SDN led a process to map all the settlements across the Niger Delta, and document their ethnic group, and clan affiliation. This is the first map of its kind, as it aims to cover all settlements and their satellites. Potential uses include helping the government respond to floods, ensuring all settlements are included in host community development initiatives, and planning a full census of the riverine areas.

The process was led by a team of ethnographic experts who have studied the region for decades. Special credit is due to Professor Emeritus E.J. Alagoa, and the team at Onyeoma Research, whose books informed the initial mapping, and whose expertise helped us to review the data set behind the maps. 

Land ownership and ethnicity can be contentious issues. Therefore we have based our affiliation on the primary settlers to an area, based on extensive ethnographic research. We do not define the boundaries of settlements, nor do we believe that the ethnic group is the only one living in the settlements today. But including an ethnic affiliation helps us to visualise the cultural mosaic of the Niger Delta.