Climate risk is expected to impact rural communities in West Africa in multiple ways. However, most current research addresses resilience and climate adaptation at either the national or the household scale; very little is known about community-scale interventions. We interviewed 934 community members in six communities in southeastern Nigeria about sources of climate risk and community-based actions for climate change adaptation. We found these communities contained multiple active and engaged groups that have implemented a wide range of interventions to reduce climate risk, most of which are seen as effective by community members. Flooding was the most common form of risk in this region, but drought, windstorms, and irregular rainy seasons are also frequent, implying that effective climate adaptation will have to be sensitive to multiple types of risk. Structural interventions (constructing roads, bridges, etc.) were the most common type of intervention, suggesting that communities are capable of marshalling considerable organizational and human power for adaptation efforts, even in the absence of external assistance. Efforts to boost community resilience and adaptation to climate change would benefit from first understanding what community actions are currently underway, and working with the groups implementing these actions to support and extend them.
is expected to suffer yield and production losses of staple crops under climate change, with more severe yield reductions occurring in the period between 2030 and 2050 (Ittersum et al., 2016). In addition, extreme events, including droughts and floods, are expected to become more frequent under climate change, also potentially affecting yields (Abiodun, Lawal, Salami, & Abatan, 2013). Internal displacement and natural resource conflicts are another expected climate impact, as are pest and disease outbreaks (Gregory, Johnson, Newton, & Ingram, 2009; Obioha, 2008). Given these potentially serious climate impacts, a team comprising researchers from Michigan State University and Nigerian partner universities conducted studies intended to inform Nigerian agricultural policy around climate adaptation. This brief presents a summary of findings from 4 of these studies conducted between 2016 and 2019.. Findings of each of these studies have been published separately at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/fsp/countries/nigeria/publica tions. Key findings and Policy Implications: 1. There is no 'silver bullet' technology which will solve the problem of climate adaptation.
Objective: This study was aimed at conducting a pilot survey of the ethno-medicinal plants in Finima Nature Park (FNP), Bonny, Nigeria, to elicit common medicinal plants and their uses. Method: A set of structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from three key informants (Traditional Medicine Practitioners-TMPs) and 62 household heads on the local medicinal utilization of plants in FNP. Plant utilization and preferences, perceived conservation status and use values were documented. Results: Eighty-three (83) plant species belonging to 45 Botanical families were frequently collected from FNP for local medicinal purposes. Rubiaceae was the most abundant (8%) plant family while the plant forms showed trees (46%), herbs (23%), shrubs (21%) and ferns (3%). Plant parts used for local medicine included leaves (44%), stem/barks (21%), roots (16%), whole plant (5%), fruits (5%), seeds (6%), tubers (2%) and flowers (1%). Infectious diseases were the most treated (30%), urogenital and endocrine diseases - such as thyroid (15%) and abdominal diseases (11%). Oral (62%) and dermal (30%) constitutes the main modes of administration. Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel. had the highest use value (3.5 - 4) while Ocimum gratissimum Linn., Vernonia amygdalina Delile and Alchornea cordifolia Schumach. & Thonn had the least (1). Perceived conservation status of medicinal plants by respondents revealed scarce (9%), threatened (31%) and abundance (60%). Conclusion: Finima Nature Park (FNP) is a repository of medicinal genetic resource and as such, its conservation should be upheld.
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