ABSTRACT
Flood is a disaster in the form of water that covers dry lands whenever it occurs. Often times these floods which occur are harmful to the environment to the extent that they destroy homes and properties and in most cases, wash off the top surface of the soil leaving the land barren. Flooding has now become an event that occurs annually in some communities and cities in Nigeria. The causes of flooding in Nigeria have been attributed to climate change problems and poor urban planning which has brought about overflow of water from water bodies such as lakes, river etc due to excessive rainfall and also there are floods which are attributed to several human or anthropogenic activities. In order to protect and conserve the environment of Nigeria, the government has made concerted efforts by promulgating environmental laws, regulations and policies which aim and objective is to protect and sustain the environment for future use by unborn generations. The poor application of modern flood mitigation measures which is basically nonstructural has posed a major setback towards its prevention and management, which leaves a notable gap in the knowledge of how to improve on the present efforts towards addressing the challenges of flooding in Nigeria.
The research states that the specific actions towards the tackling of flooding and the environmental effects of flooding in Nigeria can be achieved via the use of law which is a nonstructural mechanism which has a better agreement with the spirit of sustainable development being commonly acceptable and eco-friendly. The measures includes source control (watershed/landscape structure management) protection and development of the environment through laws and regulations (including zoning), institutional coordination mechanisms, flood proofing, policy formulation, data collation from relevant agencies, efficient flood forecast warning system, flood insurance, flood risk mapping, education of the general public on flooding and most importantly enforcement of all environmental laws, guidelines, policies, standards and regulations as well as enforcing compliance with provision of international agreements, protocols, conventions and treaties on the environment to which Nigeria is a signatory.
This paper finds that some impediments have placed challenges on the proper applications of the laws and enforcements of these laws. This motivated this study to examine role of law in mitigation of flooding and its effects in Nigeria. This study reveals that law as a viable nonstructural tool for mitigation and it can serve as a spring board for environmental protection if properly applied and strengthened. It therefore suggests reforms and adequate application of environmental laws in order to mitigate flooding effects in Nigeria.
