Abstract
The pristine rainforest of Cross River State of Nigeria is ecologically a region of species endemism and one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Globally, there has been a drive for sustainability of these valuable ecosystems. The world Commission on Environment and Development articulates this drive and offers clarifications on the instruments to achieve the goals of sustainable development. However, in many countries such as Nigeria and other African countries, the challenges of achieving the global goal of sustainable development are enormous, given the urge for economic and infrastructural development, and the challenging needs of a burgeoning human population. Natural resources conservation in the above circumstances remain an uphill task. In the developed world, advancement in technology and industrial development also poses a serious problem to the global sustainability agenda. From the Nigerian perspective, with Cross River State harboring more than 50 percent of the remaining pristine rainforest, the challenges to sustainable development include inter alia ineffective implementation of international environmental treaties, high rates of deforestation, biodiversity loss, weak institutions, non-resettlement of enclave communities of parks, and lack of commitment on the part of stakeholders. This paper therefore recommends that forest ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation in parks and protected areas, and industrial strengthening should be pursued as core strategies of sustainable development in Nigeria.
Highlights
The paper argues that large scale environmental shocks in the context of limited capacity, make global sustainable development goals poorly attainable
From the Nigerian perspective, with Cross River State harboring more than 50 percent of the remaining pristine rainforest, the challenges to sustainable development include inter alia ineffective implementation of international environmental treaties, high rates of deforestation, biodiversity loss, weak institutions, non-resettlement of enclave communities of parks, and lack of commitment on the part of stakeholders
This paper recommends that forest ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation in parks and protected areas, and industrial strengthening should be pursued as core strategies of sustainable development in Nigeria
Summary
The paper argues that large scale environmental shocks in the context of limited capacity (like that of Cross River State of Nigeria), make global sustainable development goals poorly attainable. The 1995 Random House Webster’s College Dictionary defines environment as: “the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings, milieu; the air, water, minerals, organisms and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time; the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or population.” Common and Stagl (2005: 22) maintain that by environment “we mean Planet Earth. It is one of nine Planets in the solar system, and as far as we know, the only one that supports life.”. 3) Are all stakeholders of sustainable development in support of the goals and vision of conservation?
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