Current
environmental issues in Nigeria
are closely connected with
population growth. Like any
other country,
regular consumption tends to
lead to pollution and
destruction of the environment.
The environment is important
because it supports the survival
of human beings, is the source
of natural resources (solid
minerals), supports biodiversity
and offers remarkable beauty.
Moreover, the environment is
responsible for air purification
and disaster control. Apart from
food, the environment provides
several other natural resources
necessary for the survival of
human beings: the source of
clean water, medicines,
clothing, biofuels, wood and
fossil fuels, etc. These natural
resources not only promote human
survival on Earth, but they also
enhance the living standards of
people. More so, the environment
supports most economic
activities like farming,
fishing, other agricultural
endeavours,
manufacturing and tourism, etc. For
example, agriculture is
dependent on adequate rainfall
and fertile soils. In this
regard, lack of care for the
environment may affect
employment, food security and
production from such industries
negatively including the spread
of diseases and degradation.
Moreover, undisturbed natural
ecosystems can moderate severe
weather phenomena and limit
their damage. For example,
coastal swamps slow water flow
and hold water during severe sea
storms. Also, trees help to
reduce wind speeds hence making
them less destructive to
settlement areas. There is
natural beauty like waterfalls,
rivers, lakes, oceans, wildlife
and forests with all goods and
services used by humanity come
directly or indirectly from the
Earth and its environment.
The environment is constantly
changing. There is no denying
that fact. However, as the
environment changes, so does the
need to become increasingly
aware of the problems that
surround it. With a massive
influx of natural disasters,
warming and cooling periods,
different types of weather
patterns and much more, people
need to be aware of what types
of environmental problems our
planet is facing. Global warming
has become an undisputed fact
about current livelihoods; the
planet is warming up and this
isn’t the only environmental
problem people should be
concerned about. All across the
world, people are facing a
wealth of new and challenging
environmental problems every
day. Some of them are small and
only affect a few ecosystems,
but others are drastically
changing the landscape of what
we already know. According to
John Paul II, “the Earth will
not continue to offer its
harvest, except with faithful
stewardship. We cannot say we
love the land and then take
steps to destroy it for use by
future generations”.
20 Major Current Environmental
Problems
1. Pollution:
There are 7 key types of
pollution – air, water, soil,
noise, radioactive, light and
thermal and these are primary
causes that affect our
environment in many ways. All
these types of pollution are
interlinked and influence each
other. Therefore we need to
tackle all of them together.
Pollution of air, water and soil
requires millions of years to
recoup. Industry and motor
vehicle exhaust are the number
one pollutants. Heavy metals,
nitrates and plastic are toxins
responsible for pollution. While
water pollution is caused by the
oil spill, acid rain, urban
runoff, air pollution is caused
by various gases and toxins
released by industries and
factories and the combustion of
fossil fuels; soil pollution is
majorly caused by industrial
waste that deprives the soil of
essential nutrients.
2. Soil Degradation:
Globally, food security depends
on the factor of whether or not
soils are in good condition to
produce crops. According to UN
estimates, about 12 million
hectares of farmland a year get
seriously degraded. Soils get
damaged due to many reasons.
Such reasons include erosion,
overgrazing, overexposure to
pollutants, monoculture
planting, soil compaction,
land-use conversion and many
more. Nowadays, a wide range of
techniques of soil conservation
and restoration exist, from
no-till agriculture to crop
rotation to water-retention
through terrace-building.
3. Flooding and Erosion & Global
Warming:
Flooding and erosion affecting
the highways are mainly a result
of heavy rainstorms. On
occasion, rainstorms can produce
so much water that the existing
drainage, natural streams or
manmade ditches, for example,
cannot contain the flow. Soil
erosion is caused by rain
(primarily) and wind - and of
course, heavy rain is what
causes flooding. Where erosion
may cause flooding is where,
over time, silt and
stones/gravels are deposited in
the river bed. During heavy
rains, the water runs off
causing floods and eventually
soil erosion. Likewise, soil
erosion may lead to flooding as
well because, without the soil’s
ability to absorb water,
downstream flooding can occur
creating off-site problems. The
water in the floods is excess so
when the water flows it even
takes the soil with them so
that's how floods cause soil
erosion. Climate changes like
global warming are the result of
human practices like the
emission of greenhouse gases.
