Environmental Engineering Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal Communities of Lagos State

This study examines the engineering solutions being implemented and proposed for climate change adaptation in coastal communities of Lagos State, South West Nigeria, focusing on sea level rise, increased storm surge frequency, and coastal erosion as the primary climate hazards requiring engineered responses. Lagos State's extensive low-lying coastline and high-density coastal population create severe vulnerability to climate-driven coastal hazards, and the professional engineering community is increasingly engaged in designing infrastructure solutions that protect communities and economic assets while being practically implementable in the Nigerian financial and institutional context. The study employs a professional engineering practice review methodology, examining completed and ongoing coastal protection projects along the Lagos coastline including beach nourishment schemes, rock armour revetments, offshore breakwaters, and mangrove restoration combined with bund construction. Design documentation, construction performance monitoring reports, and post-storm damage assessments are reviewed. Semi-structured interviews with coastal engineering consultants, Lagos State Ministry of the Environment officials, and community representatives supplement the documentary review. Findings indicate that hard engineering structures have generally performed well against the design storm events but have in some cases accelerated erosion on adjacent unprotected shorelines. Mangrove restoration combined with low-crest bunds shows promising performance at lower cost than hard structures. Design return periods of existing structures may be insufficient given accelerating sea level rise rates. Recommendations include a Lagos State coastal engineering masterplan that integrates nature-based and hard structure approaches according to site-specific vulnerability assessments. Keywords: coastal adaptation, sea level rise, coastal protection, Lagos, climate change engineering.