRDB understandably dissatisfied with the operations of the oil majors/MNCs, who are in Joint-Venture (JV) partnerships on oil and gas exploration that has impacted negatively on their environment via oil spillages and gas flaring, without attendant sustainable job opportunities with deep connections to their communities.
Since the discovery of oil in 1956, with production in commercial quantities commencing via Shell in 1958 at Oloibiri (Oshwofasa, Anuta & Aiyedogbon J.O., 2012),13 within present-day Rivers State, oil despoliation has been the bane of existence of the peoples of the NRDB. Instances of oil spillage have occurred at Oloibiri, Ogoni, Bonga, and most recently in 2022 within Nembe areas of South-Southern Nigeria.14 Access to freshwater for communities has been restricted or cut off entirely. Arable farmland for artisanal farmers and fishing waters for fishermen have been destroyed. Consequently, this has negatively impacted the communities in terms of political, socio-economic, and cultural dynamics that underpins these challenges, most notably in the area of resource ownership/control (including water rights and oil/land derivation policies) and how community solutions could be engendered.
Effective Environmental Management
The communities that suffer disproportionately from development challenges, including pressing ones like those brought on by climate change, need the state, responsive governments, and institutions to take proactive actions in their domains to help the communities manage these challenges. Long-standing political duties such as the capacity to deliver for constituents and proper allocation of resources, along with contemporary burgeoning ones like environmental governance (Environmental Resource Governance or ERG) are critical to arresting environmental externalities associated with climate change. Effective, systematic, and concerted implementation of development pathways and solutions towards addressing these challenges will serve the state and its citizens well in ameliorating the extant challenges of environmental degradation. The authors suggest that a confluence of factors within the political economy ultimately threw up the effete and ineffective governance system. According to Toluwalola Kasali, factors such as: “poor socio-economic performance, human rights abuses, widespread poverty, insecurity, corruption, and lack of trust in the political system have led to disenchantment amongst the electorate, especially the youth (Kasali T., 2020)15. A burgeoning youth profile with the potential to power up the economy as they constitute about 51% of the population and with over 60% of the vast population of an estimated 213 million (World Bank IBRD-IDA Data: Nigeria, 2023).This coupled with attendant environmental degradation probably led to the rise of terrorism and insurgency in these regions.(Omeje K.2004).16 The effect has been that pre-existing sources of livelihood in both regions, artisanal fishing and farming, have been largely destroyed by a mixture of terrorism, lake erosion, drought, water despoliation and land degradation around the LCBA and NRDB. In the NRDB, looking at how and why the combination of activities of multinational oil corporations (MNOCs) and in general Federal (central) and in some cases State governments’ neglect, led to displaced fishermen, farmers and unemployed youth turning into crude oil profiteers damaging oil pipelines to extract oil for sale on the ‘black market’ (Yusuf, K. 2022). This is one of the main contributors to the catastrophic despoliation of fauna and flora, including biodiversity loss.
One of the reservations regarding the Nigerian state’s management of its resources is the local institutional context (state’s legislation and policies) from which resources are derived. That is, the life cycle from prospecting of mineral resources, to processing and export (Omeje K.2004).Communities from where these resources are extracted believe a sizeable share of revenues accruable from such activities within their communities must be ploughed back into their communities via instruments and structures provided for by the constitution, for example the Nigerian Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). This is because Nigeria, as a whole, relies so heavily on oil-related revenues. However, it allocates only 13% of the derivation fund to the nine local states (state governments) in the Niger Delta (Adebowale A., 2021).17 This disparity has been a major issue since 1958 when oil, gas and bitumen were first discovered in commercial quantities by Shell and continued through the upheavals of 1990’s and the noughties when the renowned poet and environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni environmental activists were summarily tried for high treason and executed by the military dictatorship of General Sanni Abacha (Earthrights 2018).18 Local governance and institutional context is key for any successful and effective management of resources. Supporting and fortifying local governance will aid the federal government in managing the community fallout from the oil spillages and crude oil pipeline damages. Trust and community buy-in are key elements of participatory governance. Governments engaging in effective environmental cleaning operations must consider these elements. Without them, it is arguable and likely that both the state/Federal government and the oil majors/ multinational oil companies (MNOCs) will fail.
Governance and how it has led to problems.
