Environmental Sustainability in Nigeria: The “Awareness” Imperative

Abstract

The practice of treating the environment with disdain has gradually become unfashionable. Yet in many developing nations, Nigeria among them, environmental education and awareness campaigns remain something regarded as unnecessary. According to Berry (1993: 158): The term “sustainable development” has become a shibboleth of governments and industries, to present a respectful image to a society that is becoming even more strident in its concern for the environment. It is a concept that was projected onto the world by the Stockholm Conference of 1972, and has been carried ever since by the United Nations Environment Programs (UNEP), the World Conservation Union (IUCN), and the World Wildlife Fund for nature (WWF) in their world conservation strategy. It has the ring of truth and worldwide acceptance, but it is poorly understood by those who use it.