THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTS THE CORE TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examines the twin concepts of sustainability and development, and observes that the right of a state to develop is subject to a corresponding duty to make such development sustainable by allowing environmental concerns shape its development policies. It examines also the principles of international environmental law and observes that all of these principles are encapsulated within the concept of sustainable development. It further examines Nigeria’s sustainable development efforts and notes that these efforts though laudable have been largely only on paper and yet to be translated into concrete actions. It submits that every principle that has guided multilateral efforts to protect man and his environment from the harmful effects of substances introduced by man into the atmosphere are encapsulated in the principle of sustainable development, thus the concept of sustainable development should underline every action on development.