Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-v2srd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-04-17T17:47:57.599Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Artisanal Fishing and Environmental Change in a Nigerian Floodplain Wetland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

David H.L. Thomas
David H.L. Thomas
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, England, UK.cor1corresp
*
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Floodplain wetlands are of major importance in semi-arid Africa, providing agricultural, livestock, forestry, and fisheries, products as well as many other goods and services. Through a case-study of a floodplain wetland in northern Nigeria, it is demonstrated that the factors determining the characteristics of floodplain fishermen, defined in terms of how they fish, where they fish, and when they fish, are spatially and temporally very complex and may best be analysed within a simple systems framework.

Despite the important values and functions that floodplains provide, many have been degraded owing to the construction of dams within their catchments. Studies of the social and economic impact of these developments tend to have adopted an ‘ecosystem’ approach to analysis that conceals the socio-economic complexity of the floodplain. However, if proposals to manage the water resources of river basins effectively are to be successfully implemented, it will be essential to understand the complexity of socioeconomic relations of floodplain users and their interaction with the environment. In conclusion, there is a need for much more detailed socio-economic studies that explore the ways in which floodplain inhabitants use the system in space and time.

Information

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , Summer 1995 , pp. 117 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Adams, W.M. (1985). River control in West Africa. Pp. 177–228 in The Niger and its Neighbours (Ed. Grove, A.T.). A.A. Bakema, Rotterdam & Boston: xi + 331 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Adams, W.M. (1991). Large-scale irrigation in northern Nigeria: performance and ideology. Trans Inst. Br. Geogr. N.S., 16, pp. 287–300, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, W.M. (1992). Wasting the Rain: Rivers, People and Planning in Africa. Earthscan Publications Ltd., London, England, UK: 256 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Adams, W.M. (1993). Indigenous use of wetlands and sustainable development in West Africa. The Geographical Journal, 159(2), pp. 209–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, W.M. & Hollis, G.E. (1988). Hydrology and Sustainable Use of a Sahelian Floodplain Wetland. HNWCP, Nguru, Nigeria: xiv + 161 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Awachie, J.B.E. & Hare, L. (1978). The fisheries of the Anambra, Ogun and Oshun river systems in southern Nigeria. Pp. 170–84 in Symposium on River and Floodplain Fisheries in Africa. (Bujumbura, Burundi, 21–23 11 1977.) CIFA Technical Paper 5 (Ed. Welcomme, R.L.). FAO, Rome, Italy: xiii + 378 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Barbier, E.B., Adams, W.M. & Kimmage, K. (1991). Economic Valuation of Wetland Benefits: The Hadejia-Jama'are Floodplain, Nigeria. London Environmental Economics Centre/IIED, London, England, UK: iv + 26 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Bernacsek, G.M. (1984). Dam Design and Operation to Optimize Fish Production in Impounded River Basins. (CIFA Technical Paper 11.) FAO, Rome, Italy: v + 98 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Bossche, J.-P. van den & Bernacsek, G.M. (1990). Source Book for the Inland Fishery Resources of Africa, Vol. 2. (CIFA Technical Paper, 18/2.) FAO, Rome, Italy: xii + 411 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Chifana Consultants (1985). Improvement of River Channels Along River Hadeijia Between Geidam and Hadejia: Final Report. Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Nigeria: [not available for checking].Google Scholar
Chisholm, N.G. & Grove, J.M. (1985). The Lower Volta. Pp. 229–50 in The Niger and Its Neighbours (Ed. Grove, A.T.). A.A. Bakema, Rotterdam & Boston: xi + 331 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Diyam Consultants (1986). Dindima Transfer Planning Report. Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development, Nigeria. 3 Volumes: [not available for checking].Google Scholar
Diyam Consultants (1989). Kafin Zaki Dam: Project Review. Hadejia-Jama'aez River Basin Development Authority, Kano, Nigeria: [not available for checking].Google Scholar
Drijver, C.A. & Marchand, M. (1985). Taming the Floods: Environmental Aspects of Floodplain Development in Africa. Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands: 87 pp. + 7 annexes, illustr.Google Scholar
