The Coastal Niger Delta: Environmental Development and Planning

The author has been conscious for several years of the problems of flooding, erosion, and other natural constraints in the Delta. These are his experiences, his knowledge of the coastal Niger Delta region. His MPhil and PhD research were on these problems. Above all, he was born and grew up in the delta, which gave him the determination to find solutions to the problems that have been giving the authorities the excuse to neglect the region, since its independence in 1960. The influence that these scourges exercise on the region is as much human as the topography of the environment and the morphology of the towns. He believes that there are solutions and engaged himself in finding these solutions.

The Coastal Niger Delta is a low-lying plain with an altitude of 20 m at the maximum and covers a wide area. Nevertheless, it covers an area of 36,269 km, but it is sparsely populated: Approximately 6,888,758 people (Eastern Delta) with a population density of 190 people per square kilometre. It occupies most of the Nigerian continental shelf which plunges down from Lagos to Cameroon. It lies between the longitudes 5° West and 6° 04' East; latitudes 8°48' North and 4°7' South. It is therefore, limited by the Benin River to the west and the Bonny River in the east.
The two main Rivers, Forcados and Nun resulting from the division of River Niger at its lower limit flow through the Delta into the Atlantic Ocean. These two Rivers divide forming other rivers creeks and streams forming a combination of labyrinth of rivers and lagoons. It forms a series of discontinuous islands that allows navigation parallel along the sea from Lagos to Rio del Ray (Cameroon). Mr Winwood Reale described it as the Venice of West Africa in 1867. The Delta has a large number of sheltered sites favourable for the construction of ports. We can already cite historical ports, such as that of Bonny, Brass, Forcados, Port Harcourt, Warri...
The Niger Delta has for centuries played an important role in the economy of the country. During the pre-colonial period, its people have acted as intermediaries between Europeans and traders within the country. From 17th to 18th centuries, the combined trading activities in the Niger Delta made its ports one of the most important centres of slave trade in the Atlantic coast of West Africa.
Today, the economy of the nation depends on the Coastal Niger Delta, the people of the Delta are yet to see a corresponding development and planning from the wealth it produces.
The main issues of urban sprawl in the coastal Niger Delta are associated to topography, geography as well as the human aspect. The aim is to throw light on the expansion possibilities of the delta towns/cities according to the planning guidelines adapted to the particularities of the Delta taking into account the administrative organizations.