Characteristics of environmental problems in Nigeria and management prospects

Summary Nigeria, a rapidly urbanizing and industrializing society, is currently faced with many environmental problems. Through the analysis of what Kassas (1985) referred to as the Three-systems, that is, the technosphere, biosphere and sociosphere, of the Nigerian environment, a number of substantive and procedural problems are characterized.The findings include the causes and nature of such problems, including their complexities on the one hand, and management strategies on the other. On a more germane level, this study shows that governmental action and policies seldom reflect a sound understanding and impact on the problems. Governmental action, moreover, produces anad-hoc coping mechanism where and when necessary. A comprehensive environmental planning/management strategy is suggested in the last section of the paper along with the pre-requisites for its success.Mr Adefemi Olokesusi is a Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Nigeria.     

Analysis of pollution status of River Illo,Ota, Nigeria

An assessment of the pollution status of River Illo, located within River Owo catchments area in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria, was carried out. The River’s response to deoxygenation due to BOD loading from an abattoir and its dissolved oxygen (DO) level was predicted using the modified Streeter-Phelps model. The average concentrations of measured parameters at the sampling stations include: 2.24 mg/l of DO, 312.85 mg/l of BOD, 782.86 mg/l of chemical oxygen demand, and 620.76 g/l of total solids. The DO model for River Illo showed a positive correlation between measured and calculated DO, while the dissolved oxygen curve gave a double spoon shape of two major segments with distinct zones of degradation, decomposition, and recovery. The self-purification factor (f) for both segments ranged between 0.8 and 1.1 depicting River Illo as a slow moving or sluggish river. The above results revealed slow reaeration of the water body while full recovery from pollution was difficult. The treatment of River Illo before usage is very essential to ensure public health safety of users from waterborne diseases.     

Coercive versus cooperative pollution control: Comparative study of state programs to reduce erosion and sedimentation pollution in urban areas

This article examines coercive and cooperative approaches to implementing state urban erosion and sedimentation pollution control programs. State administrators report serious shortfalls in their ability to control sources of pollution, but comparison of more and less successful programs provides evidence of what states can do to make programs more effective. Key ingredients for a successful state effort include the use of coercion with both the private sector and local government, adequate staffing, application of severe sanctions when violations of state standards are detected, and provision of technical assistance. Many state programs lack one or more of those elements, which explains their inability to adequately control urban erosion and sedimentation pollution.     

An overview of pollution in Nigeria and the impact of legislated standards on its abatement

Summary The socio-economic and ecological importance of conservation of the environment is incontestable; however, total environmental conservation is an ephemeral goal, if development is to take place. Hence, the need to appraise the current levels of pollution, and environmental protection legislations in Nigeria with a view to enacting a new legislation. New legislated standards are proposed since existing legislations are found deficient. Also the advantages and possible problems of the proposed legislation are discussed.Mr Femi Olokesusi is a Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER).     

Profitability of in-plant modifications in pollution control

This case study was developed in view of setting up a demonstration project on “revealing the profitability of clean technology in small-scale electroplating unit”. The research was conducted in a small-scale electroplating shop located in Bangkok. A set of simple in-plant control measures such as dragout recovery, spray rinsing technique and rinse water agitation were implemented. Quantitative data, obtained from the monitoring of wastewater before and after process modifications, have indicated a substantial reduction both in quantity and strength of wastewater generated. Water consumption was reduced by approx. 35% of total rinsing water, which is 19% of total process water consumption. Average metal concentrations in wastewater was reduced 73% for Cr-, 71% for Ni- and 54% for Cu-plating rinse water.     

