Assessment of policies and legislation that affect management of Wetlands in Nigeria

Adekola, Olalekan; Whanda, Shittu; Ogwu, Friday

Abstract

The beneficial ecosystem services provided by wetlands in Nigeria are continuously subjected to considerable stress that has consequences for human wellbeing. An understanding of the policies and legislation governing wetland can help enhance their management. Therefore, this paper reviews existing policies and legislation that affect management of wetlands in Nigeria. It draws upon the contents of the laws and policy documents acquired from government and non-governmental organizations. The paper assesses the level of attention given to wetlands and identifies some informal measures, together with 35 federal legislative acts, six international conventions, and voluntary measures relevant to wetlands management. Results indicate that the existing legislation gives little attention to wetland management. This led the authors to conclude that the reason for wetland degradation is not the lack of laws or policy documents, but weak enforcement of existing ones. In this light, the paper calls for an integration of wetland management strategies and a strict enforcement of existing laws whilst stressing that effort should target a comprehensive national wetland policy of a holistic approach. © Society of Wetland Scientists 2012.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 9, 2012
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Jun 14, 2017
• Journal: Wetlands
• Print ISSN: 0277-5212
• Electronic ISSN: 1943-6246
• Publisher: Springer (part of Springer Nature)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 665-677
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0299-3
• Keywords: ecosystem service valuation, institution, Niger Delta, regulations wetland ecosystem
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/951226
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0299-3
• Additional Information: Additional Information : The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0299-3
• Contract Date: Jun 14, 2017