POPULATION GROWTH, RESOURCE(S) CONSUMPTION AND

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN NIGERIA

(AN EVALUATION)

Introduction
As the population grows, it is only the resources available that will be used in serving the
population. The world is in the midst of an unprecedented expansion of human numbers.
It took hundreds of thousands of years for our species to reach a population level of 10
million, only 10,000 years ago. This number grew to 100 million people about 2,000
years ago and to 2.5 billion by 1950. Within less than the span of a single lifetime, it has
more than doubled to 5.5 billion in 1993. By 2025 the world’s population is projected to
total about 8.3 billion people with the bulk of growth occurring in developing countries.
As a matter of fact, this write-up tries to narrow down the effects of this population
growth both on the resources and the environment in the Nigerian context.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the tenth in the world. These include
the major demographic features as obtained from two major sources, viz.: the 1991
census and the PRB's World Population Data Sheet. According to the final figures of the
1991 census, the population of Nigeria, at the time, was 88.92 million. Projection of the
population, using a 3.0 per cent growth rate, shows that the population of Nigeria could
be about 106 million in 1999. The Population Reference Bureaus estimated total
population of the country in 1999 has about 113.8 million.

Obviously, the population of Nigeria is large, which makes it a "giant" relative to the
other African countries. The large population implies a large market for goods and
services as well as a large pool of human resources for development. However, the
impact of population on development depends not only on the absolute size but also on
the quality of its environment. This means that, the amount of population available
determines the amount of resources to be consumed.

This accelerated population growth in Nigeria is believed to have resulted from rapidly
lowered death rates (particularly infant and child mortality rates), combined with
sustained high birth rates, and migration as well.

Recently, many regions of the world have entered into a demographic transition of
making a shift from high to low death and birth rates in other to give a halt to population
growth in which Nigeria has also embarked on through the family planning programme.
Therefore the rate at which this demographic transition progresses worldwide will
determine the ultimate level of the human population.

POPULATION AND RESOURCE CONSUMPTION PATTERNS

An increasing population implies increased consumption of natural resources. The
countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD) in
which Nigeria is among place a huge demand on the world’s resources and are
responsible for a large share of the world’s pollution burden. For example, the United
States consume 45 to 55 barrels of oil per capita per year, whereas Nigeria consumes 9
barrels of oil per capita per year and so on. On a per capita basis, the share of
consumption of the largest OECD economies is often several times the world average.
(shaw, 1992.)

The growth of population over the last half century was for a time matched by similar
world-wide increases in utilizable resources. However, in the last decade, food
production in Nigeria from both land and sea has declined, relative to population growth.
The area of agricultural land has shrunk, both through soil erosion and reduced
possibilities of irrigation. The availability of water is already a constraint in some
localities. These are warnings that the earth is finite, and that natural systems are being
pushed ever closer to their limits through our resource consumption.

Also, scientific and technological innovations, such as in agriculture, have been able to
overcome many pessimistic predictions about resource constraints affecting human
welfare. Nevertheless, the present patterns of human activity accentuated by population
growth should make even those most optimistic about future scientific progress pause and
reconsider the wisdom of ignoring these threats to our planet. Unrestrained resource
consumption for energy production and other uses, especially in Nigeria where we strive
to achieve living standards based on the same levels of consumption as the developed
world, could lead to catastrophic outcomes to the country’s environment.

Nigeria’s natural environmental resources and the quality of its air,

water, and soils are severely threatened. Increasing poverty, high
population growth and migration, especially into urban areas, and
political/institutional constraints are the underlying causes for
environmental degradation in the country.

In talking about resource consumption patterns, we have Nonrenewable and Renewable

Natural Resources.
In Nonrenewable Natural Resources- Higher incomes and living standards lead to
increased consumption of nonrenewable resources like water supplies, forests and animal
species per capita and thus exerts more pressure on the environment.
Renewable Natural Resources- population growth has also affected the availability of
renewable natural resources.

Furthermore, a country’s impact on the environment is not just a function of its

population size, but also of how much its citizens consume the resources needed to fuel
that consumption. These Irreplaceable resources including water supplies, forests, animal
species, clean air and land are being consumed at unprecedented rates.

* Disparities in consumption. According to the United Nations, the richest fifth of

humanity—the 20% of the world’s people living in the highest income countries
—consume 86% of all goods and services, while the poorest fifth consume 1.3%
of goods and services. World consumption expanded at an unprecedented rate in
the 20th century, yet 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation, 1.3 billion have no
 access to clean water, 1.1 billion lack adequate housing and nearly 900 million
have no access to modern health services of any kind.

