ABSTRACT

This paper examines the environmental problems confronting the Lagos Metropolis. The problems are both natural and man-made and can be grouped into physical, sociological and management. After describing the phenomena of poverty and environmental degradation, the paper examines the nature of prevalent environmental problems in the Lagos Metropolis and the causes and consequences.  It was discovered that the urban poor play a major part in causing these problems. They are also particularly vulnerable to the consequences of problems. Lagos metropolis is quite far from achieving any of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals.  The paper concludes by advancing good urban governance as a strategy for achieving a sustainable Lagos Mega-city and meeting the targets for the MDG’s. 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The critical problems facing cities of the developing world include deteriorating living conditions, increasing rates of death and diseases caused by pollution and poor sanitation. The environmental and social consequences of urbanization are quite visible. Conversion of environmentally fragile areas to shantytowns by indigent migrants highlights the inextricable relationship between environmental degradation and poverty.  Environmental degradation is both a cause and consequence of poverty. The slum is the poster child of urban environmental degradation. Poverty puts pressure on people to engage in unsustainable and environmentally unfriendly practices.
In order to address the issues of poverty and sustainability on a global scale, The Millennium Declaration was adopted in September 2000. All the member countries of the United Nations agreed on a set of international development targets, designed to help create a better world. Consequently, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were put forward. These goals include those dedicated to eradicating poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development. Nigeria is a signatory to the Millennium Declaration and has a responsibility to implement the MDGs locally.
Today’s Nigerian city, according to Mabogunje (2002) is typified by substandard and inadequate housing, slums, and lack of infrastructure, transportation problems, low productivity, crime and juvenile delinquency. Poverty is also endemic in Nigerian cities. While available statistics put the national poverty level at 70% as at 2004(UNDP), a number of real indicators show that the current poverty level is actually higher than that.
Lagos represents the epitome of urban decay. The metropolis is replete with environmental problems ranging from slums and squatter settlements, to crime and delinquency. As far back as 1984, 42 settlements had been identified as blighted (UNCHS/Lagos State Government). The number has risen to about 100 as at 2004 (UN-Habitat/Lagos State Government). This paper, therefore seeks to inquire into the relationship between poverty and the environmental problems in the Lagos metropolis. In order to sharpen the focus of the enquiry, the paper looks into the concepts of poverty and environmental degradation, traces the incidence of these problems from physical, sociological and management perspectives and analyses the effects of these issues on sustainable urban development. The paper concludes by advancing urban planning strategies for achieving both poverty management and environmental sustainability and thus meeting the targets of the Millennium Development Goals.

 

1.2                  CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH – THE LAGOS METROPOLIS
The study is set in the Lagos Metropolis, Lagos state, South Western Nigeria, on the narrow coastal plain of the Bight of Benin.  The metropolis, an estimated 300 square kilometres, is a group of islands endowed with creeks and a lagoon. The city began in the fifteenth century as a Portuguese trading post exporting ivory, peppers, and slaves, and comprises settlements that have grown from predominantly farming and fishing villages to highly urbanized settlements. Lagos metropolis is inhabited by about 80% of the population of the Lagos State making it the most urbanized state in Nigeria today. With a population of over 10 million people, it is regarded as a mega city (Mabogunje, 2002). Lagos is the commercial and industrial hub of Nigeria; this has attracted a high rate of migrants to the city.
The lagos metropolis is an diarrheantal disaster. The city reflects the epitome of contemporary urban decay; from overcrowded tenements, desecrated environment to growing crime. According to Nubi and Omirin (2006), a 2002 survey revealed that over 70% of the built up area of the Lagos metropolis is blighted. According to UNDP (2004), 51% of male residents and 54% of female residents of Metropolitan Lagos are poor.

1.3                                                   EFFECT OF THE STUDY
The effects of the major environmental problems on both health and productivity are:
a. Water pollution and water scarcity: As per the estimation of UN, more than two million deaths and billions of illnesses a year are attributable to water pollution. Water scarcity compounds these health problems. Productivity is affected by the costs of providing safe water, by constraints on economic activity caused by water shortages, and by the adverse effects of water pollution and shortages on other environmental resources such as, declining fisheries and acquifer depletion leading to irreversible compaction.
b. Air pollution: As per the estimation of UN, urban air pollution is responsible for 300,000—700,000 deaths annually and creates chronic health problems for many more people. Restrictions on vehicles and industrial activity during critical periods affect productivity, as does the effect of acid rain on forests and water bodies.
c. Solid and hazardous wastes: Diseases are spread by uncollected garbage and blocked drains; the health risks from hazardous wastes are typically more localized, but often acute. Wastes affect productivity through the pollution of groundwater resources.
d. Soil degradation: Depleted soils increase the risks of malnutrition for farmers. Productivity losses on tropical soils are estimated to be in the range of 0.5-1.5 per cent of GNP, while secondary productivity losses are due to siltation of reservoirs, transportation channels and other hydrologic investments.
e. Deforestation: Death and disease can result from the localized flooding caused by deforestation. Loss of sustainable logging potential and of erosion prevention, watershed stability and carbon sequestration provided by forests are among the productivity impacts of deforestation.
f. Loss of biodiversity: The extinction of plant and animal species will potentially affect the development of new drugs; it will reduce ecosystem adaptability and lead to the loss of genetic resources.
g. Atmospheric changes: Ozone depletion is responsible for perhaps 300,000 additional cases of skin cancer a year and 1.7 million cases of cataracts. Global warming may lead to increase in the risk of climatic natural disasters. Productivity impacts may include sea-rise damage to coastal investments, regional changes in agricultural productivity and disruption of the marine food chain.

 

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