ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF LANDUSE CHANGE ON FLOOD RISK AREAS OF LEKKI AND AJAH OF LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65760/Keywords:
Flooding, Landuse Change, Lekki/Ajah, Urbanisation,Abstract
Floods remain a persistent challenge to the environment in Lagos state, especially in highly urbanized areas
like Lekki and Ajah, where there have been tremendous changes in land use that have affected natural
drainage patterns and land surfaces. Although there are numerous cases of floods in the area, there is not
much local evidence on the effects of changing land use on household experiences with flooding. This research
evaluates the effects of changes in land use on flood areas in Lekki/Ajah Corridor from 2015 to 2025. The
research was guided by two objectives, namely, to explore the changes in land use and land cover using GIS
techniques, and the effects of these changes on household experiences of flooding. This study adopted a
descriptive and analytical research design. This study's setting included the Lekki/Ajah corridor in Eti-Osa
Local Government Area, whose population exceeds 1.5 million due to urbanization in recent times. A total of
400 copies of questionnaire was distributed using stratified random sampling, and 360 questionnaires were
valid. Data were collected using Landsat 8 & Sentinel 2 satellite images, questionnaires, and secondary
spatial data. Land use and change detection analysis were carried out in ArcGIS and QGIS software. These
findings show that there has been considerable expansion in the amount of built-up areas, with a decrease in
the vegetative and wetland coverage. Majority of respondents had encountered yearly flooding, extended
durations of floods, damages to properties, and occasional evacuation. The study concluded that rapid landuse
change especially the expansion in the use of land for various economic activities, such as converting
vegetation and wetlands into built-up areas, has increased the occurrence of floods in the study area. The
study suggests improved landuse planning, enforcement of laws towards the protection of areas that are
environmentally sensitive.
