Ivenson: Anambra was Ravaged by Erosion Before NEWMAP’s Intervened

Micheal Ivenson, the project coordinator of Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) in Anambra State, gives David-Chyddy Eleke an insight into some of the organisation’s projects in the state

Tell us why Anambra State joined NEWMAP project

Anambra State was one of the pioneer states that actually requested the federal government’s intervention in the very devastating erosion problem experienced by the state and most south eastern part of the country. We are talking about fatalities, loss of lives, critical infrastructures, livelihoods, impact on roads, impact on farmlands, power lines, schools, churches and what have you. So for us it became a matter of life and death literally, and the state government thought it wise to escalate the intervention request to the federal government and Anambra was one of the pioneer states that kicked off this project as far back as 2013 and, over time, several other states have actually joined. Simply put, we were basically ravaged by erosion and other forms of land degradation. The state thought it wise to seek assistance of the federal government and other development partners to support this programme.

Has the state been able to achieve the objective of joining NEWMAP?

We have not only achieved it but have exceeded the target that was set under this programme. A minimum target of five intervention sites was set as part of our international benchmark. Right now, we are intervening in 13 sites. Therefore, from that perspective alone, we have met and exceeded our expectations. More importantly, NEWMAP is about the human aspect of this programme. Basically, I mean erosion impacts human beings. On the flip side as well, its human activity that actually causes erosion and, therefore, having the right programme and components and intervention activity to support that aspect, is very critical. Not only are we reclaiming landscapes and restoring lives, we are also empowering people at the grassroots, women and children are affected by every form of devastation, whether it is civil war, farming, healthcare crisis in this case erosion and flooding. Women and children are critically impacted therefore we thought it wise to include the livelihood restoration aspect of this programme. You probably would have spoken to some community members where some of the real life cases, that is families that have been affected by erosion who lost their livelihood, farmland were given soft grant to be able to re-establish businesses to support themselves and that has been extremely successful as part of the programme that we are doing. So besides the civil works and the physical intervention that you see, hope has been restored and people are once again happy, life is good, so to that extent we have really exceeded the target set for ourselves.

As a follow up on that, what would you say are the key areas the project has actually intervened?

There are several areas. I’ll start from the one that is very obvious, which is basically the landscape restoration. I said earlier the reasons why we intervene is because livelihoods, properties, farmlands are affected, the restoration aspect of it is really one of the things that are very visible to people. The other part of it is the one people don’t really see which is the human aspect of it. As at last count, we have approximately about 150,000 beneficiaries across the state. We have what we call direct beneficiaries and then we have other people who benefit as part of their connection with the community where we intervene. So, when you link communities together, you make it easier for school children who would have walked several kilometers to bypass the erosion to now have their time to school cut short from as long as one hour to 15 minutes. If you look at that in itself, then it is very impactful. Women and daughters who had to go long distances to fetch firewood or go to the market or interact with other members of their community will have that significantly shortened and therefore we are in very many ways able to discuss what we have achieved not only from the physical intervention part of it but also from the changes in lives that we have impacted. Now, we also talked about the people who were given some money to reestablish their business, and then we talked about the capacity that have been built amongst the participating MDAs, the institutions that have been developed. For example, this programme has set up what we call the Anambra State Erosion, Watershed and Climate Change Agency. The agency is specifically tasked with helping to perpetuate and encourage what NEWMAP has done. Therefore, we know the federal government and the World Bank will always be there. It’s important for the state to acquire this capacity and provide the tools and resources to continue what NEWMAP has started. So, from the physical intervention, to the human aspect, to the institutional capacity building itself, I think we have succeeded extremely.

To elaborate on these success stories, how would you describe the public’s understanding of the value of this project?

Communication and grassroots engagement is one of the critical aspects of this project to the extent that in NEWMAP we have engaged a third party institution to actually provide that service to us. We call them Focal NGOs and their task essentially is to go into the communities to sensitise them about the causes of erosion, what impacts erosion will have on them, what they do that actually aggravates the formation of gullies and, therefore, advise and educate them to desist from such activities. For example, sand mining, managing solid waste, blocking drainages, dumping refuse indiscriminately, issues concerning how we plan our cities, engaging with the department of works, engaging with the physical planning board because if you continue to build indiscriminately without respect for community development rules and regulations then you create an enabling environment for erosion to thrive and grow and ultimately devastate the community. That sensitisation is very important not just to the community our sister agencies and MDAs who participate in NEWMAP will help you to ensure that the regulations that are put in place, the enforcement aspect of it is also maintained. We are also looking at helping to perpetrate the good habit that will help with controlling erosion in our communities. We also talk about farming practices when you disturb the soil, the soil becomes loose and susceptible to disintegration when it comes in contact with moisture and so from that perspective we are looking at talking to the community on one end, but also talking to other government agencies who are responsible for all forms, whether its agriculture, construction, town planning also. Therefore, we also talk to the leadership of the community; that’s very important. We talk to Igwes, the presidents’ general, religious leaders, school principals and students and we address this different audience in a way that builds the awareness and provides them with enough knowledge and tools to go back to their communities and become our own ambassadors for erosion control in different places where we work.

What challenges did your agency encounter in the implementation of the project in the last couple of years?

The challenges come in different forms. One of the biggest challenges we have right now is actually the seasonality of this work. What I mean by seasonality is erosion work; is mostly earth works. So, during the rainy season, and because of the long rainy season that we have, there’s not much you can do and sometimes work has to stop. It tends to prolong the construction cycle more than you originally envisaged and therefore create an impression that the project is running longer than it is supposed to be. That seasonality can be quite a problem even though you build that into the construction schedule, the intensity of rain and the damage it can cause are sometimes unpredictable. Seasonality is one of the biggest problems we have with this project, but we have ways of making sure that we play catch up. For example, during the very short dry season, the construction work speeds up significantly and gets to a point where you are no longer struggling to protect the structures from heavy rainfall that arrives during rainy season. The other problems we have, come in the form of community disturbances. Human beings are what they are and so sometimes there are instances where a community is aggrieved by certain things, whether justified or not and they interfere with the contractor’s work and sometimes they have to impound our equipment, and you have to go into the matter so that work can continue. We also have issues around the ability of the community to see and accept ownership of the project. So, part of the community outreach that we spoke about earlier on helps to solve that problem. Increasingly, we have seen less and less of that so we are happy to report that this mechanism is actually working because we are seeing less disturbance between the community and the contractors and that’s helping in making the work go faster.

What would be your advice to the state in the sustenance of the gains from NEWMAP projects?

There’s a part I haven’t really mentioned and that is to really acknowledge the support we have gotten from the state government. Chief Willie Obiano, the Executive governor, has been more than magnanimous. He has provided support for the project and so in building sustainability he buys into the idea that what we are doing right must be maintained long after this administration is gone and therefore he was quick to act when they requested him to allow the state to establish an erosion agency. Now think about this, if Anambra State’s biggest problem is erosion, it will then make sense that it dedicates a particular institution to take care of that ecological problem. The establishment of the state erosion agency was really one of the hallmarks of the sustainability plan the state has. It also fell into the administration’s overall development plan for the state and we are hoping that successive government will take this agency and run with it and use it as a platform for other interventions in on the future. Environment and climate change are going to be with us for a very long time, therefore you need an agency that is adequate in resourcing and has the right government backing to be able to deal with these challenges when they come. Luckily for us, the agency has been established by law, and now we are in the process of operationalising that agency, so that it takes a life of its own and begins to act as an agency of the state to support government.