Global warming leads to rising
temperatures of the oceans and
the earth’s surface causing
natural disasters that include
flooding, melting of polar ice
caps, rise in sea levels and
also unnatural patterns of
precipitation such as flash
floods, hurricanes, wildfires,
drought, excessive snow or
desertification.
4. Overpopulation:
The population of the planet is
reaching unsustainable levels as
it faces a shortage of resources
like water, fuel and food.
Population explosion in less
developed and developing
countries is straining the
already scarce resources.
Intensive agriculture practiced
producing food damages the
environment through the use of
chemical fertilizer, pesticides
and insecticides. Overpopulation
is also one of the crucial
current environmental problems.
5. Natural Resource Depletion:
Another crucial current
environmental problem is the
depletion of Natural resources.
Humans use so many natural
resources that it would need
almost 1.5 piles of earth to
cover all our needs. This will
further increase in the future
due to massive industrialization
in Asian countries like India
and China. Increased use of
natural resources leads to
several other environmental
issues, such as
industrialization, population
growth and air pollution. Over
time, natural resource depletion
will lead to an energy crisis.
The chemicals emitted from many
natural resources contribute to
climate change. Fossil fuel
consumption results in the
emission of greenhouse gases,
which is primarily responsible
for global warming and climate
change. Globally, people are
making efforts to shift to
renewable sources of energy like
solar, wind, biogas and
geothermal energy. As such, the
cost of installing the
infrastructure and maintaining
these sources has plummeted in
recent years.
6. Generating Unsustainable
Waste:
The huge production of waste due
to our hyper-consumption is a
major threat to the environment.
As per the study, the average
person produces 4.3 pounds of
waste per day, and the US alone
accounting for 220 million tons
a year. This hyper-consumption
results in non-biodegradable
trash in the form of plastic
packaging, toxic e-waste, and
harmful chemicals that leach
into our waterways. When this
waste ends up in landfills, it
generates enormous amounts of
methane, which ranks as one of
the worst greenhouse gases
because of its high potential
for global warming. It creates
severe explosion hazards. Since
modern technology allows us to
access digital environments,
many things that you need can be
fulfilled in the cloud. Consider
your purchases carefully.
7. Waste Disposal:
The overconsumption of resources
and the creation of plastics are
creating a global crisis of
waste disposal. Developed
countries are notorious for
producing an excessive amount of
waste or garbage and dumping
their waste in the oceans and
less developed countries.
Nuclear waste disposal has
tremendous health hazards
associated with it. Plastic,
fast food, packaging and cheap
electronic wastes threaten the
well-being of humans. Waste
disposal is, therefore, one of
the urgent current environmental
problems.
8. Deforestation & Afforestation:
The spread of desert-like
conditions in arid or semi-arid
areas, due to overgrazing, loss
of agriculturally productive
soils, or climate change. Our
forests are natural sinks of
carbon dioxide and produce fresh
oxygen, as well as helps in
regulating temperature and
rainfall. At present, forests
cover 30% of the land, but every
year tree cover is lost,
amounting to the country of
Panama due to the growing
population demand for more food,
shelter and cloth. Deforestation
simply means clearing of green
cover and makes that land
available for residential,
industrial or commercial
purposes. Afforestation -
converting a bare or
agricultural space by planting
trees and plants; reforestation
involves replanting trees on
areas that have been cut or
destroyed by fire.
9. Greenhouse gas & Groundwater:
A gas that "traps" infrared
radiation in the lower
atmosphere causing surface
warming; water vapour, carbon
dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane,
hydro-fluorocarbons, and ozone
are the primary greenhouse gases
in the Earth's atmosphere -
water sources found below the
surface of the earth often in
naturally occurring reservoirs
in permeable rock strata; the
source for wells and natural
springs.
