Nigeria

Nigeria’s status as a large, populous, lower-middle income country with an economy buoyed by significant oil and gas exports and achieving a five percent or better GDP growth rate (2000–2008) is not reflected in indicators measuring human development. Overall, Nigeria ranked 158th out of 182 developing countries in the United Nations Human Development Index for 2007, and reached only the 167th position regarding life expectancy at birth. More than half of Nigeria’s population reportedly lives on less than US $1 a day, with the greatest poverty in the northern region, which is primarily Muslim. Water contamination, air pollution, and urbanization are stressing natural resources throughout the country. Disputes regarding the allocation of rights and benefits to the resources of the oil-rich Delta region of southeastern Nigeria have repeatedly sparked civil conflict.

Oil and gas exploitation accounts for 80% or more of government revenues and 95% or more of export earnings. Agriculture and oil account for approximately equal shares of GDP, largely because the agricultural sector employs more than half of the working population. Most observers agree, though, that as Nigeria’s population grows to more than 150 million, land for agriculture is becoming increasingly scarce for most farmers. Smallholder producers have compensated for land scarcity to some extent by increasing their productivity through intensification of labor, but smaller farms generate smaller per capita household incomes, perpetuating poverty.

Public investments in agriculture have been extremely low (less than 2% of total federal expenditure between 2001 and 2005), and corruption has been identified in areas where the federal and state governments have played a role (e.g., fertilizer distribution). Pressures have been growing, however, for the federal government to revitalize agriculture as well as to deal with the continuing political, social, and economic instabilities associated with the oil and gas sector. Responding to these pressures is likely to require both the federal and state governments to consider reform of their positions on resource governance and the ability of citizens to access productive land and acquire secure rights to that land.

Nigeria is a heterogeneous society, ethnically, socially, and in the people’s relation to the land. The 1978 Land Use Act delegated authority over land allocation to the 36 states and their local governments in an effort to ensure that rural and urban populations had access and secure tenure to land. Land-allocation advisory committees were intended to assist in the issuing of customary certificates of occupancy to applicants, reducing speculation and streamlining access.

Most observers believe that not only have the objectives of the Land Use Act not been achieved, but that the law has contributed to further distortions and abuses of citizens’ rights to access and own land. Further, government’s land-use administration has not constrained the unrelenting expansion of agricultural land into fallow and forested areas or the overuse of forest resources to meet the population’s energy and food needs. Environmental destruction and pollution from oil extraction operations threaten Nigeria’s forest and water resources as well as agricultural livelihoods.

Stakeholders have expressed differing views as to the most effective methods of land tenure reform. These can be summarized as follows:

1. Allow smallholder farmers to expand in adjacent plots and otherwise consolidate their holdings to encourage mechanization and economies of scale;
2. Preserve smallholdings and provide smallholder farmers with appropriate technologies;
3. Tax landholdings to obligate farmers to increase their efficient utilization and bring large tracts of underutilized land into production; or
4. Redistribute lands that have been acquired in dubious fashion.

Some feel that individual freehold tenure should be granted, especially in urban areas, while others believe that maintaining usufruct and communal options will allow for more flexible responses to changing economic opportunities and demographics. Still others maintain that markets should replace the administrative allocation processes enshrined in the Land Use Act. In any case, in March, 2010 the Lower House of the National Assembly rejected President Umaru Yar’Adua’s Bill to establish a National Land Reform Commission for the restructuring of land matters across the country.

Nevertheless land tenure issues remain critical to Nigeria’s future. The greatest urgency is in urban areas, where unplanned, sprawling informal settlements without public water or sanitation facilities have continued to expand, in some cases engulfing smaller towns whose own property governance systems have been overridden. But as investments in low-lying riverine agricultural production ramp up with the Fadama III project (especially for rice) and new technologies for boosting production of cassava, yam, and maize are applied, the urgency of addressing land and water access and tenure security for rural land will also rise. Several of these activities fall within the scope of USAID’s program for Economic Growth and, with greater US attention to food security in sub-Saharan Africa, should receive higher priority.

With an estimated population just over 151 million representing more than 250 ethnic groups, Nigeria is the most populous nation in sub-Saharan Africa. Since Independence in 1960, Nigeria has become a powerhouse in the global petroleum market, among the 10 largest exporters of oil in the world, sharing the top position in Africa with Angola. Since 2003, oil has generated an average of about a third of Nigeria’s GDP, 80% of government revenue, and about 90% of the country’s exports.

Despite the dominance of the country’s oil sector, Nigeria has a large agricultural economy, principally serving domestic consumption needs. Once robust exports of palm oil, cotton, and peanuts have disappeared, but agriculture contributes a significant percentage of GDP and provides employment for more than half the rural population. Still, agricultural productivity in Nigeria has languished for decades, suffering from low rates of both public and private investment, an inadequate enabling environment, and, at the farm level, from land scarcity. In peri-urban areas and in the southeastern Delta region where oil is extracted, soil, water, and air pollution also constrain productivity.

Almost half of Nigeria’s population lives in cities; 80% live in slum conditions. Rapid growth of cities has engulfed nearby towns and villages, pushed back forests and coastal mangrove areas, and created conditions of congestion, poor health, and poverty. Sixty-four percent of Nigeria’s population lives on less than $1.25 per day; women-headed households are among the poorest.

