ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND LAND USE POLICIES IN NIGERIA.

7/29/2019 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND LAND USE POLICIES IN NIGERIA.

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ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND LAND USE POLICIES IN NIGERIA.

BY

OLEWUEZI ANTHONY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

With an area of 923,770 sq. km, Nigeria is the largest country in tropical West

Africa. It extends between Latitudes 4o 16 N and 13o 52 N and between

Longitude 2o 49 E and 14o 37 E and is bounded by Cameroon and Chad

Republic to the East, Niger Republic to the North and Benin Republic to the

West. The southern coastline is dominated by the delta of the River Niger.

Although only the twelfth largest country in Africa, Nigeria contains a quarter

of the continents people and a greater population than any other African

country. Nigeria has a population of over 140 million people. The nation

features a great diversity of ecosystems - from the rainforest through dry

savannah to drylands and flat coastal zones to plateaus and highlands.

2.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND LAND USE POLICIES IN

NIGERIA.

Environmental Control is the maintenance of safe levels of environmental

items such as land, air, water, etc. It also involves removal of risk factors from

the environment. In other words, it is Modification and control of soil, water,

and air environments of humans and other living organisms (Answers, 2012)

Land use is simply defined as the use to which land is put. (Essaghah,

1997). Land use Planning is concerned with the examination of decision-

making as regards the best use of land resource. It is aimed at determining

how urban and rural lands can be physically arranged so that the net

economic gain from carrying out the activity will lead to better utilization of

the resources. In this planning all available lands and all water bodies in a

given area or territory are closely examined, evaluated and zoned for major


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land use activities like residential, industrial, commercial, institutional/public

service use, recreational, open spaces, and transportation (Awogbemi, 1981).

In land use planning, land is synonymous with physical environment of

man and natural resources which are sub-adjacent and super-adjacent to theearth surface. Therefore, the terms land, space, physical environment and

natural resources are so closely connected in physical planning to the extent

that they appear the same (Obateru, 2003)

In general, land use planning involves making decisions about how a

city or county will develop now and into the future. The purpose of land use

planning is to ensure orderly and efficient development that provides for

economic growth and the conservation/protection of natural resources while

maintaining a high quality of life for residents.

Policy is defined as a set of course of action adopted by the government

to address issues in a specific sector. Land use Policy is a set of course of

action adopted by the government mainly to guide the use to which land is

put.

Land is required for various uses in both the urban and rural areas of all

society. It is a major factor of production and a vital element in the socio-

economic development of any country or society (FMH&UD, 2006). Thus, as

nations grew in size and rural areas become urban centres and urban centres

become large metropolitan areas, there is always increased competition as

well as demand for land for different purposes. This requires adequate

planning and control to ensure harmonious and sustainable development and

functional efficiency of these uses and settlements. To achieve this

fundamental and acceptable activity, layouts of various land uses such as

residential, commercial. Industrial, open spaces and recreation, circulation

and institutional uses among others are undertaken to standardize and

control physical developments and ensure harmonious growth. Furthermore,


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as the population of the world becomes more urbanized and cities grow,

urban planning becomes more critical (Smith and Engel, 2006). According to

Oyesiku (1997), the forms and patterns of distribution of structures in general

to promote the good health, accessibility, convenience and harmonious land

use in environment are a function, to a considerable extent, of the rights and

methods of dealing with land.

Thus, effective land control and management particularly in areas with

rapid urban sprawl such as Nigeria is crucial to tackling growing

environmental and land use problems such as slum formation, rising costs of

land, accessibility to urban land for land housing, incompatible use, flooding,

overcrowding and congestion among others for the purpose of achieving

sustainable city development and ensure the safety and health of the people.

Thus, great attention has been paid by researchers, professionals and decision

makers to the urban land planning and management problems and the design

of policies to combat it.

In Nigeria, a number of policies that impinge on land use management

has been articulated and implemented. These include the Land Use Act of

1978, Urban Development Policy of 1992, Urban and Regional Planning Act

1992 as well as the Housing and Urban Development policy of 2002. Similarly,

land use planning and control measures have been introduced to improve

land use planning and development. The aims of these policies are

summarized below:

1. The Land Use Act (LUA) of 1978: The LUA was established purposely to

unify land policy through-out Nigeria and to eradicate land speculation so as

to protect the rights of all Nigerians to land. It is in the public interest of all

Nigerians to use and enjoy land in the Country and the natural fruits thereofin sufficient quantity to enable them provide for the sustenance of themselves

and their families. Its main aim was to make it easy for government to acquire


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lands for public purposes such as for the provision of infrastructures, social

amenities, etc for public and environment good.

