Environmental Governance in Nigeria: The Community Perspective

Abstract

This study examined the community involvement in environmental governance in Nigeria. The main objectives were to identify prevailing environmental problems in Nigeria and examine the community’s participation in its management.  To achieve this, a process approach was followed in which secondary data, sourced from text books, articles in journals and the internet were utilized. The study revealed that communities in Africa had little or no role to play in the governance of their environment. The study showed that government alone played this role which has been seen to be ineffective considering the extent of air pollution, oil spillage and deforestation in the urban and rural environments in the continent.  On the basis of this, the study therefore recommended among others things that, participatory approach to environmental governance including the government, the private sector; multinationals and the community were    required to effectively harness the environment. The study also recommends that policies should be strengthened while environmental education should be a basic requirement for communities.

Keywords: Environment, Governance, Community, Nigeria.