Prior to 1978, Nigeria’s system of customary land tenure provided families and individuals with use rights to rural land for agriculture and urban/town plots for housing that were heritable within families and lineages. In 1978, the Land Use Act (or Decree) was enacted. The objectives of the Land Use Act were to: (1) make land accessible to all Nigerians; (2) prevent speculative purchases of communal land; (3) streamline and simplify the management and ownership of land; (4) make land available to governments at all levels for development; and (5) provide a system of government administration of rights that would improve tenure security.

According to most observers, the Land Use Act achieved none of these objectives. The effort to replace the customary system made land less accessible to most people. Allocation procedures are highly discretionary, allowing opportunities for corruption and self-dealing by state and local government officials and politicians. Individuals can obtain land use rights, but they have no foundation of communal land holdings and no presumption of inheritance within families or lineages. Registration of Certificates of Occupancy under the Land Use Act is costly, time-consuming, and places the land-certificate holder on the tax rolls. Customary law continues to govern land tenure for the majority of Nigerians, even though tenure security in urban areas (and as against the government and community outsiders in rural areas) is low. Land rights are transferred mostly in informal markets.

The Land Use Act of 1978 is incorporated into the 1999 Constitution, making it difficult to revise or replace. An effort to introduce new land reform legislation was buried in committee in March 2010 and is not likely to resurface before the 2011 elections.

While Nigeria has substantial freshwater resources, it has been unable to develop these resources to boost agricultural productivity significantly. Further, poor governance of water resources has allowed water quality to be compromised by soil erosion, saltwater incursion, inadequate sewerage and sanitation facilities, and pollution from urban and industrial sources. Illness due to waterborne diseases is common.

Between 70 and 90% of Nigeria’s household energy supply comes from forests, which also provide building materials, medicinal plants, spices, and fodder for livestock. Nigeria’s forest land and its timber and non-timber resources are under threat from the expansion of agricultural land, the overuse of resources to meet the population’s energy and food needs, and destruction and pollution associated with oil extraction operations. The expansion of the city of Port Harcourt has destroyed areas of coastal mangroves.

Nigeria’s laws establish total national ownership of all subsurface resources, including all minerals, oil, and gas. The governance regimes established to collect and redistribute the revenues generated by the oil and gas industry, therefore, assumed federal government control. One of the issues in the 1967–1970 Nigeria-Biafra War was this approach to resource governance. Protests against the distribution of benefits from oil wealth continued after the end of the war as people realized the substantial negative environmental impacts associated with the industry’s expansion. Militant groups supporting the rights of local communities have disrupted oil production in the Delta with years of targeted violence and sabotage. The government of President Umaru Yar‘Adua negotiated a ceasefire agreement in the fall of 2009, promising local communities a share in profits and cash payments to the militants, but the agreement is in question following his death and reports that communities are not receiving promised benefits.

LAND USE

Nigeria has a total land area of 910,800 square kilometers, more than 80% of which is suitable for production of both crops and livestock. The country has the largest population in Africa, with an estimated 2008 population of 151 million people. In 2008, 52% of the population was rural and 48% urban. And estimated 64% of Nigerians live on less than $1.25 per day, and Nigeria ranked 158th of 182 countries on the United Nations’ 2009 Human Development Index (World Bank 2009a; UNDP 2006; UNDP 2010; World Bank 2009b; ODI 2010).

Nigeria’s total GDP was US $212 billion in 2008, with industry accounting for 41% of GDP, agriculture 31%, and services 28%. In the 2003–2008 period, oil revenue accounted for an average of 33% of GDP. Agriculture is the principle source of food and livelihood for Nigeria’s population and employs about 70% of the workforce. By some estimates, the agricultural sector has averaged about 7% annual growth rate over 1997–2008 period. However, the rate of growth is considered a result of the expansion of staple crops into new areas; agricultural productivity has been flat or declining (Nkonya et al. 2010; Phillip et al. 2009; World Bank 2009a; UNDP 2006; World Bank 2009b).

Nigeria produces agricultural commodities largely for domestic consumption in its three major agro-ecological zones: (1) the dry savanna in the north where production of sorghum, millet, cowpeas and cattle predominate; (2) the central moist savanna region (Middle Belt) of the country where maize, cassava, and yam are grown; and (3) the humid subtropics of the south where cassava, maize, oil palm, yam, and banana/plantain are produced. Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava, yams, and cowpea. Cash crops are palm oil, cocoa, and rubber and all are produced in the subhumid regions of the south. Farmers also take advantage of the riverine areas (often called fadama) that are present throughout the country to produce horticultural products under seasonal irrigation and, increasingly, are producing rice in improved fadama fields (Phillip et al. 2009; NFRA-NFCO 2010; Nkonya et al. 2010). Forests account for 12% of Nigeria’s total land area; 6% of total land area is nationally protected. The average annual rate of deforestation was 3% in the 2000–2005 period (World Bank 2009a; FAO 2005).

Nigeria’s soil is reported to be of low to medium agricultural potential; much of the country’s cropped land has low moisture content, lacks organic matter, and is subject to increasingly shorter fallows as population densities increase. Grasslands are used on a seasonal basis for livestock production (cattle, sheep, goats). Nomadic herders are sometimes in conflict with sedentary crop producers, especially as farms expand and encroach on communal grazing and open forest lands. Desertification, exacerbated by poor soil and climatic variability, affects the most northern part of the arid/semi-arid savanna regions in the north (FAO 2005; ADF 2005; ARD 2002).