2. Urban Development Policy of 1992: The goal of the Urban Development

Policy of 1992 is to develop a dynamic system of urban settlements, which will

foster sustainable economic growth, promote efficient urban and regional

development and ensure improved standards of living and wellbeing for all

Nigerians. The direct involvement of the citizens in decision-making is a

priority for the success of the national policy.

3. Urban and Regional Planning Act 1992: The URP Act of 1992 main aim

was to guide the practice of urban and regional planning in the country. It

provided the legal basis for the formulation of urban development plans and

policies and the legal backings to the implementation and implementing

bodies whether at the federal, state or local government levels. The Act also

provided for public participation in the development of National

Development Plans and other physical developments plans.

4. Housing and Urban Development Policy of 2002: The goal of the Housing

and Urban Development policy of 2002 is to ensure that all Nigerians own or

have access to decent, safe and sanitary housing accommodation at affordable

cost with secured tenure through private sector initiative with government

encouragement and involvement.

Despite the existence of these laws and policies, urban land use

management problems still persist in Nigeria. Consequently, there is need for

a better understanding of the problems and also to articulate how to improve

the existing ineffective land use planning and control methods in Nigerian

cities. These land use policies have been largely ineffective due to but not

limited to the following the factors:

1. Non Adoption and Utilization of Modern Approaches:


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Following the leading of the international community, a number of concepts

and approaches that emphasized citizen participation in decision-making

have been devised and adopted. Studies have shown that, these new

approaches and methodologies have not been incorporated into land use

planning and management in Nigerian Cities. As shown by Aribigbola and

Ebehikhalu, (2006), the basis of planning in Akure is the traditional master

plan approach that emphasizes the utilization of the professional expertise of

planners to determine and articulate physical development plan for the city.

Therefore; non-adoption and incorporation of the new approaches are a

major constraint that needs to be surmounted to ensure better management of

land in any Nigerian cities.

2. Outdated and Outmoded land use Planning Policies, Laws and

Regulations :

Land use and management in Nigeria is still based on the land use Act of 1978

.This law was mainly concerned with use and allocation of land in the

country. The Urban and Regional planning Act of 1992 that was meant to

improve planning activity in Nigeria did not contain any provision to

promote and enhance public participation in planning decision. Besides,

sixteen years after the enactment of the law, it is yet to be implemented.

Planning in most Nigerian towns and cities in Nigeria is still based on the

1946 Act which itself was based on the 1932 Town and Country Planning Actin United Kingdom. Thus, one of the major constraints to effective and

efficient land management in many Nigerian towns and cities is the absence

of up to date and dynamic laws and regulation to guide and control land use

activity and management. The land use act mainly deals with allocation and

acquisition and confirmation of title on owners, it does not indicate the vital

aspect of management which is the control of development on the land.

3. Inadequate Manpower


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Closely associated with the above constraints is inadequacy of qualified

planning personnel to manage land use in the city. Most institutional

frameworks for the management of the environment have inadequate

manpower and this greatly make them inefficient in managing and control the

land use in most Nigerian towns and cities.

4. Poor and Inadequate Funding

Another major constraint to effective land control is poor and inadequate

funding of most institutional frameworks responsible. A close observation of

governments yearly budget to these institutions shows very poor allocation

mainly for salaries of personnel. In such a situation, it becomes difficult to

initiate plans and development schemes to organize land use and land

management and undertake other essential planning tasks germane to land

management. This explains why the most master plan prepared for Nigeria

towns and cities are old and outdated. As a result of poor funding, essential

facilities required to undertake planning activity are not available.

3.0 URBAN AREA

The definition of urban varies from country to country, and, with periodic

reclassification, can also vary within one country over time, making direct

comparisons difficult. An urban area can be defined by one or more of the

following: administrative criteria or political boundaries (e.g., area within the

jurisdiction of a municipality or town committee), a threshold population size

(where the minimum for an urban settlement is typically in the region of 2,000

people, although this varies globally between 200 and 50,000), population

density, economic function (e.g., where a significant majority of the

population is not primarily engaged in agriculture, or where there is surplus

employment) or the presence of urban characteristics (e.g., paved streets,

electric lighting, sewerage).


