Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on River Basin Management in the Anambra–Imo River Basin, South-East, Nigeria.

This study investigates the impacts of climate change on River Basin Development and Management, taking the Anambra-Imo River Basin in Nigeria as the area of focus.With the utilisation of primary data obtained from structured questionnaire responses administered to two respondent groups, the project workers and the staff of the Anambra-Imo River Basin Development Authority, numbering (n=80) and (n=40) respectively, the research evaluated perceptions, challenges, and adaptation strategies related to climate variability.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC).A 3.25 mean score threshold was used in the identification of the areas of concern.The correlation coefficient (r = 0.9515) reveals a strong positive relationship between the two respondent groups, supported by a coefficient of determination (R = 0.9054), indicating that 90.54% of the variability in staff responses is explained by the project workers' responses.Key areas of impact include ecological system damage, investment cost increases, limited technical expertise, and vulnerability to flood and drought events.The findings underscore the urgent need for climate-resilient strategies in river basin planning and call for enhanced policy frameworks, datadriven projections, and institutional capacity building to effectively reduce the risk of climate change in river basin development and management.