CLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTATION OPTIONS IN RURAL NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR HOUSEHOLDS’ WATER AND HEALTH DEMAND

Climate change is one of the emerging challenges staring households in rural Nigeria at the face and this is attributable to the fact that many of these households rely on livelihood sources that are directly or indirectly climate-dependent and climate controlled. The study relied on data collected from a random sample of 350 households selected from four communities in rural southwest Nigeria. A descriptive analysis of socioeconomic characteristics of respondents revealed their average age to be 55 years with over one-quarter having average household size of seven. Distribution of respondents by educational status indicated that over one-third do not have formal education with only about 26.7 percent educated up to tertiary level.However, the result of tobit regression model employed to ascertain correlates of livelihood options harnessed by these households indicate age, household size, years of formal education, climate change, access to credit and social capital as important determinants. Meanwhile, on the adaptive mechanisms employed to cushion the impact of climate change, storing water in kegs and jerry cans for domestic use (especially during the raining season), compulsory savings