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European countries define urbanized areas on the basis of urban-type

land use, not allowing any gaps of typically more than 200 m, and use satellite

imagery instead of census blocks to determine the boundaries of the urban

area. In less developed countries, in addition to land use and density

requirements, a requirement that a large majority of the population, typically

75%, is not engaged in agriculture and/or fishing is sometimes used. In 2010,

3.5 billion people lived in areas classified as urban (UNICEF, 2012).

3.1 Problems of Urban Areas

Urban areas do not have only local environmental impacts but also large so-

called ecological footprints (WWF 2000). In their immediate vicinity, cities

have a variety of impacts: conversion of agricultural or forest land for urban

uses and infrastructure, reclaiming of wetlands, quarrying and excavation of

sand, gravel and building materials in large quantities and, in some regions,

deforestation to meet fuel demand. The use of biomass fuel also causes indoor

and outdoor air pollution. Other effects can be felt further afield such as

pollution of waterways, lakes and coastal waters by untreated effluent. Air

pollution from cities has an impact on residents health as well as on

vegetation and soils at a considerable distance. Urban transport contributes to

air pollution and the large concentration of cars and industries in cities causes

the lions share of urban global greenhouse gas emissions.

Cities are often located in prime agricultural areas. If this land isconverted for urban uses, this puts additional pressure on nearby areas that

may be less suitable for agriculture. Urbanization in coastal areas often leads

to the destruction of sensitive ecosystems and can also alter the hydrology of

coasts and their natural features such as mangrove swamps, reefs and beaches

that serve as barriers to erosion and form important habitats for species.

Low to medium density residential areas (urban sprawl) around urban

centres are common in the developed world. Well developed infrastructure
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and the increasing use of the car have facilitated this trend. Urban sprawl has

an especially damaging effect on the environment associated with the increase

in use of private motorized transport. Furthermore, low density development

occupies proportionally larger areas of land per capita.

Water is a key issue in urban areas. The intensity of demand in cities

can quickly exceed local supply. The price of water is typically lower than the

actual cost of obtaining, treating and distributing it, partly because of

government subsidies. As a result, households and industries have little

incentive to conserve water (UNEP 2000). Pollution from urban run-off,

sewage and untreated discharges of industries has adversely affected many

water bodies, leaving many cities with unsafe water supply.

Although local environmental problems tend to diminish with

increasing income levels, other environmental problems tend to become

worse (McGranahan and others 2001). The most obvious are high levels of

energy use and increasing levels of consumption and waste production.

Urban residents rely heavily on fossil fuels and electricity, and wealthy cities

tend to use more energy and produce more waste.

Inadequate waste collection and waste management systems are the

cause of serious urban pollution and health hazards, especially in cities in

developing countries. Cities in industrialized countries are now also facing the

consequences of past environmentally damaging production techniques and

inadequate waste disposal. This has resulted in many different forms of

pollution and in particular the formation of brownfields: abandoned, vacant

or underused former industrial areas where redevelopment is hampered by

environmental problems and lack of adequate information on contaminated

land management (Butler 1996).

Another problem emerging in developed countries is the lack ofsuitable landfill sites to cater for the increasing demand for solid waste


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disposal. Worsening environmental conditions can have serious effects on

human health and welfare, particularly for the poor (Hardoy, Mitlin and

Satterthwaite 1992). Poor sanitation creates environmental and health hazards

particularly by direct exposure to faeces and drinking water contamination.

Air and water pollution cause chronic and infectious respiratory disease,

water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea and intestinal worm infections,

increased mortality rates particularly among children and premature deaths

especially among the poor (OECD-DAC 2000, Listorti 1999, Satterthwaite

1997, McGranahan 1993, Hardoy, Cairncross and Satterthwaite 1990).

However, worldwide epidemiological and demographic information

suggests that survival rates are better in cities than in rural areas because of

better access to health services (UNCHS 2001b). The urban poor are

particularly exposed because of their location and because they have limited

resources with which to compensate for these problems by buying potable

water, securing medical care or escaping floods.

There are many other less quantifiable but nonetheless important

environmental impacts, such as loss of green space in urban areas, destruction

of special local ecosystems, noise pollution, and aesthetically unpleasant

sights and smells. These not only constitute a genuine loss of well-being but

they can also erode civic pride and lower morale, leading to indifference and

cynicism locally and to a negative image externally.

