Environmental Degradation and Sustainable Economic Development in Nigeria: A Theoretical Approach

Abstract

There are many socio- economic and environmental challenges associated with living in our environment today. However, successive Nigerian administrations from the colonial era paid little attention to environmental issues. This paper examined the effects of environmental degradation and the risk or threat it poses to sustainable economic development in Nigeria. The paper adopted the theoretical approach in the evaluation of the effects of environmental degradation on Nigeria and its implication for sustainable economic development. The paper posited that a high number of cases of diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis, viral diseases etc. are consequences of environmental pollution which poses great challenge to sustainable economic development among others. Cases of floods, erosions and drastic drop in agricultural output as a result of environmental degradation were also identified. The paper therefore submitted that since our national development policy objective is to achieve rapid economic growth and improvement in individual welfare on a sustainable basis a range of enabling policies, economic instruments and incentives are required to propel this development process in the desired direction.