Environment –Poverty Nexus: Implications for the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (Mdgs) in the Niger-Delta Region

This paper explores the nexus between poverty and environmental degradation within the context of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The paper examined the various theoretical models that have been developed to examine the nature of the nexus between poverty and environmental degradation. Using some sets of secondary data, the paper identified the causes of environmental degradation in the Niger-Delta region. The paper showed that oil-related environmental degradation occasioned by the activities of oil companies are the major cause of environmental degradation in the region. Thus, the paper maintained that environment degradation have contributed immensely to the high level of poverty in the region which have also helped in accentuating the level of environmental degradation in the region. The paper further showed that within the context of the NigerDelta region, the downward spiral model accurately explains the nexus between poverty and environmental degradation. The paper finally revealed that the poverty-environmental nexus has serious implications for the attainment of the MDGs in the Niger-Delta region.