Localized disaster management and community development in Western Africa : challenges and opportunities in Nigeria

Nigeria is the 6th largest crude oil exporter in the world; nevertheless, the socioeconomic status of the country is surprisingly low considering the wealth of its natural resources. Like most countries in Western Africa, Nigeria is highly vulnerable to water-based disasters (WDs), since only limited disaster resilience mechanisms have been successfully established nationwide. In addition, human-induced disasters along with a range of other factors undermine socioeconomic conditions and limit opportunities for development. Despite limited central government support to address such hazards, a lot can be achieved at the local level, particularly in the form of community-led development plans and integrated disaster risk adaptation. Low-cost, long-term solutions, such as do-it-yourself (DIY) and easy-to-deploy-and-operate (EDO) energy and hazard mitigation systems, adjusted to community needs and capacity could be highly efficient, and align with the strategic principles of both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. While it is currently impossible to deploy a nationwide disaster resilience system in Nigeria, learning to adapt to WDs at the local level could improve the quality of life and increase survival rates during extreme weather events. This study highlights the major elements of our integrated research project entitled "Hydropower for Disaster Resilience Applications (HYDRA)" at Western Sydney University, Australia with the support of Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative (HADRI) and UNESCO Chair on Conservation and Ecotourism of Riparian and Deltaic Ecosystems (Con-E-Ect), International Hellenic University, Greece.