* Production techniques and the world’s resource base. The burning of fossil
fuels has almost quintupled since 1950 mostly by the developed countries. But
here in Nigeria consumption of fresh water has doubled since 1990s, and wood
consumption (for household and industry use) is 40% higher than 25 years ago—
shrinking the country’s forests. A sixth of the world’s land area is now degraded
as a result of overgrazing and poor farming practices.

* Fish shortages. One-quarter of all fish stocks are listed as “depleted” or in danger
of being depleted; another 44% are being fished “at the biological limit.” This is
driven by excessive demands in the nation, not by food needs, and it strains the
primary protein source for most people in the rural communities of the country.

* Deforestation in the country. The developing countries like Nigeria are hit hardest
by deforestation—over the last 20 years, Latin America and the Caribbean lost 7
million hectares of tropical forest and Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have lost 4
million hectares each. This is in part to fuel the demand for wood and paper,
which has doubled and quintupled respectively since 1950. However, over half
the wood and nearly three-quarters of the paper is used in industrial countries.
(United Nations Development Programme, 1998)

* Obesity and malnutrition. There are now 1.2 billion obese people in the world
matching the total number of people in hunger. One in five American children is
considered overweight and 55% of American adults are overweight by
international standards. Also about 30% of African children are malnourished.
Obesity and malnutrition often co-exist in developed and developing countries,
highlighting the different consumption patterns within a country’s population.
(World-watch, 1999)

Therefore, population growth as have seen poses a considerable threat to the environment
through its different consumption patterns both by the developed and developing
countries.

MAJOR RESOURCES OF NIGERIA

Water Resources
Water is a resource that is needed by all humans and most other forms of life. Water is so
crucial to humans that it often influences human settlement patterns. Nigeria is a country
that receives a relatively high level of annual precipitation. Large seasonal variation in
rainfall exists, as well as large regional variation in rainfall and as such, rainfall is not
distributed evenly. Because of these variations in time and space, people in different parts
of Nigeria use water in different ways. For example, in the drier northern parts of Nigeria
where rainfall is lower and less evenly distributed throughout the year, efforts have been
made to develop irrigation. Irrigation development has involved many different kinds of
dams, from large electricity-producing dams to smaller dams used mainly for field
irrigation. In a relatively well-watered country like Nigeria, one would think that
acquiring water would not be a problem but in the long run we see that the vast majority
of people use water mainly for day-to-day household activities like cooking, drinking,
and washing. In as much as Human wastes and pollution have made many water supplies
unsafe for many people, access to safe water has become a difficult task for the rural
dwellers. The maybe an option of wells but there’s no guarantee that the water drawn
from these wells is safe for drinking.

Besides immediate household use, water is also important resource for transportation and
electricity generation. With respect to this, Nigeria produces approximately one-half of
all its electricity through hydro-dams. The Kainji Dam in west-central Nigeria is the
source of most of this hydroelectricity. While this is an impressive relative figure,
Nigerian electricity consumption is low by international standards. Thus, many Nigerians
are still without electricity or do not rely heavily on electricity for their energy needs. In
terms of transportation also, Nigeria’s rivers play an important role in the country’s
transportation system. Because Nigeria is a relatively well-watered country, it has an
abundance of rivers. It should be noted, however, that the flow of rivers fluctuates
seasonally, depending on both regional rainfall regime and human uses of river water
(e.g. irrigation, dams), and it is this reality that hinders the use of the Niger as an all-
season West African transportation artery.

Mineral Resources
Minerals have been some of Nigeria’s most important resources in the last several
decades. Mineral extraction in Nigeria is highly localized and employs relatively few
people and as a matter of fact, mineral resources fluctuate a great deal over time. For
example, in the British colonial era, tin ore was an important resource extracted from
north-central Nigeria. At the peak of tin mining in the 1940s and 1950s, the industry
directly employed as many as 75,000 workers. After this peak, however, both tin
production and employment levels began to decline precipitously. Part of the reason for
this decline was the exhaustion of the tin reserves. The more important reason was that
tin production in other parts of the world was far cheaper and more economical. Not long
after the decline of tin, however, Nigeria discovered vast quantities of petroleum
reserves. These discoveries were to have major impacts on Nigeria’s national
development, both positive and negative.

