Environmental Inequality
Governance and environmental inequality in
Nigeria: implications for conflict management strategies in the Niger Delta
NATHANIEL UMUKORO*
Department of Political Science, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria
This paper examines the role of governance in environmental inequality in the Niger Delta. Fair access to environmental resources could help to guarantee human security and mitigate violence.
Root causes of environmental inequality in Nigeria’s Niger Delta can be linked to government policies and laws such as the Land Use Act and the negative impacts of the activities of multinational oil corporations. Environmental inequality and its concomitant effects produce a trend to conflict in the Niger Delta.
Keywords: Governance; Environmental
…show more content…
The NDDB’s reports were never made public; they died with the first republic when the military took over power in 1966. Until the late 1980s, nothing significant was done to solve the infrastructural and developmental problems of the Niger Delta.
In 1989, the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida, in an attempt to assuage the demands of the Niger Delta, set up the Oil Minerals Producing Areas Development
Commission (OMPADEC). It was given 3% of the federal allocations earmarked for the Niger Delta States, amounting to N13.6 billion or about $180 million dollars at that time. In spite of the huge amount of financial resources invested in OMPADEC, it failed to meet its objectives due to wastefulness and corruption [20]. The NDDC was established by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000 with the task of developing the Niger Delta. The
NDDC has focused on the development of social and physical infrastructures, ecological/ environmental remediation and human development. Like OMPADEC, it has
…show more content…
noted, the critical factors which are the causes of the conflicts in the Niger
Delta are poverty, unemployment, bad governance, environmental degradation and scarcity
[12]. Environmental degradation and scarcity breed conflict accelerating factors such as rising poverty and unemployment which are central to the frustration, discontent and anger that provoke violent agitations. Youths are denied the opportunity of decent living and deprived of productive sources of livelihood. The youths are jobless, idle, hungry, miserable and frustrated. They are effectively deprived of dignity. This makes them easy to mobilise.
The social discontent, frustration and anger have led to social vices, restiveness and violence [28]. Environmental protection would help to safeguard the rights of the citizens to a clean environment and ensure peaceful coexistence in the Niger Delta [29].
Effective institutional reform is the key to improving the condition of people in the
Niger Delta. This is because of the poor governance and corruption, which are related, distort socio-economic and political activities in societies. Institutional reforms and a sincere fight against corruption are the keys to ensuring sustainable peace in Nigeria. Law
Exxon Valdez: The Purpose Of Environmental Justice
106 Words | 1 PagesThe purpose of environmental justice is fair treatment for everyone. Everyone should have respect to environmental practice and regulations, regardless of the their nationality, income, religion, and ethnicity. “The environmental justice movement has the idea that poor people are more exposed to a greater pollution, hazards, and environmental degradation than richer people.” (Withgott & Laposata, 2012). For example, during 1989 Exxon Valdez, a disaster struck causing an oil tanker with 38-million gallons of oil to wreck at Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef offshore of Alaska.
British Imperialism In Nigeria Essay
3832 Words | 16 PagesIntroduction On October 1st 1960 , British rule over Nigeria as a colony ended, as well as most of its official structure. Nigerian leaders were left with the task of taking up the leadership of the Nigerian people from the British with a promise of democratic rule; however within fifteen years after independence various institutions experienced great changes bringing great instability and uncertainty to the newly founded government. Northern and Southern regions of Nigeria both felt the impacts in education, politics, religion and ethnically. This causes one to wonder what the British Imperialistic government did differently, and why the difference between the Southern and Northern region became so evident in the fifteen years after independence.
Confronting Inequality Summary
933 Words | 4 PagesIncome inequality The article “Confronting Inequality,” written by Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton University, emphasizes that the middle class suffers from social inequality and economic inequality. Krugman suggests building a stronger safety net so the gap between the poor and rich can be limited to by raising of the taxes. Krugman uses this claim to highlight the fact that the middle class needs to be stronger and the only way to achieve that is to have a strong safety net. Krugman says the rich use loopholes in the tax system to cheat their way out of high taxes, and the poor pay a relatively high tax compared to what they should be paying.
Sociology Income Inequality
471 Words | 2 PagesMany solutions, such as social investment, early childhood education, job training for young adults are avenues for addressing the shrinking middle class. Many of these ideas have been around since the 1990s, and most know that they will work, however, no one wants to pay the cost of such social investments. Thus, this is a fine example of how one topic, income inequality, can be addressed from two different angles, that of economist and that of sociologists, and what contributes to the inequality can be supported based on what is actually measured. In this specific comparison, due to the differences in disciplines addressing the same issue, the variables measured are completely different and as a result, yield very different results.
Redlining: The Main Cause Of Inequality
351 Words | 2 PagesWhite Americans have about ten times more net worth than African Americans. Redlining and generational wealth lead us to this inequality. The following items will be covered in this essay ,such as redlining, generational wealth, and inequality to explain why white Americans have more net worth than black Americans. Redlining is the main cause of inequality today because it only gave money to the white population. Well then what is redlining?
