Integrating Indigenous Knowledge with Climate Change Engineering for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Niger Delta
Sunny. O. Asomaku *
Centre for Disaster Risk Management & Development Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Imiete Godspower
Department of Environmental Management, Rivers State University, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Perri Owunari
Department of Environmental Management, Rivers State University, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Geoffrey Ebe
Department of Environmental Management, Rivers State University, Rivers State, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The Niger Delta combines recurrent riverine and pluvial flooding, coastal erosion, sea-level rise, wetland degradation, rapid urbanisation and infrastructure deficits with long histories of community adaptation. Disaster risk reduction in this setting is often framed as a choice between formal engineering and Indigenous or local knowledge, yet that binary obscures the different evidential strengths and functions of each. This critical narrative review evaluates how Indigenous and local knowledge can be integrated with climate-adaptation and disaster-risk engineering in the Niger Delta without romanticising local practice or treating engineering models as socially neutral. Literature published principally from 2000 to 17 July 2026 was examined, with earlier foundational work retained where conceptually necessary. The synthesis focuses on flood and coastal risk, resilient settlements and infrastructure, nature-based and hybrid protection, monitoring and early warning, and the governance conditions required for knowledge co-production. Niger Delta studies show that place-based indicators, raised floors, flood-receptor pits, vegetation-based erosion control, livelihood adjustments and social networks can support preparedness and coping, but the evidence is dominated by qualitative and cross-sectional designs and includes examples of maladaptation. Engineering evidence is stronger for hydrological modelling, drainage logic and the physical risk-reduction functions of mangroves and wetlands, although local performance data for hybrid green-grey systems remain sparse. The most defensible integration model is therefore not the uncritical insertion of traditional practices into technical projects, but a co-produced engineering cycle in which community observations shape problem definition and performance criteria, engineering analysis tests safety and future-climate robustness, and joint monitoring supports iterative redesign. The review identifies major needs for field-validated hybrid infrastructure, interoperable community and sensor-based early warning, maintenance-focused evaluation, equitable knowledge governance and longitudinal assessment of distributional outcomes. Integration can improve contextual fit and legitimacy, but only when evidence standards, uncertainty, rights, representation and engineering safety are made explicit.
Keywords: Co-production, flood resilience, green-grey infrastructure, local knowledge, mangroves, nature-based solutions, participatory engineering, risk governance