This book presents the outcome of an interdisciplinary and international workshop supported by the Volkswagen Stiftung (funding line ‘Knowledge for Tomorrow’) on the topic of ‘Natural Resources, Socio-Ecological Sensitivity and Climate Change in the Volta-Oti Basin, West Africa’. The conference was jointly organised by Goethe-University Frankfurt (Germany) and the University of Kara (Togo) held from March 6 to 8, 2019 in northern Togo. It aimed to strengthen capacities of junior scientists from the sub-region, exchange and mobilise theoretical and methodological background from various scientific fields (Botany, Construction, Geology, Geography, Infrastructure, Politics, Remote Sensing, Sociology and Urban Planning). One goal was to deliver reliable elements for ongoing and profound environmental analyses that lie outside the common questions of the academic and civil society stakeholders. Ecosystem fragmentation and deforestation in West Africa are mainly triggered by humans such as agriculture and small-scale forest disturbances for charcoal and firewood production. Increasing population pressure, declining of carrying capacity and demand for agricultural land caused the reduction of land conservation capacities, even in protected areas. The complexity of interactions between environmental and socio-ecological systems and subsequent effects (sensitivity) has raised ongoing international awareness in light of ongoing climate change. By the example of natural resources, land use and stakeholders’ perceptions within the Volta-Oti Basin the book’s proceedings present, discuss and distribute new findings that will sustainably stimulate the international debate. The workshop also intended to overcome national borders and language barriers between the Anglophone (Ghana) and the Francophone (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo) research communities, and supported better West African cooperation and networking. The young as well as the established partners formed new collaborations, and the event at the University of Kara (Togo) was a truly unique opportunity for all involved, not only to discuss science, but also to assess applied and best future management practices for the Oti-Volta Basin in West Africa.

This book explores the impacts of climate change on Nigeria. How climate change impacts the productivity and future development of different sectors in Nigeria was covered in this book. Various themes of the Nigerian economy, environment, and climate change were considered. Worthy of note are the impacts of climate change on the Nigerian air quality, surface and groundwater resources, watershed and natural resources’ development and planning, soil- quality, fertility, salinization, nutrients and cropping patterns. Also, the impact of climate change on land use/land cover, urbanization and strategic planning, crops and sustainable crop yield; land degradation, soil erosion, landslides and landscapes, rainfall trend patterns, drought vulnerability; ecology, vegetation/forest, carbon and biomass management of Nigeria were investigated. Finally, the problems of climate change in semi-arid and arid regions (with special emphasis on Nigeria) and possible solutions for sustainable development under the changing climate were discussed in this book. Advanced technologies, such as remote sensing, GIS, multivariate analytical tools, and machine learning techniques, were utilized in the exploration and analysis of the themes of this book. Thus, this book is a very important product for point of view researchers, scientists, NGOs, and university communities on the Nigerian climate change. This book is a useful interdisciplinary tool, cutting across various disciplines such as earth sciences, hydrology, environmental sciences, soil science, engineering, remote sensing, natural resources management, and public health management, etc.

Academic Paper from the year 2020 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Africa, University of Port Harcourt (Faculty of Social Sciences), course: Political Science, language: English, abstract: This paper examined the impact of climate change on social conflict in Nigeria by identifying its progenitors and victims; and the roles of stakeholders in addressing the challenges of climate change adaptation and mitigation, especially social conflict. It x-rayed the two causes of climate change and locates the major trigger of social conflicts in Nigeria on the anthropogenic causes. The Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) and the social conflict theories were used to guide the analytical compass, using the conflict analysis perspective. This paper argued that the exploration, exploitation, refining and utilization of fossil fuels, soil erosion, desertification, environmental degradation, Green House Gas (GHG) emission etc. have negative consequences on the health and safety of the people, the supply chain and their socio-economic well being. The paper recommends democratisation of the people, respect for people's rights, unity, peace and stability of Nigerian democracy to ensure love for one another and unity of purpose for all. It also advocated the use of environmental impact assessment in the evaluation of projects by multinational corporations in Nigeria. The relationship between climate change and social conflict should be advocated by political elite in Nigerian democracy.

This open access book discusses current thinking and presents the main issues and challenges associated with climate change in Africa. It introduces evidences from studies and projects which show how climate change adaptation is being - and may continue to be successfully implemented in African countries. Thanks to its scope and wide range of themes surrounding climate change, the ambition is that this book will be a lead publication on the topic, which may be regularly updated and hence capture further works. Climate change is a major global challenge. However, some geographical regions are more severly affected than others. One of these regions is the African continent. Due to a combination of unfavourable socio-economic and meteorological conditions, African countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. The recently released IPCC special report "Global Warming of 1.5o C" outlines the fact that keeping global warming by the level of 1.5o C is possible, but also suggested that an increase by 2o C could lead to crises with crops (agriculture fed by rain could drop by 50% in some African countries by 2020) and livestock production, could damage water supplies and pose an additonal threat to coastal areas. The 5th Assessment Report produced by IPCC predicts that wheat may disappear from Africa by 2080, and that maize— a staple—will fall significantly in southern Africa. Also, arid and semi-arid lands are likely to increase by up to 8%, with severe ramifications for livelihoods, poverty eradication and meeting the SDGs. Pursuing appropriate adaptation strategies is thus vital, in order to address the current and future challenges posed by a changing climate. It is against this background that the "African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation" is being published. It contains papers prepared by scholars, representatives from social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing climate change projects in Africa, and working with communities across the African continent. Encompassing over 100 contribtions from across Africa, it is the most comprehensive publication on climate change adaptation in Africa ever produced.

If not addressed in time, climate change is expected to exacerbate Nigeria’s current vulnerability to weather swings and limit its ability to achieve and sustain the objectives of Vision 20:2020 [as defined in http://www.npc.gov.ng /home/doc.aspx?mCatID=68253]. The likely impacts include: • A long-term reduction in crop yields of 20–30 percent • Declining productivity of livestock, with adverse consequences on livelihoods • Increase in food imports (up to 40 percent for rice long term) • Worsening prospects for food security, particularly in the north and the southwest • A long-term decline in GDP of up to 4.5 percent The impacts may be worse if the economy diversifies away from agriculture more slowly than Vision 20:2020 anticipates, or if there is too little irrigation to counter the effects of rising temperatures on rain-fed yields. Equally important, investment decisions made on the basis of historical climate may be wrong: projects ignoring climate change might be either under- or over-designed, with losses (in terms of excess capital costs or foregone revenues) of 20–40 percent of initial capital in the case of irrigation or hydropower. Fortunately, there is a range of technological and management options that make sense, both to better handle current climate variability and to build resilience against a harsher climate: • By 2020 sustainable land management practices applied to 1 million hectares can offset most of the expected shorter-term yield decline; gradual extension of these practices to 50 percent of cropland, possibly combined with extra irrigation, can also counter-balance longer-term climate change impacts. • Climate-smart planning and design of irrigation and hydropower can more than halve the risks and related costs of making the wrong investment decision. The Federal Government could consider 10 short-term priority responses to build resilience to both current climate variability and future change through actions to improve climate governance across sectors, research and extension in agriculture, hydro-meteorological systems; integration of climate factors into the design of irrigation and hydropower projects, and mainstreaming climate concerns into priority programs, such as the Agriculture Transformation Agenda.