4.0 RURAL AREAS

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas of land that are not

urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller

cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically

much of the land is devoted to agriculture and there may be less air and water

pollution than in an urban area. The degree to which areas of wilderness are
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included in the term varies; very large wilderness areas are not likely to be

described by the term in most contexts.

In most parts of the world, rural areas have been declining since the

19th century or earlier, both as a proportion of land area, and in terms of the

proportion of the population living in them. Urbanization encroaches on rural

land, and the mechanization of agriculture has reduced the number of

workers needed to work the land, while alternative employment is typically

easier to obtain in cities. In parts of the developed world urban sprawl has

greatly reduced the areas that can be called rural, and land use planning

measures are used to protect the character of rural areas in various ways.

4.1 Problems of Rural Areas

Rural areas experience a number of environmental problems like pollutions of

air, water and land, land degradation and urbanization. Air Pollution in

villages is caused due to burning of agricultural wastes and straw, burning of

fire wood and dung cakes, and decomposition of crop wastes and animal

wastes. Considerable amount of methane produced due to bio-degradation of

crop residues and animal wastes contribute heavily in the rural air pollution.

Rural women suffer from many respiratory and eye diseases as they

cook food by burning wood. Rural houses are often built unscientifically. Due

to this the extent of indoor air pollution is greater in these areas. The practice

of Jhoom- cultivation damages forests and other vegetations on one hand and

enhances the CO2 load on the atmosphere on the other hand. The increasing

concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere contributes to the Global Warming.

Principal water pollutants in the rural areas are animal wastes and

agrochemicals like synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, hormones etc. These

chemicals reach to the water bodies of the rural areas through surface run offwhere they cause Eutrophication. Eutrophication is the nutrient enrichment of

water bodies. In Eutrophication, varieties of aquatic plants grow in the water
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that absorbs dissolved oxygen. The scarcity of dissolved oxygen in the water

kills aquatic animals and plants. The bacteria that go to decompose those

bodies further absorb the oxygen causing its acute scarcity and the process

goes on.

Pesticides are poisonous chemicals that are applied in agriculture to kill

pests. These chemicals join water bodies through the surface run off, enter into

the food-chains and get accumulated inside fruits, grains and vegetables and

bodies of aquatic animals. This is called as bio-accumulation. Biologically

accumulated poisons in the animal bodies go on increasing and this process is

called as Bio-magnification. Pesticides accumulate and get magnified into the

fatty tissues of human beings through fish and other aquatic foods.

Land pollution in rural areas is caused due to dumping of animal

wastes, agricultural residues and mixing of agrochemicals in the soil. Animal

wastes dumped on the ground, leach into the soil and contaminate water

sources. Secondly, these wastes invite a number of parasitic worms & disease

causing micro organisms to develop and spread in the environment through

water and air. These worms and micro organisms cause various types of

diseases in rural people. Decomposing residues of agricultural materials

produce lots of methane and encourage the production of disease causing

micro organisms. Agrochemicals like synthetic fertilizers alter the composition

of soil and make it infertile. Pesticides applied in fields kill soil micro

organisms and enter into the food chain and reach to human beings. Bio-

accumulations of poisonous pesticides in human beings cause diseases of

nervous system, kidneys and reproductive systems in human beings.

Pesticides laced seeds are often eaten by birds that visit fields

frequently. Thus different types of seed eating birds are vanishing out of rural

areas. Such incidents have been reported from Rajasthan, an Indian statewhere many peacocks died after eating pesticide laced seeds. The population


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of sparrows is vanishing out of many Indian states due to application of

pesticides on large scale.

Since the days of green revolution, Mono agriculture has been

encouraged to raise production of crops on commercial level. Mono

agriculture is the practice of growing single crop on a large farm repeatedly

for many years. This practice demands more care, more fertilizers and more

pesticides.

When topmost fertile layer of soil is washed away through rain water or

it is carried away by wind, the process is called as soil erosion. Thus wind and

rainfall are the principal factors that cause soil erosion.

Soil erosion is the major problem of rural environment. It is caused due

to-

(i) Overgrazing by cattle.

(ii) Deforestation and denudation of land.

(iii) Cultivation along river banks.