Oil production, mining, and intensified and unsustainable agricultural techniques have overexploited the land in the Niger and Cross River Deltas and caused degradation and erosion that has reduced agricultural opportunities. In the southern wetlands and mangrove forests of the Niger and Cross River Delta region, air and water pollution, oil spills, industrial discharge, and construction are threatening the natural resources and the livelihoods of residents (ADF 2005; ARD 2002).

LAND DISTRIBUTION

Nigeria’s population is ethnically diverse. Of the 250 ethnic groups in the country, the major ethnicities are the Hausa and Fulani (30%, mostly residing in the north); the Yoruba (21%, who consider the central and western regions their homelands) and the Ibo (18%, who are primarily located in the southeastern region). The country is roughly 50% Muslim and 40% Christian, with the remainder of the population holding indigenous beliefs. Many ethnic groups adhere to different versions of customary law. The 12 northern states, which have majority Muslim populations, have officially adopted Shari’a law (World Bank 2009b; Blench 2003).

Small-scale farms dominate rural landholdings, with average farm size ranging from 0.5 hectares in the humid south to 4 hectares in the dry north. About 50% of farms are less than 1 hectare; 15% are larger than 5 hectares. Smallholders and especially female farmers on small plots of land have less access to and control over production resources; often lacking irrigation systems, fertilizer, the support of farmers’ associations, and access to agricultural research and extension services, they struggle to make the land productive (FAO 2005; ADF 2005; Phillip et al. 2009; Nkonya et al. 2010).

Where communal land is available, smallholders can expand their acreage by clearing and cultivating the land. In areas such as Imo State where populations have expanded, land is increasingly scarce. In such areas, communal land rights are more individualized. Land is perceived as a good investment in many rural areas, and commercial and other interests have bought up rights to smallholdings on the informal market or acquired them through applications for certificates from the government. In the Sokoto region, for example, 23% of landholders have farms larger than 121 hectares and control 80% of the arable land; 43% have farms 6 hectares and smaller and control only 5% of the land (Eboh and Lemchi 1994; FAO 2005; ADF 2005; Labaran 1986).

Land is also considered a good investment in many urban areas, especially by speculators who can identify land that the local government might acquire for development, entitling the landowner to compensation. However, 80% of Nigeria’s urban residents live in informal settlements with inadequate shelter and limited access to water and sanitation services. These settlements are subject to takeover by the government if development needs are deemed to be of higher interest. In the capital, Abuja, for example, the government has repeatedly bulldozed informal settlements, destroying more than 800,000 homes since 2003. Sporadic efforts to support formalization of land rights through certification of occupancy in cities such as Lagos have been costly and largely unsuccessful (UN-Habitat 2010; Fabi 2008; Aluko and Amidu 2006a; Olayiwola and Adeleye 2006; Butler 2009).

Industrial development, particularly related to the oil industry, has put significant pressure on the people living in the Niger Delta. The discovery and extraction of the massive oil deposits in the Delta have resulted in loss of land and rights to other natural resources. In addition, the region’s air, soil, and water have been polluted by oil spills, dredging, construction, and gas flaring, decimating livelihoods based on agriculture and fishing. Social instability and violent conflict have become endemic, with people asserting their rights to natural resources against the government and the oil companies (UNDP 2006; Amnesty International 2009).

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

RESOURCE QUANTITY, QUALITY, USE AND DISTRIBUTION

Nigeria’s rainfall varies significantly across the country, creating three broad ecological zones that also define their potential for agriculture: the arid northern Sudan savanna; the wet Guinea savanna zone (Middle Belt); and the humid subtropical southern rainforest. The northern savanna receives the least rainfall (500 millimeters per year), the Middle Belt receives about 1000 millimeters per year, and it rains almost year round (2000 millimeters per year) in the humid rainforests in the southern region and strip of coastline (FAO 2005).

The country has four large surface water basins, providing opportunities for irrigated agriculture as well as fisheries. The two largest, the Niger Basin and Lake Chad Basin, cover 83% of the country. Rivers and lakes make up approximately 16% of Nigeria‘s total surface area. Two river systems – the Chad and Niger-Benue – dominate the country’s hydrology. Nigeria has extensive fadama areas, which are flood plains found along the country’s rivers, especially the Niger, Sokoto Rima, Benue, and Yobe. The fadama areas provide rich grazing and agricultural land and are internationally important areas for biodiversity (FAO 2005).

Nigeria has annual internal renewable water resources of 221 cubic kilometers. Sixty-nine percent of water is used for agriculture, 21% for domestic uses, and 10% for industry. Forty-seven percent of the total population (30% of the rural population) has access to safe water. However, in many areas water service is intermittent, sanitation facilities unavailable, and water quality is substandard nationwide, suggesting that far more than half the population is unable to access sufficient clean water on a regular basis. Nigeria’s water resources have been degraded by soil erosion, siltation, salinization, saltwater incursion, and pollution from industrial sources and human and animal waste. Diarrhea and waterborne diseases are common and often deadly, especially for children (Nwaka 2005; ARD 2002; World Bank 2006; World Bank 2009a; FAO 2005; WaterAid 2010).

