Lagos Megacity’s Massive Coastal Reshaping: Environmental Risks from Dredging Revealed!

In Lagos, Nigeria, beneath a sprawling eight-lane freeway, men are seen drawing buckets filled with sand from the depths of cloudy waters. This process is not only altering the landscape of Africa’s most populous city but also displacing fish and the livelihoods of some of its neediest residents.

Close to the bridge, wooden vessels are heaped with sand. Akeem Sossu, 34, one among the myriad local sand dredgers, has been engaged in this task for over three years. He dives underwater, each dive lasting approximately 15 seconds, to gather sand in buckets destined for various construction sites.

Akeem and his business partner manage to make about 12,000 naira (around $8) for each load of sand, which they sell to intermediaries who then supply to larger buyers. It takes them about three hours to fill a boat. Akeem, who was formerly a tailor, now supports his family through sand dredging.

“I start early, sometimes at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m., depending on the tidal movements,” he shared.

As Lagos continues to develop at a rapid pace, the demand and consequently the price of sand, essential for concrete production, has surged. A typical 30-ton truckload of coarse, gritty sand, often referred to as sharp sand, is currently priced at around 290,000 naira, or about $202.

The changes are evident in the lagoon that surrounds this vast city, home to approximately 17 million inhabitants. The once expansive water body is increasingly dotted with sandbanks, which disrupt the flow and habitat essential for local fishermen.

This impact is prominently noticeable near Makoko, one of the oldest fishing villages in Lagos. Dredging machines work perilously close to homes perched on stilts, while the construction of high-end beachfront properties encroaches from the margins. The local community reports significant destruction of their fishing areas, leading to unemployment for many.

In the vicinity, fishermen anticipate brief halts in dredging activities, during which they notice a temporary return of some fish species.

A Metropolis Founded on Sand

Lagos, the economic heartbeat of Nigeria, is continuously expanding. New roads, bridges, and residential estates emerge daily on reclaimed lands, often at the expense of the poorer populations.

Over the past five years, the number of both official and unofficial dredging operations has spiked, as these enterprises extract vast amounts of sand from local rivers and coastal areas. Analysts in the industry estimate that the city’s annual sand consumption might be comparable to the volume of 16,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The sand obtained from the lagoon is particularly valued by construction experts who claim it yields stronger concrete than the sand dredged from inland sources.

Nevertheless, fishermen and environmental researchers have noted the detrimental effects of this rampant sand demand on the aquatic ecosystem.

Driving Fish Away

“We are powerless,” stated Baale Semede Emmanuel, a community leader in Makoko. “The dredgers have destroyed our waters completely.”

Local fishermen have observed the disappearance of shallow breeding grounds for fish, which are now often sucked into dredging equipment. “Wherever there’s dredging, fish are absent. The noise alone is enough to scare them off, and the breeding spots are no more,” Emmanuel explained.

With dwindling catches, many fishermen are compelled to venture further into the ocean, thus incurring higher fuel costs and facing more hazardous conditions. Some have given up fishing entirely.

“Fishing is our only livelihood. Without fish, we face starvation,” Emmanuel lamented.

Displaced from the Waters

Joshua Monday, another local, has mostly abandoned his fishing boats to work as a mechanic, a skill he acquired as a contingency plan. “If it weren’t for my mechanic skills, I don’t know how I’d manage to survive,” he said. The rising operational costs and reduced fish hauls have rendered fishing unsustainable for him.

Moreover, he pointed out that affluent developers and other influential entities continue to reclaim land, displacing local fishermen in the process. “The wealthy are making life difficult for us. When they show up, we have no choice but to relocate,” he added, now residing in another threatened waterfront community, Sagbo-Koji.

Profiting from Sand

For many, dredging offers a critical source of income in an area with few job prospects. “I’m a father and this job is how I support my family,” stated Joshua Alex, another dredger.

He described how informal dredgers often have to negotiate with authorities to continue their operations. “We have to settle the Marine Police and the National Inland Waterways Authority. These payments help us keep our work legitimate,” he explained.

However, environmental advocates argue that these informal agreements contribute to a blurred line between legal and illegal dredging activities, allowing for quick resumptions of operations after brief regulatory interventions.

Government Warnings, Inconsistent Enforcement

Despite repeated commitments from Lagos State officials, including Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to curb illegal dredging activities, local community leaders argue that enforcement is sporadic and often compromised by informal payments.

“When the government halts dredging activities, they are soon paid off and the operations typically resume,” said Emmanuel, accusing the authorities of prioritizing fiscal gains and private developments over the well-being of fishing communities.

Scientific Insights

Scientific studies validate the concerns raised by fishermen regarding dredging’s impact in Lagos. Research conducted along a major dredging corridor east of Makoko revealed that water turbidity levels significantly exceed national safety standards, adversely affecting fish behaviors such as feeding, reproduction, and migration.

Further investigations have shown that dredging destabilizes seabeds and contributes to erosion, while areas without dredging activity display more stable environmental conditions. Some studies have also detected bacterial contamination in groundwater samples near dredging sites, linked to human waste.

Experts warn that dredging diminishes the lagoon’s capacity to absorb floodwaters, heightening the risk of severe flooding, which has been escalating in recent years, particularly in waterfront and low-lying neighborhoods.

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This coverage is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, although the content is solely the responsibility of AP.

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