Abstract

Kwa Iboe River had developed into a sizeable basin with distinctive characteristics and identity in the south-eastern region of Nigeria. However, this distinction and prominence in economic sustainability to host communities have not received accurate attention and popularized in academic literature. This paper aimed at conducting an investigation on the river in order to gain insights about its physical characteristics and economic potentials in the area. The study adopted qualitative methods, employing field measurements and observations, focus group discussion, and structured interviews to gather relevant information from the target population who constituted community stakeholders purposively sampled for study. The result revealed that Kwa Iboe River had no distinctive shape but with the length of about 158.183 kilometers, it traversed over 150 communities in 5 and 13 Local Government Areas in Abia and Akwa Ibom States respectively. Its prominence in economic sustainability of host communities included facilitation of agricultural production in the catchment area, fishing and catching of other marine delicacies, lumbering and timber production, means for water transportation, provision of sand and gravel for construction as well as facilitation of petroleum and oil production activities in the area. It was however envisaged that based on its length, expanse of coverage and economic potentials, issues relative to water pollution through industrial discharge, oil spillage or whatsoever that could be detrimental to human and aquatic life could be imminent. Therefore, to ensure sustainable management and use of the natural capital, effective management procedure with regular monitoring of the water quality of Kwa Iboe River have been recommended.