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The Water Resources Act of 1993 gives the government the right to use and control all the country’s surface and groundwater for the purpose of developing the country’s water resources and coordinating their distribution, use, and protection. The federal government has authority over water shared by more than one state; otherwise, each state has authority to regulate the water resources within its boundaries. The federal government also has control of the country‘s dams (RON Constitution 1999; Kuruk n.d.).

The 1979 River Basins Development Authorities Act establishes and regulates 12 river basin authorities (within the country’s four large river basins). The river basin authorities are under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The individual states have authority over the water resources within their boundaries, and most have issued legislation to create state water boards to manage, supervise, and control the use of the state’s water resources. State Water Boards report to the governors of each state (Adoga 2006).

A 2004 National Water Resources Policy sets out numerous principles to guide management of the country’s water resources, including: (1) water is considered to be a national asset and resource common to all, the use of which shall be subject to national control; (2) the nation’s water resources shall be managed to achieve optimum, long-term, environmentally sustainable social and economic benefit for society; (3) the law should provide for water-use rights (rather than water-ownership rights); (4) planning and management of Nigeria’s water resources shall take place within a framework that facilitates awareness and participation among all users at all levels; (5) water resources shall be assessed, developed, apportioned, and managed in such a manner as to enable all users to have equitable access; (6) operational management of water resources and services shall be decentralized to the lowest practicable level in accordance with the established eight hydrological areas as the basic units of water resources management in Nigeria; and (7) fees shall be charged for commercial extraction of water. To date, these principles have not been supported by federal legislation (RON National Water Policy 2004).

TENURE ISSUES

The Water Resources Act of 1993 permits people access to water for domestic use from public-access sources. Those with statutory or customary rights to land can take water from any underground water source or water course for domestic use, watering livestock, or personal irrigation systems. State-level water legislation and local water boards govern water use (Kuruk n.d.).

In urban and peri-urban areas, water charges are based either on the volume of water consumed or on a flat rate, and the rates are subsidized. In most rural areas, water is supplied to the population free of charge. Water scarcity is common in many towns and cities, and those who can afford the expense often buy water from private water vendors (OECD 2008).

Under customary law, a grant of land generally confers rights to all products of the land, including water resources. People can take water for domestic use from lakes, rivers, wells, and boreholes. There are usually no restrictions on rights to use large bodies of water. Use of small bodies of water often requires permission of the clan or household occupying the land with the water resource. Anyone improving a spring or other water source earns rights to that water source (Kuruk n.d.).

Water-related disputes tend to be resolved by traditional dispute-resolution processes and procedures, such as through the use of customary leaders and tribunals, mediation, arbitration, and adjudication. Lack of water law specialists, lack of specialized legal input into water-related contracts, and pervasive non-compliance with contract terms have increased the potential for water disputes (Adoga 2006).

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS

The Federal Ministry of Water Resources is the national coordinating body for the water sector. The Ministry develops and implements national irrigation policy, implements the Water Resources Master Plan, formulates legislation, and undertakes studies and research. The Ministry is assisted by 12 River Basin Authorities and the National Water Resources Institute. The River Basin Authorities are responsible for the development of surface and groundwater resources for multipurpose use, constructing and maintaining water-resource infrastructure, and supplying users with stored water. The National Water Resources Institute creates and implements training programs on water resources and advises the government on water-resource need and priorities. Water supply is the responsibility of the states, and each state has a State Water Board (FAO 2005; Kuruk n.d.; World Bank 2006).

There are no separate customary institutions governing water rights in Nigeria; access, use, and development of water resources are governed by traditional authorities and local water boards. In fadama (flood plain) areas supported by the National Fadama Development Project, Fadama User Groups work with local government authorities and the government’s agricultural project development staff to manage water resources (FAO 2005; Kuruk n.d.; Encyclopedia of Earth 2008).

GOVERNMENT REFORMS, INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

In 2006 the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, with assistance from the European Commission (EC), prepared a comprehensive national water resources strategy that included: implementation of the national water policy; development of the regulatory framework governing water resources; harmonization of state and federal authority over water resources; management of conflict areas; and restructuring of the water-related institutions. The Nigerian government has been unable to execute its water strategy; major barriers in the sector are chronic problems with power supply, poorly maintained infrastructure, outdated information systems, weaknesses within state water authorities, and a regulatory framework that does not encourage the public-private partnerships believed necessary for investment in the sector (Atkins 2006; World Bank 2010).

Since the early 1990s the Nigerian government has implemented a series of projects focused on agricultural productivity and investment in fadama areas. With World Bank support, the first phase (Fadama I) focused on the development of simple, low-cost irrigation technology in fadama areas, irrigating roughly 55,000 hectares with pumps and tube wells. Fadama II (2004–2007) was a US $125 million project ($100 million from the International Development Association [IDA]) in 12 Nigeria states. The project worked with fadama user groups with common economic interests, such as farmers and pastoralists, and marginalized groups such as women and individuals with disabilities. Groups developed plans and applied for funding for income-generating community- level assets, such as water-pumps and generators. The project reports increasing incomes for 2.3 million households an average of 60% in the 2005–2007 period. Fadama III was launched in Zamfara State in northern Nigeria in 2009. The project will expand countrywide and receive IDA support of US $250 million. The project will concentrate on supporting demand-driven investments and empowerment of local communities with the aim of improving productivity and land and water quality (World Bank 2009c; NFRA-NFCO 2010).

