An Appraisal of the Nigerian Environmental Policy: A Process of Restructuring for Sustainable Development

The issues concerning environmental quality and its potential impact on global development has continuously evolved over the years. In the year 1970, global discoveries pointed to a potential challenge about the earth’s... [ view full abstract ]

The issues concerning environmental quality and its potential impact on global development has continuously evolved over the years. In the year 1970, global discoveries pointed to a potential challenge about the earth’s ecosystems, as it was seen to be increasingly fragile. One major reason that have been adduced for this fragility and degeneration was the increased economic and industrial activities in the world as a whole. (European Commission, 2006). It must be known that the environment discharges the following economic functions of supplying all forms of resources, cleaning up wastes in the environment, maintaining genetic diversity and stabilizing the ecosystem; given these functions, it can said that the environment are interlinked economic activities because environmental resources are transformed into economic goods. But in this process of transformation, wastes are created and resources are also getting depleted due to continuous use. When environment is disturbed by overuse and the huge amount of wastes, it cannot discharge one of its major function of maintaining genetic diversity and stabilization of ecosystems, (Hussen, 2000). Hence, any threat to sustaining human life must be critically examined so that the quest for growth does not affect human existence negatively. Besides, the promotion of policies that pay for carbon and industrial emissions in Nigeria, as against embracing environmentally friendly technologies is increasingly worrisome with regard to human health and posterity. Thus, in view of the foregoing, this study is set to examine the Nigerian economic policy in the light of environmentally polluting variables. This is with a view to determining the extent to which policy formulations and implementations have advanced human health and posterity in Nigeria. The study will employ descriptive method of analysis which will involve the use of tables, graphs and expository analysis.

Keywords: "pollution", "health", "environment", "industrialization"