Genesis of river bank erosion in the Niger Delta System

Niger delta system is a dynamic environment in which all of its towns and villages are situated at the banks of rivers and creeks constituting the distributaries of the river niger. Erosion at the outer bends of the banks are comparatively severe especially at inhabited locations. It is apparent that bank erosion depends upon soil type and river discharge but investigations on 28 settlements in the western part of this delta shows that the initiation of curvature and proportionate increase in the severity of erosion is caused by human activities. Problems of bank erosion in the niger delta cannot be solved by relocation of towns and villages but by constructing a series of shore protection measures.