In response to conflict over water resources in the Komadugu-Yobe River Basin– which was caused in large measure by inadequate planning and management of water resources – the government designed a project to support participatory and informed decision-making about the equitable use and sustainable management of the basin. The EUR €1.5 million project built a knowledge base, piloted improved water-management field interventions, adopted a water charter, and created an updated management plan (Kuruk n.d.).

DONOR INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

USAID has supported numerous water projects in Nigeria. In 2010 it is partnering with the Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority to rehabilitate the Bakolori irrigation system and provide training to stakeholders on the operation and maintenance of the system. USAID is also continuing to help the government improve water access and quality through construction of hand pump boreholes and rainwater catchment systems, drinking water treatment and water-related hygiene programs (Aliyu 2010; USDOS 2010).

The European Development Fund (EDF) financed a Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme from January 2006 to December 2009. The objectives of the program were to increase access to safe, adequate, and sustainable water and sanitation services in six states and provide assistance on the reformation of the water sector. The project helped prepare a new proposed draft national water law (not adopted to date) and provided guidance on restructuring the water sector through focus on river basin authorities. The National Fadama Development Project, which has been funded by the World Bank, extended agricultural productivity in fadama (floodplain) areas by introducing the use of small pumps. The project formed more than 9000 community-based water user associations (WUAs) in the 1990s. The Fadama II Critical Ecosystem Management Project (2006– 2011) has helped the local government form six state-level Water Committees. As of the FY09 Status of Projects in Execution (SOPE) report, three separate ongoing urban-focused water projects (totaling more than US $300 million) have rehabilitated two large water treatment plants in Lagos, built 12 smaller plants that are now functioning, and established 12,000 of 50,000 planned new water connections (World Bank 2009d; World Bank 2006; FAO 2005; Euroconsult 2006).

RESOURCE QUANTITY, QUALITY, USE AND DISTRIBUTION.

About 3.8 million hectares of land in Nigeria are forest and savanna grasslands. Nigeria’s tropical rainforests stretch from the western border with Benin through a narrow strand along the Niger-Benue River, expanding into the southeastern region. The rainforests include tall mahogany, iroko, obeche, and sapele wood trees that form the rainforest canopy and a thick lower layer of shrubs, herbs, and grasses. In the eastern areas, the rainforests have been indiscriminately cleared for palm oil plantations and agriculture (NSU 2010; Chemonics 2008; ITTO 2006).

Nigeria has three savanna belts characterized by their vegetation: (1) the Guinea savanna across in the middle of the country is distinguished by short trees and tall grasses; (2) the Sudan savanna in the northwest has short grasses and stunted tress; and (3) the Sahel in the extreme northeast has short grasses, sand dunes, and some pockets of date palms and acacia. The country also has coastal saline swamps that support thick mangrove trees and coconut palms; freshwater swamps farther inland are dominated by raffia palms (NSU 2010; Chemonics 2008).

The country’s forests fall into three categories: protected areas, forest reserves, and unclassified forest. Nigeria’s protected areas amount to roughly 1 million hectares, including eight national parks, and are under the control of the Federal National Park Service. Forest reserves are administered by the Department of Forestry and are generally managed as a source of revenue with no conservation mandate. The reserves have been subject to official and unofficial logging and collection of fuelwood and plants. Few reserves remain intact and many have been completely destroyed. There is no current estimate of the extent of remaining forest reserves. The balance of the country’s forest land is considered open access (ITTO 2006; ARD 2002; EC-FAO 2003; Chemonics 2008).

Nigeria’s forests serve critical human and biodiversity needs in Nigeria. An estimated 70–90% of Nigeria domestic energy supply comes from wood. In addition, forests provide building materials, medicinal plants, spices, and fodder for livestock. Nigeria’s rainforests include various species of kola nut trees (family Malvales); kola nuts, which used to be used in the manufacture of Coca-Cola, contain a highly valued stimulant, and chewing kola nut is a traditional and often ceremonial practice in parts of Nigeria. Nigeria’s lowland forests are home to a variety of primates, and mangrove forests provide spawning and nursery grounds for fish. The unrelenting expansion of agricultural land, overuse of resources to meet population energy and food needs, and construction and pollution associated with oil extraction operations are threatening Nigeria’s forest land and forest resources (Ite 1997; ARD 2002; Gibbon n.d.).

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Nigeria’s Constitution provides that the federal government has responsibility for protecting the country’s forests. Nigeria’s most recent national forest law dates from 1956 and is no longer considered legally relevant. A draft national forest law was prepared in 2001 but has yet to be enacted. Each state has a separate forest law but most are decades old, and the central government remains responsible for federal forestland, including national parks. Conflicts between state and national authority over forests, particularly national parks and reserves, is common. The draft national forest law takes an integrated approach to forest management, conservation, and development, with the goal of managing the forest resources for sustainable use. The draft law encourages private sector participation in forest management, emphasizes forest protection and sustainable use, and prioritizes community rights to forest access and forest products (RON Constitution 1999; Fameso 2008; Chemonics 2008; FAO 2003).

