Evaluating the action plan and implementation framework for gully erosion mitigation in kabba, kabba bunu lga, Kogi state, 2020 to 2024

Abstract

Gully erosion ranks among the most worrisome environmental challenges in Nigeria, with devastating consequences for land, infrastructure, agricultural productivity, and rural livelihoods. In recent years the Kabba Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State has emerged as one of the most severely affected localities, a situation driven largely by human activity such as poor land management, deforestation, and the wider irregularity of the climate. Against this backdrop, the present study evaluates the action plan and the implementation framework for gully erosion mitigation in Kabba between 2020 and 2024. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and generated data from government archives, a structured public survey, and stakeholder interviews in order to assess the degree of implementation, the extent of community involvement, the quality of institutional cooperation, and the sustainability of the methods adopted. The findings reveal that although the action plan combined preventive, corrective, and community driven measures such as tree planting, the construction of drainage and check dams, and sensitisation campaigns, the execution stage was constrained by insufficient funding, weak coordination among the responsible institutions, and a shortage of technical expertise. In spite of these constraints, modest achievements were recorded in erosion control, most visibly in the areas where community involvement was treated as central. The findings underscore the value of integrating local knowledge and community participation, of strengthening institutional structures, and of securing adequate financial allocation for sustainable results. The study concludes that an inclusive and participatory execution framework, supported by continuous monitoring and evaluation, is fundamental to controlling gully erosion and safeguarding livelihoods in Kabba Bunu. It therefore recommends that policy support be strengthened, that community participation be actively encouraged, and that climate resilient land management practices be adopted to secure long term sustainability.