Integrated water resource management is an increasingly popular approach in developing countries. This approach, which recognises the links between land use and water resources, is used to manage the many competing demands on water resources. Despite this popularity, it has been criticised as being inflexible and difficult to adapt to widely differing circumstances around the world.

Nigeria is divided into 18 river basin development authorities. Each authority has responsibility for developing and managing water resources, including irrigation projects, dams, water supplies, fisheries and pollution. Research from the University of Uyo in Nigeria examines irrigation schemes that use the integrated water resource management (IWRM) approach. The research focused on irrigation projects in the Cross River Basin, where 80 percent of the population work in agriculture.

The Cross River Basin Development Authority (CRBDA) has focused on developing dams, boreholes and irrigation infrastructure. However, many other important issues have been overlooked by the CRBDA, such as erosion, flooding and pollution. Furthermore, many farmers have been displaced from their land by CRBDA projects.

Four large-scale irrigation projects currently function in the area, aiming to improve farming systems and increase food supply. These have been largely unsuccessful, however. Few people use them and the authority has not been able to recover costs through charging for water.

There are several reasons for this failure:

• Water is readily available in the areas chosen for irrigation projects, so users have no incentive to pay the government to use the new facilities. The government therefore has little incentive to invest in these facilities.
• Funding for the CRBDA has been inadequate and irregular. There is a lot of land set aside for dams and irrigation, but often no money to start these projects. Corruption has meant that some funds and revenue have gone missing.
• Compensation for the land has not been paid properly, so the CRBDA has not been able to claim full control of certain lands and resources.
• The CRBDA has no control over many water resources, meaning anyone can use them without permission and integrated management is impossible.

Less than four percent of the land acquired by the CRBDA has been developed. Many projects have not developed beyond the design stage. This demonstrates how IWRM will fail if funds are inadequate or managed corruptly, or projects are placed in areas where they are not needed. The researcher recommends:

• Irrigation projects should be placed where water is scarce, with several small projects instead of a few large-scale projects. Placing projects where they are needed would increase their use and improve cost recovery, as users would be willing to pay.
• The government must commit sufficient funds to water management, and ensure these are regularly available to ensure that policies remain consistent.
• Local needs and circumstances should determine where IWRM projects are placed, not political interests.

Source(s):
‘Assessing integrated water resources management in Nigeria: insights and lessons from irrigation projects in the Cross River Basin’ Water Policy 9, pages 149-168, by Emmanuel M. Akpabio, 2007

Funded by: The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission

id21 Research Highlight: 12 September 2007

Further Information:
Emmanuel M. Akpabio
Department of Geography and Regional Planning
University of Uyo
PO Box 4223, Uyo
Nigeria

Tel: + 234 8023756683
Contact the contributor: emakpabio@yahoo.com

University of Uyo, Nigeria

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