Over grazing is the activity of repeated grazing by cattle including

sheep and goats, in a particular field. This results into the complete loss of

grass species leaving the land uncovered. Such a land becomes prone to soil

erosion through rain water and by wind. The human activity of cutting forest

trees puts severe stress on land and atmosphere. A land denuded of forests

and other vegetation, is always prone to serious soil erosion. Loss of forests

makes numerous species of birds and animals homeless and causes adverse

alterations in climatic conditions. Cultivation along river banks makes the soil

loose. Loose soil can easily be washed away into the river during rains. Most

of the Indian rivers have been silted severely due to heavy soil erosions in the

catchments areas. This condition is the root cause of floods in different Indian

states during rainy seasons.


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5.0 POVERTY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Man have always been dependent on the environment for survival and

poverty have greatly increase this dependency. Poverty is the condition that is

said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their needs. The basic need

refers to those things necessary for survival. From the vicious circle of

poverty, it reveals that poverty causes environmental stress and, in turn,

perpetuates more poverty (Uchegbu, 2002). Poverty puts pressure on people

nations, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, to engage in

unsustainable and ecological damaging practices. The poor make an effort to

survive, and impoverished nations turn to exploitation of their own natural

resources. According to United Nations (1996), every second some 750 tons

of topsoil are lost. Each day some 4700 backstairs of forest are destroyed, and

346,000 hectares of land are turned to desert. Each day and estimated 100 to

300 species become extinct.

5.1 The Effects of Poverty on the Nigerian Environment

The long-term results of short-term exploitation of the environment are

devastating, often increasing rather than alleviating poverty.

Here are a few examples of the consequences of such devastation of the

environment:

1. Deforestation

This is the temporary or permanent clearance of forests for agriculture or

other purposes. Clearing forests to increase food production in the tropical

countries often has the opposite result. For example, between 1973 and 1977

forest covered 1.3 million hectares of land, but today it is not more than one

million hectare (UN 1996). The basins of Njaba River located about 25 km

north of Owerri town such as Amucha, Okwudor are exemplified.


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In Amucha, for instance, the town has been covered up with several big

gullies traversing the land because of the deforestation of the land. Okwudor,

just 2km from Amucha, is besieged with giant gulls. This has endangered the

existence of the Okwudor Secondary School along the Owerri-Orlu road. The

Nigerian environmental study action team revealed that 35,000sqkm

representing 38% of the total populations of the country are living under

desertification, which implies living in poverty. The rate of deforestation in

Nigeria is among the highest in the world. Many studies have indicated that if

forest resources continue to be depleted at the present rate, many nations like

Nigeria will have no remaining forests outside the protected area by the end

of the first decade in the 21st century.

Absolute poverty coincides with area of deforestation in Nigeria, which

triggers other environmental problems, such as soil erosion as in Amucha,

Okwudor, Ezeagu, Umuahia and Agulu . Other problems are the reduction of

biological diversity, such as water loss, species extinction, reduced capacity to

breed improved crop varieties, changes in buffering of water flows, increased

sedimentation of rivers and possible changes in rainfall characteristic and

changes in global temperature.

2. Declining Fish Stocks

The poor are disproportionately affected by the decline in world fish stock,

which provides them with 40 percent of their dietary protein. From 1950 to1990, the fish catch increased fivefold supported by industrialized countries

that subsidized fishing companies and encouraged them to over fish new seas

off the coasts of developing countries. In Calabar, Oron and part of Rivers

State, they have realized the damage done and agreed on remedial measures

under a 1995 United Nations brokered fisheries agreement, but the loss will

take years to overcome.


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3. Pollution and Hazardous Wastes

The damage to the environment and population from pollutions and the

dumping of hazardous wastes is already evident. We are aware of the damage

the toxic waste did to the Koko community in Delta State. The pollutant

poisoned the air, water and the food chain. It also depleted the food supply

and destroyed the health of these impoverished people. In Kaduna, the Rido

River has been polluted with petroleum waste discharge from the Kaduna Oil

Refinery. Industrialists have turned Kano citys major source of drinking

water, River Chalawa, into an effluent dump. The oil spill in Warri, Western

Division near Facades Estuary River has caused damage in Odido, Opukushi

and the Alsere community to a greater extent.

4. Global Warming

The unsustainable production and consumption pattern, in addition to

depleting natural resources and increasing environmental pollution, also

creates other problems, such as global warming and the depletion of the

earths ozone layer, which jeopardize the ecological balance of the planet.

The environmental consequences of this situation reinforce social inequality,

poverty, and the water so that low- lying lands eat others such as the rise in

sea levels up. The Atlantic Oceans effect on the Lagos Bar Beach is a typical

example of this state of affairs. The lifes and property within the shore of

Lagos Bar Beach are in danger, which before the year 2,005 if not checked acatastrophe may occur in Lagos.

