Nigeria

=== Environmental issues ===
{{further|Deforestation in Nigeria|Environmental issues in the Niger Delta}}
[[File:Nigerian-deforrestation-b.jpg|alt=Nigerian deforrestation 1981 - 2020|thumb|Deforestation in Nigeria 1981–2020<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fashae |first=Olutoyin |date=2017 |title=Geospatial Analysis of Changes in Vegetation Cover over Nigeria |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321953126 |journal=Bulletin of Geography |issue=13 |pages=17–27}}</ref>]]
[[Waste management]] including [[sewage treatment]], the linked processes of [[deforestation]] and [[Soil retrogression and degradation|soil degradation]], and [[climate change]] or [[global warming]] are the major environmental problems in Nigeria. Waste management presents problems in a [[megacity]] like Lagos and other major Nigerian cities which are linked with economic development, population growth and the inability of municipal councils to manage the resulting rise in industrial and domestic waste. This waste management problem is also attributable to unsustainable environmental management lifestyles of [[Kubwa, Abuja|Kubwa]] community in the Federal Capital Territory, where there are habits of indiscriminate disposal of waste, dumping of waste along or into the canals, sewerage systems that are channels for water flows, and the like. Haphazard industrial planning, increased urbanisation, poverty and lack of competence of the municipal government are seen as the major reasons for high levels of waste pollution in major cities of the country. Some of the solutions have been disastrous to the environment, resulting in untreated waste being dumped in places where it can pollute waterways and [[Groundwater in Nigeria|groundwater]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ogbonna |first1=D.N. |last2=Ekweozor |first2=I.K.E. |last3=Igwe |first3=F.U. |year=2002 |title=Waste Management: A Tool for Environmental Protection in Nigeria |journal=Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=55–57 |doi=10.1639/0044-7447(2002)031[0055:wmatfe]2.0.co;2 |jstor=4315211}}</ref>

In 2005, Nigeria had the highest rate of [[deforestation]] in the world, according to the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] of the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{cite web |date=17 November 2005 |title=News.mongabay.com |url=http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1117-forests.html |access-date=28 July 2014 |publisher=News.mongabay.com}}</ref> That year, 12.2%, the equivalent of 11,089,000 hectares, had been forested in the country. Between 1990 and 2000, Nigeria lost an average of 409,700 hectares of forest every year equal to an average annual deforestation rate of 2.4%. Between 1990 and 2005, in total Nigeria lost 35.7% of its [[forest cover]] or around 6,145,000 hectares.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 January 2010 |title=Rainforest analysis at Mongabay.com |url=http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/Nigeria.htm |access-date=28 July 2014 |publisher=Rainforests.mongabay.com}}</ref> Nigeria had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 6.2/10, ranking it 82nd globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal |last1=Grantham |first1=H. S. |last2=Duncan |first2=A. |last3=Evans |first3=T. D. |last4=Jones |first4=K. R. |last5=Beyer |first5=H. L. |last6=Schuster |first6=R. |last7=Walston |first7=J. |last8=Ray |first8=J. C. |last9=Robinson |first9=J. G. |last10=Callow |first10=M. |last11=Clements |first11=T. |last12=Costa |first12=H. M. |last13=DeGemmis |first13=A. |last14=Elsen |first14=P. R. |last15=Ervin |first15=J. |display-authors=1 |year=2020 |title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=5978 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=7723057 |pmid=33293507 |last16=Franco |first16=P. |last17=Goldman |first17=E. |last18=Goetz |first18=S. |last19=Hansen |first19=A. |last20=Hofsvang |first20=E. |last21=Jantz |first21=P. |last22=Jupiter |first22=S. |last23=Kang |first23=A. |last24=Langhammer |first24=P. |last25=Laurance |first25=W. F. |last26=Lieberman |first26=S. |last27=Linkie |first27=M. |last28=Malhi |first28=Y. |last29=Maxwell |first29=S. |last30=Mendez |first30=M. |last31=Mittermeier |first31=R. |last32=Murray |first32=N. J. |last33=Possingham |first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky |first34=J. |last35=Saatchi |first35=S. |last36=Samper |first36=C. |last37=Silverman |first37=J. |last38=Shapiro |first38=A. |last39=Strassburg |first39=B. |last40=Stevens |first40=T. |last41=Stokes |first41=E. |last42=Taylor |first42=R. |last43=Tear |first43=T. |last44=Tizard |first44=R. |last45=Venter |first45=O. |last46=Visconti |first46=P. |last47=Wang |first47=S. |last48=Watson |first48=J. E. M.|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }}</ref>

