Food security is adversely affected by challenges posed by changes in land use and land cover (LULC). LULC change impacts ecosystem functions and services, leading to migration of people, particularly rural dwellers. This paper uses multispectral satellite remote sensing, net migration data, household survey, stakeholders’ meetings, Focus Group Discussions (FGD), expert interviews and yields and estimated land mass of maize, rice, groundnut, cassava, and yam to assess the extent of LULC in Niger, Kwara, and Benue states of North Central Region of Nigeria and their relevance for migration and food security. Remote sensing data for 1990, 2000, 2013, and 2020 were extracted from Landsat imageries to obtain LULC change. Household survey was conducted to validate the data obtained from Landsat imageries. The results of LULC between 1990 and 2020 show that most of the vegetation, agricultural land, and water body areas in Kwara and Benue States have been converted to built-up areas and barren land, while an increase in agricultural land and built-up areas was observed in Niger State. Our household survey, stakeholders’ meetings, and interviews showed that there was a continuous massive migration of people, particularly young farmers, to cities leaving most of the existing agricultural lands uncultivated. This was due to the losses in agricultural land and conversion of some of the other LULC classes to barren land. We conclude that if this permanent migration remains uncontrolled, it will have significantly negative future impacts on food security of Nigeria. It is recommended that the government and its sub-ordinary administrative entities invest in more reliable infrastructure and attractive living environment for the rural dwellers to reduce the rate of rural-urban migration in the study areas.

The present study offers a comprehensive evaluation of the monthly rainfall and temperature patterns across nine stations and fifty-nine points in North-Eastern Nigeria using NASA’s Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources data, spanning four decades (1981–2021). By employing the Mann–Kendall (MK) test and inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation, the researchers effectively detected and visualized trends in climate variables. The MK test results indicate contrasting rainfall trends, with notable decreases in Akko, Billiri, Maiduguri, Numan, and Yola, and increases in Gombe, Abadam, Biu, and Mubi. The trends in the maximum temperature were found to be statistically significant across all stations, showing a consistent increase, whereas the minimum temperature trends exhibited a slight but insignificant decrease. The application of the Theil–Sen slope estimator quantified these trends, providing nuanced insights into the magnitudes of changes in climate variables. The IDW results further corroborate the general trend of decreasing rainfall (z = −0.442), modest increases in the maximum temperature (z = 0.046), and a marginal decline in the minimum temperature (z = −0.005). This study makes an important contribution by advocating for the proactive dissemination of climate information. Given the evident climate shifts, particularly the increasing temperatures and fluctuating rainfall patterns, timely access to such information is crucial to enhancing climate resilience in the region. The rigorous statistical methods applied and the detailed spatial analysis strengthen the validity of these findings, making this study a valuable resource for both researchers and policymakers aiming to address climate variability in North-Eastern Nigeria. These research results may also be useful for understanding the climate variabilities in different parts of the world.

Increasing land use and land cover change and climate change have considerable impacts on urban green spaces and their ecosystem services. These impacts result in a loss of urban green space and particularly weaken the climate resilience of urban populations. Landsat imagery data from 1990 to 2020 were used to track the spatio-temporal dynamics of urban sprawl and its influence on the loss of urban green space in Bamako and Sikasso in Mali. Furthermore, a survey of local stakeholders was conducted to capture the perceptions of the status of urban green space. The results of the land use/land cover analysis of the cities between 1990 and 2020 showed that most of the vegetation classes, mainly urban green spaces, have been converted into built-up and bare land in both cities during the last 30 years. In Bamako, built-up land has risen from 5421 hectares in 1990 to 13,350 hectares in 2020, and in Sikasso, from 929 hectares in 1990 to 2213 hectares in 2020. Respondents mentioned street trees as the prevalent type of urban green spaces in both cities (20% of the respondents in Bamako and 24% in Sikasso). In addition, the majority of respondents perceived urban green spaces in Sikasso as having a good status and in Bamako as having a good or moderate status. This study recommends improving the number and quality of urban green spaces, which are crucial for the provision of ecosystem services and for the resilience of cities against climate change.

Urbanization and population growth in West Africa have significantly altered land use and land cover (LULC), raising environmental concerns. This study examines urban land use patterns in the District Autonome du Grand Lomé (DAGL) and Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) from 1986 to 2023 and from 1991 to 2023, respectively, using geospatial techniques and the Google Earth Engine (GEE). Previous research has overlooked the complexity of land use patterns and the directional analysis of urban expansion, which are vital for understanding urbanization drivers. This study addresses these gaps by comparing the two metropolitan areas, revealing a dramatic decline in verdant landscapes, with forested areas in DAGL decreasing from 24% in 1986 to 3% by 2023, and from 34% in 1991 to 2% in GAMA. Grasslands also diminished significantly, while built-up areas expanded from 18% to 62% in DAGL and from 10% to 70% in GAMA. The Urban Expansion Intensity Index (UEII) indicates rapid urban growth, with DAGL at 1.19% and GAMA at 1.88%. Directional analyses reveal that urban expansion predominantly occurs toward the northwest in DAGL and both northeast and northwest in GAMA, highlighting the need for effective urban planning and land management to preserve natural landscapes amidst ongoing urbanization challenges.