5. Unsustainable Losses

In the long term, however, environmental losses are reflected in balance

sheets. Those of developing and developed countries alike feel the economic

impact of environmental degradation when their agricultural yields decline,

their fish catches fall and the cost begins to mount for cleaning up their


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wastes, providing health -care and alleviating hunger. Everywhere this falling

productivity reduces living standards, creating more poverty.

6.0 NATURAL RESOURCES AND SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability is the process suggested to improve the quality of human life

within the limitations of the global environment. It involves solutions for

improving human welfare that does not result in degrading the environment or

impinging on the well-being of other people. Although there is no general

agreement about the precise meaning of sustainability, there seems to be a

general consensus that three basic concepts are involved in sustainable

measures: living within certain limits of the earths capacity to maintain life;

understanding the interconnections among economy, society, and

environment; and maintaining a fair distribution of resources and

opportunity for this generation and the next.

Becker (2002) also suggests that the term sustainability is another side of

the coin of competitiveness, and provides some form of organization.

Sustainability is the acknowledgment of the various environmental and

cultural diversities which could be transformed into advantages at different

geographical scales. Here, sustainability is seen as the optimisation of natural

alternatives that each local, region or nation has (through their individual

cultural and environmental differences) in the process of development.

6.1 Resource Use and Sustainability

Resources are the backbone of every economy and provide two basic

functions - raw materials for production of goods and services, and

environmental services. A common classification of natural resources is as

follows (de Zeeuw, 2000, in EC-DG Environment, 2002):

Non renewable and non recyclable resources such as fossil fuels

Non renewable but recyclable resources, such as minerals


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Quickly renewable resources such as fish

Slowly renewable resources such as forests

Environmental resources, such as air, water and soil

Flow resources, such as solar and wind energy

The issue of depletion plays an important role in the use of non

renewable and renewable natural resources. In the renewable resources

depletion occurs when extraction exceeds renewal rate. Environmental

services include the sink function which assimilates and recycles waste

products from production and consumption. Flow and environmental

resources are not depleted and always exist. However, environmental

resources can be degraded by pollution, and rendered useless.

6.2 Resource Use and Environmental Concerns

Throughout history, resources have been found in abundance, depleted and

substituted with others, often with new technology and development

strategies. As societies became more complex with trading systems, naturalresource surpluses were converted into financial and infrastructural wealth.

Ruttan (1993) summarises that there were three waves of concern about

resources and the environment. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, was the

initial concern of quantitative relationships between resource availability and

economic development which resulted in technical progress to increase rates

of production.

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, was the awareness that scarce natural

resources led to limits in growth as well as the concern about the capacity of

the environment to recycle pollution derived from growth. This led to a

serious conflict of interests in the demand for environmental services. On one

hand was the concern about the capacity of the ecosystem to process the

pollution created by commodity production and consumption, and the other


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was the increase in consumer demand for environmental amenities as a result

of rapid growth in per capita income.

Ecologists view natural systems as assets that serve as reservoirs of

energy and materials and have been concerned about the resilience of these

systems to recover following stress or intervention. Economists concentrate

on the market and see that environmental quality has not been included in

market transactions and thus been undervalued and underprovided. Their

solution is basically to seek better methods of evaluation for environmental

amenities (Howarth and Nogaard 1992, in Erekson, 1999).

In 1972, the Club of Rome published a report called Limits to Growth,

which drew worldwide attention to the limits of resources and an inevitable

collapse of all life on earth if the current rate of resource depletion was not

changed. This led to Ruttans third wave of concern of the mid-1980s which

was about the implications of serious global environmental changes on

environmental quality, food production, and human health for this and the

next generations. The Club of Romes report was however disputed for a

number of reasons. One was that the current reserves of resources were

found to be much larger than was estimated, mostly due to advances in

technology which improved and increased access to these resources.

Secondly the use of resources did not grow as much as was predicted due to

increasing resource efficiency, development of substitutes and increased

levels of recycling.

6.3 Resource Use and the Future

The Bruntland Commissions definition of sustainability to not preventing

future generations from having the same sort of share of the resources and

opportunities- or intergenerational equity - has also led to disagreeing

opinions. Kennys (2004) simple summary of one school of thought is to

question exactly how one would reconcile the issue of intergenerational


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equity when exploiting non renewable resources, for example. In his opinion,

although it is currently not known when energy resources will become

uneconomic for exploitation; it is only common sense that at any fraction of

use of the resources, only a small percentage of the original amount will

be available for future generations - contradicting the whole concept of

equity.

