Page 515 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

484 Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

extractive sector faces its own challenges in relation to environmental pro-
tection, social concerns, and effective governance. In addition to addressing
the sectoral challenges of the economy, the government must also consider the
best ways to improve foreign and private sector investment, trade policies both
domestically and internationally, and the reliability of the country’s electricity
supply.
Rapid population growth and urbanization have put significant strain
on Nigeria’s natural resource base. The environmental issues within the
country can be broadly classified as land degradation and air and water
pollution. Urbanization and industrialization are deteriorating the air and water
quality.
Much of Nigeria’s arable land is being sapped insidiously of its productive
potential through overuse and inappropriate technologies. Rapid deforestation,
resulting from unsustainable use of forest resources for human survival (e.g., fuel
wood and energy, housing etc.) is a major contributing factor to land degra-
dation. The end result of deforestation and other agricultural activities,
including intensive grazing, over-plowing and over-cultivation, is severe land
degradation, usually referred to as desertification, particularly in the northern
part of the country.
NG Gov (2012).
It is not just agriculture that has exacerbated land degradation; indis-
criminate and sometimes illegal mining has significantly reduced productivity
of the land. Human activity has also been responsible for biodiversity loss.
Deforestation has destroyed 43% of the forest ecosystem within the country;
only about 2% of the original forest cover remains undisturbed. Destruction of
Nigeria’s unique ecosystems has led to an increase in the number of species
considered threatened or endangered, and these problems afflict the coastal
and marine ecosystems as well. The negative effects of natural disasters such
as droughts and floods have been exacerbated by environmental destruction
caused by humans as well as overall climate change. Waste management
presents a problem as well; only between 30% and 50% of waste is collected
and most urban areas still lack effective waste management systems (NG Gov,
2012; CIA, 2017b).
Given the magnitude of sustainability challenges faced by the country, the
Federal Government of Nigeria has partnered with the United Nations
Development Projects to put forth goals for sustainable development. The
country has been working to implement Vision 20:2020 since it was first
created in 2009, and the Vision still provides a framework for changes and
projects within Nigeria. The initial vision consisted of three pillars with
strategic objectives: