Lagos Case Study

The is a chapter article which provided a synthesis of scientific knowledge on megacity urbanization on the coast, environmental impacts, risks and management choices, including a focus on adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk management, using Lagos as a case study. One of its main messages is the impacts of environmental change on megacities which inhabit millions of people and about urban processes, and about coasts and their physical and ecological processes (aquatic, physical and atmospheric) that lead to coastal urban changes. The study also reported that air pollution constitutes a major impact of urbanisation in Lagos. The study revealed that Lagos has a very high industrial and population density, accounting for more than 60% of Nigeria’s industrial and commercial activities in an area of less than 3,568.61km2. The associated industrial and transport emissions mean Lagos has a significantly high level of emissions. Lagos’ annualized total carbon monoxide emission (1.44 Tg/yr) is higher than those of Beijing (1.23Tg/yr), Tokyo (0.46 Tg/yr) and London (0.13 Tg/yr). The whole book responded to this gap by providing the first global synthesis of megacity and large urban region urbanization on the coast. Its focus is on environmental and development challenges, climate change and disaster. It is interdisciplinary and brings together world recognised scientists (including many IPCC lead authors) on urban climate and atmosphere, disaster risk management, demography and coastal environments. The book is the primary output of a major international scientific project sponsored by the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme, the Land-Ocean Interactions at the Coastal Zone programme of IHDP/IGBP, and others. The article presented the international policy and academic community with an unbiased and high quality assessment of the state-of-the art in areas of social-ecological systems interaction.