Upon gaining its independence in 1960 during the First Republic, Nigeria’s first and only Federal Parliamentary government (governance system) consisted of the ‘Central’ government and other semi-autonomous regional governments and vestiges of the colonial native authority system. They somehow held on to convenient levers and ‘artifices’ of governance which supposedly worked well for the previous colonial administrations in some regions. The few local participatory powers of governance were devolved to regional governments and municipal authorities, which were themselves further absorbed and consolidated into a unitary style of governance by the military. Two successive military coups and administrations took place in 1966 which truncated the short era of parliamentary and democratic rule post-independence. An interplay of the politics of military coups and suboptimal governance took hold in the Nigerian body-polity over a number of decades. Persistent maladministration by successive governments ensued: From the short-lived civilian 2nd Republic (1979-1983) to the ill-fated but truncated military controlled 3rd Republic (1989-1993). These iterations of governance (colonial, military and civilian) both had long-lasting deleterious effects on socio-economic wellbeing and environmental governance. Severely impacting the nascent politics of the Nigerian state (Nyangoro J.E.1994).19
Arguably, therefore, weak governance and a poorly managed development regime affected both the development pathways of both the Niger-River Delta Basin (NRDB) and the Lake Chad Basin Area (LCBA). This impact occurs in the context of pressures from oil and gas extraction/exploration and black-market profiteering activities, population growth, ]environmental degradation and climate change, including the ever-expanding Sahara Desert on the edges of the Sahel region within LCBA countries (Bonzanigo L., Lajaunie M.L., Abdulnour R. (2022).20 In evaluating the current situation, one must acknowledge the impact of colonialism. Colonial rule by European powers in West Africa brought two chief (and alien) cultural legacies in that area: Christianity and Capitalism. Doing so implanted the values inherent in these legacies: the sovereignty of man over the earth and its other creatures, and the commoditization of human and natural resources to make a profit. The legacy of centralized control regardless of local issues was essentially maintained through native authority ‘indirect rule’ by the British Colonial government. This had the deleterious effect of keeping public and lower rungs of government disempowered and disenfranchised. Participatory governance that would have empowered local communities and given them a sense of place and ownership was disabled by this power structure, ultimately leaving the lower rungs of governance closest to the people disempowered (Egbe E.J.,2014).21
Community Solutions and the limitation of that approach
Positive community action in creating environmental sustainability and strengthening the will of politicians to do so begins from the grassroots. However, such grassroots support for participatory governance must come from a public that has confidence in existing structures and systems. Hence, community interventions, in of themselves, cannot substitute for a proactive and responsive governance regime. An exclusive focus on such community programs risks letting various governmental authorities shirk their own responsibilities. An agile political system should put in place environmental communication structures. Doing so engages the community and curtails and redirects community restiveness. Doing so lets the community know that the government is attuned to community concerns, empathetic and willing to act. These interventions should be thoughtfully planned, designed, and implemented by a cross-section of local/municipal, state, and Federal strata of government. Such robust environmental education and engagement could be driven through community elders, imams, Priests, chiefs, and civic leaders. Their messages could be delivered via the various existing Rural Education Authority (REA) and Community outreach programs. This communication system could be administered by the Ministries of Education and Environment of governments. An example of this model was effectively demonstrated in Chile, (Ampuero, Miranda et al. 2015)22 : “The findings reveal a significant benefit in using empathy strategies to engage students regarding the thinking processes involved with solving environmental problems. Using these elements as teaching techniques for environmental education courses can be very helpful in reaching the aims of creating a sustainable citizenry.”22
Other examples of community – based sustainable programs include the Casa Pueblo positive intervention during Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The power of community was clearly displayed when, according to Artur Massol-Deya, Executive Director of the community-based organization, Casa Pueblo, it ‘helped communities across Puerto Rico (to) install solar panels for a more sustainable and independent futures.23 According to Torres M.,et al (2022)in their paper, ‘Young Adults and the Impacts of Compounding Disaster’, “…During the past four years, Puerto Rico has experienced compounding disasters beginning with the landfall of Hurricane Maria in September 2017. While many of the archipelago’s residents were still recovering from the hurricane in late 2019 and early 2020, Puerto Rico suffered a series of earthquakes, mainly affecting the southwestern portion of the main island….” (Torres M., & Hayward R.A. et al (2022).24 In sum, the devastating effects of such climate externalities led to Casa Pueblo’s positive intervention in 2020. Trying to make sustainable impact in the aftermath of these natural disasters, as a community-based organization. Such efforts are worthy of emulation, perhaps with the possibility of their replication in other parts of the global south and other developing economies.
Proposed public private partnerships and participatory governance.
