Integrating Indigenous Knowledge in the Communication of Ecosystem Services of Lagos Lagoon Complex to its Local Dependants

Lagos is the emerging most populous city in Africa with a population of about 17.5 million people and annual growth rate estimated at 5.61%. The state is made up of 70% water, which ranges from fresh, brackish, and marine ecosystems and about half of her population who live in the riverine areas depend on the aquatic ecosystem and the services they provide for social, cultural, and economic sustenance. Therefore, aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide are important factors in the socioeconomic development of the state and a good understanding of these benefits by locals is crucial for the effective management and sustainability of these water bodies. Consequently, this outreach program highlighted traditional knowledge of some provisioning and cultural ecosystem services of Ologe and Lekki wetlands with a view to integrating them with science-based understanding of aquatic ecosystem services for effective communication of these services to the indigenous population. Ecosystem services are benefits derived from an ecosystem. Locals are aware of these benefits, which they have been enjoying since time immemorial. They may not know the science or processes responsible for these services, but they have local strategies and adaptive mechanisms when the delivery of these ecosystem services is altered. Indigenous knowledge or local knowledge generally refers to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. Traditional knowledge includes knowledge about technologies of subsistence (e.g., tools and techniques for hunting or agriculture), midwifery, ethnobotany and ecological knowledge, traditional medicine, celestial navigation, ethnoastronomy, climate, etc. These kinds of knowledge, crucial for subsistence and survival, are generally based on accumulations of empirical observation and on interaction with the environment (Figs. 1, 2). The outreach program was carried out in Ologe and Lekki Lagoons, which are part of the Lagos Lagoon Complex, comprising about five lagoons: Badagry, Ologe, Lagos, Lekki, and Epe Lagoons. About 150 participants were selected from each outreach site based on age, socio-economics, literacy, and gender. Some of them were interviewed personally while others were involved in group discussions. The interviews were conducted in Yoruba language, which is the language commonly spoken by the people. The program focused on two ecosystem services because these are the areas where indigenous knowledge commonly exists: provisioning and cultural services. Some of the provisioning services supplied by Ologe and Lekki Lagoons are: fish for animal protein, drinking water, mat-weaving materials, wood for making canoes, plant leaf (Thaumatococcus daniellii) for packaging of prepared food items such as bean pudding (moi moi), and pap (processed corn locally called ogi). The indigenous people of Ologe and Lekki Lagoons also opined that some wild plants serve medicinal purposes. For instance, the poison devil's-pepper (Rauvolfia vomitoria) is used for managing high blood pressure, treating malaria, typhoid fever, and jaundice, as well as for treating psychopathic patients. Locals also use specific type of wood such as mangrove (Rhizophora racemosa) for fish smoking because this wood type impacts unique aroma on fish and increase their shelf life. The water bodies are also the medium of transportation of humans and goods to neighboring villages for socioeconomic activities (Figs. 3-5). The indigenous people are the custodian of cultural values and heritage. Their knowledge of the cultural and spiritual essence of the aquatic ecosystem within their vicinity has spanned several decades with this knowledge handed down from generation to generation. Some of these knowledge predate human civilization during which they are memorized and passed to future generations orally. However, with the ability to read and write, the knowledge is now documented. In this outreach program, it was discovered that the indigenous people believe that the aquatic ecosystem protects the riverine people and gives them spiritual fulfillment. In the communities around Ologe Lagoon, the Ologe festival, a consecutive 9-day program, which comes up every 3 years is believed to usher in peace, healing for the sick, and increase in fish catch (Figs. 6-9). The ecosystem services provided by Ologe and Lekki Lagoons are threatened by some anthropogenic activities, particularly sand extraction (Fig. 10). Sand mining has a long history in riverine parts of Lagos State but was practiced as an additional source of income to fisheries. Therefore, the quantity of sand extracted was small, the environmental impacts minimal, and the activities did not constitute a major threat to the health and integrity of the aquatics where they are mined. However, in recent times, the combined effects of population pressure, poverty, and socioeconomic insecurity have resulted in geometric increase in the intensity of sand mining operations without any recourse to its ecological consequences. Another threat to the supply of ecosystem services by these water bodies is the presence of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) (Fig. 11). This seaweed is not new in the ecological history of man. In fact, it has been popularly described as the most troublesome weed of the world because of its rate of multiplication. Its rapid growth has clogged major waterways and created problems associated with navigation, national security, irrigation and drainage, water supply, hydroelectricity, and fishing in many countries. Some of these problems were noticed in Ologe and Lekki Lagoons especially obstruction to navigation and dwindling catches caused by clogging of fishing gears among other factors. At the end of the program, participants were able to fuse indigenous knowledge of ecosystem services with existing scientific concepts and this will enhance conservation of the aquatic ecosystems, sustain livelihood, reduce food insecurity, and engender durable peace in the communities.