Adequacy or otherwise of cemetery space for sustainable human body disposal in Benin city, Nigeria

Abstract

The adequacy or otherwise of cemetery space in Benin City was assessed in 2014, based on population projected from the 2006 census figures. The area of each cemetery was determined by running a Global Positioning System (GPS) traverse round each, which gave a total of 11.979 Ha. At a rate of 0.5 Ha of cemetery space to 1000 population, for 50 years, 702.749 Ha would be required for cemetery in Benin City. Results have shown that of these, only 1.68% is available for the teeming population of the city which comprised the three major Local Government Areas (LGAs). It is therefore recommended that cemeteries be established in new sites in each LGA, should reflect the population trends in order to achieve sustainable human body disposal in the city.

Key Words:  Death, Global Positioning System, Inhabitants, Population, Sites