Risk aversion and compliance in markets for pollution control

This paper examines the effects of risk aversion on compliance choices in markets for pollution control. A firm's decision to be compliant or not is independent of its manager's risk preference. However, non-compliant firms with risk-averse managers will have lower violations than otherwise identical firms with risk-neutral managers. The violations of non-compliant firms with risk-averse managers are independent of differences in their profit functions and their initial allocations of permits if and only if their managers' utility functions exhibit constant absolute risk aversion. However, firm-level characteristics do impact violation choices when managers have coefficients of absolute risk aversion that are increasing or decreasing in profit levels. Finally, in the equilibrium of a market for emissions rights with widespread non-compliance, risk aversion is associated with higher permit prices, better environmental quality, and lower aggregate violations.     

Cost effective policies for alternative distributions of stochastic water pollution

This study investigates the role for cost effective coastal water management with regard to different assumptions of probability distributions (normal and lognormal) of pollutant transports to coastal waters. The analytical results indicate a difference in costs for a given probability of achieving a certain pollutant load target whether a normal or lognormal distribution is assumed. For low standard deviations and confidence intervals, the normal distribution implies a lower cost while the opposite is true for relatively high standard deviations and confidence intervals. The associated cost effective charges and permit prices are higher for lognormal distributions than for normal distributions at relatively high confidence intervals and probabilities of achieving the target. An application to Himmerfj?rden--an estuary south of Stockholm, Sweden--shows that the minimum costs of achieving a 50 per cent reduction in nitrogen load to the coast varies more for a lognormal than normal probability distribution. At high coefficient of variation and chosen probability of achieving the target, the minimum cost under a lognormal assumption can be three times as high as for a normal distribution.     

Particulate and lead air pollution control in Cairo: benefits valuation and cost-effective control strategies

Recent research has suggested that health damage from air pollution—most notably from inhalable particulate matter and lead—is a serious concern in many cities in developing countries. A comparative risk assessment conducted in Cairo in 1994 found these two pollutants to be especially worrisome, and an analysis of the potential economic benefits associated with controlling these pollutants suggests that their economic damage is significant. Control strategies to reduce ambient pollutant levels are under development, with point source controls on major industrial facilities—especially in the secondary lead smelling industry—a cost-effective initial step.     

Allocating anthropogenic pollutant emissions over space: application to ozone pollution management

An inventory of volatile organic compound (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions is an important tool for the management of ground-level ozone pollution. This paper has two broad aims: it illustrates the potential of a geographic information system (GIS) for enhancing an existing spatially-aggregated, anthropogenic emissions inventory (EI) for Tucson, AZ, and it discusses the ozone-specific management implications of the resulting spatially-disaggregated EI. The main GIS-related methods include calculating emissions for specific features, spatially disaggregating region-wide emissions totals for area sources, and adding emissions from various point sources. In addition, temporal allocation factors enable the addition of a multi-temporal component to the inventory. The resulting inventory reveals that on-road motor vehicles account for approximately 50% of VOC and NOx emissions annually. On-road motor vehicles and residential wood combustion are the largest VOC sources in the summer and winter months, respectively. On-road motor vehicles are always the largest NOx sources. The most noticeable weekday vs. weekend VOC emissions differences are triggered by increased residential wood combustion and increased lawn and garden equipment use on weekends. Concerning the EI's uncertainties and errors, on-road mobile, construction equipment, and lawn and garden equipment are identified as sources in the most need of further investigation. Overall, the EIs spatial component increases its utility as a management tool, which might involve visualization-driven analyses and air quality modeling.     

A management strategy to reduce bacterial pollution in shellfish areas: A case study

The problem of bacterial pollution in shellfishing areas is not uncommon in the coastal regions of the United States. Bacterial contamination from man's activities can effectively reduce our natural shellfish resource areas by forcing their closure because of high potential risk of diseases being spread by shellfish harvested in these areas. Tillamook Bay, a relatively small, enclosed drainage basin of nonurban character, presents an excellent study area for observing this problem. The high population density of animals, raised on a relatively small floodplain area, represents one of the major sources of pollution in the bay. This paper summarizes the history of the agencies involved with the problem and presents the current approach to alleviate bacterial pollution in the bay without unduly penalizing other industries in the Tillamook basin. The paper also presents some of the legal aspects of reducing water pollution in shellfish harvesting areas and the jurisdiction of federal agencies in these matters. Finally, recommendations are given to reduce bacterial output by the major source categories in the basin, and criteria for bay closure to shellfish harvest are developed to protect the public from bacterially contaminated shellfish.     

