PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 7 Mapping change in time and space: floodplain fishing communities in Nigeria

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 7 Mapping change in time and space: floodplain fishing communities in Nigeria David Thomas and Mamuda Musa Danjaji · Introduction much of the Sahel region. By altering the river One of the strengths of RRA methods is their flows and patterns of flooding, the dams have ability to explore and reveal local, fine level disrupted economic activities and social detail. Understanding varia tion is essential if relations of floodplain inhabitants. For most of development is to be equitable and reach those these people, fishing had been an important at the 'margins' of society. The level of detail source of food and income. required to understand processes of development, and to plan accordingly, requires Most studies of the ecology and economy of understanding of variation at a number of the Hadejia -Jama'are floodplain have treated it temporal and spatial scales. For example, as a spatially homogeneous unit and changes planners compiling an agricultural caused by the dams have been described as if development programme at a district or they were uniform. There has also been little regional level will require a different and attempt to explore temporal dimensions to broader understanding of socio-economic and change ...