EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ON RURAL COMMUNITIES’ SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: NIGER DELTA COMMUNITIES IN FOCUS

Christopher Ehizefua Ekpu, Joseph Unufe

Abstract


The thrust of the paper is the determination of the effects of environmental degradation on rural communities’ sustainable development, with emphasis on rural communities in Niger Delta Region (NDR) of Nigeria.  Unarguably, the strategic importance of Niger Delta Region to Nigeria as nation cannot be over stated because of the considerable volume of oil deposits located there.  It is significant to the survival of the nation because it lays the golden egg that feeds and sustains the nation. A large proportion of government revenue is generated mainly from the region. Generally, oil is cardinal and central to sustainable development of a nation, socially, politically and economically.  However, despite the huge oil deposit in the NDR, many communities in the region are bedevilled with monumental environmental challenges. The authors relied on secondary data such as textbooks, journals, relevant books and magazines etc.  The study recommends that as an antidote to continued environmental degradation in rural communities in the NDR, the physical environment should not be further degraded through the use of obsolete technology while the devastated areas should be reconstructed, while the government also need to demonstrate the necessary political will by massively investing in human, infrastructural and capital development, job creation and confidence building measures among others. The paper concludes that except the environmental challenges in the NDR rural communities are substantially addressed, the much talked about restoration of peace and security would be futile and elusive.


Keywords


Environmental degradation, Rural communities and Sustainable development

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