In the year 2010, thousands of people were inadvertently [[Zamfara State lead poisoning outbreak|exposed to lead-containing soil]] from informal [[gold mining]] within the northern state of Zamfara. While estimates vary, it is thought that upwards of 400 children died of acute [[lead poisoning]], making this perhaps the largest lead poisoning fatality outbreak ever encountered.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bashir |first1=Muhammed |last2=Umar-Tsafe |first2=Nasir |last3=Getso |first3=Kabiru |last4=Kaita |first4=Ibrahim M. |last5=Nasidi |first5=Abdulsalami |last6=Sani-Gwarzo |first6=Nasir |last7=Nguku |first7=Patrick |last8=Davis |first8=Lora |last9=Brown |first9=Mary Jean |date=18 April 2014 |title=Assessment of blood lead levels among children aged ≤ 5 years—Zamfara State, Nigeria, June–July 2012 |journal=MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |volume=63 |issue=15 |pages=325–327 |issn=1545-861X |pmc=5779393 |pmid=24739340}}</ref>

Nigeria's Delta region is one of the most polluted regions in the world due to serious [[oil spill]]s and other environmental problems caused by its oil industry.<ref>{{cite web |last=Donatus |first=Peter |date=2016-10-15 |title=Shell's Nigeria ecocide is creating a refugee crisis |url=https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/shell%E2%80%99s-nigeria-ecocide-creating-refugee-crisis,%20https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/shell%E2%80%99s-nigeria-ecocide-creating-refugee-crisis |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=greenleft.org.au}}{{dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= |date=2017-08-07 |title=UNEP Ogoniland Oil Assessment Reveals Extent of Environmental Contamination and Threats to Human Health |url=http://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/unep-ogoniland-oil-assessment-reveals-extent-environmental-contamination-and |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=UNEP}}</ref> The heavy contamination of the air, ground and water with toxic pollutants is often used as an example of [[ecocide]].<ref>{{cite web |date=2021-04-07 |title='Ecocide' movement pushes for a new international crime: Environmental destruction |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ecocide-movement-pushes-new-international-crime-environmental-destruction-n1263142 |access-date=2023-07-06 |publisher=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fighting ecocide in Nigeria |url=https://theecologist.org/2014/feb/05/fighting-ecocide-nigeria |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=theecologist.org|date=5 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=UNPO: Ogoni: An Ecocide in the Making? |url=https://unpo.org/article/19131 |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=unpo.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2011-08-22 |title=How an ecocide law could prevent another Nigerian oil disaster |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/aug/22/ecocide-law-nigerian-oil-disaster |access-date=2023-07-06 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-02 |title=Spotlighting oil majors' 'ecocide' of Niger Delta: Q&A with Michael J. Watts |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/spotlighting-oil-majors-ecocide-of-niger-delta-qa-with-michael-j-watts/ |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=Mongabay Environmental News |language=en-US}}</ref> In additional to the environmental damage it has caused [[Conflict in the Niger Delta|conflict in the Delta region]].

Illegal oil refineries, in which local operators convert stolen crude oil into petrol and diesel, are considered particularly "dirty, dangerous and lucrative".<ref>{{cite news |date=2022-04-26 |title=Nigeria's illegal oil refineries: Dirty, dangerous, lucrative |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61216157 |access-date=2022-10-10}}</ref> Safety and environmental aspects are usually ignored. Refining petroleum also inevitably produces heavy oil, which is "cracked" into lighter fuel components in regular plants at great technical expense. Illegal refineries do not have these technical possibilities and "dispose" of the heavy oil where it accumulates. The lighter components of crude oil ([[methane]] to [[butane]], [[isobutane]]) create a certain risk of explosion, which often leads to disasters at illegal plants.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Okereke |first1=Chukwumerije |last2=Emodi |first2=Nnaemeka Vincent |last3=Diemuodeke |first3=Ogheneruona E. |title=Three things that can go wrong at an illegal oil refinery in Nigeria |url=http://theconversation.com/three-things-that-can-go-wrong-at-an-illegal-oil-refinery-in-nigeria-182459 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=The Conversation |date=9 May 2022}}</ref> In 2022, Nigeria suffered 125 deaths from explosions at local, illegal refineries.<ref>{{cite web |last=Onukwue |first=Alexander |date=2022-04-25 |title=Nigeria's illegal oil refineries keep killing people |url=https://qz.com/africa/2158492/nigerias-illegal-oil-refineries-keep-killing-people/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Quartz}}</ref>