Abstract
Protecting the environment is one of the major challenges facing many developing countries, inclusive of Nigeria. Damages to the Nigerian environment has been growing steadily and worse in recent decades. Every year, tons of waste are provided into the Nigerian environments which results in pollution and biodiversity endangered. The environmental problem in Nigeria is classified into two major folds. They are natural and anthropenic. While the natural problems are soil wash, sheet erosion coastal erosion and marine erosion, flooding, drought and desertification. The anthropogenic factors are oil pollution, oil well blow- out and other associated discharges, over population and squatter settlement, industrial waste, water, soil and water pollution, urban waste, non-biodegradable
waste and used oil, interactional waste dumping and biodiversity loss and etc. The preservation and protection of the environment is crucial to the future of the Nigeria and future mankind. Therefore a regulatory policy is crucial to the control of these menaces. Various policies have been introduced in Nigeria by successive governments geared towards ameliorating the source of this preventable calamity. The National Environmental Agency (NFSREA) and other International Affiliatio has provided adequate measures at securing for all Nigerians a quality environment adequate for good health and wellbeing and also recommended the best ways in conserving the environment and natural resources for the benefits of the present and future generation. The paper aimed at seeing some of the policies and legislations towards environmental sustainability in Nigeria. It was maintained that there exist a plethora of laws and legislation, both local and international, yet the Nigerian environment is far from being preserved. This paper concludes that political will power of state actors are a requirement for implementation of the policies of environmental laws. The paper recommends the use of cultural and religious identity of the indigenous natives for effective awareness in the management of environmental policies as this would promote sensitization and acceptability among the people.
Keywords: Environment, Law, Policy, Nigeria.