Discipline is bedrock of environmental management, sustainability – Phil-Eze

Calls for ecosystem-based watershed approach to tackle erosion, flooding

Tasks UNN, others on upgrading geospatial laboratories with drones, software

By Clifford Ndujihe

TO effectively arrest the menacing wave of ecological devastation sweeping across the country, manifesting in catastrophic flooding, severe erosion, desert encroachment, and unchecked deforestation, the Federal Government and university administrators have been urged to make Geography a compulsory General Studies, GSP, course for all undergraduate students.

This call was made by renowned Professor of Biogeography and Environmental Management, Professor Philip Phil-Eze, who posited that Nigeria’s compounding ecological crises can only be tackled through a deliberate, nationwide injection of environmental literacy, that study of Geography offer, among its citizens.

According to him, environmental issues such as “erosion, desert encroachment, deforestation, flooding, biodiversity loss, and the impacts of climate change, can only be effectively tackled through sound geographical/environmental literacy by citizens.”

Professor Phil-Eze, who hits the milestone age of 70 on July 15, made the call while delivering the 15th Valedictory Lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, yesterday.

Speaking on the theme, “Geography: The Bedrock of Environmental Management and Sustainability,” at a packed Princess Alexandra Unity Hall and Theatre, the elder statesman of environmental science warned that conventional approaches to spatial planning and resource exploitation in Nigeria are no longer sustainable.

Ecosystem approach

According to the university don, the quicksand of environmental degradation facing the nation requires a radical departure from the norm, advocating instead for an ecosystem-based watershed management approach.

He noted that this nature-based solution directly aligns with the template of the 2026 World Environment Day theme, “Inspired by Nature: For Climate, For Our Future,” which mandates global citizens to actively key into sustainable environmental practices.

“The built environment has always been a reflection of human civilization. From our homes, farms, roads, to cities and industrial spaces, the way we manage our environment shapes the quality of life we experience.

“However, rapid urbanization, climate change, and population growth now compel us to rethink our developmental drives. Today, sustainability is no longer an option; it is a matter of survival,” Phil-Eze declared.

Global mandate, local failures

Linking Nigeria’s local ecological woes to global frameworks, the valedictorian recalled that the United Nations declared 2021 to 2030 as the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. This declaration, he argued, is an international admission that modern society is fundamentally getting its environmental and spatial planning metrics wrong.

He maintained that because the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, are interconnected, Nigeria cannot achieve economic or social progress without achieving environmental harmony.

He defined sustainability through the prism of its five core pillars: environmental protection, social equity, economic viability, cultural acceptability, and political sagacity—all of which, he argued, rely on geographic science to map out resource distribution and ecological vulnerabilities.

Roadmap to redemption

Lamenting the challenges facing discipline in Nigeria, including poor policy integration, inadequate technical capacity, and restricted access to geospatial data, Prof. Phil-Eze handed down a four-point charter of recommendations to university authorities and the government to salvage the situation:

Establishment of specialized faculties

He strongly advised the UNN management to either return the Department of Geography to the Faculty of Environmental Studies or completely establish a distinct Faculty of Geographical Sciences, in line with global academic trends.

Compulsory GSP status

To breed environmentally conscious graduates who will serve as extension trainers in the public domain, Geography must be integrated into the compulsory General Studies Programme for all university students.

Capacity building

He called for the urgent restoration of the suspended Diploma Programme on Environmental Protection and Management at UNN to equip mid-level practitioners with tools to handle contemporary crises.

Modern technological tools

The don urged authorities to aggressively equip Geography departments across Nigeria with modern spatial assets, including drones for Geographic Information Systems, GIS; Global Positioning Systems, GPS; licensed software; and unhindered access to satellite imagery.

Concluding his address, Phil-Eze warned that as global environmental pressures intensify, the relevance of geography will only grow, adding that no nation can build a resilient future without a deep, spatial understanding of its own environmental systems.