浅谈化学污染事故环境风险管理

通过了解国内外化学污染事故的现状,分析了化学污染事故的严重性及其特征,结合我国现有的环境风险管理状况,探讨了化学污染事故环境风险管理的途径。     

污染源管理信息化建设的思考

污染源管理是环境监管的重点,信息化是提高污染源管理水平的重要手段。阐述污染源管理信息化现状,分析污染源管理信息来源及信息化发展中的不足,提出加强基层环保部门污染源监管信息化建设的建议,为污染源管理信息化建设提供借鉴。     

Potential of the Conservation Reserve Program to control agricultural surface water pollution

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), initiated by the Conservation Title of the Food Security Act of 1985, is the primary federal program to control nonpointsource pollution in agricultural watersheds of the United States. However, the program is designed primarily to reduce soil erosion rather than to retire croplands in a manner optimal for controlling runoff of sediment and associated pollutants. This study estimates potential enrollment of streamside and floodplain croplands in this ten-year retirement program in order to gauge the potential of the CRP as a water-quality improvement policy. A contingent choice survey design was employed in Fayette County, Illinois, to demonstrate that there is substantial potential for retirement of streamside and floodplain croplands in the CRP. Enrollments in each program climb from less than 6% to over 83% of eligible croplands as the annual rental rate is increased from $20 to $200/acre. Potential retirement of streamside and floodplain croplands declines, however, if tree planting, drainage removal, or a 20-year contract are required. The potential of a CRP-based water-quality program to improve water quality and aquatic ecosystems in agricultural watersheds is thus substantial but constrained by the economic trade-offs that farmers make between crop production and conservation incentives in determining the use of their riparian lands.     

Notions of environment and environmental management in Akwa Ibom State, Southeastern Nigeria

In the study of environmental degradation, there has not been sufficient attention paid to the perceptions of the local inhabitants. The importance of traditional beliefs and practices has often been overlooked. This paper looks at traditional and Christian beliefs in Akwa Ibom State in South Eastern Nigeria. Interviews, observations and focus group discussions were used to collect the data. The data analysis shows that knowledge and attitudes are somewhat linked to tradition but also influenced by Christian ideas concerning genesis. There are a number of recommendations made.     

Elements of effective DFE program management and product stewardship

Design for the Environment (DFE) is a systems-oriented approach for designing more ecologically and economically sustainable product systems. It couples the product development cycle used in business with the physical life-cycle of a product. DFE integrates environmental requirements into the earliest stages of design so total impacts caused by product systems can be reduced. With DFE practices, environmental, performance, cost, cultural, and legal requirements are balanced. Concepts such as concurrent design, total quality management, cross-disciplinary teams, and multiattribute decision making are essential elements of DFE.¹ In this article, the authors show how these DFE initiatives can provide the design and product development teams with the training, information, decision support tools, and procedures that ensure improved product development decisions and environmental performance.     

The team solution for effective project management

In their new book The TeamNet Factor: Bringing the Power of Boundary Crossing into the Heart of Your Business, authors Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps claim that businesses that form teamnets—networks of teams that cross conventional boundaries—will be winners in the twenty-first century global economy. From the smallest to the largest companies, businesses are climbing over their own walls. Customers, competitors, and even people in different industries traverse their traditional limits to work together. When business teams cross boundaries, benefits accrue. Whether three-person shops or multinationals, these companies can achieve something that by themselves would be impossible. By definition, teamnets are on a mission for mutual benefit. Large firms in many industries are using internal teamnets to bridge barriers inside their companies and external teamnets to bridge boundaries with suppliers, customers, and competitors. The following excerpt presents insightful ideas and techniques for quality professionals on how to implement more effective project management through teams.