Nigeria’s National Forest Policy, 2006, articulates a primary objective of sustainable forest management that allows for increases in the economic, social, and environmental benefits from trees and forests for present and future generations, including poor and vulnerable people. The policy supports: partnerships for all stakeholders (private sector, communities, civil society, NGOs); the decentralization of forest governance; implementation of a national forest program; and promotion of active participation of women and vulnerable groups in forest resource development (Fameso 2008).

TENURE ISSUES

Access to Nigeria’s protected areas and use of forest resources in protected areas is restricted. Many forest reserves, which are administered by the Department of Forestry, have been converted into plantations for revenue generation. Regulations restricting access to reserves are rarely enforced; rather, the government encouraged clearing the reserves for agriculture and plantation development. In the early 20th century, Nigeria adopted taungya, the practice of intercropping trees and food crops. Government officials gave farmers access to forest reserves to clear for agriculture. The forestry officials gave the farmers plantation crop seedlings to plant and tend, with the government receiving the timber and profits from the plantation. When the economy began declining, the seedling program was eliminated, but forestry officials continued to allow farmers to clear forest land for agriculture. By one estimate, less than 10% of Nigeria’s remaining forest reserves are managed sustainably (Chemonics 2008; FAO 2003; Akindele 2001; von Hellermann 2007).

The country’s unclassified forest land is generally considered open access, although in some pockets local communities have taken a management and protection role with relation to the forest resources. The unclassified forest land is rapidly being encroached by farmers who gain income and customary land rights by clearing the land, selling the timber, and cultivating the land (ARD 2002; EC-FAO 2003; Aribigbola 2007; Oluwasanmi 1966).

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS

The Department of Forestry is housed within the Federal Ministry of the Environment. The Department is responsible for: advising the government on forest development; ensuring the implementation of sound and efficient forest management systems; coordinating conservation and utilization of forest resources; disseminating technical information; and providing extension and advisory services to the states. The Department has three divisions: (1) the Forestry Resources Survey and Products Utilization Division, which is responsible for the utilization and marketing of non-timber forest products; (2) the Agro-Forestry Support Services and Extension Division, which is responsible for agroforestry and communal forestry development; and (3) the Forest Management Division, which is responsible for management of forest reserves, forest fire prevention and control, and control and monitoring of forest pests and diseases (Fameso 2008; EC-FAO 2003; ARD 2002; Chemonics 2008).

State-level forestry offices are authorized to enforce state forestry laws, but enforcement tends to be weak. The institutional base for forest management is not consistent across the states: some departments are within the State Ministry of Environment and others within state ministries of agriculture. Local government councils (LGCs) are permitted to make rules and regulations that relate to natural-resource conservation, provided such regulations do not run counter to those of the state and federal governments. The National Forest Policy provides that LGCs have authority to establish woodlots, protect forests from illegal logging and against fire, and protect wildlife from poachers. The LGCs lack funding and support for their roles, and, in many areas, traditional leaders govern the forest resources. Regulation of forest resources is rarely enforced by the formal judicial tribunals or customary courts because the population depends on use of forest resources for their livelihoods (Chemonics 2008; FAO 2003).

GOVERNMENT REFORMS, INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

The government adopted a progressive forest policy in 2006 and has had draft forest legislation under consideration for several years. The cause of the delay in enactment of the legislation is unknown, but the extent of current state control over forest resources and the presumed lack of enthusiasm among states for stronger federal legislation may be factors (Fameso 2008).

DONOR INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

The Linkage Center for Forests, Conservation and Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta is collecting and coordinating data on forests and biodiversity conservation, and the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria conducts conservation work. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) implemented a EUR €2.4 million Community Forestry Project in Cross River State in 1996–2001. The project created replicable models for community-based forest management, built capacity of forest department staff to support communities in participatory forest management, and supported a variety of income-generating activities based on sustainable forest management principles. More recently, DFID implemented a five-year (2005–2010) participatory forest management project for forest-edge communities in Taraba State. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is developing programs focusing on land degradation and water-resources management. One component of the program will focus on community tree-planting and forest management (DFID 2001; DFID 2010; ARD 2002; CIDA 2010).

Civil society groups working on forest issues include: the Nigeria Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST) (conducts assessments regarding climate change and the environmental health of the forests); the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF) (works on renewable natural resources and sustainable development); Ibadan Forestry Development Centre (IFDC) (focuses on forestry resources management and forest industries); and UNICALCONS Service Company (conducts environmental and community service work) (Fameso 2008).

RESOURCE QUANTITY, QUALITY, USE AND DISTRIBUTION

With Angola, Nigeria is one of the top two largest producers of crude oil in Africa and among the top 10 global producers. Nigeria’s effective annual pumping capacity is about 900 million barrels, and its recoverable reserves are estimated at 34 billion barrels. In the 2003–2008 period, the oil sector accounted for over an average of 33% of GDP and about 90% of export receipts. In the 2005–2008 period, oil accounted for about 80% of government revenue. However, despite its significant oil resources, because of the poor condition of its oil refineries, Nigeria imports 90% of its domestically consumed petroleum products (African Economic Outlook 2010; OECD 2008; Mobbs 2009; EITI 2010).

