Sustainable development in a developing economy: Challenges and prospects

Sustainable development implies development which ensures maximization of human well being for today’s generation which does not lead to declines in future well being. Attaining this path requires eliminating those negative externalities that are responsible for natural resource depletion and environmental degradation. All human activities and developmental projects are associated with environmental degradation in one form or the other with the attendant generation of wastes. As a result of these, environmental problems of various types and intensities have emerged to threaten man’s well-being and the natural environment which serves as his life support system. In the light of the present global drive towards sustainable development and the concern of the Federal Government of Nigeria, fundamental strategies have been presented here to provide sound basis for comprehensive plans towards environmental management in Nigeria which is a fast developing economy. The basic paradigms of the interaction of man and the environment were used as basis for this study. The socio- economic potentials of effective environmental management were presented. Application of the strategies has the potentials of contributing significantly to the national GDP and will also ensure that development is in harmony with the environment. Key words: Environment, degradation, sustainable, development, paradigms, pollution, recycling