Investigating the Causes and Impacts of Gully Erosion in Auchi, Nigeria

Abstract

The causes and impacts of the gully erosion menace in the Auchi community of Edo State, Nigeria, have been investigated. It was established that various factors bordering on anthropogenic and natural causes which include excessive rainfall, underlying geology of Auchi, nature of the soil at the affected sites, deforestation, practices by residents in the area that encourage run-off, lack of good drainage systems, absence of tangible erosion control measures by Governments at various levels, were major causes of the gullying in the Auchi gully sites; that have led to the death of several people and destruction of settlements and other facilities. But the natural causes of the gullying far outweigh the anthropogenic ones. Three methods of data collection were adopted in this study. These are the remote sensed data, data acquired from field observations and responses from questionnaires. Digital Elevation Model data was also used to delineate the boundary of the contributing watershed upstream of the site. After appraising the causes of gullying in Auchi and its impacts on the residents, recommendations which include adoption of concerted measures by Governments at all levels to address erosion menace in the area, enactment of relevant laws to discourage factors that promote erosion and expanding gullying in Auchi, putting in place specific reclamation measures, deliberate efforts by the relevant Federal Ministries to refill and construct a proper drainage system for the area that will be channelled to a safe discharge points down steam, among other feasible recommendations, have been proffered to curb the menace of gully erosion and its ravaging impacts on the community.