In the quest for development many resource-rich countries (like Nigeria) have tended to focus, almost exclusively, on how the end justifies the means. They ignore the socio-economic, political, and environmental displacements associated with prospecting for minerals, rare earth metals, hydrocarbons, and water management, to name a few. Resource politics and environmental resource governance (ERG) has been understood and operationalized in limited ways, particularly among least developed countries. Public-private partnership (PPP) model best exemplifies how participatory governance could be effective. Public sector (local, state, and federal governments) development frameworks and initiatives can be combined with community participation, engagements, and buy-ins, as well as other stakeholders such as: non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private sector local industry players and Multinational corporations (MNCs). Such collaboration might yield the most economically, politically, and environmentally sustainable projects. This kind of development and participatory governance framework requires a level of openness to collaboration amongst all parties, especially around corporate governance. It is also vital and important to have an educated and engaged public. A veritable governance framework that advocates the participation of third sector/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the effective management of natural resources for the benefit of many is the ‘Institutional Analysis and Development Framework’ proposed by Elinor Ostrom. She posits that the “exploration of solving common pool resources problems” is key as neither the state nor the market had been universally successful in the proper administration of the commons. This alternative is opposed to the other scholarly postulations characterized by the “tragedy of the commons narrative.” Her considered view, backed up by theoretical and empirical analyses over the years, is that “common pool problems sometimes are solved by voluntary organizations rather than by coercive states” (Ostrom, E.1990, 2015).25
Transboundary/transnational competition and collaboration
Due to the discovery of oil and natural gas off the coasts of Senegal and Mauritania in 2015, it can be argued that the discovery and exploitation of this resource, far from being a source of cooperation, could potentially be a source of transboundary tensions. However, if both governments choose to continue cooperating in protecting the existential biodiversity and environmental resources, it could engender transnational cooperation between the West African neighbours on the outer Western stretch of the Sahel. In a situation not dissimilar to the Niger-Delta River Basin of South-Southern Nigeria, The Saint-Louis region of Senegal has always been a bastion of the fisheries industry in Senegal. However, over the past number of years, the diattara or fertile fishing lands on the ocean bed in local Wolof parlance, has become susceptible to sea erosion, washing away settlements and homes, due to the externalities associated with the effects from climate change (Mednick S.2023).26
Ultimately, a combination of the building of gas exploration rigs and the after-effects of COVID-19 pandemic pushed the local populace into desperation, poverty and in some cases destitution having lost access to some of their most productive fishing waters. Commercial fishing hauls dwindled, and the promised economic recovery and rejuvenation have failed to materialize, as the Gas partnership cooperation between the Multinational Oil Corporations (MNOCs) – Kosmos Energy and BP- and respective governments of Senegal and Mauritania have not yet been realized. For the second largest fishing economy, after Nigeria, in West Africa the Senegalese fisheries industry is being negatively impacted by a confluence of factors including the warming waters off the coast of Senegal leading to the migration of sardinella species of fish—a mainstay of Senegalese fisheries industry—northwards towards the coasts of Mauritania and Morocco (Moody J.2023).27 However, the oil and gas exploration almost heralds a death knell for its economy and puts immense pressures on the socio-economic fabric of society in these regions. This case study might have been a classic transboundary cooperation regime prior to the arrival of the oil and gas companies, a cooperative mechanism along the lines of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) co-opting Lake and land reclamation policies from Cameroon, Chad, Niger Republic, and Nigeria.
Senegal, Mauritania, and Guinea might be able to coalesce around a potential tripartite-type common River-basin authority commission/authority towards managing depleting fish stocks, stopping overfishing from transcontinental fishing trawlers allegedly from Europe and China. This form of cooperation model can make such countries attractive to accessing the World Bank’s funding facility; ‘The Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA) program. Designed as a bespoke multi-donor fund backing Sub-Saharan African nations in engendering “sustainable, climate-resilient growth by addressing constraints to cooperative water resources management.”(Bonzanigo L., Lajaunie M.L., Abdulnour R. (2022).
Conclusion and Recommendations
Multiple historical and present-day factors have jeopardized economic and political sustainability in two African regions. Modifying some of these factors, such as climate change, requires a global, multi-tiered effort. Other factors, however, such as balancing local, regional, and federal priorities are more amenable to modification. This balance can be addressed by a commitment to participatory governance and greater community-business collaboration.
West Africa is the focus of this paper, but the political, economic, and social concerns raised by climate change apply to the entire planet. Some participatory governance interventions may work better in some parts of the world than others. Understanding what works where and the underlying reasons for successful or unsuccessful interventions can guide the design of future interventions.
It will also be valuable to identify any industry-specific factors that affect the success of governance interventions. The examples in the present paper focused on water/fishery and oil/gas resources. Different model development and implementation may be needed for other industries, such as mining, manufacturing, and agriculture. Studies comparing and contrasting industry interventions will also be useful. The relative prominence of localism vs. globalism or, in some cases, nationalism vs. regionalism is a dynamic seen in 21st Century events. This paper has given examples of this dynamic as it affects resource utilization and allocation. How nation-states and governments balance these sometimes-competing areas of focus in managing climate change and other resources also presents an important area for research. Do the colonial and national histories of African countries and others in the Southern Hemisphere facilitate or detract from transboundary collaboration? What other factors may facilitate or undermine such collaboration? (Adaptation without Borders, 2021).28
Making a commitment to a new way of managing risks and facilitating collaboration requires a change in culture for business stakeholders and political leaders. Nevertheless, to be able to manage growth and sustain the well-being of citizens and the environment, it will be easier to make these changes now than wait to make them under the pressure of an environmental or political catastrophe.
This a full-text submission of a presentation at the 9th Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 2023 Conference organised by the Global Corporate Governance Institute (GCGI) Santander, Universidad De Cantabria, University of Cantabria, Northern Spain. June 14 -16, 2023.
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