Research Article Open Access

Need for Emergency Response to Wetlands Loss Prevention in Southwestern Nigeria: A Review

Abstract

Southwestern Nigeria's wetlands are assaulted, degraded and loss especially to agricultural development and urban expansions; while the rural wetlands losses are due to agriculture but temporal, loss to urban developments are permanent. To examine the extent, influence, and potentials of the degradation, the review covered the six states of the region, revealing losses due to wetlands in the region between 1965 and 2019. Wetlands in Lagos reduced from 708.96 ha (52.68%) in 1965 to 7.10 ha (0.53%) in 2005, Eleyele Wetland in Oyo State, (Riparian) forest was seen to have lost consistently from (1.25 km2) in 1984, to (0.98 km2) 1994, (0.70 km2) 2004 and finally (0.42 km2) in 2014. Eriti forested wetlands of Ogun State lost about 45.32% between 1972 and 2015, in Ondo State Akure South Local Government Area Wetlands decreased from 98.90 km2 (30.13%) in 1999, to 90.33 km2 in 2009 (27.52%); Ilesa wetlands, in Osun State decreased from 258 hectares to 89 hectares between 1986 and 2002.

Adeleke Benjamin Oluwafemi

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