The Role Of Water Resources For Social Economical Development Of Rural Community In Nigeria
Abstract
Today, most countries are placing unprecedented pressure on water resources. The global population is growing fast, and estimates show that with current practices, the world will face a 40% shortfall between forecast demand and available supply of water by 2030. Furthermore, chronic water scarcity, hydrological uncertainty, and extreme weather events (floods and droughts) are perceived as some of the biggest threats to global prosperity and stability. Acknowledgment of the role that water scarcity and drought are playing in aggravating fragility and conflict is increasing. Climate change will worsen the situation by altering hydrological cycles, making water more unpredictable and increasing the frequency and intensity of floods and droughts. The roughly 1 billion people living in monsoonal basins and the 500 million people living in deltas are especially vulnerable. Flood damages are estimated in $120 billion per year (only from property damage), and droughts pose, among others, constraints to the rural poor, highly dependent on rainfall variability for subsistence.
1.1 Background to the study
According to Adler RW (2005). Access to water is measured by the number of people who have reasonable means of getting an adequate amount of water that is safe for drinking, washing and essential household activities expressed as a percentage of the total population. It reflects the health of a country’s people and the country’s capacity to collect, clean and distribute water to consumers. Safe water includes treated surface water, as well as untreated but uncontaminated water from source such as natural springs and sanitary wells and protected boreholes. On average, a person needs about 20 liters of safe water each day to meet his or her daily metabolic, hygiene and domestic needs. According to Biswas AK (2004). In urban areas the source may be public standpipe located not more than 200 meters away. In rural areas the definition implies that members of the household do not have to spend a disproportionate part of the day fetching water. On the other hand, the lack of access to adequate safe water supply contributes to death and illness, especially in children. Thus, the improvement of access to water is a crucial element in the reduction of underage mortality, morbidity, particularly in poor rural areas. Access to water also means that considerable amount of time women and children spend in fetching water could be used more effectively on other tasks, a key component in poverty alleviation efforts. Most but not all, of these people live in low-income countries and those at greatest risk are children and the elderly. Millions more people worldwide suffer from other water related disease, such as bilharzias, cholera and hookworm. Improvement in water supply and sanitation services tend to lead to improvement in people’s health and quality of their lives.
The Role Of Water Resources For Social Economical Development Of Rural Community In Nigeria
Water related diseases are the single largest cause of human sickness and death in the world and disproportionately affects the poor. Without water people cannot leave healthy and productive lives. Improved adequate safe water supply will lead to reduction of human suffering, increased productive capacities that at the end will reduce health care cost. This can only be realized if water is set in the broader context of health objectives. The reported that about 3.5 billion people worldwide (54%) had access to piped water supply house connections. Another 1.3 million (20%) had access to “improved water source” through other means than house connections including standpipes. Finally, more than 1.2 billion people (16%) did not have access to improve source, meaning that they have to revert to unprotected wells or springs canals, lakes or river to fetch water.
It should be noted however, that access to an improved source of water does not necessarily imply that it is safe to drink from that source. Preliminary investigations revealed that majority of the rural communities in Nigeria do not have improved water supply systems such as piped water networks or boreholes, where such facilities exists are either malfunctioning or completely broken down and this force household to rely on available sources for domestic purposes. Women and children especially spend their productive and considerable time seeking for water in far distances from their homes. They rely solely on self-water supply source. Households not having access to improve water supply are vulnerable to many health problems. These water supply sources include shallow wells, rivers, springs, ephemeral streams and rainwater.
1.2 Objective of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine the role of water resources for social economical development of rural community in Nigeria. The specific objectives include:
- To examine the role of water in economic development in Nigeria
- To also examine governmental policies toward water development project in Nigeria
- To also examine the impact of water resources on agricultural activity of the rural community
- To also investigate the socioeconomic impact of water on rural settlement
1.3 Significance of the study
It is anticipated that the findings of this study will be of huge benefits to the government of Nigeria on the importance of water toward national development. Rural water supply provision in Nigeria and indeed in many developing countries is characterized by low cost, simple technologies which can be operated, maintained and financed by poor rural communities or households. The choice of technology for improved water supplies is dependent on environmental, socio-economic and political conditions, includes: Protected springs; Hand pump equipped boreholes and wells; Rainwater harvesting; Hand-dug wells; Gravity-fed systems; and Small-scale pumped systems. There is no single technology option which can be used in all situations and each technology has specific advantages and limitations. This is because of the relative ease of access to water that does not usually need treatment prior to drinking.