The Minister of Environment, Mr John Odey, has identified water pollution, indoor and outdoor pollution, industrial pollution as some of the key environmental challenges facing Nigeria.

He spoke in Abuja at a two-day dialogue between federal and regulatory authorities on the “Implementation and Operationalisation of Environmental Regulations/Review of  New Regulations”.

Odey listed other environmental challenges to include biodiversity loss, erosion, land degradation, desertification, sprawling urban solid wastes, open bush burning, noise pollution, climate change, and ozone depletion.

“Our disregard for environmental control measures, including laws and regulations, have aggravated the problems,” he said.

The minister, represented by Mr Bello Yayaha, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said the environment could be conceived as “a global life-support system or ecosystem within which living organisms interact with the physical element”.

He declared: “In its natural setting, the environment functions as a source of raw materials and energy, a provider of services and a sink for waste.

“Unfortunately, these functions are under threat arising from human activities and natural disasters.”

Odey said that environmental governance was very vital to achieving sustainable development.

He said that effective environmental governance presupposes putting in place relevant institutional arrangements and legal instruments to protect the environment.

“In the last two decades, environmental governance has been central to government’s efforts to implement a wide range of environmental programmes,” he added.

Odey said Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution had invested responsibilities of protecting the environment in the Federal Government.

He stressed the need for the 36 states and the FCT to assist the Federal Government in protecting the environment.

“We should, however, not allow this noble collaboration between the states and federal government to be tainted or marred with cases of misuse and abuse of authority,” he said.

Dr Ngeri Benebo, Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), said the dialogue was part of efforts to involve regulatory agencies at the state level in the operationalisation and implementation of 11 environmental regulations.

“The dialogue is also part of efforts to carry the state regulatory agencies along in the review process of 13 new draft regulations developed by NESREA,” she added.

She urged the participants to find the best way of ensuring effective implementation of national environmental regulations at the state and local government levels.

Benebo said the deliberations would cover issues relating to the application of the relevant tools, as well as the roles of officials at the federal, state and local government levels.

“This is absolutely necessary so that we can avoid duplication of efforts, waste of resources and unnecessary rivalry among agencies,” she added.