AN EVALUATION OF SOME SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT COMPONENTS IN THE DESIGN OF THE HADEJA-NGURU WETLANDS CONSERVATION PROGRAMME

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Author

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Department of Environmental Design

ABSTRACT
Hadeja-Nguru Wetlands Conservation Programme was initially designed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (in the U.K.) to conserve the wetlands as a habitat for migratory waterbirds, as well as the water-resources of the Komadugu-Yobe basin in general. However, along the line, some rural development components were later introduced into the programme by the World Conservation Union under the concept of 'wise-use' of resources. This development therefore entailed a new set of programme objectives on the existing ones. However, the programme design has not provided the basis upon which the new objectives will be achieved. Similarly, it is also important to note that there are different strategies for rural development that also have different design requirement, and where these requirements are left out, the expected outcomes will not be fully realized. The data used in this study were collected from both the primary and the secondary sources, and these were first synthesized in order to group similar information together. These data were later analysed using the simple statistical technique of computing percentages with a view to identify the impacts of the programme on its various components particularly after its introduction. Outcomes from these activities however revealed that the programme had recorded some impressive results particularly in the aspects of the ecological and hydrological studies. However, the programme is yet to make a remarkable impact in terms of promoting rural development activities in the region. For instance, its attempt to enhance the socioeconomic activities of the wetlands inhabitants through enhancing their agricultural outputs mainly centered around the development of pilot projects (such as dyke construction and donkey drawn carts and ploughs) that are designed to promote agricultural production in the region. However, the programme design has not addressed the need to provide some of the basic infrastructural facilities such as rural feeder roads, modern farm-inputs, credit subsidies etc that will enhance and at the sometime help in sustaining the development process. To address these problems therefore, literature's relating to rural development were reviewed with a view to propose some appropriate strategies that will accommodate and at the sometime promote the new programme's objectives so as to have better outcomes. In this regard, strategies that will enhance the programme's design, the rural development components, diminishing of land use conflicts in the wetlands as well as strategies for enhancing the socio-economic activities of the wetlands communities were all proposed for the programme.