10. Loss of Biodiversity:
Human activity is leading to the
extinction of species and
habitats and loss of
biodiversity. Ecosystems, which
took millions of years to
perfect, are in danger when any
species population is
decimating. The balance of
natural processes like
pollination is crucial to the
survival of the ecosystem, and
human activity threatens the
same. Another example is the
destruction of coral reefs in
the various oceans, which
support the rich marine life.
11. Climate Change:
Climate change is yet another
environmental problem that has
surfaced in the last couple of
decades. It occurs due to the
rise in global warming, which
happens due to the increase in
temperature of the atmosphere by
burning fossil fuels and the
release of harmful gases by
industries. Climate change has
various harmful effects but is
not limited to the melting of
polar ice, change in seasons,
occurrence of new diseases,
frequent occurrence of floods
and change in overall weather
scenario.
12. Ocean Acidification & Polar
Ice Caps:
It is a direct impact of
excessive production of CO2. 25%
of total atmospheric CO2 is
produced by humans. The ocean
acidity has increased over the
last 250 years, but by 2100, it
may shoot up by 150%. The main
impact is on shellfish and
plankton in the same way as
human osteoporosis. The issue of
the melting of polar ice caps
affects the globe and is a
contentious one. Although NASA
studies have shown that the
amount of ice in Antarctica is
increasing, however, this
increase is only one-third of
what is being lost in the
Arctic. There is enough evidence
that shows sea levels are
rising, and the melting of
Arctic ice caps is a major
contributor. Over time, the
melting of polar ice caps could
lead to extensive flooding,
contamination of drinking water
and major changes in ecosystems.
13. The Nitrogen Cycle:
We often ignore the effects of
the use of nitrogen by humans.
Nitrogen is a crucial component
of all life. Problems occur when
the nitrogen cycle is not
balanced. A process through
which it is converted or ‘fixed’
to a more usable form is called
fixation. The fixation happens
biologically and through
lightning, or it can be done
Industrially. People have
learned to convert nitrogen gas
to ammonia (NH3-) and
fertilizers that are
nitrogen-rich to supplement the
amount of nitrogen fixed
naturally. It is estimated that
agriculture may be responsible
for about 50% of the nitrogen
fixation on earth through the
cultivation of nitrogen-fixing
crops and the production of
human-made fertilizers. When
nitrogen is used more than plant
demand, it can leach from soils
into waterways and contributes
to eutrophication. Excess levels
of nitrogen in water can hamper
marine ecosystems, through
overstimulation of plant and
algae growth. This blocks the
light from getting into deeper
waters, thus damaging the rest
of the marine population. The
problem can also occur during
nitrification and
denitrification. Nitrous oxide
(N2O) can be formed when the
chemical process is not
completed. N2O is a potent
greenhouse gas contributing to
global warming.
14. Ozone Layer Depletion:
The ozone layer is an invisible
layer of protection around the
planet that protects us from the
sun’s harmful rays. The
depletion of the crucial Ozone
layer of the atmosphere is
attributed to pollution caused
by Chlorine and Bromide found in
Chloro-fluoro carbons (CFCs).
Once these toxic gases reach the
upper atmosphere, they create a
hole in the ozone layer, the
biggest of which is above the
Antarctic. CFCs are banned in
many industries and consumer
products. The ozone layer is
valuable because it prevents
harmful UV radiation from
reaching the earth. This is one
of the most important current
environmental problems.
15. Acid Rain:
Acid rain occurs due to the
presence of certain pollutants
in the atmosphere. Acid rain can
be caused due to combustion of
fossil fuels or erupting
volcanoes or rotting vegetation
which releases sulphur dioxide
and nitrogen oxide into the
atmosphere. Acid rain is a known
environmental problem that can
have a serious effect on human
health, wildlife and aquatic
species.
16. Water Pollution:
Clean drinking water is becoming
a rare commodity. Water is
becoming an economic and
political issue as the human
population fights for this
resource. One of the options
suggested is using the process
of desalinization. Industrial
development is filling our
rivers, seas and oceans with
toxic pollutants, which are a
major threat to human health.
17. Overfishing:
Overfishing affects natural
ecosystems severely and leads to
an imbalance of ocean life.
