Traditional Coping Mechanism and Environmental Sustainability Strategies in Nnewi, Nigeria
Nnewi is situated some 30 kilometres South East of Onitsha in Anambra State in the southeastern part of Nigeria. This highly commercial town has undergone rapid urbanisation and industrialisation within the past two decades, since the end of the 1967–1970 Nigerian civil war. The Igbo community of the study area had traditionally employed bioconversion methods and other indigenous technology to process or recycle bio and non-degradable wastes. Industrialisation has enjoyed priority status in this locality as a requirement for modernisation and economic progress. The rapid urbanisation, aggressive industrialisation, and the attendant uncontrolled population growth have had a deleterious impact on the environment. There is now a wide range of industrial wastes that are released daily into the environment. Effects of these activities on the socio-cultural practices of the people, plant genetic resources and the environment are highlighted. In addition to palliative measures suggested here, a call is made to revisit the successful indigenous waste treatment and management technology formerly practised by the Igbo community. The importance of combining modern biotechnological approaches with the indigenous technology, norms and practices of Nwewi people to effect suitable waste treatment and management, as well as improving the living habits and the education of the people about their environment, is recommended.
The Role Of Environmental Impact Assessment In Environmental Sustainability Of Onitsha Metropolis In Anambra State, Nigeria.
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a process having the ultimate objective of providing decision-makers with an indication of the likely consequences of their actions or the official appraisal process to identify, predict, evaluate and justify the ecological, social, and related biophysical effects of a proposed policy, program or project on the environment, while sustainable developmentis the maintenance of ecological integrity. The present study investigates the level of development in the city of Onitsha in Anambra State, Nigeria, to ascertainwhether it is a sustainable development, using the tool of EIA and its implementation as a parameter. The instrument used for data collection included literature review, field survey using questionnaire distribution, interviews and personal observation. The result of the research showed that a lot of development have taken place in the city of Onitsha which include building of residential houses, shops, industries,petroleum filling stations, road constructions, hospitals and schools but these developments are not sustainable especially those of Onitsha South Local Government Area because the environment is not put into consideration. The key tool for sustainable development, which is EIA, is not used in the process of these developments mentioned above. From the statistical analysis collected and analyzed usingmann-whitney test shows that there is a significant different between the project executed in this city using EIA and the ones executed without the use of EIA (P< 0.05).The consequences of this unsustainable development have resulted in environmental degradation, pollution, health hazards, erosion,excessive heat, over flooding and lost of the vegetation.To return to the path of sustainable development, there is therefore the need to go back to the use and implementation of EIAresults provide by decision makers and the proper implementationof environmental lawsand policies.
Biological aspects of land rehabilitation following hydrocarbon contamination
The incorporation of hydrocarbon material into soil causes an increase in microbial oxygen uptake. Competition between micro-organisms and higher plants for available soil nitrogen also occurs. A survey of 15 oil-contaminated sites showed that members of the Leguminosae are abundant in oil-contaminated areas, possibly due to the nitrogen-fixing symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium spp. It is proposed that rehabilitation of oil spill sites includes aeration of soil, addition of nitrogen and seeding with leguminous species in order rapidly to establish a mantle of vegetation.