An assessment of ecosystem degradation and poverty: a case study of Obafemi-Owode local government area, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Ecosystem services have continued to dwindle due to human activities, with likely implications for the dependent populations. This paper assesses the relationship between poverty and ecosystem degradation within the peri-urban domain of Obafemi-Owode local government area (LGA) using a range of research methods including satellite imagery analysis to track land-use change, economic valuation of ecosystem services, and surveys to construct a multidimensional poverty index (MPI). The analysis shows that vegetation and wetlands have been replaced with built-up area and savannahs. This has resulted in a net loss in the value of ecosystem services worth US$ 11.3 million, most of which is attributable to the decline in waste-management services provided by peri-urban wetlands. The major activities cited as causing environmental degradation were lumbering and land clearing, which were perceived to be deepening poverty through water contamination, food shortages, loss of farmlands, unemployment, increased erosion, epidemics and dropping out of school.