Land Use Planning As An Adaptation Strategy For Combatting Climate Change Risks And Vulnerabilities In Awka Capital Territory (ACT)

Abstract

Climate change and land use change are interrelated with each other. Both phenomena influence each other spatio-temporally. Integrated land use planning is a space-based strategy to allocate land for different uses in an attempt to balance economic, social, and environmental values at national, sub-national and local levels. It is a process that supports decision-makers and users in selecting the best combination of land uses to meet the multiple needs of people while safeguarding natural resources and ecosystem services. In addition, it addresses population growth, increasing competing uses of limited resources by diverse actors, land degradation and unsustainable urban development. Climate change represents an additional challenge to land-use planning. The link between land use and climate is inextricable. For example, land cover, as shaped by land-use practices, affects the global concentration of greenhouse gases. Even as land-use change is a crucial driver of climate change, a changing climate can lead to changes in land use and land cover. Because of this, integrated land-use planning that fully recognizes climate change can be useful in preventing climate change impacts due to flooding, drought, water scarcity, and heat stress, as well as in reducing the exposure of valuable assets to risks related to these hazards. The above issues are the rationale for focusing on Awka Capital Territory to examine the land-use planning process and its integration with climate change consideration in proffering an insight into present and future hazards facing Territory.