Climate Change and its Implications on Water Resources Management in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

H.O Nwankwoala [1],A.E Gobo[2]
Page No. 56-64

The study area (Port Harcourt) in the Niger Delta region is vulnerable to global and regional
climate change particularly that associated with sea level change. Thus, sea-level rise and repeated
ocean surges will not only worsen the problems of coastal erosion that are already a menace in the
Niger Delta, but would accelerate the associated inundation, increase problems of floods, intrusion
of sea-water into freshwater sources and ecosystems and destroying such stabilizing system as
mangrove, and affecting agriculture, fisheries and general livelihoods. The study area has not been
monitored for sufficiently long periods as to provide useful data to support detailed coastal
modeling. This is a task that must be emphasized and taken seriously by relevant governmental
institutions as it would facilitate sustainable coastal zone management. This paper therefore
identified the threats of inundation and erosion arising from sea level rise on the basis of existing
tidal limits and indicative shore zone morphological susceptibility as some of the problems that
would be aggravated by scenarios of sea level rise. The need for monitoring the changing coastline
using satellite remote sensing data and aerial surveys in conjunction with ground surveys at local
scale for accurate data on the susceptibility of the region to human and natural changes cannot be
overstated. There is an urgent need for a more systematic integration of high resolution
topographic and bathymetric datasets with tidal and storm surge extreme water levels.

Key words: Climate change, sea-level rise, coastal erosion, water resources managementThis is some sample text.