Around 63% of global fish stocks
are estimated to be overfished.
Overfishing caused fishing
fleets to migrate to new waters
that would further deplete the
fish stocks. Moreover, it has
negative effects on coastal
communities that rely on fishing
to support their living.
18. Urban Sprawl:
Urban sprawl refers to the
migration of the population from
high-density urban areas to
low-density rural areas, which
results in the spreading of the
city over more and more rural
land. Urban sprawl results in
land degradation, increased
traffic, environmental issues
and health issues. The
ever-growing demand for land
displaces the natural
environment consisting of flora
and fauna, instead of being
replaced.
19. Public Health Issues:
The current environmental
problems pose a lot of risk to
the health of humans and
animals. Dirty water is the
biggest health risk in the world
and poses a threat to the
quality of life and public
health. Runoff to rivers carries
with it toxins, chemicals and
disease-carrying organisms.
Pollutants cause respiratory
diseases like Asthma and
cardiac-vascular problems. High
temperatures encourage the
spread of infectious diseases
like Dengue.
20. Genetic Engineering:
Genetic modification of food
using biotechnology is called
genetic engineering. Genetic
modification of food results in
increased toxins and diseases as
genes from an allergic plant can
transfer to the target plant.
Genetically modified crops can
cause serious environmental
problems as an engineered gene
may prove toxic to wildlife.
Another drawback is that
increased use of toxins to make
insect resistant plants can
cause resultant organisms to
become resistant to antibiotics.
The need for change in our daily
lives and the movements of our
government is growing. Since so
many different factors come into
play, such as voting,
governmental issues, the desire
to stick to a routine, many
people don’t consider that what
they do will affect future
generations. If humans continue
moving forward in such a harmful
way towards the future, then
there will be no future to
consider. Although it’s a fact
that we cannot physically stop
our ozone layer from thinning
(and scientists are still having
trouble figuring out what is
causing it exactly), there are
still so many things we can do
to try and put a dent in what we
already know. By raising
awareness in your local
community and within your
families about these issues, you
can help contribute to a more
environmentally conscious and
friendly place for you and your
future generations to live.
Current Environmental Issues in
Nigeria:
Nigeria is one of the most
populous nations constantly
facing different issues like
overpopulation, migration,
improvement of medical care as
well as problems connected with
environmental pollution. The
current environmental issues are
closely related to population
growth. Like any other country,
it uses resources to provide
residents with good living
conditions. However, regular
consumption tends to lead to
pollution and destruction of the
environment. The main
environmental problems in
Nigeria are:
·
Air pollution
- Daily, millions of vehicles
run throughout the country: they
consume plenty of fuel and
produce exhaust fumes;
·
Water pollution
- It is not a secret that
Nigeria has a deficit in
drinking water. If you access
it, then it is full of bacteria
and industrial chemicals;
·
Desertification
- This problem is caused by
massive irrigation. The country
loses kilometres of land.
Industrial waste. Social changes
are the result of human
migration within the country and
poor management of sanitary
infrastructure;
·
Oil spills - People, who inhabit
the area in the Niger Delta
region suffer from oil spills
every year. This place is so
much polluted that the oil is
found in the soil, even within
five meters from the surface;
·
Deforestation
- The high rate of urbanization,
industrial development, and
agricultural processes led to
deforestation and extinction of
animals living in the woods;
·
Industrial waste:
Social changes are the result of
human migration within the
country. The problem is that
searching for a better life,
people create difficulties with
accommodation. Due to this, many
residents have to settle close
to industrial areas. As a
result, they have to consume
water, which contains chemicals,
breathe polluted air and eat
food with increased nitrates.