Nigeria has substantial petroleum and natural gas reserves. The country is also a member
of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and typically among the
oil exporters in the world. While it is important to know that Nigeria is a large oil
producer, it is also critical to know where these resources are located. As with most
geographic phenomena, oil is not located evenly throughout Nigeria. Instead, it is
concentrated along the Nigerian coast, particularly around the delta of the Niger River
and in the southeast corner of the country. The highly concentrated location of oil
resources has been of critical importance throughout the history of independent Nigeria.
Since the 1970s, oil revenues have been central to the functioning of the Nigerian
government. In fact, since the intensification of oil production began in the 1970s, oil
revenues have provided roughly 80 percent of the federal state’s total revenues. Thus, the
revenues from a small region of the country ostensibly benefit those throughout the
country. While this assessment is highly simplified because of corruption and regional
politics, it is certainly true that not all of the benefits from Nigeria’s oil flow back to the
people living in this region. Because of this situation, the oil-producing region has been
the site of continued political and economic conflicts. An example of this is the conflict
intensified in the 1990s with the internationally known political-environmental
movement led by Ken SaroWiwa and the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
(MOSOP).

Forest Resources
In a country like the United States, trees are primarily processed into lumber and paper
products. Few people rely on wood as a major source of energy. But in many parts of the
developing world, however, wood is a primary source of household energy. In much of
sub-Saharan Africa, fuel-wood is the dominant source of energy for cooking and other
activities. Nigeria is typical of this pattern. While fuel-wood use is most common in rural
areas, many urban households also rely upon wood for their daily needs.

In urban areas, most people who use fuel-wood buy small bundles of wood or charcoal
(which is produced from wood), from urban merchants. Thus, when women and others
conduct household shopping, an important item on their list is often fuel-wood. An
interesting dynamic of fuel-wood marketing is wood quality. Not all wood is of the same
quality. One of the most important criteria of wood quality is moisture content. If
shoppers buy wood that is too wet or dry, they have wood that either burns too fast or too
slow. In rural areas, people often gather their own fuel-wood. In fact, many rural people
earn small amounts of income by gathering fuel-wood for the cities. Depending on the
state of local vegetation, fuel-wood gatherers may have to travel extensive distances to
collect their fuel-wood. One reason for this is that many tree species like oil palms, and
cocoa trees are not used for fuel-wood. Thus, fuel-wood collectors must gain access to
particular trees in particular places. Further, fuel-wood collection is a seasonal activity.
For small-scale wood collectors, the dry season is a time of intensified fuel-wood
collection. This is because there is typically less farm work to do in the dry season and
wood is lighter and easier to carry. This is important because most fuel-wood collectors
are limited in their collection by the amount that they can carry as a headload. Because of
the seasonality of fuel-wood collection in the northern half of the country, fuel-wood
prices fluctuate seasonally as well. In general, fuel-wood is more expensive during the
rainy season.

One important determinant of fuel-wood use over the last several decades is population
growth. To the extent that people do not acquire their energy needs from non-wood
sources, greater population growth leads to greater cutting of trees for fuel-wood. In
Nigeria, there are indications that people are quite capable of managing their tree
resources without outside, bureaucratic intervention. As this account indicates, the
extensive cutting down of trees which has resulted to the elimination of shrubs has altered
our local ecosystems dramatically.

Soils

It is often easy to overlook soil as a resource. This is particularly true for Americans, the
overwhelming majority of whom do not directly depend on soil for their immediate
livelihoods. In Nigeria, however, thirty to forty times the number of people are directly
engaged with the soil through agriculture. In countries with low soil fertility, chemical
fertilizers are used extensively. But In the absence of chemical or organic fertilizers,
Nigerian agriculture has relied on different fallow systems to maintain its soil fertility.

These fallow systems can often be disrupted by population change or changes in land
tenure. However, the key point to note here is that external social and economic
constraints often limit the ways in which people use resources like soil. In other words,
individual farmers do not have full control over the way in which they use their land. If a
farmer is faced with the choice of immediate personal survival or the long-term health of
the soil, personal survival is the obvious winner. In other cases, however, individuals may
shift their agricultural production to other crops.

As agricultural resources become scarcer relative to population, high-yielding crops that

can be grown on average to poor soils will become more important. Cassava is such a
crop. Soil can also be said to be an important building material in Nigeria. In the majority
of the country, the walls of houses and other buildings are constructed out of mud and
since soil is readily available, it serves as a relatively cheap and environmentally friendly
building material.

