Examining the political-ecological footprint of Kano, Nigeria

As the ‘ecological footprints’ (the human demand on nature) of sub-Saharan cities continue to expand, food production systems in the rural-urban interface increasingly come under stress. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.

A book from the Institute for DevelopmentPolicy and Management at the University of Manchester, UK describes howfarming-based livelihoods in the hinterlands of the northern Nigerian city ofKano are increasingly being challenged by urban growth and increasedcompetition for resources.

Kano is often cited as a sustainable food-productionsystem in a heavily populated semi-arid zone. The research examines recentchallenges to livelihood strategies in theso-called Kano ‘Close-Settled Zone’ (CSZ). This region refers to the city’sintensively cultivated and densely populated extensive rural hinterland.

Despite the adoption ofcreative and ingenious strategies by many smallholder farmers, urban growth is significantlyaffecting the livelihood resilience of individuals, households and communities.It is also clear that new global drivers of change are challenging traditionalcoping mechanisms and relationships of reciprocity.

Many environmental problemsafflicting local people in Kano’s CSZ may be the product of wider political andeconomic factors unfavourable to sustainable natural resource management. Forexample, austerity programmes backed by the International Monetary Fund (whichrequired governments to reduce their spending) have caused government extensionservices to remain under-resourced and ineffective, with drastic impacts onsmallholder food production and marketing.

The researcher shows that:

• Many peri-urbanlivelihood activities are being threatened by land tenure insecurity andexpanding land development.
• Industrial anddomestic toxins from abattoirs, factories and tanneries, and discharge ofuntreated sewage, have led to dangerously high levels of pollution in soils andwater.
• Tree managementdecisions involve conflicting resource management interests of a wide range ofactors (including farmers, urban developers and state institutions).
• Dam constructionhas benefited many big farmers but has led to serious social and environmentalproblems for small farmers, pastoralists and those whose livelihoods depend onfishing.
• Peri-urbanfarmers who use irrigation are increasingly faced with fewer sustainableoptions, as they are forced to use polluted water.
• Farmers areacutely aware of the impact that changes in vegetation cover are having on the sustainabilityof soil and water resources.

Policies to manageresources in the Kano CSZ must be flexible and should accommodate the widerange of actors concerned, their diverse livelihood strategies, and differingsocially constructed perceptions of the environment and land degradation. InNigeria, as in many developing countries, planners have failed to develop effectivepolicies for the peri-urban interface.

By 2020, West Africa isprojected to have 300 cities with populations of over one hundred thousand. Stateintervention, investment and community action are urgently needed to securefuture livelihoods and environmental sustainability in rapidly growing peri-urbanzones.

In this context it is vitalto:

• returndecision-making to local actors and support indigenous and community-basedinstitutions and systems of reciprocity
• support moreinterdisciplinary and participatory research into land degradation
• encourage urban planners,agriculturalists and health specialists to work together to tackle peri-urban soiland water pollution
• acknowledge that‘scientific’ assessments of environmental resources do not necessarily conformto indigenous perceptions
• promote adaptableand flexible peri-urban environmental policies that can accommodate thelivelihood needs of a diverse group of actors.