·
Wind erosion
- The lands which are situated
in the northern part of Nigeria
are constantly being “blown
away” - eroded;
·
Climate change;
·
Soil degradation
- Pesticides and chemicals often
used by people for different
purposes. However, they often
forget about soil renovation and
drawing a balance of minerals
back to its original state;
·
Floods and erosion:
Flooding and erosion affecting
the highways are mainly a result
of heavy rainstorms. On
occasion, rainstorms can produce
so much water that the existing
drainage, natural streams or
manmade ditches, for example,
cannot contain the flow. Soil
erosion is caused by rain
(primarily) and wind - and of
course, heavy rain is what
causes flooding. Where erosion
may cause flooding
·
Solid waste:
Nigeria is one of those
countries with poor management
of sanitary infrastructure. It
one of the main reasons, why
people live rather close to
wasted areas;
·
Oil spills:
People, who inhabit the area in
the delta of Niger, suffer from
oil spills every year. This
place is so much polluted that
the oil is found in the soil,
even within five meters from the
surface;
·
Climate Change:
Climate change occurs due to the
rise in global warming, which
happens due to the increase in
temperature of the atmosphere by
burning fossil fuels and the
release of harmful gases by
industries. Climate change has
various harmful effects but is
not limited to the melting of
polar ice, change in seasons,
occurrence of new diseases,
frequent occurrence of floods
and change in overall weather
scenario.
Some Environmental Solutions in
Nigeria:
Still, there are tribal areas
where people rely on hunting and
simple vegetation for food apart
from farming. The lack of
education, poverty, and the
ever-increasing population has
raised many serious
environmental issues in Nigeria.
These issues have become a
serious concern for not only the
country and the continent but
also the entire world. The
solutions may be to adopt a
strategy for a healthier, more
sustainable and balanced
environment and surrounding.
There are different approaches
to Environmental Solutions but
the most effective is the
collective and engaged efforts
by all civil society
organizations and stakeholders.
UN Environment has recognized
the importance of civil society
in environmental sustainability
and is actively working to
ensure that civil society
organizations can play a
constructive role in the
formulation and implementation
of policy and programmes for
sustainable development. Through
a series of ministerial
Declarations and the Governing
Council's Resolutions and the
strategy paper, 'Enhancing Civil
Society Engagement in the Work
of the United Nations
Environment Programme'. The
Environment subprogram should
aim to contribute to sustainable
development and improved
well-being through empowering
stakeholders at local, regional
and national levels. The
subprogram will provide open web
platforms, services and access
to timely, substantiated
knowledge about the environment
and emerging issues and by
strengthening capacities to make
use of substantiated knowledge
in decision-making.
This can be achieved by building
capacities to promote the
production of environmentally
sustainable products, this
subprogram supports governments
and the private sector to
improve their capacities to
design and implement laws,
policies and management actions
that promote the production of
resource-efficient and
sustainable goods and services.
The subprogram should also
disseminate research findings
and implement demonstration
projects to illustrate the
benefits of an efficient, clean
and safe environment.
Environmental pollution in
Nigeria is a human-made problem.
Thus, it is up to people to do
everything possible to reduce
its harmful influence and
improve the state of the
environment. The solutions can
be offered to reduce pollution
in Nigeria are:
·
Plant more trees to make the air
cleaner;
·
Keep to the “3R” rule: reduce,
reuse, and recycle. Re-claiming
and remodelling things will save
your budget and give a second
life to goods. In this way, you
also save natural resources;
·
The government should pay more
attention and control to the
industrial sector and defend not
only the rights of business but
also the right of people to
breathe freely within a healthy
environment;
·
Forest reservations will help to
save animals from extinction; do
not throw garbage into the
rivers;
·
Create pathways for rainwater
and clear gutter to avoid
flooding.
In any case, poverty and
environmental damage are often
linked. Polluted water can lead
to crop failures. Climate change
will turn fertile fields into
desert and flood coastal areas
where hundreds of millions live.
Developing countries like
Nigeria must insist on
sustainable development that
combines environmental care,
social justice and economic
growth to avoid deforestation,
desertification, erosion and
flooding due to man negligence.
Unchecked population growth
hurts any nation, as well as on
the whole planet. Both the
poverty and the environmental
problems of sub-Saharan Africa
today are largely the result of
rapid population growth putting
pressure on limited resources.
More than twenty years of
uncontrolled economic
development have created
serious, chronic air and water
pollution. This has increased
health problems and resulted in
annual losses to farmers of
crops worth billions. So
uncontrolled growth is not only
bad for the environment, but it
also makes no economic sense.
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