As these major resources of Nigeria have been shown, resource use and consumption is
subject to many different influences which hinder the sustainability of our environment.

POPULATION GROWTH, RESOURCE CONSUMPTION AND

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN NIGERIA

Throughout history and especially during the twentieth century, environmental

degradation has primarily been a product of our efforts to secure improved standards of
food, clothing, shelter, comfort, and recreation for growing numbers of people. The
magnitude of the threat to the ecosystem is linked to human population size and resource
use per person. Resource use, waste production and environmental degradation are
accelerated by population growth. They are further exacerbated by consumption habits,
certain technological developments, and particular patterns of social organization and
resource management.

As a result, when the human numbers of Nigerian citizens further increase, the potential
for irreversible changes of far reaching magnitude also increases. Indicators of severe
environmental stress include the growing loss of biodiversity, increasing greenhouse gas
emissions, increasing deforestation in the country, stratospheric ozone depletion, acid
rain, loss of topsoil, and shortages of water, food, and fuel-wood in Nigeria and in many
parts of the world.

Nigeria with rapid population growth faces the urgent need to improve living standards.
And as we humans exploit nature to meet present needs, are we destroying resources
needed for the future?

While both developed and developing countries have contributed to global environmental
problems, developed countries with 85 percent of the gross world product and 23 percent
of its population account for the largest part of mineral and fossil-fuel consumption,
resulting in significant environmental impacts. With current technologies, present levels
of consumption by the developed world are likely to lead to serious negative
consequences for all countries. This is especially apparent with the increases in
atmospheric carbon dioxide and trace gases that have accompanied industrialization,
which have the potential for changing global climate and raising sea level.

In both rich and poor countries alike, local environmental problems arise from direct
pollution from energy use and other industrial activities, inappropriate agricultural
practices, population concentration, inadequate environmental management, and
inattention to environmental goals. When current economic production has been the
overriding priority and inadequate attention has been given to environmental protection,
local environmental damage has led to serious negative impacts on health and major
impediments to future economic growth. Restoring the environment, even where still
possible, is far more expensive and time consuming than managing it wisely in the first
place; even rich countries have difficulty in affording extensive environmental
remediation efforts.

Therefore, the relationships between human population, resource consumption, and

sustainability of our natural local (Nigeria) environment are complex. Examinations of
local and regional case studies reveal the influence and interaction of many variables. For
example, environmental and economic impacts vary with population composition and
distribution, and with rural-urban and international migrations. Furthermore, poverty and
lack of economic opportunities stimulate faster population growth and increase incentives
for environmental degradation by encouraging exploitation of marginal resources.

Nigeria faces a great dilemma in reorienting their productive activities in the direction of
a more harmonious interaction with nature. This challenge is accentuated by the uneven
stages of development. If all people of Nigeria consumes fossil fuels and other natural
resources at the rate now characteristic of developed countries (and with current
technologies), this would greatly intensify our already unsustainable demands on the
biosphere. Yet development is a legitimate expectation of less developed and transitional
countries like Nigeria.

As a matter of fact, population growth need not necessarily lead to increased pressure on
the environment only, the impact could also be positive. Boserup(1965) asserts that as
population grows, land and other natural resources become scarcer relative to labour and
access to markets improves. Thus population growth may encourage farmers to intensify
agriculture by adopting technological change and may even be the main stimulus for
increased productivity.

This positive influence that population growth may have on agricultural productivity is
caused by shorter fallow periods and increased farming intensity (Nigeria as an example
of country that practices fallow system). Although this reduces soil productivity, farmers
may react by introducing technological change that can counteract declines in soil
productivity. The relative speed at which technology evolves compared with the rate of
decline in soil productivity and the increase in population growth determines the rate of
change in agricultural productivity.

Furthermore, from the Environmentalists point of view, rapid population growth in

developing countries and high levels of resource consumption in developed countries are
considered to be important causes of different environmental damage.
The following are significant environmental issues that have been linked to population
growth and resource consumption in Nigeria.

Pollution;
Population size, growth, and patterns of resource use can have an impact on the levels of
all types of pollution, including air, water, and solid pollution.

Tropical Forests;
Population growth, and particularly migration in Nigeria, is clearly associated with the
destruction of tropical forests. In addition to depleting a natural resource, deforestation is
linked to loss of biodiversity, land degradation, and emission of greenhouse gases (where
forests are burned). The migration of farmers in search of cultivable land, domestic and
commercial export demands for tropical timber, the overcutting of wood fuel, and the
indirect effects of clearing activities are all causes of deforestation.