Drijver, C.A. & Marchand, M. (1986). Taming the floods: environmental aspects of floodplain development in Africa. Nature and Resources, 22(4), pp. 13–22, illustr.Google Scholar
Dugan, P.J. (Ed.) (1990). Wetland Conservation: a Review of Current Issues and Required Action. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland: 96 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
FAO (1971). A brief review of the current status of the inland fisheries of Africa. African Journal of Tropical Hydrobiology and Fisheries, Special Issue, 1, pp. 3–19, illustr.Google Scholar
FMC International (1975). Final Report: Hadejia Valley Feasibility Study. Kano State, Nigeria: [not available for checking].Google Scholar
Grove, A.T. (1985). The River People. Pp. 143–76 in The Niger and its Neighbours (Ed. Grove, A.T.). A.A. Bakema, Rotterdam & Boston: xi + 331 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Harding, D. (1966). Lake Kariba: The hydrology and development of fisheries. Pp. 7–19 in Man-made Lakes (Ed. McConnell, R.H. Lowe). Academic Press, London & New York, NY, USA: xiii +218 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
HNWCP (1992). Proceedings of the Workshop on Problems Related to Livestock Production and Forestry Activities in the Hadejia—Nguru Wetlands. Unpublished report, Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands Conservation Project, Nguru, Nigeria: 14 pp.Google Scholar
Hollis, G.E. (1990). Environmental impacts of development on wetlands in arid and semi-arid lands. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 35, pp. 411–28, fig.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hollis, G.E., Adams, W.M. & Aminu-Kano, M. (1993). The Hadejia—Nguru Wetlands: Environment, Economy and Sustainable Development of a Sahelian Floodplain Wetland. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, England, UK: xviii + 244 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Ita, E.O. (1972). Approaches to the evaluation and management of the fish stock in Kainji Lake, Nigeria. African Journal of Tropical Hydrobiology and Fisheries, Special Issue, 1, pp. 35–52, illustr.Google Scholar
IWACO (1985). Study of the Water Resources in the Komadugu—Yobe Basin: Consultants′ General Report. Report for the Nigeria—Niger Joint Commission for Cooperation, Rotterdam, Netherlands: [not available for checking].Google Scholar
Jackson, P.B.N. (1966). The establishment of fisheries in man-lakes in the tropics. Pp. 53–69 in Man-made Lakes (Ed. McConnell, R.W. Lowe). Academic Press, London & New York: xiii + 218 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Jimoh, M.A. (1989). Fuelwood-Fishery Activities in the Hadejia—Nguru Wetlands. HNWCP, Nguru, Nigeria: 48 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Kimmage, K. (1991). Small-scale irrigation initiatives: the problems of equity and sustainability. Applied Geography, 11, pp. 5–20, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kimmage, K. (1993). The Socio-economic Impact of Technical Change in Small-scale Irrigation in Nigeria. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, UK: 293 pp. + appendices.Google Scholar
Kimmage, K. & Adams, W.M. (1990). Small-scale farmer-managed irrigation in Northern Nigeria. Geoforum, 20(3), pp. 1–9.Google Scholar
Kimmage, K. & Adams, W.M. (1992). Wetland agricultural production and river basin development in the Hadejia-Jama'are valley, Nigeria. The Geographical Journal, 158(1), pp. 1–12, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawson, R.M. (1972). The Changing Economy of the Lower Volta 1954–67. [Not available for checking.]Google Scholar
Lelek, A. & El-Zarka, S. (1973). Ecological comparison of the preimpoundment and post-impoundment fish faunas of the River Niger and Kainji Lake, Nigeria. American Geophysical Union Monograph, 17, pp. 655–60.Google Scholar
Machena, C. (1992). Dam developments and their environmental effect: the Kariba experience. Pp. 27–42 in Wetlands Conservation Conference for Southern Africa (Eds Matiza, T. & Chabwela, H.N.). (Proceedings of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference held in Gaborone, Botswana, 3–5 June 1991.) IUCN, Gland, Switzerland: x + 224 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Maltby, E. (1988). Waterlogged Wealth: Why Waste the World's Wet Places? Earthscan, London, England, UK: 200 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Marchand, M. (1987). The productivity of African floodplains. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 29, pp. 201–11, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthes, H. (1990). Report on the Fishery Related Aspects of the Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands Conservation Project. (Mission Report.) IUCN, Gland, Switzerland: 59 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Mortimore, M. (1989). Adapting to Drought: Farmers, Famines and Desertification in West Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, UK: xxii + 299 pp., illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okorie, O.O. (1972). Some major unsolved aspects of the dynamics of African fisheries as related to questions of rational development and management. African Journal of Tropical Hydrobiology and Fisheries, Special Issue, 1, pp. 27–33.Google Scholar