The Epa's Failure Of Social Justice
826 Words | 4 PagesEnvironmental laws--do we actually know a lot about them? Many people fear for our environment’s future, while others are not aware that environmental issues are occurring around them. Even though we may have some knowledge about this devastation occurring in our communities, should we be questioning the Environmental Protection Agency and the president on these matters when we are not highly educated on them ourselves? Although the articles “Environmentalism Was Once a Social-Justice Movement” and “The EPA’s Failure to Protect People From the Environment” target different people about environmental issues and use the word “justice” at different frequencies, they both express that environmental laws are unjust and based upon race. Who is
Income Inequality For All
349 Words | 2 PagesThe problem of income inequality is not something new, but it is something that people must worry about because it is affecting not only our wallets, but our communities as a whole. I agree on the author’s point of view about income inequality in the United States his position is very similar to another Robert Reich documentary called “Inequality for all” where he mentions all the aspects that brought United States economic system to a hold just to help a fraction of all population one of those systems was education where before the nineteen eighties it was cheaper to go to college than nowadays or the fact that workers were pay almost the same as any other for their sacrifice . Going back to the video on debate he mentions how policies changed
Inequality In America
701 Words | 3 PagesPaul Krugman, an economics professor at Princeton, writes “Confronting Inequality” chapter 7 in his book. Equality in America is what makes America, what it stands for. Social and economic inequality still is a part of everyday life in America. Education is making parents struggle because they want to give them a good education; but also, health care for those who need it. Middle-class starts to scramble more every day while the high-class gets more prosperous.
Environmental Racism In America
712 Words | 3 PagesEnvironmental racism Have you ever heard of or considered the concept of environmental racism and what role it plays in the lives of Afro Americans? Well many colored families live in a ring of oil refineries because they have no choice based on their income. Many people such as Henry Clark, who would cover his nose run in his house because of refineries would burn off excess gases sending energy waves and black smoke in the air. This might describe as environmental racism, which is placement of low income or minority communities near pollution sources in hazard environment which can be displayed by the fact that it is detrimental to health, have an impact by income and proximity to pollution.
Exxon Mobil Case Study
995 Words | 4 PagesHowever, the case talks about high levels of corruption in the countries and ExxonMobil could have both internal and external concerns around it. The ExxonMobil has to ensure that the economic growth that it has planned for the people of Chad and Cameroon reaches to the public as planned. The involvement of the World Bank will ease this process.
Exploitation Of Resources In Africa Dbq Essay
786 Words | 4 PagesThroughout the ages, many nations have been known to do whatever it takes to sustain a valuable supply of resources. For this reason, however the exploitation of resources by countries using unfair means is an enduring issue for many groups of people. Exploitation of resources is when the government or outside forces take advantage of a nation’s resources. This issue is significant because it causes civil conflict and war, can impact people of nations terribly, and can destroy industry. Problems created by exploitation of resources can be seen in examples from Sierra Leone, the Congo and British India.
Environmental Health Injustice Analysis
751 Words | 4 Pages“Maquiladoras”: Environmental Health Injustice in the U.S-Mexico Border in the Last Decade Social injustice refers to a social unequal distribution of the environmental risks. In our U.S-Mexico region we can find many of them; poor communities, environmental hazards, high rates of chronic diseases and lack of affordable care. All of them coexist and make our border region a big environmental health injustice. Our region is also suffering from a big problem of structural violence which is a term use to describe a form of violence where some social structure may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs.
Environmental Justice Movement Research Paper
366 Words | 2 PagesThe origin of the American environmental justice movement can be known as the emergence of the American Civil Rights movement in 1960 and the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although there is a relationship between environmentalism and environmental justice, there is a significant difference between them. Environmentalism is a concern for humanity 's adverse impact on the environment. The environmental justice movement differs from those of the environmentalist movement in that, at the heart of environmental injustice, there are issues of racism and socio-economic injustice. The first part of this research paper examines closely the concise definition and the history of environmental injustice, and the second part of this research paper focuses
Global Income Inequality
798 Words | 4 PagesIncome inequality is refers to the unequal distribution of household and individual income in an uneven manner among a population. From the year of 1980 to 2010, we found that the United States has a relatively high level of income inequality which it faced the greatest economic challenge in the over past decades, the economic pie has indicates that there are a relative gap between the richest people and the poor people in the country. Income inequality has surged as an economic and political issues that leads inequality has poses a major threat in the global issues. Besides, Income inequality has become progressively obvious since in the year of 1980. For example, the distribution of income had 30 to 35% of national income going to the top 10% of earners, the top 10% earners has increased to the 50% , which create a huge gap between the high income workers and low income workers.
Essay On Human Rights Violations In Nigeria
1886 Words | 8 PagesThe degradation of the environment in the Niger Delta, is a direct result of oil companies that have failed to take social responsibility into consideration in their various operations. The numerous environmental consequences of oil exploration have become huge obstacles that face development in the Niger Delta. One of these obstacles are oil spills, which mainly occur
More about Environmental Inequality
Exxon Valdez: The Purpose Of Environmental Justice
106 Words | 1 PagesBritish Imperialism In Nigeria Essay
3832 Words | 16 PagesConfronting Inequality Summary
933 Words | 4 PagesSociology Income Inequality
471 Words | 2 PagesRedlining: The Main Cause Of Inequality
351 Words | 2 PagesThe Epa's Failure Of Social Justice
826 Words | 4 PagesIncome Inequality For All
349 Words | 2 PagesInequality In America
701 Words | 3 PagesEnvironmental Racism In America
712 Words | 3 PagesExxon Mobil Case Study
995 Words | 4 PagesExploitation Of Resources In Africa Dbq Essay
786 Words | 4 PagesEnvironmental Health Injustice Analysis
751 Words | 4 PagesEnvironmental Justice Movement Research Paper
366 Words | 2 PagesGlobal Income Inequality
798 Words | 4 PagesEssay On Human Rights Violations In Nigeria
1886 Words | 8 Pages