Nigeria Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) and environmental degradation: The current situation

Abstract

This study examined the connection between Internally Displaced Persons IDPs and environmental degradation as a result of the increasing number of  IDPs. This study is evaluative in nature and it involves the use of secondary data obtained from books, archival materials, journals, and the internet. The  study revealed that the continuous increase in IDPs over a limited space will have short and even long-term effects on the environment which can result  in severe environmental degradation. The paper also examined the contribution of government agencies, individuals, and Non-Governmental  Organizations (NGOs) in ameliorating the effect. The study finally recommends that government can help in curbing the situation of environmental  degradation in IDPs camps by setting up Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement that will ensure the protection of the environment; it also  recommends that government and NGOs should move away from strategies like "survival-focused" model to focus on “self-reliance” model.