Environment and Conflict in Nigeria: Potential and Challenges

Godson Chukwuma Chikezie, De Best Gift and Agro Solutions Limited (Nigeria)

Nigeria's diverse environment offers both conservation potential and difficulties due to resource-based conflicts. This study looks at how collaboration, conflict, and conservation are intertwined in Nigeria, with a focus on how environmental governance affects social results. Despite being crucial for preserving ecosystems and biodiversity, conservation efforts have occasionally exacerbated conflicts because of competition for natural resources like land and water. Conflicts between farmers and herders brought on by desertification and climate change, community opposition to exclusionary protected areas, and environmental damage in the Niger Delta as a result of oil production are notable examples. The report does, however, also identify collaborative strategies that have reduced tensions and supported sustainable lifestyles, such as multi-stakeholder partnerships, conflict-sensitive resource management, and community-based conservation. According to the study, when conservation initiatives in Nigeria are inclusive, participatory, and sensitive to local socioeconomic realities, they can support peacebuilding. Therefore, it is essential to incorporate cooperation into conservation strategy in order to achieve social stability and environmental sustainability.