Prioritization of adaptation strategies for water supply and demand under climate change and its variability in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

Climate change and its impact has become a global and prime event of the 21^st century. Its effects on almost all spheres of human existence are worrisome and the low awareness and complete disregard for its causes, impacts and adaptation strategies call for an urgent solution. One of its effects is a sharp variability in available water resources for human use. Created in 1976 and with a current population of over 1.6 million, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city has a growing water supply deficit; occasioned by several factors including climate change. To mitigate the deficiency occasioned by climate change, this study has considered some adaptation strategies and prioritized them. A survey was conducted with the use of a structured questionnaire and hydro-metrological data was also gathered from various relevant agencies. By applying the Analytical Hierarchy Process as a Multicriteria Decision method in the comparison of suitable adaptation strategies, the manager’s strategy of sourcing for an additional water resources had the highest priority vector of 0.4348 while the professional strategy of raising awareness to enhance consumer behavioural change was next with a vector of 0.3097. These two methods are thus recommended to mitigate against the effect of climate change on the water supply deficit in Abuja, Nigeria. The use of water saving devices ranked lowest and thus should be considered as the least attractive option.

Keywords: Climate Change, Prioritization, Adaptation strategies, Water Deficit