Environmental protection in Nigeria. A human rights approach

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: 5.0, University of Lagos (Law), course: Environmental Law II, language: English, abstract: This paper sets out to consider all the alternatives for the enforcement of the environmental right, bringing into focus the various human right instruments both at the international and regional level.

The constant degradation and pollution of the environment has stimulated both at the international and national level concerns as to its effect on the natural resources, wild life and human life. It has in fact been considered as the fourth generational right in the generational matrix due to the rising global issues of conversion of natural resources and safeguard of the environment. At the international scale, the United Nation in its sustainable development growth program has incorporated these environmental issues as part of its goals; climate action (Goal 13); life below water (Goal 14); life on land (Goal 15). At the regional and national level, environmental rights have been incorporated in the African charter and the 1999 constitution of Nigeria, respectively. The vagueness of these provisions have made its realization slim in view of the difficulty the court would be faced with interpreting such provisions in line with the prevalent situations in Nigeria. This paper seeks to look at the provisions of international, regional, and national human right instruments that guarantees the right to a clean and healthy environment and how they can be applied to enforce such right in Nigeria.