Ozone Depletion;
The most important causes of ozone depletion are consumption patterns and industry, not
population growth. Slowing population growth is therefore unlikely to have much effect
on the problem, but reducing or halting the industrial production of halocarbons.

Overfishing;
Due to an excessive demands for fish, the fishermen go into total overexploitation of the
fish ponds and the oceans thereby causing a total collapse of the all the fish.

Ineffective Waste Disposal;

In most urban and rural environments, waste disposal has become ineffective because the
amount of waste that is produced is far higher than those disposing them. As a result,
these waste products become congested and causes nuisance to the environment.
Erosion;
Desertification and soil erosion have been very catastrophic in most states of Nigeria bred
by our affluence activities on the soil.

Overpopulation and Warfare;

Population growth has always bred conflict over scarce resources and crowding, leading
to increased levels of warfare. And these warfare leads to the destruction of the
environment through the explosion of some dangerous bombs in the environment. For
example, the recent bomb explosions in different states of Nigeria. Population and
warfare are dynamical variables, and if their interaction causes sustained oscillations,
then we do not in general expect to find strong correlation between the two variables
measured at the same time. Korotayev and Turchin (2006) have explored mathematically
what the dynamical patterns of interaction between population and warfare (focusing on
internal warfare) might be in both stateless and state societies. Next, they have tested the
model predictions and their empirical results have supported the population-warfare
theory. Korotayev and Turchin have found that there is a tendency for population
numbers and internal warfare intensity to oscillate with the same period but shifted in
phase (with warfare peaks following population peaks). Furthermore, they have
demonstrated that in the agrarian societies the rates of change of the two variables behave
precisely as predicted by the theory: population rate of change is negatively affected by
warfare intensity, while warfare rate of change is positively affected by population
density.

Global Warming;
Generally, most scientists now agree that a substantial proportion of the observed long-
term rise in “greenhouse gases” is due to human development, and that this rising
concentration will increase the world atmospheric temperatures.

All of these are the results of human activities to our environment.

This evidence illustrates that we have not responsibly managed, neither through
governance nor technology, our environmental resources. In the absence of finding a
sustainable relationship with our ecosystem, we might conclude that we have reached
Earth's carrying capacity. This resource question often raises the contentious arguments
first made famous by Malthus in the 19th century. His proposition that "the power of
population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for
man," is the central theme of the debate. Obvious problems with this logic are
conclusions justifying programs of population control, coercive reproductive health
policies, eugenics, or that hunger deaths are economically and ecologically rational. Still,
some view population stabilization as a necessary precondition for environmental
sustainability and should be achieved without taking such excesses. Today, population
policies include alleviating poverty, reducing child mortality, providing access to family
planning, and encouraging female education.
 SUSTAINABILITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AS EVERYONE’S
RESPONSIBILITY

Humanity is approaching a crisis point with respect to the interlocking issues of

population growth, resource consumption and environment. Scientists today have the
opportunity and responsibility to mount a concerted effort to confront our different
human predicament. But science and technology can only provide tools and blueprints for
action and social change. Therefore, since our common goal is to improve the quality of
life for all people, those living today and the succeeding generations, ensuring their
social, economic, and personal well-being with guarantees of fundamental human rights;
and allowing them to live harmoniously with a protected environment, the onus lies on
each and everyone one of us to be a part of this environmental sustainability.

It is now time for Nigerian governments to incorporate environmental goals at the outset
in legislation, economic planning, and priority setting; and to provide appropriate
incentives for public and private institutions, communities, and individuals to operate in
environmentally benign ways. Tradeoffs between environmental and economic goals can
be reduced through wise policies. For dealing with global environmental problems, all
countries of the world need to work collectively through treaties and conventions, as has
occurred with such issues as global climate change and biodiversity, and to develop
innovative financing mechanisms that facilitate environmental protection.

Environmentalists and economists have also increasingly agreed that efforts to protect the
environment and to achieve better living standards can be closely linked and are mutually
reinforcing. Slowing the increase in population, especially in the face of rising per capita
demand for natural resources, can take pressure off the environment and buy time to
improve living standards on a sustainable basis.