Osuji, F.N.C. (1977). The influence of traditional handling methods on the quality of fish processed in Nigeria. Pp. 319–22 in Proceedings of the Conference on the Handling, Processing and Marketing of Tropical Fish, London, 5–9 07 1976. (Ministry of Overseas Development.) Tropical Products Institute, London, England, UK: 511 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Otobo, F.O. (1978). The commercial fishery of the middle River Niger, Nigeria. Pp. 185–208 in Symposium on River and Floodplain Fisheries in Africa. (Bujumbura, Burundi, 21–23 November 1977.) CIFA Technical Paper 5 (Ed. Welcomme, R.L.). FAO, Rome, Italy: xiii + 378 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Petr, T. (1969). Fish population changes in the Volta Lake over the period January 1965–September 1966. Pp. 220–34 in Man-made Lakes: the Accra Symposium (Ed. Obang, L.E.). Ghana Universities Press, Accra, Ghana: 398 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Petr, T. (1975). Limnology and fisheries of the Nyumba Ya Mungu, a man-made lake in Tanzania. African Journal of Tropical Hydrobiology and Fisheries, 4(1), pp. 39–50, 6 tables.Google Scholar
Sagua, V.O. (1978). The effect of Kainji Dam, Nigeria, upon fish production in the River Niger below the dam at Faku. Pp. 209–24 in Symposium on River and Floodplain Fisheries in Africa. (Bujumbura, Burundi, 21–23 11 1977.) CIFA Technical Paper 5 (Ed. Welcomme, R.L.). FAO, Rome, Italy: xiii + 378 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Salem-Murdock, M. & Horowitz, M.M. (1991). Monitoring development in the Senegal River basin. Development Anthropology Network, 9(1), pp. 8–15, 9 tables.Google Scholar
Schultz, (1976). Hadejia River Basin Study. Canadian International Development Agency. 8 volumes in an Interim and a Final Report: [not available for checking].Google Scholar
Scoones, I. (1991). Wetlands in drylands: key resources for agricultural and pastoral production in Africa. Ambio, 20(8), pp. 366–71, illustr.Google Scholar
Scudder, T. (1989 a). The African experience with river basin development. Natural Resources Forum, 05 1989, pp. 139–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scudder, T. (1989 b). River basin projects in Africa. Environment, 31(2), pp. 4–32, illustr.Google Scholar
Scudder, T. (1991). The need and justification for maintaining transboundary flood regimes: the Africa Case. Natural Resources Journal, 31, pp. 75–107.Google Scholar
Sundstrom, L. (1972). Ecology and symbiosis: Niger water folk. Studia Ethnographica Upsaliensis, 35, pp. 5–175, illustr.Google Scholar
Thomas, D.H.L., Ayache, F. & Hollis, G.E. (1991). Use and nonuse values in the conservation of Ichkeul National Park, Tunisia. Environmental Conservation, 18(2), pp. 119–30, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, D.H.L., Jimoh, M.A. & Matthes, H. (1993). Fishing. Pp. 97–115 in The Hadejia—Nguru Wetlands: Environment, Economy and Sustainable Development of a Sahelian Floodplain Wetland (Eds Hollis, G.E., Adams, W.M. & Aminu-Kano, M.). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland: xviii + 244 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Welcomme, R.L. (1972). A brief review of the floodplain fisheries of Africa. African Journal of Tropical Hydrobiology and Fisheries, Special Issue 1, pp. 67–76, illustr.Google Scholar
Welcomme, R.L. (1976). Some general and theoretical considerations on the fish yield of African rivers. Journal of Fisheries Biology, 8, pp. 351–64, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welcomme, R.L. (1985). River Fisheries. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper, 262, FAO, Rome, Italy: ix + 330 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Welcomme, R.L. (1986). Fish of the Niger system. Pp. 25–48 in The Ecology of River Systems (Eds Davies, B.R. & Walker, K.F.). Dr W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands: xviii + 793 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Whitehead, P.J.P. (1959). The river fisheries of Kenya: I Nyanza Province. East African Agricultural Journal, 24(4), pp. 274–8, table.CrossRefGoogle Scholar