The other side of the argument of resource availability and economic

scarcity is recapitulated by Tilton (2001) in his example of the decline of the

supply of whale oil as many species of whales were hunted almost to

extinction, in the early 1960s. The development of low-cost petroleum

products and electricity, replaced the needs for whale oil, and therefore

prevented this physical decline from producing economic scarcity.

Examining the period between 1870 and 1957, Barnett and Morse (1963) found

that both renewable and non-renewable resources (particularly non-

renewable mineral resources), became more and not less.

As a result of new technologies which lowered the costs of finding new

resources, allowed the exploitation of previously known but uneconomic

resources, led to substitution of less scarce resources for more scarce resources

and reduced the amount of resources needed to produce final goods and

services. This on-going argument is a result of the different hypotheses that

each side uses (Tilton 1996, in Tilton, 2001).

Although conceding with the advantages of technological advances,

the environmentalists believe that falling production costs, and rising

environmental costs associated with resource depletion have not been

included. Tilton (1991) suggests that there is currently a hybrid of both schools

of thought which agrees with abandoning the fixed stock paradigm and

rather focussing on the opportunity costs of finding and extracting mineralresources. According to Tilton, the opportunity cost paradigm says that with

increasing prices, demand continues to fall such that at zero, production will


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stop with some level of the non-renewable resources remaining (e.g.

minerals). Economic depletion therefore occurs before physical depletion

becomes an issue.

In addition, higher prices strengthen the economic incentives to develop

new cost saving technology, to discover new deposits, to recycle obsolete

mineral commodities, and to find less-costly substitutes. Such self-correcting

mechanisms, they believe, make the economy much more resilient to the

threat of depletion than many suppose.

Even with increase in population, this may lead to more good minds to

create better technology. As Gregori (1987, p. 1243, 1247) points out, humans

are the active agent, having ideas that they use to transform the environment

for human purposes


21/2821

7.0 STRATEGIES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE PLANNING AND

PROTECTION

Poor environmental resource planning may lead to environmental problems.

According to UNCHS (1989), an environmental problem is taken to mean

either an inadequate supply of a resource essential to human health or

wellbeing or urban production or the presence of pathogens or toxic

substances in the human environment which can damage human health or

physical resources. To avoid this environmental problem, part of the solution

is adequate environmental planning, which would lead to sustainable

environment and development. Sustainable environment may connote the use

of environmental resources without undue adverse effects on the

environment.

According to Arunsi (1998) every environmental planning and

development problem starts with man and his ability to think up, possible

strategies for environmental resource planning. These include:

1. Legislation on the control of hazards from exploration and exploitation ofenvironmental resources and. their implementation

2. Land use demarcation/planning/control3. Zoning4. Public participation in poly formulation Environmental education and

en1igitenment

5. Cost-benefit analysis of any action1. Legislation on the Control of Hazards from Exploration and Exploitation

of Environmental Resources and Their Implementation.

As a matter of fact there is need for putting in place effective legislation. There

have been some legislations especially in the oil industry in Nigeria. These

include the Oil pipeline Act (1958); Petroleum Regulations (1967), Oil in

Navigation Waters Act No. 34 (1968); the International Convention for the

prevention of pollution of the sea by oil (1954), the Petroleum Act of 1969. The


22/2822

problem or weakness of this planning motive is lack of or ineffective

implementation. According to Anne Ene-Ita (1984) Looking at the state of

affairs, it appears as if little or no cognizance is taken of these existing laws

since there is no mechanism to enforce them by the government.

However, despite this initial missing link, more legislation has been put

in place since then not only for the oil industry, but also for other solid

mineral resources. As solid minerals, the first major statutory provision for

controlling the pollution of land, air and water, in Nigeria was the minerals

Act of 1946. There was also the Minerals (Safety) Regulations of 1963 and their

updates. The gap is practical prosecution of defaulters. Part of the control on

the exploitation/exploration is for explorers/exploiters to observe mining

regulations so as to generate the lowest level of pollution. There is the need to

enhance the monitoring of oil spill programmes to ensure the fuller

enforcement of the various petroleum decrees and regulations.