In Nigeria, if population growth slows down, the government can then be able to invest
more in education, health care, job creation, and other improvements that will help boost
living standards in the country. In turn, as individual income, savings, and investment
rise, more resources become available that can boost productivity.

Finally, it is not prudent to rely on science and technology alone to solve problems
created by rapid population growth, wasteful resource consumption, and poverty in
Nigeria.

The natural and social sciences are nevertheless crucial for developing new
understanding so that governments and other institutions can act more effectively, and for
developing new options for limiting population growth, protecting the natural
environment, and improving the quality of human life. Therefore, policies that will guide
every aspect of environmental sustainability should be made.
 RECOMMENDATIONS

Rational use of natural resources is the only means to maintain and improve human
conditions. However, in the use of natural resources, one needs to appreciate the impact
of one’s action on the resources and the society. Concern over the environmental aspects
of natural resources use and management emanates from an unprecedented rate of
population growth, rising income and per capital demand. These have, in recent years,
been magnified by scientific and technological advances, which create new demands.

In mitigating these effects of population growth on our environment and natural

resources, policies should address population growth itself. Therefore a number of
elements should constitute the essential elements of such a policy, and they include;
1. Improving literacy rates in the country, especially for women.
2. Empowering women as managers in environmental matters and family planning
decisions.
3. Having better knowledge for decision-making and collecting data on those aspects
of demographic trends
4. Encouraging involvement at the grassroots level and by nongovernmental
organization with respect to agricultural and rural development, forest
preservation, maintenance of freshwater systems, health and nutrition and safe
motherhood.
5. Reviewing family planning efforts in the context of macroeconomic and sectoral
policies, particularly education and health. These types of basic investements are
needed so that an enabling environment exists for women to become
economically active.
6. Government should consider granting incentives and assistance to agriculture
related sub-sectors. Such measures will induce recipients to undertake necessary
actions to prevent or correct environmental degradation caused by their activities.
7. Improving the networks, treaties, and conventions that protect the global
commons.
8. Improving the conditions for human development and eliminating the
impediments that result from economic inefficiencies, social inequalities, and
ethnic, class, or gender biases.
9. Improving the technologies and strategies for sustainable development
(agriculture, energy, resource use, pollution control, materials recycling,
environmental management and protection).
10. The formulation of agricultural development plans and policies, which will take
into cognizance the peculiarities of Nigeria farmers and environment so that all
participants can make appropriate and commensurate contributions in maintaining
environmental quality.
11. Since local diversities exist in soil and climate, the availability of land use
capabilities maps should serve as a basis for zoning and land use legislation.
Measures will thus be instituted to prevent misuse of cropland, misuse of
agricultural inputs and careless disposal of agricultural wastes.
12. Providing strengthened world-wide exchanges of scientists in education, training,
and research.
 CONCLUSION

It is time to admit that there are no monolithic solutions to the problems we face.
Even if a good official policy existed in Nigeria, translating that policy would be difficult
without a cadre of well-trained and committed personnel to monitor and evaluate family
planning needs or to design and implement effective supply programmes in all sectors.

Indeed, population control, the redirection of technology, the transition from open to
closed resource cycles, the equitable distribution of opportunity, the environment and the
ingredients of prosperity must all be accomplished if there is to be a future worth having.
Failure in any of these areas will surely sabotage the entire enterprise.
There is an urgent need to address economic activities, population growth, and
environmental protection as interrelated issues in Nigeria.

Policies and policy implementations are urgently needed to promote more rapid
economic development throughout the states of the country.
Science and technology have an important role to play in developing countries in helping
them to manage their resources effectively and to participate fully in worldwide
initiatives for common benefit. Capabilities in science and technology must be
strengthened in these developing countries as a matter of urgency through joint initiatives
from the developed and developing worlds. But science and technology alone are not
enough.

Greater attention also needs to be given to understanding the nature and dimension of the
biodiversity. Although we depend directly on biodiversity for sustainable productivity,
we cannot even estimate the numbers of species of organisms; plants, animals, fungi, and
micro-organisms - to an order of magnitude. We do know, however, that the current rate
of reduction in biodiversity is unparalleled over the past 65 million years. The loss of
biodiversity is one of the fastest-moving aspects of change both in the country and
globally, and is irreversible, and has serious consequences for the human prospect in the
future.

Therefore, the future of Nigeria and the whole planet is in the balance. Sustainable
development can be achieved in Nigeria, but only if irreversible degradation of the
environment can be halted in time. The next 30 years may be crucial.