Nigeria’s production of crude oil has declined in recent years due to civil disturbances in the Niger Delta, vandalism of pipelines, and criminal violence directed at international oil companies and personnel. In addition, investment in the minerals industry declined due to lack of confidence in Nigeria’s business environment (African Economic Outlook 2010; Mobbs 2009; Amnesty International 2005).

Nigeria also has significant reserves of natural gas (159 trillion cubic feet, among the 10 largest reserves in the world), and deposits of clay, cement, gold, iron ore, limestone, and gypsum. The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development reports the presence of over 50 different minerals in more than 500 locations across the country. The largest developed deposits of coal are in Enugu State; gold has been mined in Kwara State in western Nigeria, and iron ore is found in Kugi, Enugu, and Niger states. Uranium deposits have been confirmed in Cross River, Trarabar, Plateau, and Kano states. The country‘s focus has been on its oil and gas reserves, and domestic mining of other minerals is underdeveloped. The government has prioritized development of Seven Strategic Minerals (7SM): coal, bitumen, limestone, iron ore, barytes, gold, and lead/zinc (Alison-Madueke 2009; Mobbs 2009).

The country has 180 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, but the majority of Nigerians are not benefiting from those natural resources. The country exports about 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day and loses an estimated 3.5 billion cubic feet a day (30% of the European Union’s annual gas consumption) to flaring because it lacks the infrastructure to put the gas to productive use. Nigeria’s domestic market only receives 0.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Seventy percent of Nigerians have no access to electricity; 70–90% of Nigerians rely on wood for cooking and heating (Living Earth Nigeria 2010).

The construction of the 678-kilometer (569 kilometers of which are offshore) West African Gas Pipeline, which runs from Nigeria’s Escravos region to Takoradi, Ghana, and also hooks up to the Escravos-Lagos pipeline, increased Nigeria’s capacity to export its natural gas. The project cost about US $1 billion and is owned by a consortium, with Chevron and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company as the primary shareholders. The project is designed to substitute natural gas from Nigeria for the alternate fuels (primarily oil) used by power, industrial, mining and commercial sectors in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The project, which received financing from the World Bank, was criticized by civil society members for failing to compensate local communities for the negative impact of the pipeline and its construction and the ongoing environmental damage caused by the oil and gas operations (Bretton Woods 2007).

In 2006, the government-sponsored Niger Delta Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Project characterized the Niger Delta as one of the most severely petroleum-impacted ecosystems in the world. Decades of oil operations have included spillage of between 9 and 13 million barrels of oil (1.5 million tons) into the delta’s ecosystem. In the period from January 2006 to January 2010, there were reports of more than 3200 oil spills in the Delta. The industry has also caused extensive habitat and environmental degradation through forest clearing, road building, and dredging and filling. The practice of gas flaring, which sends up large toxic gas plumes that emit chemicals, has contaminated surrounding waterways and farmland. In 2008, Nigerian officials reported that radioactive waste from 1100 abandoned columbite and tin mining fields in Plateau State threatened the heath of about 2 million residents (Aghalino and Eyinla 2009; AFP 2008; RON 2006; Ezigbo 2010).

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The Constitution provides that all rights to minerals in, under, or upon land in Nigeria vest in the government. The Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007, reasserts government ownership and control over all minerals in Nigeria and regulates prospecting, mining and quarrying. The Act is intended to promote the expeditious and beneficial development of the country’s mineral resources. The Act prioritizes the use of land for mining over other uses of land, and provides that mining for the purposes of access, use, and occupation for mining shall constitute an overriding public interest under the Land Use Act. The Act provides incentives for mining through fiscal and tax incentives. Mining companies are required to establish a tax deductible reserve for environmental protection, mine rehabilitation and reclamation, and mine closure costs (RON Constitution 1999; RON Minerals Act 2007).

Legislation is pending that would give local communities 10% of Nigeria’s equity share in oil produced in the Niger Delta (African Economic Outlook 2010).

TENURE ISSUES

Under the Minerals and Mining Act, individuals and entities can obtain reconnaissance permits and exploration licenses, small-scale mining leases, mining and quarry leases, and water-use permits (available for use in conjunction with the underlying contractual right). The Act provides processes for competitive bidding for licenses and leases for mineral exploration and extraction. Reconnaissance permits, small-scale mining leases, and quarry leases are restricted to Nigerian citizens. Permits and leases have terms ranging from one year (reconnaissance permits) to 25 years (mining leases). With the exception of reconnaissance permits, mining rights are transferable with Ministry approval (RON Minerals Act 2007).

Quarrying leases are available under the Minerals Act for all naturally occurring quarriable minerals including asbestos, china clay, gypsum, marble, limestone, mica, pipe clay, slate, sand, stone, late rite, and gravel. Quarry leases are granted for five-year renewable periods. Entities producing crude oil can enter into joint ventures with Nigeria’s state-owned National Petroleum Corporation or enter into production-sharing and services contracts (RON Minerals Act 2007; Mobbs 2009).

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS

The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development: manages the solid minerals sector; administers the Minerals and Mining Act; formulates and issues policy; and ensures the orderly and sustainable development of mineral resources. The Mining Cadastre is a stand-alone institution that administers mineral titles, maintaining an atlas and registry of titles. The Cadastre has the authority to suspend and revoke titles. The Ministry of State for Petroleum Resources manages the oil sector, and the Ministry of Industry manages the cement industry. The National Energy Council is responsible for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, which is a state-owned entity that oversees the refineries and is the major partner in natural gas and petroleum joint ventures with international oil companies (Mobbs 2009; RON Minerals Act 2007).