Other policies worthy of monitoring and re-invigoration include:

The policies of Ministry of Environment

The Natural Resources Conservation Council set up via Decree 50 of 1989.

The National Policy on the Environment

The National Environmental Impact Assessment Policy of 1992.

There is the need to implement the Town Planning Law of 1992 to the

fullest which made for the creation of planning commission at the federal

level, planning boards at the state level and planning authorities at the local

government levels. It seems that there would not be a better environment

without a vibrant planning system (Agwu, 2000).


23/2823

2. Land Use Planning/Control

There is the need for adequate land use demarcation, planning and control.

Areas noted for the production of certain natural resources such as crude oil

and solid minerals should be appropriately demarcated and regarded as

fragile zones. In this respect people who wish to dwell there would regard

themselves as endangered species. Moreover, fuller attention would be given

to these environmental resources (solid minerals and oil) areas for their fuller

monitoring or exploration/exploitation to enhance environmental quality.

3. Zoning

Mineral resources area should be zoned off from heavy settlement to avoid

the risk of environmental degradation from mineral exploration/exploitation

in such areas. In the case of crude oil, pipelines should be zoned off from

water bodies and residential areas as much as possible to guard against the

catastrophic consequences of oil spills and their deleterious effects. In the case

of the Niger Delta where there are lots of swampy areas a different approach

could be adopted.

4. Public Participation in Policy Formulation

As much as possible the people in mineral and fossil fuel producing areas

should be involved in policies affecting them to ensure fuller compliance

when the policies are finally adopted. The federal constitution of Nigeria

states that exploitation of human or natural resources in any form

whatsoever for reasons other than the good of the community shall be

prevented.

People have risen from riverine areas of Nigeria to oppose the exploitation

of sub-surface resources. The involvement of the affected citizens in policies of

mineral exploration or exploitation would make them bear the pain in the

event of environmental degradation from associated activities. They would

equally help in monitoring other exploration/exploitation projects to conform


24/2824

with legally stipulated standards. They would not equally involve themselves

in tampering with oil pipelines or installations.

5. Environmental Education and Enlightenment Environmental Resources

Conservation and Preservation

The public needs to be extensively educated on how to preserve

environmental resources. For example, forest resources should not be unduly

exploited. People should be educated on the dangers of tampering with oil

pipes and on the hazards of exposing oneself to industrial hazards and on

how to adapt in cases of oil spillage, mine explosions, exposure to gas flaring

fumes, acid rains etc. Environmental education and public participation giveincreasing awareness of environmental, precautions as far as environmental

resources are concerned.

6. Cost-Benefit Analysis of Any Action

Programmes should be considered in terms of costs and benefits. In terms of

environmental resources, the cost should be in terms of number of deaths of

plants, animals and man arising from land, air and water pollution, oil

spillage, land excavation for mining, deforestation etc. These are not normally

easy to quantify. For instance, what is the cost of the loss of one human being

arising from environmental disaster of harnessing or enjoying an

environmental resource? The benefits from environmental resource

exploration/exploitation are normally in terms of revenue, foreign exchange

employment etc. But can the benefits match the costs?

There should be a standard measures for weighting the costs and

benefits of environmental resources exploitation in any exploitation of

environmental resource in which the costs outweigh the benefits, given

standard weighting, the exploitation should be stopped.


25/2825

7. Alternative Energy Sources

Finally, adequate planning policies and programmes to prevent pollution

should be made for the use of energy sources. In this case the use of oil, gas,

coal, etc with pollution tendencies should be replaced with renewable energy

sources of solar energy, wind/hydropower etc. This should be the first

strategy towards environmental resource planning.

8.0 CONCLUSION

Environmental resources planning is not an easy task. Environmental

resources which man enjoys have costs in terms of pollution of all kinds such

as deaths, land degradation etc and benefits in terms of revenue, foreign

exchange, etc. We should look at the two faces and evolve programmes for

environmental preservation while fully enjoying our environmental resources.

This could be achieved through appropriate planning programmes. Planners

have an uphill task in this direction so as to realize this call for sustainable

environment.

The land use policies in Nigeria have been largely ineffective in

controlling land use and the environment at large. This is due to the outdated

nature of some of these policies, non-implementation, and other factors as

seen above. These policies need to be reviewed in line with the current

situation after extensive and intensive studies. Also, the implementingagencies need to be empowered by way of adequate quality trained staff and

improved and adequate funding. This will greatly improve environmental

control through land use policies.


26/2826

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