Mainstreaming Indigenous Knowledge Systems into Flood Disaster Management in the Niger Delta, Nigeria: Evidence For A Hybrid Governance Framework

Flooding is a recurrent hazard in the Niger Delta, where formal disaster-management institutions operate alongside longstanding community knowledge and practices. This study examined the institutional and participatory conditions under which Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) can be mainstreamed into formal flood disaster management in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States. A pragmatic, sequential exploratory mixed-methods design was used. The qualitative phase comprised 20 semi-structured interviews with policy implementers, policy formulators, experts/academics and community representatives. Findings from the qualitative phase informed the structured questionnaire used in the quantitative phase. A sample of 384 community respondents was calculated from a target population of 433,988; 384 questionnaires were administered and 280 usable responses were returned, representing a 72.9% response rate. Qualitative data were analysed through thematic analysis supported by NVivo, while quantitative data were analysed using frequencies, percentages and selected inferential procedures in SPSS. Three qualitative themes were identified: hierarchical control and limited formal recognition of indigenous knowledge; low participation and trust across stakeholder groups; and the absence of a definite mechanism for capturing and reusing indigenous knowledge. Quantitatively, 70% of respondents reported no awareness of an existing framework, while resource constraints (52%), lack of government support (48%), insufficient documentation (40%) and limited community engagement (35%) were the most frequently reported implementation barriers. Community engagement (60%), government support (50%) and cultural relevance (45%) were the most frequently identified factors associated with workable frameworks. Respondents prioritised digital knowledge repositories (61%), community advisory boards (61%), statutory mandates (57%) and government–community partnerships (57%) as mechanisms for mainstreaming IKS. The study does not claim to have measured community resilience outcomes directly. Instead, it develops an evidence-based hybrid governance framework intended to create institutional conditions through which local knowledge can be documented, validated, protected and incorporated into flood-risk governance.

Indigenous knowledge; flood disaster management; hybrid governance; community participation; Niger Delta; Nigeria.

1. Arkhurst, B. M., Poku-Boansi, M., & Adarkwa, K. K. (2022). Perception on coastal erosion: An assessment of how national level coastal resilience strategies promote indigenous knowledge and affect local level adaptation in Ghanaian communities. Environmental Science & Policy, 137, 290–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.08.019 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Cunningham, C., & Mercury, M. (2023). Coproducing health research with Indigenous peoples. Nature Medicine, 29, 2722–2730. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02588-x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Hiwasaki, L., Luna, E., Syamsidik, & Shaw, R. (2014). Process for integrating local and indigenous knowledge with science for hydro-meteorological disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in coastal and small island communities. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 10, 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2014.07.007 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Hirabayashi, Y., Mahendran, R., Koirala, S., Konoshima, L., Yamazaki, D., Watanabe, S., Kim, H., & Kanae, S. (2013). Global flood risk under climate change. Nature Climate Change, 3, 816–821. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1911 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Jongman, B., Winsemius, H. C., Aerts, J. C. J. H., Coughlan de Perez, E., van Aalst, M. K., Kron, W., & Ward, P. J. (2015). Declining vulnerability to river floods and the global benefits of adaptation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(18), E2271–E2280. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1414439112 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Leal Filho, W., Barbir, J., Gwenzi, J., Ayal, D. Y., Simpson, N. P., Adeleke, L., Tilahun, B., Chirisa, I., Gbedemah, S. F., Nzengya, D. M., Sharifi, A., Theodory, T., & Yaffa, S. (2022). The role of indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation in Africa. Environmental Science & Policy, 136, 250–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.06.004 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Mercer, J., Kelman, I., Taranis, L., & Suchet-Pearson, S. (2010). Framework for integrating indigenous and scientific knowledge for disaster risk reduction. Disasters, 34(1), 214–239. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2009.01126.x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Miner, K., Canavera, L., Gonet, J., Luis, K., Maddox, M., McCarney, P., Bridge, G., Schimel, D., & Rattlingleaf, J. (2023). The co-production of knowledge for climate science. Nature Climate Change, 13, 307–308. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01633-4 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Quader, M. A., Khan, A. U., Malak, M., et al. (2023). Mainstreaming decentralization and collaboration in disaster risk management: Insights from coastal Bangladesh. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 14, 382–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-023-00495-w [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. See, J., Cuaton, G. P., Placino, P., Vunibola, S., Thi, H. D., Dombroski, K., & McKinnon, K. (2024). From absences to emergences: Foregrounding traditional and Indigenous climate change adaptation knowledges and practices from Fiji, Vietnam and the Philippines. World Development, 176, 106503. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Navigating Climate Challenges in Tourism: Sustainable Practices and Innovative Approaches
• Siberia and the Far East: Development vs. Sustainability
• From Potable Water to Drinking Water: A Conceptual Clarification Based on Individual Boreholes in African Peri-Urban Areas
• Traditional Agricultural Equipment’s and Using Techniques of the Santal Tribe in the Context of Tourism Development
• Dynamics of the Development of Natural Gravitational Processes (Landslides) In the Medium-Mountain Regions of Georgia: The Case of Imereti (2010–2022)