The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) is responsible for enforcing Nigeria’s environmental regulations regarding spills, undertakes surveillance, ensures the implementation of oil-spill contingency plans, and coordinates the management of oil spills. Whenever there is an oil spill, NOSDRA assesses the damage and the culpability of the company involved (Ezigbo 2010).

GOVERNMENT REFORMS, INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

The global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which supports improved governance in resource-rich countries through the verification and full publication of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining, accepted Nigeria as an EITI Candidate Country in 2007. Audits of Nigeria’s accounts identified financial discrepancies, mispaid taxes, and system inefficiencies, including US $800 million of unresolved differences between what companies said that they paid in taxes, royalties and signature bonuses, and what the government reported receiving. The Nigerian government agreed to a comprehensive remediation action plan designed to: develop a revenue-flow interface among government agencies; improve Nigeria’s oil and gas metering infrastructure; develop a uniform approach to cost determination; build human and physical capacities of critical government agencies; and improve overall governance of the oil and gas sector. Nigeria also adopted the national Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to promote the EITI principles. NEITI’s primary task is to reconcile payments made by extractive industry companies with receipts recorded by public agencies. In 2007, its existence was institutionalized by the enactment of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act. NEITI’s governing officials have been traveling the country holding public meetings to discuss the initiative and engage civil society members in the auditing processes (EITI 2010; NEITI 2010).

Nigeria’s federal government has controlled revenues from the oil and gas industry throughout the sector’s development. The centralized approach to resource governance was one of the issues in the 1967–1970 Nigeria-Biafra War. Protests against the distribution of benefits from oil wealth have continued, and increased as people recognized the impact of the growing industry on the environment. Militant groups supporting the rights of local communities have disrupted oil production in the Delta with years of targeted violence and sabotage. Beginning in 2006, militants in the Niger Delta attacked pipelines, kidnapped petroleum company employees, and fought government troops. In October 2009, the government entered into a ceasefire agreement with the militant groups, promising legislation granting local communities 10% of Nigeria‘s equity in joint ventures, improved infrastructure, and cash payments to some militant fighters. Some 12,000 militants registered for reintegration into society. In January 2010, the main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, called off the agreement because President Umaru Yar‘Adua, who negotiated the agreement, was absent from the country for medical treatment for an extended period of time. It is unknown how the subsequent death of the President and appointment of President Goodluck Jonathan in May 2010 will impact the agreement (CTV 2010; African Economic Outlook 2010; Madiebo 2000).

The 2007 Minerals and Mining Act was the result of government efforts to diversify the mining sector and attract more investors to the sector, especially for the purpose of conducting exploration of undiscovered reserves (Mobbs 2009).

DONOR INTERVENTIONS AND INVESTMENTS

The World Bank has an 8-year (2004–2012) US $128 million Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project, which is designed to increase the government’s long-term institutional and technical capacity to manage Nigeria’s mineral resources sustainably. The project is focused on rural economic renewal in selected areas of the country through activities designed to empower small-scale miners and surrounding communities that depend directly or indirectly on the exploitation of solid minerals. Affected communities have taken charge of their own development agenda by defining their own needs in the context of business and community development plans. The project also plans to strengthen transparent governance of the sector through: revisions to the legal framework; institutional capacity-building for efficient public mining institutions and transparent management of the sector; and development of a computerized registry. As of the FY09 Status of Projects in Execution (SOPE) report, the project is achieving its development objectives: the government is drafting mining regulations and undertook extensive training and capacity-building for civil servants at the central and state levels. Airborne geophysical surveys of 50% of the country were completed, and the project was helping the government to tender and attract investors for the development of coal and bitumen resources. The project also focused on building long-term capacity in the mining sector and has funded the establishment of the Nigeria Institute of Mining and Geosciences in Jos. The Institute has initiated short courses and extension services to improve and promote small-scale mining as a means to diversify rural livelihoods. The extension services are coupled with a small grants program to provide limited funding to small-scale miners and mining communities (World Bank 2004; World Bank 2009d).

As part of its their Sustainable Utilisation of Nigeria’s Gas and Renewable Energy Resources (SUNGAS) program, which plans to develop natural gas and renewable energy markets and sustainable community-based energy facilities within the Niger Delta, the Living Earth Nigeria Foundation, IIED, and other partners introduced a Gas to Power project in 2010. With about US $3 million in funding from the European Commission, DFID, and Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, the demonstration project will use a 0.5 Megawatt gas turbine to use gas from a flow-station or oil well to produce and distribute electricity locally to about 3000 households, 500 small businesses, five health centers and six schools. The project operations and project assets will be managed by a community-owned and community-based utility company. The demonstration project is not anticipated to reduce gas flares but is intended to create a sustainable model for increased domestic utilization of gas, and give communities a stake in the region’s oil production (Living Earth 2010).

A local NGO, the Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), and Amnesty International have been involved in documenting the impact of the oil industry on the people and natural resources of the Niger Delta and advocating for the rights of the people in the Delta (Amnesty International 2009).